MALIBU, Calif. ­Â— Julie Rubenstein of the Pepperdine women’s volleyball program has been named to a USA Volleyball senior-level squad that will travel to Egypt in mid-April for a pair of international matches.
According to a USA Volleyball press release, it’s part of an exchange program involving the United States Olympic Committee and the Egyptian National Olympic Committee. The 12-player roster was selected by head coach Hugh McCutcheon and is made up of elite developmental athletes on the verge of being added to the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The U.S. squad will leave for Cairo on April 7 and will play Egypt on April 10 and 12 before returning home on April 14.
“We have been able to select this quality group of athletes which blends youth and experience into one team, and I am very excited to watch how they perform,” McCutcheon said. “For some of these athletes, it will be their first chance to experience international travel and competition within the USA system, and we get to evaluate them in the process. Overall, it will be a great opportunity for us as a staff and program to work with these players in a situation that is not as high-pressured as some other international events.”
Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) had previously played with the USA’s A2 team during summer 2007 and a USA Select team in summer 2006.
Rubenstein finished one of the best careers in Pepperdine history in 2008. She was named to the AVCA All-American third team as a senior, and earned All-West Coast Conference honors in each of her four seasons, including the last three on the first team. She was selected to the AVCA All-Pacific Region first team honors for the first time in 2008. Rubenstein was also voted Pepperdine’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2007-08, is a three-time WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient, a three-time WCC All-Academic selection and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.
She became Pepperdine’s first AVCA All-American selection since 2003.
Rubenstein led the WCC in both kills (4.42) and points (5.14) per set in 2008. She finished her Pepperdine career third all-time with 1,743 kills, third with 2,064 points, fifth with 4.12 kills per set and fifth with 116 service aces. Quite impressively, she never missed a set in her four-year career, playing in all 423.
