2013 mnt norceca media kit by Bonnie Evans

2013 U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team NORCECA Championship Media Kit

USA Volleyball

Table of Contents Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................................................3 Fast Facts....................................................................................................................................................................4-5 2013 U.S. Men’s NORCECA Championship Roster and Pronuciation Guide..........................................................................6 2013 NORCECA Championship Schedule..........................................................................................................................7 2013 U.S. Men’s Schedule and Results.............................................................................................................................7 2013 NORCECA Championship Preview............................................................................................................................8 2013 FIVB World League Statistics....................................................................................................................................9 Match Recaps for 2013 FIVB World League................................................................................................................10-29 Match Recaps for 2013 Pan American Cup................................................................................................................30-34 Team Photo for the 2012 Olympic Team..........................................................................................................................35 2013 U.S. Men’s Rosters..........................................................................................................................................36-37 2012 Results............................................................................................................................................................38-39 2012 Season Review................................................................................................................................................40-42 2012 Players of the Year................................................................................................................................................43 2012 U.S. Men’s Statistics (sponsored by DataProject).....................................................................................................44 Match Recaps for 2012 Olympic Games....................................................................................................................46-57 U.S. Men’s National Team Player Bios........................................................................................................................58-69 U.S. Men’s National Team Staff Bios...........................................................................................................................70-73 All-Time Olympians........................................................................................................................................................74 U.S. Men’s National Team All-Time Results Versus International Competition......................................................................75 International Volleyball Fact Sheet..............................................................................................................................76-78 USA Volleyball Fact Sheet...............................................................................................................................................79 Credits: The 2013 U.S. Men’s National Team World League Media Guide is a copyrighted publication produced by USA Volleyball. Content and Design: B.J. Hoeptner Evans, USA Volleyball Commmunications Manager USA Volleyball, 4065 Sinton Road, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Phone: (719) 228-6800 E-Mail: info@usav.org Web Site: http://usavolleyball.org

U.S. Men's Team Fast Facts 2013 Results (includes all senior level men’s teams) Pan American Cup 8-19: Win v Dominican Republic, 3-2 8-20: Win v Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 8-21: Loss v Mexico, 3-2 8-22: Loss v Puerto Rico, 3-2 (Quarters) 8-23: Win v Dominican Republic, 3-0 (7th place)

Headquarters: The American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif. Address 1500 Anaheim Blvd., Suite. 200, Anaheim, CA 92805 Phone: (714) 917-3535 Fax: (714) 917-3536 Web site: USAVolleyball.org World Ranking: Fifth (tied with Cuba) 2013 Record: 7-8 2012 Record: 25-7 2011 Record: 26-15 2010 Record: 14-7 2009 Record: 16-6 Head Coach: John Speraw Assistant Coach: Matt Fuerbringer Assistant Coach: Mike Wall Technical Coordinator: Anton Willert Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock Media Inquiries: B.J. Hoeptner Evans Phone: (719) 228-6800 E-mail: BJ.Evans@USAV.org USA Volleyball Fast Facts CEO: Doug Beal National Office: 4065 Sinton Road, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80907 (719) 228-6800 International Federation: The FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball — fivb.org) Regional Confederation: NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean — norceca.org) Sponsors: City of Anaheim, American Sports Centers, Mizuno, Molten, Data Project Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States. USAV is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USAV has more than 262,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $18 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and Paralympic Teams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success.

FIVB World League 6-7: Loss v Argentina, 3-1 6-8: Win v Argentina, 3-1 6-14: Win v France, 3-0 6-15: Win v France, 3-2 6-28: Win v Bulgaria, 3-0 6-29: Loss v Bulgaria, 3-1 7-5: Loss v Poland, 3-2 7-7: Loss v Poland, 3-1 7-13: Loss v Brazil, 3-1 7-14: Loss v Brazil, 3-0 2012 Results (includes all senior level men’s teams) Argentina Exhibitions 4-27: Won v Argentina, 3-1 4-29: Won v Argentina, 3-2

USA Volleyball National Teams Center and The City of Anaheim Since 2006, the City of Anaheim, Calif., has been proud to serve as the Official Host City for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, followed by the Women’s Team in 2009. The teams train at the American Sports Centers. Anaheim is the 10th largest city in California, and home to world class sports and entertainment such as Angels Baseball, the Anaheim Ducks, the LEED-certified Anaheim Convention Center, the largest convention center on the west coast, and the Disneyland Resort. For more information about the City’s commitment to USAV, please visit www.anaheim.net/usav.

NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament 5-7: Won v Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 5-8: Won v Costa Rica, 3-0 5-9: Won v Mexico, 3-0 5-11: Won v Cuba, 3-1 (Semifinal) 5-12: Won v Canada, 3-0 (Gold Medal) FIVB World League 5-18: Loss v France, 3-1 5-19: Won v Korea, 3-2 5-20: Loss v Italy, 3-0 6-15: Won v Italy, 3-0 6-16: Won v Korea, 3-1 6-17: Won v France, 3-1 6-22: Won v Italy, 3-1 6-23: Won v France, 3-0 6-24: Won v Korea, 3-0 6-29: Won v Korea, 3-0 6-30: Loss v France, 3-2 7-1: Win v Italy, 3-2 7-5: Loss v Germany, 3-2 (Final round) 7-6: Win v Bularia, 3-0 (Final round) 7-7: Win v Cuba, 3-0 (Semifinal) 7-8: Loss v Poland, 3-0 (Gold medal) Pan American Cup 7-9: Win v Venezuela, 3-0 7-10: Win v Mexico, 3-0 7-11: Win v Brazil, 3-1 7-13: Win v Dominican Republic, 3-2 (Semi) 7-14: Win v Argentina, 3-0 (Gold Medal) Olympic Games 7-29: Win v Serbia, 3-0 7-31: Win v Germany, 3-0 8-2: Win v Brazil, 3-1 8-4: Loss v Russia, 3-2 8-6: Win v Tunisia, 3-0 8-8: Loss v Italy, 3-0 (Quarterfinals)

U.S. Men's Team Fast Facts Current Men’s FIVB World Rankings

1 Brazil 345 2 Russia 330 3 Italy 286 4 Poland 195 5 USA 179 5 Cuba 179 7 Serbia 177 8 Argentina 171 9 Bulgaria 165 10 Germany 112 11 Canada 75 12 Australia 68 12 Iran 68 14 Egypt 63 15 Tunisia 62 16 China 53 16 Cameroon 53 18 France 50 19 Japan 47 20 Venezuela 45 20 Puerto Rico 45 22 Czech Republic 41 23 Mexico 40 23 Republic of Korea 40 25 Spain 32 26 Algeria 30 26 Slovakia 30 28 Colombia 29 29 Great Britain 26 30 India 25 31 Finland 24 32 Chile 22 34 Trinidad & Tobago 19 34 Morocco 19 34 Paraguay 19 37 Slovenia 17 37 Portugal 17 39 Estonia 16 39 Romania 16 41 Pakistan 15 41 Dominican Republic 15 41 South Africa 15 41 Belgium 15 41 Panama 15 46 Costa Rica 14 46 Republic of the Congo 14 48 Botswana 13 48 Turkey 13 48 Thailand 13 48 Kazakhstan 13

Story Ideas for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team 1. Many Hats: New U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach John Speraw is doing double duty as the head coach of both the UCLA men’s volleyball team and the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team. The fact that both these programs wanted him is a testament to his success as a coach. Speraw won three NCAA DI-II Men’s National Collegiate Volleyball Championships with UC Irvine when he served as its coach for 10 seasons until 2012, when he took the UCLA position. He was an assistant coach under Hugh McCutcheon with the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and under Alan Knipe at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 2. Off the Beach: Matt Fuerbringer had been planning to play professional beach volleyball overseas in 2013 until John Speraw asked him to be the assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team. Fuerbringer and partner Nick Lucena were the highest ranked beach volleyball team not to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games (the U.S. could only send two teams). After taking the job with the U.S. Men’s indoor team, Fuerbringer briefly returned to the beach to compete at the 2013 Manhattan Beach Open, where he and partner Casey Jennings each won their first title. 5. The Veteran: Outside hitter Reid Priddy is the most seasoned veteran on the U.S. NORCECA roster. He has competed in the last three Olympic Games, including the 2008 gold medal-winning team. He has competed under four national team coaches in that time: Doug Beal, Hugh McCutcheon, Alan Knipe and now John Speraw. His personal life has also changed. When he started he was single. Now he is married with a young son. 6. The Rookie: Setter Micah Christenson, going into his junior season at USC, thought he would be playing for the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team this summer. Instead, John Speraw called on him to join the Men’s National Team and he will be making his competitive debut in Vancouver. 7. Redemption: The United States has finished second at the last two NORCECA Championships behind Cuba. Can first-year Head Coach John Speraw and his stable of veterans and newcomers return to the victory stand?

What is NORCECA? NORCECA is an acronym combining the beginnings of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, which is the zone in which UA Volleyball teams compete. The other zones recogized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) are Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. Every other year, NORCECA men’s and women’s volleyball teams compete at the NORCECA Continental Championship, which is a qualifier for the FIVB Grand Champions Cup (a competition between each of the five zone champions). It also contributes points toward a country’s NORCECA ranking, which becomes more and more important as the time for Olympic qualifying draws closer.

2013 U.S. NORCECA Championship Roster No. Name Pos. Age Ht. Wt. Hometown College 1 Matt Anderson OH 26 6-10 220 West Seneca, N.Y. Penn State 2 Sean Rooney (C) OH 30 6-9 220 Wheaton, Ill. Pepperdine 3 Kyle Caldwell S 23 6-8 225 Newport Beach, Calif. UCLA 4 David Lee MB 31 6-8 231 Alpine, Calif. Long Beach State 8 Reid Priddy OH 35 6-5 194 Richmond, Va. Loyola Marymount 9 Murphy Troy Opp 24 6-5 235 St. Louis, Mo. USC 11 Micah Christenson S 20 6-6 194 Honolulu, Hawaii USC 14 Jeff Menzel OH 24 6-6 210 Santa Barbara, Calif. UC Santa Barbara 15 Carson Clark Opp 24 6-6 205 Santa Barbara, Calif. UC Irvine 17 Max Holt MB 25 6-9 198 Cincinnati, Ohio Penn State 21 Futi Tavana MB 26 6-8 243 Kalaheo, Hawaii BYU 22 Erik Shoji L 24 6-0 180 Honolulu, Hawaii Stanford Average age: 26.6 Oldest: Reid Priddy (35) Youngest: Micah Christenson (20) Average Height: 6-8 Head Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Mike Wall (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Consultant Coach: Andrea Becker (Martinez, Calif.) Consultant Coach: Charlie Sullivan (Springfield, Mass.) Physiotherapist/Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) Technical Coordinator: Anton Willert (Berlin, Germany) Team Doctor: Chris Lee (Boston, Mass.) Team Journalist: B.J. Hoeptner Evans (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Pronunciation Guide

14 Jeff Menzel............................................................................................................................................ men-ZEL 21 Futi Tavana............................................................................................................................................ ta-va-NA 22 Erik Shoji............................................................................................................................................. SHOW-jee Coach John Speraw.....................................................................................................................................spur-AW

2013 NORCECA Championship Schedule NORCECA Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Continental Championships Schedule All times PT Sept. 23 4 p.m.: United States vs. St. Lucia (Group A) 6 p.m.: Cuba vs. Bahamas (Group B) 8 p.m.: Canada vs. Guatemala (Group C)

Sept. 26 9th-Place Final, 4 p.m. Quarterfinals, 6 p.m. Quarterfinals, 8 p.m. Sept. 27 7th/8th-Place Final, 4 p.m. Semifinals, 6 p.m. Semifinals, 8 p.m.

Sept. 24 4 p.m.: Mexico vs. Guatemala (Group C) 6 p.m.: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico (Group B) 8 p.m.: United States vs. Dominican Republic (Group A)

Sept. 28 Fifth-Place Match, 4 p.m. Bronze-Medal Match, 6 p.m. Championship Finals, 8 p.m.

Sept. 25 4 p.m.: Puerto Rico vs. Bahamas (Group B) 6 p.m.: Dominican Republic vs. St. Lucia (Group A) 8 p.m.: Canada vs. Mexico (Group C)

2013 U.S. Men's Schedule and Results FIVB World League Date Opponent (Record) Result City Points Leader Attendance 6/7 Argentina (0-1) L (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 26-24) Wichita, Kan. Ciarelli 11 3,800 6/8 Argentina (1-1) W (22-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-16) Wichita, Kan. Anderson 18 3,300 6/14 France (2-1) W (25-15, 29-27, 25-16) Tulsa, Okla. Anderson 22 2,781 6/15 France (3-1) W (22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 30-28, 15-9) Tulsa, Okla. Anderson/Lotman 21 3,205 6/28 Bulgaria (4-1) W (25-19, 25-22, 25-21) Reno, Nev. Anderson 13 3,500 6/29 Bulgaria (4-2) L (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21) Reno, Nev. Anderson 16 4,125 7/5 Poland (4-3) L (25-22, 19-25, 13-25, 30-28, 18-16) Katowice, Poland Clark 27 11,000 7/7 Poland (4-4) L (25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23) Wroclaw, Poland Anderson 21 6,000 7/13 Brazil (4-5) L (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 28-26) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Anderson 14 11,600 7/14 Brazil (4-6) L (25-21, 26-24, 25-23) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Clark 17 11,988 Final Results: 1. Russia, 2. Brazil, 3. Italy, 4. Bulgaria, 5. Canada, 6. Argentina, 7. Germany, 8. Serbia, 9. Iran, 10. France, 11. Poland, 12. USA, 13. Cuba, 14. Netherlands, 15. Korea, 16. Finland, 17. Portugal, 18. Japan Pan American Cup Aug. 19-24 in Mexico City, Mexico Date Opponent (Record) Result Points Leader Attendance 8/19 Dominican Republic (5-6) W (26-24, 25-14, 22-25, 21-25, 15-7) Sander 19 1,200 8/20 Trinidad & Tobago (6-6) W (25-14, 25-10, 25-20) Lavaja 10 500 8/21 Mexico (6-7) L (21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 17-15) Sander 22 3,000 8/22 Puerto Rico (6-8) L (16-25, 25-16, 26-28, 27-25, 18-16) Sander 20 1,200 8/23 Dominican Republic (7-8) W (25-20, 25-19, 25-14) Sander 17 1,000 Final Results: 1. Brazil, 2. Mexico, 3. Argentina, 4. Puerto Rico, 5. USA, 6. Dominican Republic, 7. Trinidad & Tobago NORCECA Continental Championship Sept. 21-29 in Langley, Canada Grand Champions Cup (must qualify) Nov. 19-24 in Japan

2013 NORCECA Championship Preview Two returning veterans and three newcomers highlight the U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the 2013 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship on Sept. 23-28 in Langley, B.C., Canada.

“We were successful in that we were doing better than we expected,” he said. “But then we were disappointed when we came so close (to victory) in Poland, but we didn’t win. Then in Brazil, we just didn’t play well. I think those environments are really challenging for players that have never been in them.”

