Pac-12 All-Star team meets U.S. Collegiate National Team in Beijing

BEIJING, China - Sunday was a day of rest for the Pac-12 All-Star volleyball team. After a hard-fought match yesterday against Jiangsu, the team traveled to Beijing to prepare for this week's matches against the Chinese Junior National team.

The morning started off with the group’s second ride on China's high-speed railway system from Nanjing to Beijing.

“I thought it was really cool to see the countryside outside of the cities and to go 300 kilometers per hour was pretty cool,” said Arizona’s McKenzie Jacobson. “I’ve never gone that fast before.”

The ride was also an opportunity for the all-star team to get to know each other better.

“The train ride was really awesome,” said Destiny Julye of Washington. “It was nice to hang out and laugh with my teammates. We like to poke fun at each other which is great.”

After arriving in Beijing this afternoon, the team played a practice scrimmage against the U.S. Collegiate National team who also has been playing matches across China.

Pac-12 has for four representatives on the U.S. Collegiate National team, including: Tia Scambray (University of Washington), Courtney Schwan (University of Washington), Audriana Fitzmorris (Stanford University), and Alexa Smith (University of Colorado). Washington head coach Keegan Cook was named the head coach for three U.S. Collegiate National Teams this summer, including the CNT-China Tour.

The Pac-12 All-Star team and the U.S. Collegiate National team will play a round robin tournament with Bayi Army, a Beijing professional team and the Chinese Junior National team starting on Tuesday, June 28.