Dole and Long Chosen to Participate in USA Volleyball WNT Open Program

Canisius freshman Avery Dole and junior Bree Long have been selected to take part in the USA Volleyball Women's National Team Open Program at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Feb. 25-27.

The Open Program is part of the selection process for the U.S. Women's National Team, USA Volleyball's NCAA Elite Athlete List and the 2022 U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team. The pair of Golden Griffins will join other current and recently graduated college-age athletes born in the years 1997-2003 in the three-day tryout period.

Dole and Long are the only two representatives from a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) school in this year's Open Program. Both players played key roles in the Griffs' 2021 season, a season which saw the Blue and Gold win 10 MAAC matches and advance to the conference tournament semifinal round for the fourth consecutive year.

Dole played in 14 matches (37 sets) in her rookie campaign, where she recorded 200 assists, good for 5.41 assists per set. She was credited with 20-or more assists four times, highlighted by her season-high 33-assist effort at Saint Peter's Nov. 14. She also added 12 kills and three service aces to go along with a solo block and three block assists in her first season in Blue and Gold.

As the Griffs' primary libero, Long recorded a team-high 529 digs in 2021, and she will start her senior season in 2022 with 1,360 career digs, which ranks fifth all-time in program history. A native of Temperance, Mich., Long was a two-time MAAC Libero of the Week honoree last fall, and she ended the year with 20-or more digs in 12 different contests. At the 2021 MAAC Volleyball Championship, Long was named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team after she averaged 5.22 digs per set to go with 10 assists and two service aces. She is just the third player in school history to earn MAAC All-Championship Team honors multiple times. Former Golden Griffin Maggie O'Brien was honored three times (1990, 1992, 1993) and Kara Fadel received the award in both 1992 and 1993.

For the most up-to-date information on Canisius volleyball, follow @GriffVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long: L; 5' 5"; Junior

#12 Avery Dole: S; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long
: 5' 5"; Junior
: L

#12 Avery Dole
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: S

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long

#12 Avery Dole

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long

#12 Avery Dole