The biennial NORCECA (North America, Central America and Caribbean) Championship will qualify the victor for the FIVB The U.S. finished 12th at World League with a 4-6 record and Grand Champions Cup on Nov. 19-24 in Japan. goes into the NORCECA Championship tied with Cuba for the No. 5 ranking in the world. Playing with the team for the first time since the 2012 Olympic Games in London will be outside hitters Reid Priddy (Richmond, Speraw is going into NORCECA with a hopeful but practical Va.) and Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.), both of whom won gold attitude. medals at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. “I hope to see us win and qualify for the Grand Champions Competing with the National Team for the first time in their Cup,” he said. “Aside from that, I’d like to see us improve in a careers will be setter Micah Christenson (Honolulu), outside hit- number of areas that weren’t particularly strong during World ter Jeff Menzel (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and middle blocker Futi League. This group has improved in those areas; but we’ve Tavana (Kalaheo, Hawaii). lacked competitive opportunities this summer. I want to get out there and compete and learn.” “I want to continue to look at other people,” U.S. Men’s Head Coach John Speraw (Los Angeles) said. “The general philoso- Following World League, the U.S. Men are ranked No. 5 in the phy of this summer is that I want to look at a broad number of world, and tied with Cuba, which finished 13th at World League players and see where everyone fits.” and has won the last two NORCECA Championships. Canada had a good World League, winning its pool and upsetting RusThe other seven players on the roster all had significant playing sia in the Final Round before finishing fifth. Canada’s world time for the U.S. Men at the 2013 FIVB World League: out- ranking improved to No. 11. side hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.; 2012 Olympian), middle blockers David Lee (Alpine, Calif.; 2008 gold medalist Bahamas, Cuba and Puerto Rico are in Pool B. Pool C is comand 2012 Olympian) and Max Holt (Cincinnati), opposites Car- posed of Canada, Guatemala and Mexico. son Clark (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Murphy Troy (St. Louis, Mo.), setter Kyle Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif.) and libero In Pool A, the U.S. Men will open with matches against St. LuErik Shoji (Honolulu). cia (ranked No. 53 in the world) at 4 p.m. PT on Sept. 23 and Dominican Republic (ranked 41 in When he was announced as the the world) at 8 p.m. PT on Sept. 24. U.S. Men’s head coach in March, Speraw said his first season would The U.S. Men last won the NORCEbe devoted to assembling the best CA Championship in 2007. They team and developing a new culture finished second to Cuba in 2009 and would not focus on wins and and ’11. Overall, the United States losses. has won the Men’s NORCECA Championship seven times since Yet it was hard for him not to be exit was first held in 1969. Cuba, the cited when the team won four 2013 only other team to have won, has World League matches in a row. 15 titles. Jeff Menzel hits against the block of Futi Tavana and Micah Christenson.

2013 U.S. World League Statistics Name

Sets

Kills

Kills/ set

Kill pct

Hit errors

Attempts

Efficiency

Aces

Aces/ set

Blocks

Blocks/ set

Digs

Digs/ set

Points

Points/ set

Matt Anderson

127

3.25

44.6

285

0.382

0.23

0.38

1.18

151

3.87

Tony Ciarelli

2.15

37.3

0.267

0.15

0.08

1.46

2.38

Carson Clark

104

3.36

45.6

228

0.360

0.55

0.10

1.42

124

Kyle Caldwell

0.74

66.7

0.619

0.05

0.53

1.42

1.32

Russell Holmes

0.67

50.0

0.250

0.33

1.33

Max Holt

1.71

64.0

0.18

0.96

0.39

2.86

David Lee

1.37

57.8

0.500

0.04

0.74

0.59

2.15

Paul Lotman

2.41

41.7

156

0.295

0.15

0.30

1.37

2.85

Garrett Muagututia

25.0

Kawika Shoji

0.52

70.6

0.706

0.22

1.13

0.44

David Smith

1.33

55.2

0.500

0.21

0.58

2.13

Brian Thornton

0.25

100

1.000

0.75

0.25

Murphy Troy

2.31

37.0

0.235

0.08

0.15

0.77

2.54

Erik Shoji

118

3.03

504

12.92

46.8

1077

0.378

1.33

107

2.74

373

9.56

663

467

11.97

43.5

108

1074

0.334

1.07

1.97

421

10.79

586

15.02

Opponents

2013 FIVB World League Setting Statistics Name

Sets Running Faults Played Sets

Total Attempts

Running Sets Per Set

Kawika Shoji Kyle Caldwell Brian Thornton

23 151 4 19 103 6 4 22 0

449 375 74

6.57 5.42 5.5

1 2 3 4 USA 18 21 25 24 ARG 25 25 22 26

U.S. Loses Opening World League Match to Argentina WICHITA, Kan. (June 7, 2013) – Argentina used tough serving and defense to defeat the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, 25-18, 25-21, 2225, 26-24 in the first match of the 2013 FIVB World League for both teams on Friday at Charles Koch Arena. The FIVB World League is the premier annual international men’s volleyball tournament. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT to conclude their first Pool A weekend series. The U.S. is ranked fifth in the world by the FIVB, while Argentina is ranked ninth. Argentina led the U.S. Men in kills (52-43) while the United States held the edge in blocks (13-11) and aces (6-5). However the U.S. Men were hurt by committing 30 team errors while Argentina had 26. The United States was led by Tony Ciarelli’s 11 points on nine kills, one block and one ace. Murphy Troy added nine points on nine attacks in two sets of play, while Paul Lotman tallied nine points on five kills and four blocks in Erik Shoji receives the ball (FIVB photo) starting the final two sets. David Lee contributed nine points on five kills and four blocks. Argentina was led by Pablo Bengolea who scored 16 points on 15 attacks and one ace. Sebastian Solé chipped in 12 points on eight kills and four blocks. Argentina libero Alexis González was named the most valuable player of the match. “Our passing wasn’t very good,” U.S. Captain Matt Anderson said. “That, in turn, makes our offense a little more difficult. It puts pressure on the setter to put up hittable balls for us… And they were consistent in their serves, which constantly put pressure on us to make a good pass.” The United States was credited with 16 digs, but also 16 digging errors. John Speraw speaks with the team. (FIVB photo) Argentina had 15 digs and 12 errors. “Early in the match we didn’t pass or set very well,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) said. “I think that caused us a lot of problems, especially when we did have opportunities in transition. “When I made some substitutions, I think things got better. Paul Lotman did a nice job passing. I think our passing improved.” Among other U.S. scorers, Anderson started the first two sets and scored seven points on five kills, one block and one ace. Carson Clark, who started the third and fourth sets at opposite, added seven points on six attacks and one ace. David Smith totaled six points on three kills, one block and two aces. Setter Kawika Shoji, who started the third and fourth sets after substituting in Team USA warms up in Wichita. (FIVB photo) the second, scored four points on one kill, two blocks and one ace.

From left, Murphy Troy, David Lee and Tony Ciarelli block against Argentina. FIVB photo

1 2 3 4 USA 22 27 25 25 ARG 25 25 19 16

U.S. Comes Back to Beat Argentina WICHITA, Kan. (June 8, 2013) – John Speraw got his first victory as head

coach of the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team as the United States defeated Argentina, 22-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-16 in an FIVB World League match on Saturday at Charles Koch Arena. The two teams will each move on in World League Pool A with 1-1 records. The U.S. Men will play again on June 14-15 against France in Tulsa, Okla. Matt Anderson receives the ball in front of Erk Shoji. (FIVB photo) Argentina will host Brazil on June 14 and 16. After losing to Argentina on Friday, the U.S. Men had to rally on Saturday from a first-set loss and a 15-11 deficit in the second set. Serving, which contributed to the U.S. loss on Friday, proved to be an important factor in Saturday’s victory, as Team USA led in aces 10-1. “Today, when we were down really big in that second set and were able to come back, I think that was really important for us,” Speraw said. “Obviously the serve-and-pass game made the difference.” The United States’ Matt Anderson, who was named the player of the match, led all scorers with 18 points on a match-high 14 kills, two blocks and two aces. “Obviously our serving was a lot better tonight, which put pressure on them as opposed to them putting pressure on us last night,” Anderson said. Murphy Troy (9) and David Smith (20) block against Argentina (FIVB photo) “I think we passed overall pretty well so we were able to run our offense.” David Lee added 11 points on six attacks and a match-high five blocks. Paul Lotman, who substituted in the second set and started the next three, totaled 11 points on 10 kills and one block. Ivan Castallani paced Argentina with 17 points on 13 kills and four blocks. Pablo Bengolea added 13 points on 12 attacks and one block. Argentina led in kills, 51-49, but the U.S. led in blocks 12-8. Among other U.S. scorers, David Smith finished with 10 points on five attacks, four blocks and one ace. Murphy Troy, who started the first and second sets at opposite, compiled seven points on six kills and one ace. Kawika Shoji, who substituted at setter in the first set and started the next three, scored four points on two kills and two aces. Brian Thornton, who started at setter, totaled two points on two attacks. Garrett Muagututia, who started at outside hitter, scored one point with an ace. Libero Erik Shoji led the team in digs with six and was credited with 10 excellent receptions. Anderson led the team in excellent receptions with 22.

Paul Lotman shows his emotions. (FIVB photo)

Libero Erik Shoji celebrates a great play. FIVB photo 13

1 2 3 USA 25 29 25 FRA 15 27 16

U.S. Men Hold Off France TULSA, Okla. (June 14, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team played strong at the net and held off a second-set rally by France as it defeated the European team, 25-15, 29-27, 25-16 on Friday in an FIVB World League match at the Tulsa Convention Center Arena. The United States improved its record to 2-1 in Pool A while France fell to 0-3. The teams will play again at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Tulsa Convention Center Arena. (Buy Tickets) The U.S. led in kills (45-29), in blocks (10-3) and in aces 3-2. Setter Kawika Shoji helped the U.S. to a 54.1 kill percent and a .435 hitting efficiency while France’s kill percent was 30.2 and its hitting efficiency was .115. The U.S. Men scored 24 points on France’s errors while they committed 20.

Carson Clark attacks against France. (FIVB photo)

“In the beginning, our serving was a little rough; we had a lot of errors,” U.S. Team Captain Matt Anderson said. “But when we put the ball in we put pressure on them. Our block was huge tonight. I don’t remember very many balls that got past us without being touched.” Anderson, who was named Player of the Match for the second straight World League match, led all scorers with 22 points on a match-high 17 kills (65.4 kill percent, .615 hitting efficiency), three blocks and two aces. Carson Clark contributed 14 points on 14 kills and Max Holt, who was making his 2013 World League debut, scored 13 points on seven kills and a match-high six blocks. Marien Moreau and Kevin Le Roux each scored eight points for France. The U.S. held Earvin Ngapeth, France’s leading scorer going into the match, to five points. Matt Fuerbringer, in his first season as assistant coach for the U.S. Men, made his debut as head coach on Friday for John Speraw, who plans to return to the team on Saturday after dealing with a personal matter. “It was an honor to be the head coach and the get a win was great,” Fuerbringer said. “I’m already thinking about tomorrow and what we need to do to keep the guys ready. I think we’re going to be in for a dog fight tomorrow, so we’re going to have to make some adjustments and do better in the areas where we didn’t do so well.” In the second set, the U.S. led 18-14 when France scored on a U.S. serving error and two straight aces by Le Roux. Anderson scored with a kill from the back row and the U.S. reached set point first at 24-22. France tied the score on kills by Moreau and Ngapeth and a U.S. violation gave France set point, but Clark tied it with an attack. Team USA reached set point two more times before tying the score at 27-27 on France’s service error, then scoring on a kill by Clark and a tip from Anderson. Max Holt attacks off the set from Kawika Shoji (7). (FIVB photo)

Matt Anderson attacks against France. FIVB photo 15

1 2 3 4 5 USA 22 25 24 30 15 FRA 25 22 26 28 9

U.S. Men Return to World League with Win TULSA, Okla. (June 15, 2013) – Needing two more sets than it did on Friday, the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team nevertheless took its third victory of the 2013 FIVB World League, beating France, 22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 30-28, 15-9 on Saturday at the Tulsa Convention Center Arena. The United States improved its record in Pool A to 3-1. France departs the John Speraw talks with the team. (FIVB photo) United States still looking for its first World League victory at 0-4. The U.S. Men will return to World League action on June 28-29 against Bulgaria in Reno, Nev. (Buy tickets). A feisty French team played a much tougher match on Saturday than it did on Friday when the U.S. Men won 3-0. The U.S. led in kills (81-59) and in aces (5-3) and the teams were tied in blocks (10-10). France scored 38 points on U.S. team errors while being charged with only 20. “I give a lot of credit to the French team,” U.S. outside hitter Paul Lotman said. “They came ready to fight and they were a completely different team than last night and we expected that.” Lotman, who was named Player of the Match, and teammate Matt Anderson each scored 21 points for the United States. Lotman, who came in as a substitute in the second set, finished with 18 kills (66.7 kill percent, .518 hitting efficiency), two aces and one block. His most The U.S. team celebrates a great play. (FIVB photo) important play came in the fourth set with the U.S. down 2-1 in sets and 2219 in points. After a U.S. timeout, Lotman scored with a kill and two straight aces to tie the score. The U.S. went on to reach set point first at 24-23 and eventually won the set at 30-28. “I wasn’t going for aces, I was just trying to hit a good serve and give us a chance to score some points,” Lotman said. “I’m just happy we were able to pull out the fourth and fifth sets. I couldn’t be prouder of our team.” Anderson totaled 18 kills and three blocks. “I think the win was a nice team effort,” said U.S. Head Coach John Speraw, who returned to the bench after taking Friday off for personal reasons. “We’ve had nice team efforts throughout World League with good contributions from off the bench and we saw that again tonight.” Middle blocker David Smith (Saugus, Calif.) added 18 points on 14 kills (66.7 kill percent, .619 hitting efficiency), three blocks and one ace. France was paced by Earvin Ngapeth, who led all scorers with 23 points on 18 attacks, three blocks and two aces.

A U.S. fan shows his true colors. (FIVB photo)

David Smith jumps high for the attack. FIVB photo

John Speraw thinks the ball is out (FIVB photo) 17

1 2 3 USA 25 25 25 BUL 19 22 21

U.S. Men Hand Bulgaria First Loss RENO, Nev. (June 28, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team handed Bulgaria its first loss of the 2013 FIVB World League as it defeated the European side, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 on Friday at the Reno Events Center. The teams now have twin records of 4-1 in Pool A. The U.S. blocking, which led Bulgaria 15-4, proved to be a key difference in the match. The teams were tied in spikes (38-38) and Bulgaria led in aces (3-2). Middle blocker Max Holt led the U.S. in stuff blocks with five while setter Kyle Caldwell added four. “I don’t think either team played up to their full capabilities,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “But we were able to execute in some areas of the game Kyle Caldwell sets as Max Holt approaches the net. (FIVB photo) that allowed us to win tonight.” Outside hitter Matt Anderson, who was named Player of the Match, led the United States in scoring with 15 points on 13 kills (72.2 kill percent, .611 hitting efficiency) and two blocks. Opposite Carson Clark added 11 points on nine spikes (64.3 kill percent, .500 hitting efficiency) and two aces. Bulgaria’s Tsvetan Sokolov led all scorers with 19 points on 18 attacks and one ace. “We knew coming into these matches that Bulgaria was going to put up a good fight,” Anderson said. “They served really strong and put a lot of pressure on us. We expect them to come back tomorrow and play even stronger. Therefore we need to pick up our game.” Bulgarian coach Camillo Placi agreed that Bulgaria would come back stronger on Saturday.

