Penn State women’s volleyball middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord is among 28 players selected to train with the U.S. collegiate national team June 13-18 in Anaheim, California.

Hord will be joined by a handful of fellow Big Ten stars this summer in Wisconsin’s Dana Rettke and Devyn Robinson, Minnesota’s Stephanie Samedy, CC McGraw, and Melani Shaffmaster, and Michigan’s Jess Robinson.

Hord was named a third-team AVCA All-American as a junior this past season after leading the Nittany Lions with a .421 hitting percentage and 79 total blocks in 16 matches. The Lexington, Kentucky, native has earned All-Americans honors three years in a row, including first-team recognition in 2019.

Hord and the rest of Penn State’s talented junior class didn’t lose a season of eligibility this spring due to the NCAA’s pause on individual eligibility clocks during the 2020-21 athletic year.

Hord will again be a major focal point of Penn State’s offense this fall, which recently added Erika Pritchard and Adanna Rollins via transfer from Maryland and Minnesota, respectively.

Hord was unable to participate in a U.S. women’s national team training camp originally scheduled for March 2020 due to COVID-19.

“I was really disappointed,” Hord said earlier this spring. “That was something I was extremely excited for, not only just to play against the Olympic team, but also other collegiate athletes who were invited that I don’t normally see in the Big Ten season. I was really excited to meet them.”

Hord, who has 677 kills and 357 total blocks so far during her Penn State career, will have a chance to play alongside many of college volleyball’s best athletes this June.

As one of Penn State’s veteran leaders, Hord will be relied upon to provide guidance and share her knowledge with the younger players on the roster. Following a 3-1 loss to Texas in the Sweet 16, Hord shared an optimistic outlook for the coming season.

“I’m really excited to see what our future holds and come back better than ever next year,” Hord said.