2012 Season Review The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team saved the best for last, putting together its best season of the 2009-12 quadrennial in 2012. But would it be good enough to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games and defend the Olympic gold medal it won in 2008?
In the semifinals, the U.S. Men were somewhat surprised to find themselves playing Cuba, which had lost to Canada in pool play and finished second. Cuba defeated Trinidad & Tobago in the quarterfinals and advanced to play the United States in the semis.
The U.S. Men’s Team started the 2012 season under pressure after finishing sixth at the 2011 FIVB World Cup and not qualifying for the London Olympic Games.
After losing a close first set, the U.S. Men won the next three, led by outside hitter Matt Anderson’s 24 points, to win the match and advance to the final against Canada.
The U.S. Men knew their next best chance to qualify would be at the 2012 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament. But they also knew they would have to beat Cuba, the team they had lost to in the final of the 2011 NORCECA Continental Championship, among others in order to qualify.
“I don’t know what happened in the first set. Cuba put some pressure on us, but I am really proud of my team,” Stanley said after the match. “Matt Anderson served his butt off tonight and he played great offense. Russell Holmes did a great job. We passed the ball pretty good. As a team we played an all-around good match.”
The U.S. Men got good news in February when it was announced that Puerto Rico could not host the NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament and it was awarded to the United States. Moreover, it would be held at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif., about a 20-minute drive from the team’s headquarters at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim More good news came when the team’s starting opposite and captain Clay Stanley, the 2008 Olympic Games Most Valuable Player, made it clear that he was almost fully recovered from offseason knee surgery and would be able to play in the tournament. The U.S. Men played two preseason exhibition matches against a split squad of Argentina’s national team in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and won both, 3-1 and 3-2. The NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament began May 7 and the U.S. Men had an easy time in pool play, defeating Trinidad & Tobago (25-9, 25-10, 25-14) , Costa Rica (2514, 25-9, 25-9) and Mexico (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) without dropping a set.
A crowd of 4,700 turned out for the May 12 final, which would determine an Olympic berth. After losing a tough first set, Canada struggled to find its rhythm and the U.S. Men cruised to a 2826, 25-18, 25-20 victory. Stanley led the United States with 15 points as his team used a balanced offense to win. Stanley was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Anderson won best spiker. U.S. middle blocker David Lee was named best blocker. “Now we can prepare for teams qualified for the Olympics and not just teams trying to qualify,” U.S. Men’s Head Coach Alan Knipe said. “And we can prepare our guys. We only had eight practices to prepare for this tournament and team did a great job.” With little time to rest, the team traveled to Italy for the first round of FIVB World League on May 18-20. Because of the 2012 Olympic Games, World League used a different format. For the first time in the tournament’s history, the World League Intercontinental (pool play) Round, still featured 16 teams across four pools, but it was played over four weekends with each country hosting all four teams in their 40