U.S. fans turn out in Reno. (FIVB photo)

“I believe that our team tomorrow will play our game,” Placi said. “We will have another day to recover from jet lag. I believe that tomorrow our level will be higher.” Among other U.S. scorers, outside hitter Paul Lotman totaled nine points on seven kills and two blocks. Holt finished with eight points with three kills to go with his five blocks. Caldwell finished with seven points on three kills and four blocks. Middle blocker David Smith added four points on two kills, two blocks. Middle blocker David Lee, who played as a substitute in the third set, scored one point with an attack. Libero Erik Shoji was credited with six digs and 11 excellent receptions. Clark was also credited with six dig and Lotman had eight excellent receptions. Caldwell was credited with 11 running sets and one fault and set the team to 57.6 kill percent and .470 hitting efficiency. Max Holt looks to tip the ball off a set from Kyle Caldwell. (FIVB photo)

Matt Anderson leaps for the kill. (FIVB photo)

1 2 3 4 USA 20 25 23 21 BUL 25 18 25 25

Bulgaria Strikes Back in Reno RENO, Nev. (June 29, 2013) – Bulgaria came back from Friday’s three-set loss to defeat the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21 on Saturday in an FIVB World League match before a large and loud crowd at the Reno Events Center. The victory improves Bulgaria’s record in World League pool play to 5-1 and puts it in first place in Pool A just ahead of Brazil, which lost to France on Saturday. The U.S. falls to 4-2 and sits in third place heading into its final two World League pool play weekends on the road in Poland (July 5 and 7) and Brazil (July 13-14). Bulgaria responded to its loss on Friday with an improved game plan that pitted its opposite Tsvetan Sokolov against U.S. outside hitter and its leading scorer Matt Anderson. Sokolov finished as the Player of the Match and led all scorers with 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and one ace. Anderson led the United States with 16 points on 13 attacks, two blocks and one ace. Carson Clark goes after Bulgaria’s blockers. (FIVB photo) “When you beat a team 3-0, you understand that they’re going to come back with more fire and energy,” Anderson said. “I think they put together a good game plan against us and they executed it very well.” The United States led the match in attacks (46-43). But Bulgaria led in blocks (11-9). The teams tied in aces (6-6). Bulgaria scored 33 points on U.S. errors while committing only 28. “If you look at the statistics you will see that they are pretty similar for both teams,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “I think the biggest difference in the match is that they passed the ball well and they got themselves out of trouble at a higher rate.” Among other U.S. scorers, opposite Carson Clark contributed 12 points on nine spikes, one block and two aces. Middle blocker David Lee totaled 11 points on eight kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Paul Lotman scored 10 points on nine kills and one ace. Setter Kyle Caldwell added six points on three attacks, two blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Max Holt totaled six points on four kills and two blocks. Caldwell was credited with 25 running sets on 92 attempts and set the U.S. to a 42.2 kill percent and a .239 hitting efficiency. Bulgaria had a 43.0 kill percent and a .250 hitting efficiency. U.S. libero Erik Shoji was credited with nine digs and eight excellent receptions. Lotman led the U.S. in digs with 11 while Clark had nine. Lotman also led in excellent receptions with 17 while Anderson had 16. Carson Clark (15) low-fives Erik Shoji during introductions. (FIVB photo)

Paul Lotman receives the ball. (FIVB photo) 21

1 2 3 4 5 USA 22 25 25 28 16 POL 25 19 13 30 18

U.S. Men Miss Chances to Win KATOWICE, Poland (July 5, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team couldn’t convert on its chances to win as it fell to Poland 25-22, 19-25, 13-25, 30-28, 18-16 on Friday before a deafening crowd of 11,000 in an FIVB World League match at Spodek Arena. The United States’ World League record fell to 4-3 while Poland improved to 3-4. The teams will play again on Sunday in Wroclaw, Poland. After losing the first set on Friday, the U.S. Men came back to win the next two, including a 25-13 victory in the third. The U.S. reached match point three times in the fourth set and once in the fifth, but could not convert the opportunities. The U.S. had 26 service errors in the match, several of which came at critical times at the end of sets. John Speraw watches the action. (FIVB photo) “The things that lost the match for us are in our control,” U.S. Team Captain Matt Anderson said. “I think when we play Poland next, we will be ready to go.” The U.S. led in attacks (61-53) and in blocks (17-11). Poland led in aces (7-6) and scored 34 points on U.S. errors while committing 32. “In general, I was pretty happy with the way the team maintained their poise,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “There were certainly times when I tried to remind them to keep their heads up and move on to the next point.” U.S. opposite Carson Clarkj led all scorers with 24 points on a match-high 21 kills and three aces. Anderson at outside hitter added 17 on 12 spikes, four blocks and one ace. Libero Erik Shoji provided critical support for the U.S. Men, finishing with 30 digs on 33 attempts with one fault. Shoji was also credited with eight excellent Kyle Caldwell stretches for the dig. (FIVB photo) receptions. Middle blocker Max Holt totaled 14 points on 10 attacks and four blocks. Tony Ciarelli, who substituted at outside hitter in the second set and started the rest of the match, scored 13 points on 10 attacks, two blocks and one ace. Middle blocker David Lee finished with eight points on six attacks and two blocks. Setter Kyle Caldwell added six points on one kill and a team-high five blocks. Caldwell was credited with 35 running sets and helped the team to a 45.9 kill percent and a .323 hitting efficiency. Outside hitter Paul Lotman started the first two sets and scored one point with an attack while setter Kawika Shoji played as a serving substitute in the fifth set and scored on an ace. Speraw started Anderson and Lotman at outside hitter, Holt and Lee at middle blocker, Clark at opposite, Caldwell at setter and Erik Shoji at libero. Max Holt, left, and Matt Anderson block against Bulgaria. (FIVB photo)

The U.S. Men celebrate against Poland. (FIVB photo)

1 2 3 4 USA 23 25 21 23 POL 25 17 25 25

U.S. Lose Second Match to Poland WROCLAW, Poland (July 7, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team

saw its hopes for making the FIVB World League Final Round take a hit as it lost a second straight match to Poland on Sunday, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 25-23 John Speraw talks with setter Kyle Caldwell. (FIVB photo) before a full house of 6,000 at Centennial Hall in Wroclaw. The U.S. World League pool play record falls to 4-4 with 12 points. Poland improves to 4-4 and moves into third place with 13 points. Brazil sits in first place in Pool A with a 7-1 record and 19 points. Bulgaria is in second at 5-3 with 14 points. The U.S. Men will travel to Brazil on Tuesday for their final two pool play matches on July 13-14. Poland will travel to Bulgaria for its final weekend. For the U.S. to move into the top two teams in Pool A and qualify for the Final Round in Argentina, it needs to defeat Brazil twice and it needs Bulgaria and Poland to split their two matches. “At this point with this team, we’re close but we’re not skilled enough,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) said. “Tonight, we did not serve the way we needed to serve and didn’t pass the way we needed to pass. We have some nice elements, but we have yet to put it all together.” The U.S. was hurt by team errors on Sunday as it committed 31 compared to Poland’s 22. Nineteen of the errors came on serves. The U.S. led in attacks (57-50) and aces (7-5). The teams were tied in blocks (6-6). Poland reached match point in the fourth set at 24-19, but then Piotr Nowakowski served into the net. U.S. outside hitter Matt Anderson came back Max Holt puts up the big block. (FIVB photo) with three straight kills to pull the U.S. to within one at 24-23. But Poland’s Jakub Jarosz gave Poland the victory with a spike. “We struggled with concentration and focus throughout the entire match,” Anderson said. “If we could take those last six or seven points and play that way the entire match then the outcome could be a little bit different.” Anderson led the U.S. with 22 points on a match-high 20 kills (55.6 kill percent, .500 hitting efficiency) and two blocks. Opposite Carson Clark added 14 points on 13 attacks and one ace. Middle blocker Max Holt contributed 11 points on six attacks, one block and a match-high four aces. Middle blocker David Smith totaled 10 points on seven attacks, two blocks and one ace. Libero Erik Shoji, who leads all World League players in digs, finished with 19 and was also credited with five excellent receptions. Jakum Jarosz led Poland with 17 points on 15 attacks and two aces. Among other U.S. scorers, outside hitter Tony Ciarelli scored five points on five attacks. Max Holt blocks against Poland. (FIVB photo)

Carson Clark makes the dig. (FIVB photo)

1 2 3 4 USA 22 18 25 26 BRA 25 25 20 28

U.S. Comeback Comes Up Short RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 13, 2013) – Despite a valiant comeback effort, the U.S. Men’s Volleyball fell to Brazil on Saturday, 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 28-26 in an FIVB World League match at the Maracanazinho arena.

The U.S. Men huddle up on the court. (FIVB photo)

The loss means the U.S. Men have been mathematically eliminated from the FIVB World League Final Round and have a record of 4-5. Brazil, which will win Pool A, improves to 8-1. The U.S. will play its final 2013 World League match on Sunday. Brazil led the U.S. in kills (59-48), in aces (5-3) and in digs (68-52). The U.S. led in blocks, 13-8. A sellout crowd of 11,600 cheered on the South American side. “I think that overall, the match was pretty close, numbers-wise,” U.S. Team Captain Matt Anderson said. “But the energy for most of the match was on the Brazilian side. They had a lot of momentum going into most of the sets.” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw added: “I was disappointed that we couldn’t finish off that fourth set. Overall, I think it was about our ability to pass the ball and set the ball in the first couple sets that really hurt us, particularly in Rotation 1 in the first set.” After dropping the first two sets, the U.S. Men came back to win the third. In the fourth set, the U.S. fought off Brazil’s match point at 24-23 with a quick kill from David Lee. Paul Lotman’s ace gave it set point at 25-24, but his next serve went into the net. The U.S. reached set point again at 26-25 on Brazil’s service error, but two straight attacks by Wallace de Souza gave Brazil its second match point and Lucas Saatkamp ended it with a kill.

Tony Ciarelli, right, plays hard at the net. (FIVB photo)

When asked what would motivate the U.S. team in Sunday’s match, Anderson said, “When we play for the USA, we play with a lot of pride. So tomorrow, that’s our main motivation; and for us to show that we can beat one of the best teams.” Speraw praised the performance of the players he brought off the bench. “I was happy with the contributions of Kawika Shoji and Murphy Troy coming off the bench,” Speraw said. “I thought we played a little better. I was hopeful that we could push it to five, but Brazil played great. They are a better volleyball team than us.” Shoji substituted for Kyle Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the second set and started the second and third sets. He was credited with 17 running sets and one fault on 70 attempts. The U.S. finished with a 36.6 kill percent and a .237 hitting efficiency. Brazil had a 43.1 kill percent and a .263 hitting efficiency.

From left, Tony Ciarelli, David Lee and Carson Clark put up a triple bock. (FIVB photo)

Carson Clark unleashes his serve. (FIVB photo)

1 2 3 USA 32 26 25 KOR 30 24 22 U.S. Men End World League with Loss to Brazil RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 14, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team ended its 2013 FIVB World League campaign with a 25-21, 26-24, 25-23 loss to Brazil on Sunday at the Maracanazinho arena in Rio de Janeiro.

From left, Kawika Shoji, Matt Anderson, Erik Shoji and Paul Lotman. (FIVB photo)

The U.S. Men finish World League pool play with a 4-6 record and in fifth place in Pool A. Brazil wins Pool A with a 9-1 record and will advance to the Final Round in Argentina. The U.S. struggled with 33 team errors, including 19 service errors on 69 attempts, while Brazil was charged with 22 team errors. The U.S. led in attacks (35-32) and blocks (7-5) while Brazil led in aces (6-4). “I was hoping we would play better tonight, but that was not the case,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “We just didn’t serve the ball on the court. If you have 28 percent service errors, you’re not going to beat too many teams, especially not good teams like Brazil.” U.S. opposite Carson Clark led all scorers with 17 points on 14 kills, one block and two aces. Middle blocker David Lee added six points on four attacks and a team-high two blocks.

Matt Anderson cheers for a great play. (FIVB photo)

Outside hitter Matt Anderson and setter Kyle Caldwell each finished with five points. Anderson scored on three kills and two aces. Caldwell scored on four attacks and a block. Outside hitter Paul Lotman started two sets and scored four points on four kills. Middle blocker Max Holt and outside hitter Garrett Muagututia each scored three points. Holt had three kills and Muagututia had two kills and one block. Middle blocker David Smith scored two points on one attack and one block. Setter Kawika Shoji had one point with a solo block. Shoji started the match at setter and was credited with nine running sets. Caldwell started the second and third sets and was credited with 11 running sets. The U.S. finished with a 40.7 kill percent and a .233 hitting efficiency. U.S. libero Erik Shoji (Honolulu) finished with five digs and six excellent receptions. Clark led the team in digs with six and Lotman led in receptions with seven. Wallace de Souza paced Brazil with 14 points. Luiz Felipe Marques Fonteles added 10 points.

The team stretches on the beach at Ipanema. (USAV photo)

The U.S. huddles during the match against Brazil (FIVB photo) 29

2013 Pan American Cup U.S. MEN BEAT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN FIVE

USA....................................... 26 25 22 21 15 Dominican Rep....................... 24 14 25 25 7

MEXICO CITY (Aug. 19, 2013) – The United States held off the Dominican Republic to win its first pool play match of the men’s Pan American Cup, 26-24, 25-14, 22-25, 2125, 15-7 on Monday in Mexico City. The United States is 1-0 in Pool B and will play Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday and host Mexico on Wednesday. The U.S. Men led in kills (56-53) and blocks (7-6) while the teams were tied in aces (4-4).

The U.S. Men’s Pan American Cup Team. (NORCECA Photo)

Outside hitter Taylor Sander led the United States’ effort with 19 points on 15 kills, three blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak added 14 points on eight kills, three blocks and a match-high three aces. After the United States won the first two sets, the Dominican Republic came back to win the next two thanks to Elvis Contreras, who led all scorers with 22 points, along with Wilfrido Hernandez Incarnation (11 points) and José Miguel Cáceres (10 points). “It was a good match for both teams,” U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell said. “We felt nervous in the beginning, had some trouble in the third and fourth sets. We could not stop Caceres, but pulled out and improved our service. I am happy for this win.”

