World qualifier lands at UC Irvine

Some high quality volleyball is coming to UC Irvine this month.

USA Volleyball will play host to the 2010 Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament for NORCECA Pool F Aug. 15-17 at the Bren Events Center on the UCI campus.

Pool F consists of the United States, Panama, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Teams are competing to qualify for the 2010 World Championship which will be held Sept. 24-Oct. 10, 2010, in Italy.

The World Championship qualifying process began around the world last December with Puerto Rico already qualifying.

“Obviously it is very important for our team to qualify for the 2010 World Championship,” U.S. Men’s Head Coach Alan Knipe said in a statement. “It will be great to compete in front of a truly home crowd in Southern California as we work to qualify.”

Team USA includes two former UC Irvine All-Americans, David Smith and Jayson Jablonsky, as well as former Corona del Mar High standout Kevin Hansen. The U.S. won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

Tickets are on sale now at the Bren Center box office at (949) 824-5030 or at TicketMaster.com.

More information about World Championship qualifying is available on the FIVB web site www.fivb.org.

Information about the Bren Center is available at www.bren.uci.edu.

Tournament Schedule

Aug. 15: 5 p.m. – Dominican Republic vs. Panama. 7:30 p.m. – USA vs. Guatemala.

Aug. 16: 5 p.m. – Guatemala vs. Dominican Republic. 7:30 p.m. – USA vs. Panama.

Aug. 17: 5 p.m. – Guatemala vs. Panama. 7:30 p.m. – USA vs. Dominican Republic.

Ticket Information

All-session pass – $25

Single-day adult – $12

Single-day youth – $6 (under 12 years old)

Single-day group – $8 (15 or more people)

— From staff reports