Sports Performance to battle top Japanese team

Defending national Junior Olympics champion Sports Performance 18 Elite will play Kyushu Bunka Gakuen High School of Nagasaki, Japan at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25 at Neuqua Valley High School.

Kyushu Bunka Gakuen has won the Japanese national high school championship 11 times and has reached the national title match 18 times. It has a total of 26 top four finishes in the past 27 years.

The Japanese are widely recognized throughout the world as having the finest volleyball skills at the youth and junior level.

The Sports Performance 18 Elite team is 64-0 and ranked No. 1 in the United States by Prepvolleyball.com. Sports Performance is led by 2007 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and Florida recruit Kelly Murphy of Joliet Catholic.

Other team members are: Megan Barnicle (St. Francis), Julie Chin (Naperville North), Lettys Espinoza (Proviso West), Michelle Kocher (St. Francis), Mollie Kolosky (Wheaton Warrenville South), Katie Post (Streamwood), Colleen Ward (Naperville North), Christine Wu (Naperville North) and Rebecca Zlabis (WW South).

Sports Performance has won a total of 61 Amateur Athletic Union and United States Amateur Volleyball national championships since 1980 including the USAV 18 Open championship a national record eight times.

The match will be played in the main gymnasium at Neuqua Valley High School, 2360 95th Street (just west of Rt. 59) in Naperville. Admission is $3 for adults and students. Children under 12 are free.

For more inforrmation, contact Rick or Cheryl Butler at (630) 898-6400.