July 9, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
Former Lion Emily Day is the latest of a string of Lions to post success at the professional level after graduating from the LMU volleyball program. The native of Torrance, Calif., who finished her final season as a Lion just a year ago, has seen tremendous success in beach volleyball, while also just recently signing a professional contract with Volleyball Franches-Montagne of Switzerland. The Swiss indoor season runs from October through late March.
Prior to signing the contract to play in Switzerland, Day has excelled on the beach circuit, competing amongst the best in the AVP. There, she has played in five events so far on the main tour, finishing as high as 17th while teamed with partner Heather Lowe on three occasions.
Playing on the AVP's developmental tour with teammate Diane Pascua, Day won the AVP's Young Guns beach tournament on May 2 and 3 in Manhattan Beach, Calif. 94 teams entered the AVP's Young Guns event (51 men, 43 women), with A.J. Mihalic and Kevin McColloch capturing the men's side. For the first-place finish, which was Day's first on the AVP tour, she was featured in an issue of DiG Magazine. To view the complete page from DiG Magazine, please click the following link: Day in DiG Magazine
In addition, Day was invited by the AVP to its Elite Camp/Combine, which featured 16 of the top collegiate indoor volleyball players, and served as a "boot camp" for transitioning to the beach game. At the camp, Day won the "Queen of the Beach" and the overall camp tournament, earning a berth for her partner, Devon Sutherland, and herself in the main draw of the Riverside AVP event. Her journey to and through the Riverside event was detailed on the CBS College Sports Network show "AltGames: Go Pro or Go Home".
Prior to the Elite Camp/Combine, Day and her partner Claire D'Amore made up one of 50 beach volleyball teams (27 women, 23 men) that participated in USA Volleyball's first International Development Qualifier (IDQ) on March 15 in Long Beach, Calif. The IDQ was the first of two that USAV held to identify elite beach athletes for entry into select international events - both FIVB and NORCECA - and other USAV high performance beach programs. To qualify, teams competed in a pool play tournament with three teams advancing from each pool into a single elimination playoff. The winners of the March 15 men's tournament were Ty Loomis (Corona del Mar, Calif.) and Casey Patterson (Huntington Beach, Calif.), while Day and D'Amore took the crown on the women's side.
For their efforts, the duo was selected to represent the USA at Barbicon Park in Kingston, Jamaica for the 2009 NORCECA Women's Continental Circuit event at the end of June. There, they took home the Gold Medal over eight other countries. Day and D'Amore relied on their strong blocking and strategic cross-court attacks to defeat Puerto Rico's Yarleen Santiago and Dariam Acevedo in the final match, 21-14, 21-18. The duo, which went undefeated in the tournament, beat Costa Rica's Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro in the semifinals, 21-9, 21-16. Furthering her play for the USA, Day was selected in June by USA volleyball to be part of the A2 (Under-26) Training Team for the SWATCH FIVB World Tour stop in Aland, Finland from August 17-22.
- GO LIONS -