Jacek Ratajczak (17) and Josh Taylor (4) block for the U.S. (NORCECA Photo)

U.S. Team Captain Ryan Ammerman speculated that Mexico City’s altitude (7,943 feet above sea level) might have had an effect on the team. “We practice normally in California, in Anaheim (close to sea level), and now we have to acclimate here,” he said. Among other U.S. scorers, outside hitter Josh Taylor scored 12 points on 12 attacks. Opposite Will Price totaled nine points on nine kills. Middle blocker Dan McDonnell finished with six points on six attacks. Outside hitter Joe Sunder scored three points on three kills. Ammerman, at setter, scored two points on one kill and one block. Middle blocker Russ Lavaja and opposite Shawn Sangrey each scored one point on one kill. Taylor Sander goes up for the kill against the Dominican Republic. (NORCECA Photo)

Ammerman was credited with 24 running sets and one fault on 73 attempts. Setter Connor Olbright, who played as a substitute, had two running sets on three attempts. Libero Michael Brinkley was credited with five excellent receptions. Sander also had five. Patchell started Sander and Sunder at outside hitter, Ratajczak and McDonnell at middle blocker, Price at opposite, Ammerman at setter and Brinkley at libero. Taylor took over for Sunder in the second set and started the rest of the match. Olbright, Sangrey and Lavaja played as substitutes. Teams line up for the Opening Ceremony. (NORCECA Photo)

2013 Pan American Cup U.S. MEN IMPROVE TO 2-0

USA....................................... 25 25 25 Trinidad & Tobago................... 14 10 20

MEXICO CITY (Aug. 19, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team improved to 2-0 on Tuesday at the Pan American Cup with a 25-14, 25-10, 25-20 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in Mexico City. The United States will conclude pool play on Wednesday against Mexico. Serving was key for the U.S. as it led Trinidad & Tobago in aces, 10-2, led by Dan McDonnell with three. The U.S. also took advantage of 33 Trinidadian team errors while committing only 20. “We are happy to win. Trinidad played hard in the third set, but we have acclimated to the city’s altitude,” U.S. Team Captain Ryan Ammerman said. U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell also praised libero Michael Brinkley. “The third set was tied, but Michael passed some balls and that helped us to improve,” Patchell said. “We put pressure on the service.”

Dan McDonnell hits off a set from Ryan Ammerman. (NORCECA Photo)

Outside hitter Joe Sunder led the United States with 10 points on seven attacks and a match-high three blocks. The U.S. led in attacks 26-20 and in blocks, 6-2. Among other U.S. scorers, opposite Will Price had seven points on six kills and one block. Middle blocker Russ Lavaja added seven points on four attacks, one block and two aces. Opposite Shawn Sangrey totaled six points on five kills and one ace. Middle blocker Dan McDonnell finished with five points on two kills and three aces. Outside hitters Josh Taylor and Ryan Jay Owens each scored three points. Taylor had two attacks and one ace and Owens had one block and two aces. Setter Connor Olbright scored a points with an ace.

From left, Ryan Ammerman, Dan McDonnell and Joe Sunder block. (NORCECA Photo)

Ammerman was credited with six running sets on 31 attempts while Olbright was credited with two on 12 attempts. Patchell started Sunder and Taylor at outside hitter, Lavaja and McDonnell at middle blocker, Price at opposite, Ammerman at setter and Brinkley at libero. Owens started the second set for Taylor, who returned to start the third. Olbright started the second set for Ammerman, who returned to start the third. Sangrey started the second set for Price, who returned to start the third. From left, Ryan Ammerman (14), Josh Taylor and Joe Sunder celebrate. (NORCECA Photo)

2013 Pan American Cup U.S. MEN FALL TO MEXICO IN POOL PLAY FINALE USA....................................... 25 25 19 22 15 Mexico................................... 21 23 25 25 17

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Aug. 21, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team fell to host Mexico, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 17-15, on Wednesday at the Pan American Cup in Mexico City. With the loss, the United States (2-1) finished second in Pool B and will have to play in the quarterfinals on Thursday against Puerto Rico. The quarterfinal winner will advance to the semifinals to play either Mexico (3-0) or Brazil (3-0).

Russ Lavaja attacks against Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 20. (NORCECA Photo)

“It was a very fun and amazing match,” U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell said. “I can’t say we lost. Mexico defeated us.” The U.S. led in blocks (20-7) and aces (7-2) while Mexico led in kills (64-58) and also took advantage of 34 U.S. team errors while committing 25. “We faced a very hostile crowd,” U.S. Team Captain Ryan Ammerman said. “There are some things to improve but I have one hundred percent faith in my teammates.” Outside hitter Taylor Sander led all scorers with 23 points on 17 spikes, three blocks and three aces. Coming out of pool play, Sander leads all Pan Am Cup players in scoring with 42 points on 32 kills, six blocks and four aces. Outside hitter Joe Sunder added 20 points on a match-high 20 attacks. Middle blocker Dan McDonnell scored 14 points, including a match-high seven blocks. Opposite Will Price scored 10 points, including a match-high four aces.

Joe Sunder spikes against Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 20.. (NORCECA Photo)

Ammerman scored seven points, including three aces. Among other U.S. scorers, Jacek Ratajczak added seven points, opposite Shawn Sangrey totaled three points and Josh Taylor scored one. Libero Michael Brinkley was credited with five digs and 15 excellent receptions. Ammerman was credited with 23 running sets. Patchell started Sander and Sunder at outside hitter, McDonnell and Ratajczak at middle blocker, Price at opposite, Ammerman at setter and Brinkley at libero. Sangrey, Taylor and Connor Olbright played as substitutes.

Russ Lavaja spikes against Trinidad & Tobagp on Aug. 20. (NORCECA Photo)

Will Price spikes against Trinidad & Tobagp on Aug. 20. (NORCECA Photo)

2013 Pan American Cup U.S. MEN FALL IN FIVE IN QUARTERFINALS

USA.......................................25 16 28 25 16 Dominican Republic................ 16 25 26 27 18

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Aug. 22, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team will not play for a medal at the Pan American Cup after losing a heartbreaker to Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals on Thursday, 16-25, 25-16, 26-28, 2725, 18-16. The U.S. Men (2-2) will play Dominican Republic (1-2) on Friday. The match winner will finish fifth. The loser will play Trinidad & Tobago (0-3) to determine sixth and seventh places. The U.S. defeated the Dominican Republic in their first pool play match on Monday, 3-2. This will be the first time the U.S. Men have not medaled at the Pan American Cup in seven tournament appearances. Puerto Rico (1-2) will play Brazil (2-0) in one semifinal while Mexico (3-0) will play Argentina (2-1) in the other. “Congratulations to Puerto Rico, they really controlled the game in the middle,” U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell said. “We had some chances to win, but they defended and played very well.” Puerto Rico led in kills (69-60), aces (4-2) and digs (16-7) while the U.S. led in blocks (19-10).

U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell salutes the flag. (NORCECA Photo)

Outside hitter Taylor Sander (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led the United States with 21 points on 16 kills, three blocks and two aces. Opposite Will Price (Laytonsville, Md.) added 19 points on 18 attacks and one block. Middle blocker Dan McDonnell (Glendale, Ariz.) totaled 10 points on six kills and four blocks. Outside hitter Josh Taylor (Honolulu) finished with nine points on nine kills. Setter Ryan Ammerman (Parker, Colo.) collected seven points on three attacks and four blocks. He was also credited with 24 running sets on 99 attempts. Middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak (Warsaw, Poland) scored six points on one attack and a match-high five blocks. Outside hitter Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) added six points on four kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Ryan Jay Owens (Evanston, Ill.) totaled two points on two kills and middle blocker Russ Lavaja (St. Charles, Ill.) had one point on a kill.

The U.S. puts up a triple block against Dominican Republic. (NORCECA Photo)

Libero Michael Brinkley (Huntington Beach, Calif.) was credited with three digs and eight excellent receptions. Sander led the team in excellent receptions with 10. Setter Connor Olbright (Orange, Calif.) played as a substitute and had two running sets. Patchell started Sander and Sunder at outside hitter, McDonnell and Ratajczak at middle blocker, Price at opposite, Ammerman at setter and Brinkley at libero. Taylor substituted in the second set and started the fourth and fifth for Sunder. Lavaja started the second set for Ratajczak, who returned to start the rest of the match.

The U.S. celebrates a good play during its loss to the Dominican Republic. (NORCECA Photo)

2013 Pan American Cup U.S. MEN FINISH PAN AM CUP WITH WIN

USA....................................... 25 25 25 Dominican Republic................ 20 19 14

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Aug. 23, 2013) – The U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team finished fifth at the Pan American Cup after defeating Dominican Republic, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14 on Friday in Mexico City, Mexico. The victory gave the U.S. Men a winning record in the tournament at 3-2. Dominican Republic (1-3) will play Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday to determine which team finishes sixth. “Finishing in fifth place was not what we really wanted,” U.S. Team Captain Ryan Ammerman (Parker, Colo.) said. “Our goal was to defend the title. We are disappointed, but I hope this can help us as an experience to improve.”

Dan McDonnell attacks against Dominican Republic. (NORCECA Photo)

The U.S. Men played their best match of the tournament, leading in kills (4325), blocks (6-3) and aces (9-2). Every athlete on the U.S. roster got playing time and every athletes scored, save for libero Michael Brinkley (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who was credited with three digs and nine excellent receptions. “Yesterday we had the opportunity to win in four sets and we couldn’t,” U.S. Head Coach Shawn Patchell said. “I was worried that the players would be down, but we responded well.” Outside hitter Taylor Sander (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led all scorers with 17 points on a match-high 11 attacks (78.6 kill percent, .786 hitting efficiency), a match-high two blocks and a match-high four aces. Opposite Shawn Sangrey added nine points on seven attacks, one block and one ace. Among other U.S. players, middle blocker Dan McDonnell (Glendale, Ariz.) totaled eight points on six attacks, one block and one ace. Outside hitters Josh Taylor (Honolulu) and Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) each added five points on four kills and one ace. Jacek Ratajczak, left, and Joe Sunder block for the U.S. (NORCECA Photo)

Opposite Will Price (Laytonsville, Md.) scored four points on four kills. Middle blockers Jacek Ratajczak (Warsaw, Poland) and Russ Lavaja (St. Charles, Ill.) each totaled three points. Lavaja scored on three kills while Ratajczak had two kills and one block. Setter Connor Olbright (Orange, Calif.) added two points on one attack and one ace. Outside hitter Ryan Jay Owens (Evanston, Ill.) scored one points on a kill and setter Ryan Ammerman (Parker, Colo.) scored one point with a block. Olbright was credited with 13 running sets and Ammerman with six. The two combined to set the U.S. Men to a 63.2 kill percent and a .529 hitting efficiency.

Shawn Sangrey, left, blocks against Dominican Republic. (NORCECA Photo)

2012 Olympic Games

2012 U.S. Olympic Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volleyball Team

Back row, standing, from left: Dr. William Stetson, Athletic Trainer Aaron Brock, Assistant Coach Ron Larsen, Technical Coordinator Chris Jackson, Sean Rooney, David Lee, Clay Stanley, Matt Anderson, Russell Holmes, David Smith, Head Coach Alan Knipe, Team Leader Rob Browning, Scout Coach Mike Seely, Assistant Coach John Speraw Front row, from left: Reid Priddy, David McKienzie, Donald Suxho, Rich Lambourne, Paul Lotman, Brian Thornton Missing: Assistant Coach Gary Sato Scout Coach Andy Read

2012 U.S. Men's Rosters 2012 NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament May 7-12 in Long Beach, Calif. 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 9. Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU) 10. Riley Salmon (OH, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (Opp, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 19. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) 2012 FIVB World League Long List May 18-July 1 at various sites 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 3. Evan Patak (Opp, 6-8, Pleasanton, Calif., UC Santa Barbara) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 9. Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU) 10. Riley Salmon (L, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 14. Kevin Hansen (S, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford) 15. Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford) 16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine) 17. Max Holt (MB, 6-9, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State) 18. Scott Touzinsky (OH, 6-6, St. Louis, Mo., Long Beach State) 19. Robert Tarr (OH, 6-6, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Long Beach State) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) 22. Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU) 23. Jeff Menzel (OH, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Santa Barbara) 24. Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford) 25. Jonathan Winder (S, 6-8, Irvine, Calif., Pepperdine)

Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) U.S. World League 14-Player Roster for May 18-20 in Florence, Italy 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 9. Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU) 10. Riley Salmon (L, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 15. Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) U.S. World League 14-Player Roster for June 15-17 in Lyon, France 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 9. Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 15. Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford) 16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.)

2012 U.S. Men's Rosters Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Mike Sealy (Santa Monica, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) U.S. World League 14-Player Roster for June 22-24 in Gwangju, Korea 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 15. Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford) 17. Max Holt (MB, 6-9, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State)

2012 Pan American Cup July 9-14 in Santo Dominco, Dominican Republic 1 Dylan Davis (MB, 6-9, Corona Del Mar, Calif., UC Santa Barbara) 2 Matt Rawson (MB, 6-7, Los Angeles, Hawaii) 4 Carson Clark (Opp, 6-5, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine) 5 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA) 6 Murphy Troy (Opp, 6-8, St. Louis, Mo., USC) 7 Jordan Dufault (OH, 6-4, Lakewood, Calif., UC Irvine) 9 Daniel McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Glendale, Ariz., UC Irvine) 12 Tony Ciarelli (OH, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., USC) 13 Ryan Ammerman (S, 6-8, Parker, Colo., UC Irvine) 14 Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State) 22 Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU) 24 Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Stanford) Head Coach: Shawn Patchell Assistant Coach: Tim Johnson Team Manager: Nicholas MacRae Athletic Trainer: Chad Eichten

Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) U.S. World League 14-Player Roster for June 29-July 1 in Dallas, Texas 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 10. Riley Salmon (L, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Mike Sealy (Santa Monica, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) U.S. World League Roster for Final Round July 4-8 in Sofia, Bulgaria 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa)

2012 U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team July 28-Aug. 12 in London, England 1. Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State) 2. Sean Rooney (OH, 6-9, Wheaton, Ill., Pepperdine) 4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State) 5. Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU) 6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State) 7. Donald Suxho (S, 6-5, Korce, Albania, USC) 8. Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount) 11. Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine) 12. Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU) 13. Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Hawaii) 20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine) 21. David McKienzie (Opp, 6-4, Littleton, Colo., Long Beach State) Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) Team Manager: Rob Browning (Newport Beach, Calif.) Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.) Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.) Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa) Scout Coach: Andy Read (Garden Grove, Calif.) Scout Coach: Mike Sealy (Santa Monica, Calif.) Replacement Players for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team 3. Evan Patak (Opp, 6-8, Pleasanton, Calif., UC Santa Barbara) 9. Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU) 10. Riley Salmon (L, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College) 14. Kevin Hansen (S, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford) 15. Gabe Gardner (Opp, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., Stanford) 16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine) 17. Max Holt (MB, 6-9, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State) 25. Jonathan Winder (S, 6-8, Irvine, Calif., Pepperdine)

2012 U.S. Men's Results Argentina Exhibitions at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano Date

Opponent

Result

Location

Points Leader

Attendance

4/27

Argentina

W (21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17)

San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Anderson (16)

4/29

Argentina

W (25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13)

San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

McKienzie (15)

NORCECA Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif. Date

Opponent (Record)

Result

Points Leader

Attendance

5/7

Trinidad & Tobago (1-0)

W (25-9, 25-10, 25-14

Anderson/Lee (9)

1,325

5/8

Costa Rica (2-0)

W (25-14, 25-9, 25-9)

McKienzie (10)

1,200

5/9

Mexico (3-0)

W (25-23, 25-19, 25-14)

Stanley (14)

1,550

5/10

Cuba (4-0)

W (28-26, 25-18, 25-20)

Anderson (24)

3,000

5/11

Canada (5-0)

W (28-26, 25-18, 25-20)

Stanley (15)

4,700

Final Standings: 1. USA, 2. Canada, 3. Cuba, 4. Puerto Rico, 5. Mexico, 6. Dominican Republic, 7. Trinidad & Tobago, 8. Costa Rica FIVB World League Date

Opponent (Record)

Result

City

Points Leader

Attendance

5/18

France (5-1)

