Notre Dame's Lilly Edwards helps USA Youth team to fourth-place finish in national volleyball tourney

Notre Dame rising sophomore Lilly Edwards participated in the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships last week in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, helping her team to a fourth-place finish in the national tournament.

As a member of the USA Youth Continental White team, Edwards and her teammates won its first five pool play games to qualify for the championship bracket, where it fell in the semifinals and ultimately finished fourth out of 16 teams from across the country in the five-day tournament.

Edwards, a middle blocker, is one of just 23 girls selected to be a part of the 2016 USA Girls' Youth Continental Team Program. The Youth age bracket includes 15- and 16-year-olds.

According to the USA Volleyball website, the High Performance program is designed "to advance volleyball talent and build a broader and stronger pipeline of athletes and coaches for our USA Olympic Teams," bridging the gap from youth programs to USA National Teams.