Colorado Springs, Colo., November 26, 2008 – USA Volleyball announced Tuesday that "Jenny" Ping Lang has decided not to extend her contract as head coach of the U.S. Women's national Volleyball team for the upcoming Olympic quadrennial.

Lang of Beijing, China, cited the desire for a coaching position that offers more flexibility to spend time with her family as a major factor in her decision.

"At this moment in my life, family comes first and I wish more flexibility to spend time with them," Lang said on her decision to leave USA Volleyball. "I prefer a club Volleyball season that lasts five months so that I can spend the other seven months of the year with them.

"I want to thank USA Volleyball for allowing me this opportunity to coach its national team for the past four years," Lang continued. "It was a very challenging job with the many differences in system and culture compared to the Chinese system. Yet, I learned a lot and appreciate this rewarding experience. Although I was somewhat torn with my allegiance to China, it was very satisfying professionally to lead this team to the 2008 Olympic Games silver medal in my home country and also witness China earn the bronze medal."

USAV Chief Executive Officer Doug Beal said, "USA Volleyball is very fortunate to have had "Jenny" leading our program for the past four years, and we respect her decision to devote more of her life to family while remaining in the coaching profession. She really performed magnificently under difficult situations throughout her tenure, none bigger than leading the team to the silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games with the unprecedented distractions in her hometown of Beijing. Jenny was at her best in stabilizing a team shocked at learning of the attack on the Bachman family, whose daughter Elizabeth "Wiz" Bachman McCutcheon was a 2004 Olympic Games teammate to eight of the players, on the first day of competition of the Olympic Games. Not only was her technical coaching superb, but she was able to help manage all the raw emotions of the situation and still led the team to the podium."

Lang was able to guide a group of veteran athletes, eight of which had previous Olympic Games experience, along with four rookie Olympians to their first Olympic Games podium finish after near-misses in 2000 (fourth place) and 2004 (fifth place).

Two-time U.S. Olympian and co-captain Lindsey Berg said, "The national team head coach is one of the most difficult jobs there is with all the scheduling, travelling, managing personalities and coaching so many different players attempting to make the Olympic Games roster as a life-long dream. She did a great job managing all aspects of the team and helping us to reach our full potential at the Olympics with a silver medal. Above all else, she is a very warm-hearted person who cared about us as individuals, not just as players. I wish her the best in her future endeavours."

Three-time U.S. Olympian Heather Bown said, "It was a pleasure to work with Jenny, and the result that she got out of our team is something that many of us have been looking forward to and working hard towards for some time. You never know who it is that can unlock something special in a team, but she managed to find the key to our group of talented young ladies, and I know it was one of the highlights of my career to be on that podium last summer. I thank her for her dedication and patience with us in the journey that could not have been made without her."

During her four-year tenure with the U.S. Women's national team, Lang compiled a 90-49 win-loss record and led Team USA to its first Olympic Games medal since 1992 with the aforementioned silver in Beijing. The Americans finished second in their Olympic Games pool with a 4-1 record including a five-set victory over China in a much-anticipated meeting, then tallied a five-set victory over second-ranked Italy and a sweep of third-ranked Cuba in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively. Team USA lost in four sets to top-ranked Brazil in the gold-medal match, but was the only team to take a set from the Olympic champions. The U.S. silver medal matched the previous best finish from the 1984 Olympic Games, the team's only other Olympic Games in which they reached the gold-medal match.

Lang's incredible popularity among Chinese fans was evident during the 2008 Olympics. Starting with her arrival at Beijing International Airport in which she was led out via an alternate route, she endured media scrutiny at every step of the way. Despite being under the microscope, her adoring fans cheered for her and the success of the United States team.

Lang has Olympic medal experience as both a player and coach while competing in the United States. She claimed a gold medal as a star outside hitter for China at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Lang returned to the United States as the head coach of the 1996 Chinese Olympic Team and led the squad to a silver medal in Atlanta.

According to Beal, USA Volleyball intends to act quickly in finding the new head coach for the program.