L (17-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17)

Florence, Italy

Stanley (18)

2,100

5/19

Korea (6-1)

W (20-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 17-15)

Florence, Italy

Priddy (19)

5,100

5/20

Italy (6-2)

L (25-16, 25-20, 25-16)

Florence, Italy

Holmes/Stanley/ Anderson (8)

6,200

6/15

Italy (7-2)

W (30-28, 28-26, 25-22)

Lyon, France

Anderson (17)

900

6/16

Korea (8-2)

W (22-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-16)

Lyon, France

Anderson (21)

1,160

6/17

France (9-2)

W (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21)

Lyon, France

Rooney (21)

1,200

6/22

France (10-2)

W (22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 25-16)

Gwangju, Korea

Anderson (21)

830

6/23

Italy (11-2)

W (25-21, 25-21, 25-20)

Gwangju, Korea

Rooney/Holmes/ Stanley (12)

450

6/24

Korea (12-2)

W (25-20, 25-18, 25-18)

Gwangju, Korea

Anderson/Priddy (13)

4,950

6/29

Korea (13-2)

W (32-30, 26-24, 25-22)

Dallas, Texas

Stanley/Anderson (19)

2,028

6/30

France (13-3)

L (25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13)

Dallas, Texas

Anderson (17)

3,853

7/1

Italy (14-3)

W (26-28, 25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 15-10)

Dallas, Texas

Stanley (26)

5,139

7/5

Germany (14-4)

L (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14)

Sofia, Bulgaria

Stanley (23)

3,000

7/6

Bulgaria (15-4)

W (25-21, 25-16, 25-17)

Sofia, Bulgaria

Anderson/Rooney (16)

10,500

7/7

Cuba (16-4)

W (25-23, 25-22, 25-23)

Sofia, Bulgaria

Stanley (18)

4,000

7/8

Poland (16-5)

L (25-17, 26-24, 25-20)

Sofia, Bulgaria

Stanley (15)

5,000

Final Standings: 1. Poland, 2. USA, 3. Cuba, 4. Bulgaria, 5. Germany, 6. Brazil, 7. France, 8. Russia, 9. Serbia, 10. Argentina, 11. Italy, 12. Canada, 13 Finland, 14. Korea, 15. Japan, 16. Portugal

2012 U.S. Men's Results Pan American Cup Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Date

Opponent (Record)

Result

Points Leader

Attendance

7/9

Venezuela (17-5)

W (25-17, 25-19, 25-12)

Sander/McDonnell (12)

200

7/10

Mexico (18-5)

W (25-8, 25-16, 25-18)

Troy (14)

7/11

Brazil (19-5)

W (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22)

Sander (23)

300

7/13

Dominican Republic (20-5)

W (25-21, 23-25, 25-22. 25-27, 15-12)

Sander (23)

800

7/14

Argentina (21-5)

W (29-27, 25-20, 25-11)

Clark (18)

400

Final Standings: 1. USA, 2. Argentina, 3. Dominican Republic, 4. Brazil, 5. Mexico, 6. Canada, 7. Venezuela, 8. Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Games Earls Court Exhibition Center in London Date

Opponent (Record)

Result

Points Leader

Attendance

7/29

Serbia (22-5)

W (25-17, 25-22, 25-21)

Anderson 16

12,000

7/31

Germany (23-5)

W (25-23, 25-16, 25-20)

Stanley 16

13,000

8/2

Brazil (24-5)

W (23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-17)

Priddy 20

11,500

8/4

Russia (24-6)

L (27-29, 19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-8)

Anderson 18

13,650

8/6

Tunisia (25-6)

W (25-15, 25-19, 25-19)

McKienzie 17

11,000

8/8

Italy (25-7)

L (28-26, 25-20, 25-20)

Stanley 17

14,000

Final Standings: 1. Russia, 2. Brazil, 3. Italy, 4. Bulgaria, 5T. USA, Argentina, Germany, Poland, 9T. Australia, Serbia, 11T. Great Britain, Tunisia

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

2012 Season Review pool. “For us to win our three games is very positive,” U.S. opposite and team captain Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) said. “We put together a good game plan. We are happy about the way we played. We were consistent throughout these three matches so that’s the best thing that we could ask for.” The team traveled straight from France to Gwangju, Korea where Speraw again served as head coach and helped the U.S. Men win all three matches against Italy (22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 25-16), France (25-21, 25-21, 25-20) and Korea (2520, 25-18, 25-18). Team USA left Korea with a 7-2 record and the lead in the pool. But it still needed to win two matches when it hosted World League in Dallas on June 29-July 1. “We are in the process of deciding our final 12 players for London,” said Knipe, who rejoined the team in Dallas. “These World League matches are an important part of that. “We are also continuing to fine-tune our game plan for London.” The U.S. Men got off to a good start in Dallas by sweeping Korea 32-30, 26-24, 25-22. But it stumbled in its second match, falling to France 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13. respective pool on one weekend each. The four pool winners, plus the best second-place team and host Bulgaria qualified for the Final Round. The first World League weekend was rough as the U.S. Men fell to France (17-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17), needed five sets to defeat Korea (20-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 17-15) and lost 3-0 to host Italy (25-16, 25-20, 25-16). Knipe admitted that fatigue could have been a factor in the team’s poor performance. “I think it was hard for the guys to stay so focused for so many weeks in a row,” he said. “But we still could have played much better than we did.”

Things did not look good in the match against Italy as the U.S. Men fell behind 2-1 in sets and were trailing 8-6 in the fourth. The team used a 4-0 run to pull ahead and went on to win the match 26-28, 25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 15-10. “It was a great effort by our team, especially players who came off the bench: Dave Smith, Sean Rooney,” Stanley said. “We have been trying not to get down in matches and keep our heads up; keep pushing, keep going.” The U.S. Men traveled straight from Dallas to Sofia, Bulgaria for the Final Round on July 4-8. They opened with a five-set loss to Germany, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14. But a three-set victory over Bulgaria the next night (25-21, 25-16, 25-17) gave the U.S. Men to pool victory. They advanced to

The team then had three weeks off from World League competition while other Olympic qualifying tournaments were played. It traveled to Lyon, France for the next World League weekend on June 15-17. Knipe did not travel with the team as he dealt with a family emergency. John Speraw filled in along with assistant coaches Gary Sato and Ron Larsen and helped the team go 3-0 in France with victories over Italy (30-28, 28-26, 25-22), Korea (22-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-16) and France (20-25, 2522, 25-19, 25-21). The U.S. Men left Lyon with the lead in the 41

2012 U.S. Men's Season Review the semifinals where they defeated their NORCECA foe Cuba, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23.

the second set.” Team USA suffered its first loss of the 2012 Olympic Games on Aug. 4 when it fell to Russia, 27-29, 19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-8 after holding a match point in the third set.

In the final, the U.S. Men lost to Poland, 25-17, 26-24, 2520. The team won $500,000 for second place and won its first World League medal since it won the title in 2008.

“I think (Russia) made some changes to their personnel and they started to serve really aggressively,” middle blocker David Lee said. “They put us in a bad position where we couldn’t side out and we couldn’t run our offense.”

“In the beginning of World League, I didn’t think we’d be in this position,” said Stanley, who won the Best Server award for the Final Round. “I thought our team improved each weekend. We did a lot of great things to get to this final, although I’m disappointed in how we showed up to play tonight.”

Despite the loss, the U.S. Men still led Pool B and won the pool with a 25-15, 25-19, 25-19 victory over Tunisia on Aug. 6. U.S. opposite David McKienzie got his first Olympic Games start in the tournament and led the team with 17 points with 14 kills on 25 attacks, two aces and a block.

It was the first time that the U.S. Men have medaled in World League in the same year that the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team has medaled in the FIVB Grand Prix. The U.S. Women won the Grand Prix on July 1.

The U.S. Men advanced to the quarterfinals, where they found themselves playing their old World League foe, Italy, which had finished fourth in Pool A where it went 3-2. The matchup proved to be a bad one for Team USA, which ended its season with a 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 loss to Italy on Aug. 8.

“I’m disappointed in the way we played tonight,” Knipe said. “But a lot of really good things have come out in the last few weeks. These were important matches for us. We wanted to reach the final and experience these matches and build toward the Olympic Games.” The U.S. Men returned to Anaheim for their final training block before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where it hoped to become the first country to win the men’s volleyball gold medal four times. During the break, the U.S. Men’s A2 Team won the Pan American Cup, defeating Argentina in the final. The Olympic men’s volleyball tournament, which was played at Earls Court in London, began with pool play on July 29 as the U.S. Men easily handled Serbia, 25-16, 25-22, 2521. They followed that with a victory over Germany on July 31, 25-23, 25-16, 25-20.

“It was frustrating for us,” Knipe said. “When we look back at this we will see we had lots of opportunities to win the first set. We came in with a really good game plan and when we were in our game plan and executing it, we were winning points.” The U.S. Men finished the tournament tied for fifth. After the season, most of the U.S. athletes went to play on international teams. Knipe returned to his position as head coach of the men’s volleyball team at Long Beach State University.

On Aug. 2, the U.S. Men defeated world No. 1 and topranked Brazil, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-17 and took the lead in Pool B. “It was an important match,” setter Donald Suxho said. “We worked hard and got better by sticking together and trusting each other more. (Brazil) is the best team in the world. The first set it was all them and we had to adapt and change for 42

2012 Players of the Year Outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) has been named the USA Volleyball Indoor Male Athlete of the Year for 2012, while setter Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) has been selected as USA Volleyball’s Most Improved Player in the indoor male athlete category.

“My sights are already set on (the Olympic Games in) Rio 2016,” Anderson said. “If I’m lucky enough to make that squad, I don’t want to go home from those Games without a medal, hopefully gold.”

At 25, Anderson was the youngest player on the U.S. Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team and finished the 2012 season as the team’s leading scorer with 393 points on a team-leading 326 kills, 42 blocks and 25 aces (second highest on team). Anderson started 96 out of the 97 sets for the U.S. Men. His kill percent was 50.7 and his hitting efficiency was .440. “My success this season with the National Team came from the realization of the trust my teammates and coaches had in me,” Anderson said via e-mail from Russia where he is playing for Zenit Kazan in the Super League. “In training we created an atmosphere of the best volleyball and it was tough to differentiate between training and big-time matches.”

Suxho finished second in the Best Setter category at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where he was credited with 213 running sets (10.65 per set). He started 20 out of 21 sets and scored 10 points on three kills, six blocks and one ace.

Suxho played in 57 out of 60 FIVB World League sets for the U.S. Men, scoring 29 points on 14 kills and 15 blocks, including highs of five points against France in France (four kills, one block) and against France in Dallas (one kill, four blocks). He finished first in the Best Setter category in pool play with 331 running sets (5.81 per set) and finished second among all setters in the Final Round with 74 running sets (5.29 per set).

“The highlight of my 2012 season was being a part of the 2012 Olympic Games,” Anderson said. “There is no words to describe the honor I received being able to walk with the team in Opening Ceremonies, and then to compete on the world’s biggest stage for my country, the USA. The low point is leaving the Olympics knowing we could have accomplished more as a team.”

Anderson was named “Best Spiker” at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament on May 7-12 in Long Beach, Calif., as the U.S. Men qualified for the Olympic Games. He played in 15 out of 16 sets and was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 64 points on 52 kills, four blocks, and eight aces. His hitting efficiency was .585 and he scored a tournament-high 24 points against Cuba.

“I am extremely thankful to the USA Volleyball organization, the USA coaching staff and the medical staff for training and helping me,” Suxho said. “I also want to thank my teammates for trusting me.”

“The highlight of my season was winning our group at the Olympics,” Suxho said. “The low point was losing to Italy in the quarterfinals. It was like a stab in the heart.”

Anderson started all 21 sets of the Olympic Games in London and was the team’s leading scorer with 81 points on 69 kills (.390 hitting efficiency), six aces and six blocks. His tournament best was 18 points (16 attacks, one block and one ace) scored in 3-2, pool play loss to Russia. The U.S. Men finished fifth in London.

Anderson played in all 60 FIVB World League sets in which the U.S. Men competed and was the team’s leading scorer. He finished with 248 points on a team-leading 205 kills, 32 blocks and 11 aces. He was fifth among all World League scorers at the end of pool play. His tournament high was 21 points scored against Korea on June 16.

Suxho, 36, went into the 2012 season not knowing for sure if he would be the team’s starting setter, as he had to battle Brian Thornton (San Clemente, Calif.) and Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) for the slot. Suxho ended up playing in 92 of 115 sets in which the U.S. Men competed. He helped the team to a season kill percentage of 45.4 and a hitting efficiency of .375. He also finished the season with 46 points on 18 kills, 24 blocks and four aces. He was credited with 128 digs (1.39 per set) and 705 running sets (7.67 per set).

He started 15 out of 16 sets for the U.S. Men at the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament. He finished with seven points on one kills, three blocks and three aces and was credited with 87 running sets (5.44 per set). “My goals are to continue to improve my game, stay healthy and win gold in Rio,” Suxho said.

2012 U.S. Men's Final Statistics DataVolley statistics based on the following 2012 events: NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Touranment, FIVB World League, Pan American Cup and the Olympic Games. Name

Sets

Kills

Kills/set

Kill pct

Hit errors

Attempts

Efficiency

Aces

Aces/set

Blocks

Blocks/set

Digs

Digs/set

Points

Points/set

Ryan Ammerman

0.25

100.0

1.000

0.00

0.25

Matt Anderson

326

3.40

50.7

643

0.440

0.26

0.44

103

1.07

393

4.09

Tony Ciarelli

2.93

61.1

0.528

0.4

0.07

0.00

3.40

Carson Clark

3.17

50.0

0.474

0.25

0.00

1.17

3.42

Dylan Davis

1.73

70.3

0.622

0.00

0.53

0.07

2.27

Jordan Dufault

0.50

71.4

0.714

0.00

0.30

0.50

Gabe Gardner

1.00

53.8

0.462

0.00

0.30

1.00

Russell Holmes

120

1.45

60.3

199

0.543

0.14

0.83

0.23

201

2.42

Rich Lambourne

0.00

00.0

0.000

0.00

144

1.48

0.00

David Lee

116

1.59

64.8

179

0.581

0.14

0.66

0.03

174

2.38

Paul Lotman

0.30

41.5

0.341

0.11

0.02

0.23

0.43

Dan McDonnell

0.80

36.6

0.318

0.70

0.60

0.30

2.10

David McKienzie

0.71

59.7

0.468

0.22

0.06

0.28

0.98

Ryan Millar

0.92

66.7

0.545

0.00

0.25

0.33

1.17

Garrett Muagututia

2.83

48.6

0.457

0.17

0.00

1.17

3.00

Reid Priddy

146

2.21

40.7

359

0.343

0.27

0.48

1.12

196

2.97

Matt Rawson

1.00

65.4

0.654

0.00

1.06

0.18

2.06

Sean Rooney

102

2.76

48.1

212

0.434

0.19

0.62

1.30

132

3.57

Riley Salmon

0.42

35.7

0.286

0.00

0.42

Taylor Sander

3.82

60.2

108

0.509

0.53

0.24

0.94

4.59

Kawika Shoji

0.11

100.0

1.000

0.22

0.11

0.00

0.44 1.60

David Smith

1.02

64.0

0.627

0.15

0.43

0.28

Clay Stanley

269

3.09

50.3

535

0.452

0.46

0.56

1.00

358

4.11

Donald Suxho

0.20

43.9

0.317

0.04

0.26

128

1.39

0.50

Brian Thornton

0.09

33.3

0.000

0.00

0.18

0.64

0.27

Murphy Troy

2.64

78.7

0.681

0.50

0.14

0.43

3.29

Dustin Watten

0.00

00.0

0.000

0.00

2.50

115

1503

13.07

52.6

181

2857

0.463

180

1.57

361

3.14

785

6.83

2044

17.77

Opponents

115

1421

12.36

45.4

247

3127

0.375

134

1.17

195

1.70

802

6.97

1750

15.22

Setting Statistics based on the following 2012 events as determined by the FIVB and NORCECA: NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Touranment, FIVB World League, Pan American Cup and the Olympic Games. Name

Sets Running Faults Played Sets

Total Attempts

Running Sets Per Set

Donald Suxho Brian Thornton Kawika Shoji Ryan Ammerman

92 705 16 11 57 0 18 55 1 4 1 1

1,829 144 391 15

7.66 5.18 3.06 0.25

All photos on this page by Matt Brown for USAV 45

7/29 1 2 3 USA 25 25 25 SRB 17 22 21

U.S. Men Open with Impressive Sweep over Serbia LONDON (July 29, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team opened its Olympic Games title defense with 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 win over Serbia Sunday afternoon in London as first-time Olympian Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) shined with 18 points.

