Ava Falduto, Izzy Starck Vying To Represent U.S. At U19 Pan American Cup

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball commits Ava Falduto and Izzy Starck are among 20 players who will compete for 12 U.S. youth national team roster spots for the 2023 NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup May 9-14 in Ciudad de Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico.

Starck and Falduto will train in Anaheim, California, April 30-May 6 before the travel roster is announced. Starck helped the U.S. win gold at last year’s U19 Pan American Cup in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and outside hitter Julia Blyashov are the only returners from that team, which qualified for the 2023 FIVB U19 World Championship in Croatia and Hungary this August.

Falduto and Starck verbally committed to the Nittany Lions within two days of each other last June. They comprise a 2024 recruiting class for Penn State that ranks among the best in the nation despite only featuring two players. Falduto and Starck’s older sister, Anjelina, watched Izzy win gold in Tulsa last July.

“It was really fun, because I got to play with all the best athletes in the country, and then play against the best athletes in the world,” Starck said. “It was just really cool being able to develop with all these different girls.”

Starck is among three setters invited to training camp in Anaheim, including Reese Messer and Taylor Yu. Falduto and Purdue commit Ryan McAleer are the two liberos who will compete for the starting job. Minnesota’s Keegan Cook will serve as the team’s head coach in Puerto Rico, while Illinois’ Krista Hendrickson and UNLV’S Cursty Le Roux are the assistants.

California and Kansas have the most players represented on the 20-player training roster with four apiece, while Texas has three and Illinois has two, including Falduto and outside hitter Abby Vander Wal, both of whom are from Elmhurst and play for 1st Alliance VBC on the club circuit. Falduto led IC Catholic Prep to a runner-up finish in the Illinois 2A state championship last fall.

“I think she’s a spark on the court and really just is super fun to play with,” Starck said of Falduto. “She’s really competitive, which is so fun, because I’m just like that.”

Starck is the only player from Colorado invited to Anaheim, but she told DigNittanyVolleyball in a recent interview following her Under Armour All-American selection that she’s moving to Florida in July and will play her senior season for Viera High School.

Starck was named Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year for 2022-23 after a standout junior season for Rampart High School in Colorado Springs, where she previously won a state championship as a freshman alongside her older sister. Starck was elevated to the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class in the latest Prep Dig rakings update released Tuesday. She and her Colorado Juniors teammates are in the midst of an excellent club season.

“I love playing with her because of the intensity and competitive energy that she brings,” Falduto said of Starck. “She runs the court extremely well and she can do it all. She is such a special and talented player.”

Falduto and Starck are regular USA volleyball NTDP invitees, having participated in seven and five events, respectively, but they will be unable to attend this spring’s stop May 5-7 in Washington, D.C., as they will be busy trying out for the U19 team. This would be Falduto’s first time representing the U.S. on an age-group national team, while Starck made her debut in Tulsa, where she was on the floor for championship point in a sweep of Brazil.

During a wide-ranging interview following Penn State’s 3-1 win over UCF in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Falduto shared what it would mean to her to represent her country on the international stage.

“It’s a dream,” Falduto said. “I have a flag in my room, and I look at it every single day since fourth grade. I want to be on the Olympic team one day. That’s just my No. 1 goal.”