Reid Priddy attacks against Serbia’s block. (FIVB photo)

The Americans raced to a 13-4 lead in the opening set on a 9-1 scoring run and cruised to a 25-16 victory. Team USA recovered from an early 5-1 deficit in the second set to tie it at 9-all, then used a 6-0 run with four blocks to erase a 19-17 deficit going on to win 25-22. Overall, the U.S. tallied nine blocks in the second set. Team USA started the third set with a 13-4 lead that included four blocks, but needed to hold off a furious Serbia charge to win 25-21. “I thought there were a lot of good things we did, but probably better than most was the attention to detail especially our blocking defense, our transition; just the out-of –system plays created a lot of opportunities to score points,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Coach Alan Knipe said. “Obviously we started out well in the first and third sets and we were able to keep that cushion. In the second set we were faced with not a nice start and we were able to come back and chip away at it and not really deal with a lot of panic.” Anderson tallied 16 kills on 23 attacks with two blocks for 18 points.

Donald Suxho (7), David Lee (4) and Matt Anderson (1) block a Serbia attack. (FIVB photo)

“Yeah, I was,” Anderson said about whether he entered the match nervous. “I was nervous that I was going to be nervous. I was lucky that I wasn’t nervous.” Clay Stanley chipped in 13 points with nine kills and four blocks. Reid Priddy tallied nine points on four kills, three blocks and two aces. David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) contributed seven points on two kills, three blocks and two aces. Russell Holmes charted three kills and three blocks for six points. Donald Suxho rounded out the scoring with a block and ace for two points. Suxho ran the offense to a 46.7 kill percent and .227 hitting efficiency (3518-75) with 27 running sets on 57 set attempts. Anderson contributed 15 excellent receptions on 17 errorless attempts. Priddy added a team-high five digs to go with a team-high 16 excellent receptions on 24 attempts. “I thought there were ebbs and flows in this match, which kept us honest and made us focused on what at hand,” Priddy said. “Overall there was the right amount of effort. You saw some really high points where we scored a succession of points - which put us ahead in the first set and allowed us to catch up in the second. The best part of our play was these point surges. We now need to have a better follow-up to them.”

(Left) David Lee blasts a kill past the Serbia block. (Right) Clay Stanley has reason to smile with an opening victory. (FIVB photo)

Knipe started Priddy and Anderson at outside hitter, Lee and Holmes at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite and Suxho at setter. Lambourne is the designated libero for the tournament. Paul Lotman and David Smith were subs in the opening set. Team USA out-blocked Serbia 16-11 as both teams served five aces and totaled 19 digs. The Americans held Serbia to a .115 hitting efficiency (3424-87).

USA fans watching the U.S. Men defeat Serbia. (FIVB photo)

Matt Anderson hits over the Serbia block (FIVB photo) 47

7/31 1 2 3 USA 25 25 25 GER 23 16 20

U.S. Men Blitz Germany in Sweep, Improve to 2-0 LONDON (July 31, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team defeated Germany 25-23, 25-16, 25-20 on July 31 during an Olympic Games Pool B match at Earls Court in London. Team USA, ranked fifth in the world and the defending Olympic Games champion, improved to 2-0 with six points in Pool B. The Americans continues Pool B on Thursday against Brazil at 8 p.m. local time (noon PT). Team USA, with three Olympic Games titles to its credit, has now won 10 straight matches in Olympic Games competition.

Reid Priddy serves against Germany. (FIVB Photo)

Less than a month ago, Germany edged out Team USA in a five-set thriller during the FIVB World League Final Round pool play. However, the Americans bounced back in that that tournament and finished with the silver medal. After falling behind 4-0 in the first set, the U.S. scored the next four points and the rest of tight with no team leading by more than two points. Team USA scored the final three points of the set to rally from a 23-22 deficit to win 25-23. The Americans pushed out to a 17-11 lead in the second set on a 6-1 run and closed out the set with the final four points for a 25-16 victory. Team USA separated from Germany in the third set with a 5-1 scoring run to take a 14-8 lead, then expanded its advantage to 21-14 late before holding off Germany down the stretch for a 25-20 victory.

Clay Stanley (13), Russell Holmes (12) and Reid Priddy (8) form a blocking wall against Germany. (FIVB photo)

“Tonight was a completely different feel than the last match where we got off to a really good start on the scoreboard,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Alan Knipe said. “Tonight, (Germany) got behind the end line and served well and right out of the gate got us down. I thought our guys did a really good job of staying composed and getting the side out we needed after the time out. My comment to them was that we didn’t need to get it all back in one serve, and then Clay went and got it all back in one serve.” Clay Stanley collected a Team USA-high 16 points with 13 kills on 18 attacks, two aces and a block. Matt Anderson contributed 11 kills on 20 attacks, three aces and a block for 15 points. Russell Holmes turned in five kills on seven attacks with four blocks for nine points. Reid Priddy pocketed seven kills and an ace for eight points, which was matched by David Lee as he had five kills on eight attacks and three blocks. Donald Suxho rounded out the scoring with two blocks. Suxho tallid 35 running sets on 58 assist attempts leading to a 56.2 kill percent and .438 hitting efficiency (41-9-73). Anderson provided 17 excellent receptions on 24 attempts, while Suxho was the U.S. leader in digs with five. Knipe started Priddy and Anderson at outside hitter, Lee and Holmes at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite and Suxho at setter. Rich Lambourne is the designated libero for the tournament. Paul Lotman was a sub in all three sets, while David McKienzie was a sub in the first and third sets. The U.S. held a commanding 11-4 block advantage in the match and held a 6-4 margin in aces. Germany managed a slim 25-22 edge in digs and 27-26 cushion in excellent receptions. However, Team USA’s 53.1 excellent reception percent was better than Germany’s 44.3 percent. Further, the U.S. limited Germany to a 37.0 kill percent and .161 hitting efficiency (30-17-81).

Team USA celebrates a key point against Germany. (FIVB photo)

Reid Priddy giant cut-out face and wobble-head doll. (FIVB photo)

Donald Suxho sets David Lee. (FIVB photo) 49

8/2 1 2 3 4 USA 23 27 25 25 BRA 25 25 19 17

U.S. Men Rally to Upset Top-Ranked Brazil LONDON (Aug. 2, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team upset top-ranked Brazil 23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-17 on Aug. 2 in a battle of undefeated teams during an Olympic Games Pool B match at Earls Court in London. The match produced identical results as the 2008 Olympic Games gold-medal match with the U.S. coming out on top. Brazil came back from a 23-22 deficit in the opening set to win 25-23 with consecutive aces. The second set was full of roller coaster moments as Brazil scored eight straight points to overcome a 19-13 deficit. The U.S. recovered to take a 24-22 advantage, only to have Brazil save two set points and take a 25-24 lead. Team USA responded with the final peak with three straight points to close out the 27-25 victory. The U.S. used a 6-1 spurt in the third set to take a commanding 20-15 advantage and went on to win 25-19 as Brazil had troubles gaining momentum with five service errors. The Americans broke a 10-all tie in the fourth set with a 7-0 scoring run and ran away with a 25-17 victory to close out the match. “The thing that stands out probably the most to me is that we got better as the match went on,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Coach Alan Knipe said. “We passed the ball better, we blocked better and we served the ball better. We were much better in counter attack and in transition. I was happy with the team composure after losing the first set.”

Donald Suxho (7), David Lee (4) and Matt Anderson combine to stop a Brazil attack. (FIVB Photo)

Rich Lambourne dives to keep the ball in play against Brazil. (FIVB photo)

Team USA opposite Clay Stanley led all scorers with 19 points with 16 kills on 29 attacks and three aces. Reid Priddy added 17 points via 14 kills on 26 attacks, two aces and a block. Matt Anderson collected 11 kills on 26 attacks, two aces and a block for 14 points. “We hung in there,” Priddy said. “We were tight in the beginning and tried to do too much defense. They are a great team, and we are really glad to beat one of the world-class teams. There are six teams that can do well in the rest of the tournament, so we need to work hard. We improved from the last match, which was important. We don’t just need to win, we need to improve.” David Lee contributed seven kills on 10 errorless attacks and two blocks for nine points. Russell Holmes pocketed seven kills on eight swings, on ace and once block for nine points. Donald Suxho tacked on two kills and a block, while David McKienzie rounded out the scoring with an ace.

Reid Priddy (8), David Lee (4) and Clay Stanley (13) force the Brazil attack high and wide. (FIVB photo)

Suxho provided 49 running sets on 81 assist attempts as the Americans converted 56.4 percent of its attacks with a .465 hitting efficiency (57-10101). He added a team-high nine digs in the victory. Anderson was credited with a team-leading 21 excellent receptions on 27 attempts along with seven digs. Stanley and Rich Lambourne handled eight digs each. “It was an important match,” Suxho said. “We worked hard and got better by sticking together and trusting each other more. (Brazil) is the best team in the world. The first set it was all them and we had to adapt and change for the second set.” Team USA celebrates its victory over Brazil. (FIVB photo)

Reid Priddy connects with the ball as Russell Holmes (12) and Donald Suxho (7) are ready for the cover. (FIVB photo) 51

8/4 1 2 3 4 5 USA 29 25 24 16 8 RUS 27 19 26 25 15 U.S. Men Fall to Russia for First Olympic Loss in 2012 LONDON (Aug. 4, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team lost to No. 2 Russia 27-29, 19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-8 on Aug. 4 after it held a match point in the third set in a Pool B match during the Olympic Games at London’s Earls Court. The U.S., which had its 11-match Olympic Games win streak dating back to the 2008 Beijing Games snapped, still led the group standing despite the loss.

Team USA and Russia lineup for the team introductions. (FIVB Photo)

“The good thing is we can learn from this,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Alan Knipe said. “There’s a lot of things that we know on our side of the net we can do better. We also get a point. We wanted to win, but we do get a point and stay in the driver’s seat in the pool.” Matt Anderson topped the U.S. in scoring with 16 kills on 32 attacks, one block and one ace for 18 points. Clay Stanley added 14 points via 12 kills on 37 swings and two blocks. David Lee charted 12 points on eight kills on 12 attacks and four blocks. Reid Priddy chipped in five kills, four blocks and two aces for 11 points. Sean Rooney came off the bench to score five kills and two blocks for seven points. Russell Holmes tallied five points and David McKienzie scored three aces on 10 serves as a serving sub. Rich Lambourne totaled a team-high nine digs, while Anderson contributed 25 excellent receptions on 40 errorless attempts. Donald Suxho provided 44 running sets as the U.S. offense converted 37.7 percent of its attacks with a .169 hitting efficiency (49-27-130).

Russell Holmes blasts a spike through the Russia block with Rich Lambourne in the background ready for the cover. (FIVB Photo)

“I think (Russia) made some changes to their personnel and they started to serve really aggressively,” Lee said. “They put us in a bad position where we couldn’t side out and we couldn’t run our offense.” Knipe started Priddy and Anderson at outside hitter, Lee and Holmes at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite and Suxho at setter. Lambourne is the U.S. designated libero for the Olympic Games. McKienzie was a serving sub in all five sets, while Rooney came on as a sub in the fourth set for Priddy and started the fifth set. David Smith was a sub in the first, third and fourth sets. Paul Lotman was a sub in the first and third sets. Russia used a formidable block to rally with nine blocks in the final three sets to take a 16-15 block advantage. Russia also held margins of 8-6 in aces and 67-49 in kills. Russia overcame 15 errors in the first set with just 17 the rest of the match. Russia converted 48.2 percent of its attacks with a .309 hitting efficiency (67-24-139) to make up for 20 service errors.

(Left) David Lee wins a joust against Russia. (Right) David Lee attacks against Russia without a blocker above the net. (FIVB photo)

“I thought Russia made some good adjustments,” Holmes said. “They brought guys in and we didn’t adjust well and adapt well to the changes they were making.” Maxim Mikhaylov led Russia with 27 points on 23 kills, two blocks and two aces. Sergey Tetyukhin added 21 points with 17 kills, two blocks and two aces. Matt Anderson hits above the Russia triple block. (FIVB photo)

Team USA breaks the timeout against Russia. (FIVB photo) 53

8/6 1 2 3 USA 25 25 25 TUN 15 19 19 U.S. Men Sweep Tunisia to Claim Pool B LONDON (Aug. 6, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team, ranked fifth in the world and defending Olympic Games champion, defeated Tunisia 25-15, 25-19, 25-19 on Aug. 6 at Earls Court in London to finish atop the Olympic Games Pool B. Team USA finished the preliminary round with 13 points and a 4-1 record. The Americans needed to win to guarantee themselves as the top seed out of Pool B.

Team USA and Tunisia during the pre-match handshake and gift exchange. (FIVB photo)

Using a roster with three different starters than the previous four pool matches, the U.S. broke a 3-all tie in the opening set with a 7-0 run and close the set on a 5-2 run for a 25-15 victory. The Americans out-blocked Tunisia 5-1 in the set. Team USA built a 13-8 lead in the second set and overcame 10 errors to capture the set 25-18. The American took a 9-4 lead in the early stages of the third set and handled the end game with a 25-19 victory. David McKienzie received his first Olympic Games start and piled up a match-high 17 points with 14 kills on 25 attacks, two aces and a block. Sean Rooney, also in his first start of the 2012 Olympics, tallied eight kills on 14 swings and four blocks for 12 points. Matt Anderson contributed 10 points via nine kills on 18 attempts and a block.

David Smith (20) puts up a block with David McKienzie to his side against Tunisia. (FIVB Photo)

“We have some guys who haven’t played much who are extremely talented and they’re fresh, full of energy and delighted to get their opportunity,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team Head Coach Alan Knipe said. “I think there have been some really good things to come out of the pool stage and that’s a good example.” Russell Holmes chipped in a match-high five blocks with four kills for nine points. David Smith charted five kills on six swings with two aces and a block for eight points. Paul Lotman added two points and Donald Suxho rounded out the scoring with a point. “We played well and we were focused, organized and enjoying the match,” McKienzie said. “We have been playing increasingly better and I think we have more to show.”

Team USA celebrates a point versus Tunisia. (FIVB Photo)

“Every match we play, we have been able to get better in some part of our game,” Knipe said. “Now we’re moving into the second phase and I know that the guys are excited to get out there.” Suxho totaled 25 running sets on 34 set attempts, while Brian Thornton added 15 running sets in a reserve role. The two setters helped the U.S. offense to a 56.8 kill percent and .432 hitting efficiency (42-10-74). Rooney recorded a team-high nine digs and added nine excellent receptions on 12 attempts. Rich Lambourne collected six digs and a team-high 15 excellent receptions on 20 attempts.

Fans of the USA surround a London Games volunteer with several cameras recording the moment. (FIVB photo)

Russell Holmes (12) attacks as Sean Rooney (2), Rich Lambourne (5) and Donald Suxho, lower left, watch. (FIVB photo)

8/8 1 2 3 USA 26 20 20 ITA 28 25 25 U.S. Men End Olympic Run with Loss to Italy LONDON (Aug. 8, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team, ranked fifth in the world and defending Olympic Games champion, had its dream of repeating history stopped on Aug. 8 with a 28-26, 25-20, 25-20 loss to Italy in the quarterfinal round at Earls Court in London. Team USA finishes the 2012 Olympic Games with a 5-1 overall record and in a tie for fifth after finishing atop Pool B. “It was frustrating for us,” U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Coach Alan Knipe said. “When we look back at this we will see we had lots of opportunities to win the first set. We came in with a really good game plan and when we were in our game plan and executing it, we were winning points.” Clay Stanley led the U.S. with 16 points via 12 kills on 28 attacks, three blocks and an ace. Reid Priddy added eight points on five kills, two blocks and an ace. David Lee totaled seven points on four kills and three blocks. Matt Anderson tacked on seven points, all on kills.

Donald Suxho sets up David Lee against Italy. (FIVB Photo)

Russell Holmes turned in seven points with five kills and two blocks. Sean Rooney rounded out the scoring with a kill in a reserve role. Anderson, in his first Olympic Games, was credited with 17 excellent receptions on 27 attempts, but with three faults. Donald Suxho tallied 33 running sets and seven digs, while Rich Lambourne provided six digs and nine excellent receptions. “Italy played great and found their rhythm,” Stanley said. “They turned it up a notch and we turned it down. We worked four years for this. It’s kind of tough.” Knipe started Anderson and Priddy at outside hitter, Lee and Holmes at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite and Suxho at setter. Lambourne is the U.S. designated libero for the Olympic Games. David McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) was a serving sub in all three sets, while David Smith came on in the first and third sets. Rooney was a sub in the second and third sets.

(Left) Reid Priddy hits to the side of the Italy block. (Right) Donald Suxho ties up the Italy attack. (FIVB Photos)

Italy’s serve proved to a major difference in the match with a 9-2 ace advantage and consistently keeping the American offense out of system. Team USA converted 41.0 percent of its attacks into points, but 14 errors led to a .241 hitting efficiency. In contrast, Italy converted 42.4 percent of its attacks with a .253 hitting efficiency. The U.S. managed a 10-8 advantage in blocks for the match, but eight of those blocks came in the opening set. “We had some chances tonight, including the first set, but we didn’t capitalize on them,” Lee said. “Italy served us tough, and I give them credit for that.” “It’s kind of hard to put things into perspective straight after a loss,” Rooney said. “We put together a great performance in pool play, and it was about putting ourselves in the best position to win gold.” A U.S. timeout attempting to regroup against Italy. (FIVB photo)

Reid Priddy passes against Italy. (FIVB photo) 57

No. 1 Matt Anderson Outside Hitter * 6-10 West Seneca, N.Y. College: Penn State Birth Year: 1987 Joined Team: 2008

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2012 – Olympic Games... FIVB World League (Silver Medal)... NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament (Gold Medal). 2011 – FIVB World Cup… NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship… London Volleyball International Invitational… FIVB World League. 2010 – FIVB World Championship. FIVB World League. 2009 – Brazil Tour... FIVB World League. 2008 – America’s Cup... Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship. 2006 – NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Silver Medal). 2005 – Four Nation Tournament. INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Served as the team captain for World League... Played in all 39 sets of the United States’ World League campaign and was the team’s leading scorer with 151 points on 127 kills, nine aces and 15 blocks. Played for Zenit Kazan in Russia during the winter of 2012-13. 2012 – Named the USA Volleyball Male Indoor Athlete of the Year... Finished season as the team’s leading scorer with 393 points on a team-leading 326 kills, 42 blocks and 25 aces (second highest on team). Started 96 out of 97 sets. Hitting efficiency was .440. Credited with 103 digs (1.07 per set), third best on the team… Was the youngest player on the U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team. Started all 21 sets of the Olympic Games and was the team’s leading scorer with 81 points on 69 kills (.390 hitting efficiency), six aces and six blocks. Tourney-high was 18 points (16 attacks, one block, one ace) scored in 3-2 loss to Russia. Finished eighth in kills among all Olympic players. Played in all 60 World League sets and was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 248 points on a team-leading 205 kills, 32 blocks and 11 aces... Named “Best Spiker” at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament on May 7-12 in Long Beach, Calif. Played in 15 out of 16 sets. Was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 64 points on 52 kills, four blocks, and eight aces... During the winter of 2011-12, played for Casa Modena in Italy’s Serie A League. 2011 – Played in more sets than any other U.S. Men’s player in 2011 and was the team’s leading scorer with 493 points on 420 kills, 39 blocks and 34 aces. His kill percent for the season was 48.7 and his hitting efficiency was .414... Played in 32 sets of the FIVB World Cup and was the team’s leading scorer with 158 points on 139 kills, five blocks and 14 aces… Was the team’s leading scorer at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship on Sept. 3-11 in Puerto Rico…Finished with 67 points on 57 kills, four blocks and six aces… His hitting efficiency was 0.468 and his kill percent was 52… Was the team’s second-leading scorer at the London Volleyball International Invitational on July 20-24 where the U.S. Men placed third. He finished with 58 points (3.87 per set) on 47 kills (3.13 per set), seven blocks (0.47 per set) and four aces (0.27 per set)… Started 52 sets of the 2011 FIVB World League for the U.S. Men and was the team’s leading scorer with 210 points (4.04 per set) on 177 kills (3.40 per set), 23 blocks (0.44 per set) and 10 aces (0.19 per set)... During the winter of 2010-11, Matt played for Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia in Italy’s Serie A League. 2010 – Finished the season as the U.S. Men’s fifth-leading scorer with 112 points and an average of 3.20 points per set. Played in four sets for the U.S. Men at the FIVB World Championship in Italy... Played in 31 sets of the FIVB World League. 2009 – Had a serious case of pneumonia during the 2009

summer season, but still finished Courtesy of FIVB sixth on the team in scoring with 71 points in 21 sets (3.38 points per set). After returning from pneumonia, started four out of five matches during the U.S. Men’s Brazil Tour on Sept. 2227... Started five World League matches before falling ill with pneumonia and sitting out the rest of the tournament. During the winter of 2009, played for the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers in Korea. 2008 – Played on the U.S. Men’s Team that finished fifth at the Americas Cup in Cuiaba, Brazil... Was a member of the U.S. Men’s team that won gold at the 2008 Pan American Cup on June 2-7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba... Was a member of the U.S. Men’s Training Team that traveled to Japan from May 17-25 to help prepare the Japanese National team for Olympic qualification. 2007 – Started at outside hitter for the Men’s Junior National Team that finished seventh at the FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship in Rabat, Morocco... Recorded 91 total points for an average of 3.37 points per game, racked up 77 kills (2.85 kills per game) and added four aces, 10 blocks and 32 digs. 2006 – Was a member of the Men’s Junior National Team that finished second at the NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship and qualified for the 2007 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship. 2005 – Was a member of the U.S. Boys Youth National Team that competed at the Four Nation Tournament in Cabo Frio, Brazil. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2008 – Left Penn State after his junior year to play for the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers, a professional volleyball club in Korea… As a junior, was AVCA Co-Player of the Year with Paul Lotman of Long Beach State… Penn State won the NCAA National Championship with a victory over Pepperdine in the final... Named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament... AVCA All-American first team... EIVA Player of the Year... First Team All-EIVA... Led the Nittany Lions with 5.64 kills per game on .390 hitting. 2007 – AVCA Second Team All-America... First Team AllEIVA... EIVA Championship All-Tournament Team... Averaged 4.35 kills per game as an opposite... Set a new career high and Penn State rally-scoringera record with 35 kills (on .452 hitting) in the five-game win at No. 4 UC Santa Barbara (3/12). 2006 – Second Team All-East... Played in 91 games and all 30 matches. HIGH SCHOOL/CLUB HIGHLIGHTS: Attended West Seneca West High School (N.Y.) and led the boys’ volleyball team to a 17-0 regular-season record during his senior season... Squad was the 2004 Division I champions and Matt served as team captain... Was a member of the Eden Volleyball Club in Eden, N.Y. PERSONAL: Born Matthew John Anderson in 1987, in Buffalo, N.Y.... Mother is Nancy Anderson. Matthew’s father, Michael Anderson, died in January 2010... Has three older sisters, Jennifer, Joelle and Amy and one older brother Joshua, one brother-in-law Rialdo, two nephews Aedan and Tristin and two nieces, Alexis and Juliana... Sister Joelle played volleyball at the College of Saint Rose... Sister Amy played volleyball and basketball at Hilbert College... Names Oasis as favorite musical entertainer, buffalo wings from Buffalo, N.Y., as favorite food, and Top Gun as favorite movie... Majored in kinesiology at Penn State.

Also hit .440 for the season with 131 kills, both UCLACourtesy of FIVB records for setters ... His 2012 hitting percentage ranks sixth on the rally-scoring chart... Received the 2012 Maggie Gilbert Academic Achievement Award, given to the student-athlete who improves his grade point average throughout his career at UCLA. 2011 – Started in 24 matches and played in 26 mostly at opposite for UCLA… finished the season with 2.5 kills per set, 2.5 digs per set and 2.9 points per set. 2010 – Played in 13 matches and started in six… averaged 7.3 assists per set. 2009 – Played in 21 matches and started in 10 as a freshman… recorded five double-digit kill matches.

No. 8 Kyle Caldwell Setter * 6-8 Newport Beach, Calif. College: UCLA Birth Year: 1990 Joined Team: 2011

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2011 – Pan American CLUB/HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: Eight-time letterman in basketball Games. 2008 – NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Bronze and volleyball at Newport Harbor HS. 2008 – Led Balboa Bay Volleyball Club medal). to the gold medal in the 18s Division... In high school volleyball, was an All-league selection and league MVP... Orange County Player of the Year... INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Played in 19 sets of World All-CIF. In basketball, he was a two-time All-Sunset League selection, earning League... Scored 25 points on 14 kills, one ace and 10 blocks... Credited co-MVP honors as a senior. 2007 – Member of the Balboa Bay Volleyball with 103 running sets (sets that put a hitter against one or zero blockers). Club team that won gold at the USA Volleyball Junior Olympics. 2006 – Led Played the winter of 2012-13 for Volleyball Club Noliko Masseik in Belgium. the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club to a bronze medal in the 2006 USA Volleyball 2011 – Was the starting setter for the U.S. Men’s National Team that Junior Nationals where he was named Most Valuable Player. placed fifth at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Finished third among all setters in the tournament with 176 running sets and PERSONAL: Born Kyle Jonathan Caldwell in 1990.... Parents are Anne and six faults on 651 attempts for an average of 6.07 running sets per set. Bruce Caldwell... Has a younger brother, Cody Caldwell, who was a member 2008 – Played for the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team that won the bronze of the 2011 U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team... Kyle graduated from Newport medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship in El Salvador. Harbor High School in 2008 and is projected to graduate from UCLA in 2012 COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Earned consensus first-team AllAmerica honors from the AVCA and Volleyball magazine... Also selected First-Team All-MPSF after ranking ninth in the conference at 9.80 in assists per set... Played in 29 matches and started 28... Recorded 1,023 sets during the season, which ranked seventh on the UCLA rally-scoring chart... Scored 203 points (1.3 pps) during the season to lead all MPSF setters...

with a major in History…His favorite food is sushi… favorite book is The Wave… favorite type of music is hip-hop and favorite movie is Drive. Will Ferrell is Kyle’s favorite actor and the Los Angeles Lakers are his teamof-choice. Lionel Messi is his favorite athlete and in his free time he plays basketball and ping pong… Kyle lists his parents as the people he most admires… Kyle’s grandfather, George Yardley played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons and is in the NBA Hall of Fame.

FIVB Photo

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Named to the 2013 All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation second team... Led USC in assists (867), digs (179) and aces (41) and was second in blocks (59). 2012 – During his freshman season at USC, named AVCA and MPSF Newcomer of the Year... Named AVCA Second Team All-American... Played in 102 sets… Tallied 1,097 assists with an average of 10.89 assists per set... Ranked fourth in the nation in assists average… Led the Trojans to a .296 hitting percentage.

No. 11 Micah Christenson Setter * 6-6 Honolulu, Hawaii College: Southern California Birth Year: 1993 Joined Team: 2013

CLUB/PREP HIGHLIGHTS: In 2008, was named captain of the High Performance Select A1 Red Team in Tuscon, Ariz.... In 2010, Micah’s Outrigger club team earned second place at the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championship in the 18U Open Division…Micah made the AllTournament team…First Team All-State his sophomore year…Named Volleyball Magazine First Team High School All-American as a sophomore… All-Conference for volleyball all four years…All-Conference for basketball three years… Gatorade Player of the Year for basketball his junior and senior year… State Player of the Year for volleyball his senior year. Led his high school team to the state championship as a sophomore and reached the state championship game again in 2010.

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship. 2012 – NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Gold Medal). 2011 – FIVB U21 World Championship. 2010 – NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Gold Medal)... NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship (Silver Medal). 2009 – FIVB U19 World Championship. INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Named Best Setter and served as team captain as the U.S. Men's Junior Team won the NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship and qualified for 2013 FIVB U21 World Championship... Finished with 87 running sets on 254 attempts with one error. 2011 – Team captain of the U.S. Men's Junior National Team that finished fourth at the 2011 FIVB Men's Junior World Championship in Brazil. 2010 – Competed in the NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Gold Medal) and qualified for the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship… Named Best Setter of the tournament… Christenson served as Team Captain for the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team that finished second at the NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship… Finished with 67 running sets (fourth among all setters). 2009 – Member of the Boys’ Youth National Team that took 11th at FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship… Named to USA Volleyball’s 2009 Indoor Team of the Year… Youngest setter ever to play for the United States in a World Championship.

PERSONAL: Born Micah Makanamaikalani Christenson on May 8, 1993, in Honolulu, Hawaii... Parents are Robert and Charlene Christenson...Has a sister Joanna... Father played basketball at University of Hawaii-Hilo...Mother played volleyball at University of Hawaii-Hilo where she won three national championships and was named a two-time All-American… Favorite food is his mom’s fried rice... Favorite book is the Bible... Favorite sports team is the Dallas Mavericks and favorite athlete is Larry Bird... Hobbies include hanging out with friends at the beach... Most admired people are his parents for their wonderful example…Micah says that his best moment in life is still to be determined.

scorer and 10th with 56 points on 49 kills, three blocks and four spikes in 18 sets. 2007 – Was the United States’ second leading scorer at the FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship in Baja, Mexico, finishing with 77 points on 65 kills, nine blocks and three aces. 2006 – Was a member of the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team that finished second at the NORCECA Championship in Dominican Republic. The team lost to Puerto Rico in the final.

No. 15 Carson Clark Opposite * 6-6 Santa Barbara, Calif. College: UC Irvine Birth Year: 1989 Joined Team: 2010

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2012 – Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2011 – World University Games in Shenzhen, China. 2010 – FIVB World Championship... Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship (15th). 2006 – NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship (Silver Medal). INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Played in 31 out of 39 sets of World League and was the United States’ second-leading scorer with 124 points on 104 kills, three blocks and a team-high 17 aces... Played for Montpellier in France’s A1 league during the winter of 2012-13. 2012 – Helped the U.S. Men win the gold medal at the Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic... Finished with 42 points on 39 kills and three aces in 12 sets played. 2011 – Competed in 21 sets and started 10 for the U.S. team at the World University Games on Aug. 12-23 in Shenzhen, China. The U.S. Men finished 13th at the Games. Clark had 61 points on 41 kills, eight blocks and five aces. 2010 – Was the backup opposite to Clay Stanley at the FIVB World Championship in Italy where the U.S. Men finished sixth but saw limited playing time... Was the starting opposite for the Pan American Cup team that won the gold medal in San Juan, Puerto Rico (May 24-29). He was the United States’ third-leading FIVB Photo

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Helped UC Irvine win the NCAA Division I-II National Championship... Voted outstanding player of the NCAA tournament, finishing the final with 22 kills and a hitting efficiency of .465... AVCA First Team All-American... First Team All-MPSF... Finished as Irvine’s all-time kill leaders with 1.861. 2011 – Second team All-American and first team All-MPSF honoree... Averaged 4.54 kills and 5.21 points per set...ranked third in the nation in kills per set and seventh in aces (0.42)... Ranked second in the MPSF with a 4.58 kills and 5.29 points average overall and also ranked third in service aces with a 0.44 average... Ended the year ranked second in UCI career service aces (122), third in attack attempts (3,105) and fourth in kills (1,447)... His 47 aces in 2011 was tied for second in the season record book... Totaled double-digit kills in all but two matches this year, totaling 20 or more kills 10 times... Put away 35 kills against Pepperdine (1/21/11) which was the 10th best total in a match at UCI and the most by an MPSF player last season... Named AVCA National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 4, 2011. 2010 – AVCA First Team All-American… First Team AllMPSF… Set UCI single-season records for service aces (50) and attack attempts (1,259) as well as ranking fourth in kills (564)… Played 108 sets for UCA… Finished the season with 625 points on 541 kills (.306 hitting percentage), 12 aces (0.11 per set), 7 solo blocks and 58 block assists… Carson also had 196 digs (1.81 per set). 2009 – Helped UC Irvine win the NCAA Men’s National Championship... Named to the NCAA All-tournament Team... Second Team AVCA All-America... Named MPSF Freshman of the Year as well as first team and All-Freshman team accolades... Led the team with a 3.90 kill average, which was 17th in the country and eighth in the MPSF... Hit .336 overall which was 25th in the country... Ranked eighth among MPSF players in points per set at 4.51... Tallied 25 aces... Recorded kills in double-digits 20 times, including 20 or more kills on seven occasions... Named to the UCSB/Elephant Bar Collegiate All-Tournament Team. 2008 – Redshirted. CLUB/HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: Began playing volleyball in 2003 for the Southern California Volleyball Club… Won a silver medal with the SCVC Boys 18s team at the 2005 Junior National Championships and won a bronze medal in 2004... Earned all-tournament honors at the 2003 Junior Nationals… Attended Santa Barbara High School 2005-07… Fourtime All-CIF selection from Santa Barbara HS... Team was CIF Division 2 finalist... Channel League Co-MVP as a senior... Team won Channel League title... Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection PERSONAL: Born Carson Martin Clark in 1989 in Santa Barbara, Calif. … Parents are Glen and Candy Clark… Carson has two older brothers, Ian and Sutton… Graduated from UC Irvine in 2012 with a degree in sociology… Favorite food is sushi… Favorite book is Into the Wild… Favorite musician is Kid Cudi… Favorite professional team is Liverpool FC… Favorite athlete is Laird Hamilton… Hobbies include going to the beach and naps… Clark considered leaving UCI after his junior year to play overseas professionally, but stayed and ended up winning his second NCAA national championship... His most admired person is Obi Wan Kenobi because “He is what I wish I could be.”

No. 17 Max Holt Middle Blocker * 6-9 Cincinnati, Ohio College: Penn State Birth Year: 1987 Joined Team: 2009

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... World League. 2012 – World League (Silver medal) 2011 – FIVB World Cup… NORCECA Continental Championship (Silver Medal)... London Volleyball International Invitational (Bronze Medal)… FIVB World League. 2010 – FIVB World Championship. FIVB World League. 2009 – Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB U21 World Championship (7th). 2006 – NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship (Silver Medal). 2005 – Four Nations Tournament. INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Was the team’s leading blocker at World League with 27 blocks in 28 sets... Played during the winter of 2012-13 for Copra Elior Piacenza in Italy’s Serie A league. Helped the team win the CEV Challenge Cup and finish second in the league playoffs. 2012 – Was an alternate on the 2012 Olympic Team. 2011 – Finished the season with 76 points on 49 kills, seven blocks and six aces in 39 sets played… Played in nine sets of the FIVB World Cup and finished with nine points on five attacks and four blocks… Started 15 out of 18 sets at the NORCECA Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico where the U.S. Men finished second to Cuba... Second on the U.S. team and among all players in blocks with 13...Finished with a total of 40 points on 24 kills, 13 blocks and three

aces... His hitting efficiency was 0.455 and his kill percent was 54.5. Max started 11 sets of the London Volleyball International Invitational where the U.S. Men finished third. He finished with 23 points (2.09 per set) on 16 kills (1.45 per set), four blocks (0.36 per set) and three aces (0.27 per set)... Max saw limited playing time during the 2011 FIVB World League as middle blockers Dave Lee and Ryan Millar got most of the starts. The U.S. Men finished seventh in World League. Max played for Copra Morpho Piacenza in Italy’s Serie A league during the winter of 2010-11... Played for Copra Morpho Piacenza in Italy’s Serie A league during the winter of 2010-11. 2010 – Played in 41 sets for the U.S. Men in 2010, finishing with 57 points on 41 kills (0.372 hitting percentage), 13 blocks (0.32 blocks per set) and three aces (0,07 aces per set)... Max appeared in 22 sets and started 21 at the FIVB World Championship in Italy where the U.S. Men finished sixth. He finished the tournament with 37 points on 28 kills, eight blocks and one ace. He averaged 0.24 blocks per set... Max appeared in 19 sets during the FIVB World League and had a hitting percentage of .471, second best for the team. He also tallied 10 kills (0.53 per set), two stuff blocks (0.04 per set) and two service aces (0.04 per set). He finished the League with 14 total points (0.74). Played for Bluvolley Verona in Italy’s Serie A League during the winter of 2009-10. 2009 – Played on the Pan American Cup team that won the gold medal in Chiapas, Mexico… Max started all four matches and played 16 sets… He finished with 56 points on 41 kills, 10 blocks and 5 aces. 2007 – Was a starting middle blocker for the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team that finished seventh at the FIVB World Championship in Rabat, Morocco… Scored 56 points for the championship... Provided 42 kills for an average of 1.55 kills per set on .400 hitting... Added five blocks and six digs. 2006 – Was a starting middle blocker on the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team that finished second to Cuba at the NORCECA Continental Championship in Monterrey, Mexico… Max was named the tournament’s Best Blocker. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2009 (Senior) – Named AVCA Division I All American for the second year as Penn State advanced to the NCAA Championship match where it lost to USC… Max was named the 2009 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Player of the Year and was on the EIVA All-East First Team… He ranked first in the nation in aces per game and hitting percentage. 2008 (Junior) – AVCA First Team All-American... NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team... First Team All-EIVA... EIVA All-Championship Team... four-time EIVA Player of the Week... Played in 100 of 103 games and all 31 matches... Recorded 318 kills, 48 service aces, 41 digs and 130 total blocks... Averaged 3.18 kills per game on .548 hitting, good for first on the team and in the nation. 2007 (Sophomore) – First Team All-EIVA... EIVA Championship AllTournament Team... Active Ankle/Long Beach State Guesthouse Classic All-Tournament Team... Played in every game of the season, averaging 2.71 kills per game on .447 hitting, good for 12th on the Penn State single-season hitting percentage list. 2006 (Freshman) – First Team All-East... EIVA All-Championship team... played in all 30 matches and 108 games... Averaged 2.17 kills per game on .415 hitting (15th in the nation) with 0.23 service aces per game, 0.44 digs per game and 1.19 blocks per game. CLUB/HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: Max was a six-time letterwinner (four in volleyball and two in soccer) for Purcell Marian (Ohio) High School... Named the Ohio Player of the Year following senior season in 2005... First team all-state as a junior and third team all-region as a sophomore... Played for the Cincinnati Attack club team... Squad was Flight 1 champions at the 2004 Junior National Championship. PERSONAL: Born Maxwell Philip Holt in 1987 in Cincinnati, Ohio... Parents are Kim and Angie Holt... Has two older siblings, Megan and Nick, and a younger brother, Sam, who also plays volleyball... Max was a six-time letterwinner (four in volleyball and two in soccer) for Purcell Marian (Ohio) High School... Named the Ohio Player of the Year following senior season in 2005... First team all-state as a junior and third team all-region as a sophomore... Played for the Cincinnati Attack club team... Squad was Flight 1 champions at the 2004 Junior National Championship… Max names Ben Harper as favorite musical entertainer, history as favorite school subject, the Cincinnati Bengals as favorite pro sports team and Chad Johnson as favorite athlete... Graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in journalism.

Courtesy of FIVB

No. 4 David Lee

Middle Blocker * 6-8 Alpine, Calif. College: Long Beach State Birth Year: 1982 Joined Team: 2003 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2012 – Olympic Games… FIVB World League (Silver Medal)… NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament (Gold Medal). 2011 – FIVB World Cup… NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship (Silver Medal)… FIVB World League. 2010 – FIVB World Championship... FIVB World League. 2009 – NORCECA Continental Championship (Silver Medal)... 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier for NORCECA Group F (Gold Medal)… FIVB World League. 2008 – Olympic Games (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League (Gold medal)... NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB World Cup... NORCECA Continental Championship (Gold Medal)... Pan American Games (Silver Medal)... FIVB World League (Bronze Medal). 2006 – FIVB World League... Pan American Cup (Gold Medal)... Argentina Tour. 2005 – Pacific Northwest Tour vs. Netherlands... USOC International Sports Invitational (Silver Medal)... Argentina Tour... America’s Cup (Gold Medal)... FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)... NORCECA Continental - Championships (Gold Medal). 2003 – World University Games (Bronze Medal). INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Played in 27 of 39 sets at World League... Second on the team in blocks with 20... Played the winter of 2013 for Zenit Kazan in Russia. 2012 – Finished season with 174 points on 116 kills, 48 blocks in 10 aces. His 48 blocks (.66 per set) put him third on the team… Started 18 Olympic sets, finishing with 42 points on 25 kills, 15 blocks and two aces. Finished fourth among all Olympic blockers (.83 blocks per set)… Finished World League with 89 points on 61 kills, 22 blocks and six aces in 41 sets played.... Named tournament’s Best Blocker at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualifier with 11 blocks in 14 sets played (.79 blocks per set). Finished with 43 points on 30 kills, 11 blocks, and two aces. Hitting efficiency was .784 and kill percent was 81.1. 2011 – Finished the season as the team’s leading blocker with 82 in 104 sets played (.79 blocks per set). Fourth on the team in scoring with 230 points (2.21 points per set) on 140 kills, 82 blocks and eight aces… Named best blocker at the NORCECA Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico with 16. Finished the tournament with 45 points on 28 kills, 16 blocks and one ace... Was one of three players who competed in all 58 sets of the FIVB World League (along with Rich Lambourne and Clay Stanley)… Was the leading blocker for the U.S. Men at World League with 52 in 58 sets for an average of 0.90 blocks per set. Finished pool play second among all blockers... Played the winter of 2010-11 for Kuzbass Kemerovo in Russia’s Super League. 2010 – Finished the 2010 season having played in 75 sets, the second most on the team. Finished as the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 150 points on 85 kills (0.36 hitting percentage), 55 blocks (0.73 blocks per set) and 10 aces (0.13 aces per set). His 55 blocks led the team and his 10 aces put him second... Played in 26 sets of the FIVB World Championship. His 18 blocks tied him with Clay Stanley as the team’s leading blocker with an average of .55 per set... Was the only player to play in all 49 sets of pool play for the U.S. Men in the FIVB World League... Played for Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in the Russian Super League during the winter of 2009-10. 2009 – Was the U.S. Men’s leading blocker in 2009 with 49 stuff blocks in 66 sets for an average of .74 per set. Was the team’s third-leading scorer

with 176 points on 113 kills, 49 Courtesy of FIVB blocks and 14 aces... Helped the team to a second-place finish at the 2009 NORCECA Continental Championship in Puerto Rico... Helped the U.S. Men win the 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier on Aug. 15-17 in Irvine, Calif. … Helped the U.S. Men to a sixth-place finish at World League. Was the leading blocker in the final round, but did not receive the award because the U.S. Men did not play for a medal. Finished with eight blocks and six errors in 26 attempts for an average of 1.33 blocks per set... Was the United States’ leading blocker and fourth overall in the continental (pool play) round with 30 blocks and an average of 0.67 blocks per set. Played the 2008-09 winter season for Sisley Treviso in Italy’s Serie A League. 2008 – Finished the 2008 season as the team’s fourth leading scorer with 243 points in 95 sets played (2.56 points per set). Finished as the second-leading blocker with 63 (0.66 per set). Tallied 168 kills and had a hitting percentage of 0.58... Finished second among all blockers at the Olympic Games with 33 kill blocks for an average of 1 per set. In the United States’ semifinal match against Russia, came up big in the fifth set, tallying a kill and block on consecutive plays to yield a 13-12 advantage. After Russia tied the set at 13-all, Lee ended the match with a kill and block. He scored four of his 12 points in the final five points of the match.... Finished seventh among all blockers in the World League final round with eight blocks for an average of 0.53 per set as the U.S. Men won their first World League title. Scored 28 points on 21 kills and seven blocks at the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier, which the United States won to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games. 2007 – Moved from backup to part-time starter (sharing time with Tom Hoff) and finished the season second on the team in blocks with 69 for an average of 0.67 blocks per set. He was sixth on the team in scoring with 230 points... Was the United States’ second-leading blocker and third overall at the FIVB World Cup, where the U.S. Men finished fourth. David had 25 blocks in 108 attempts and averaged 0.63 blocks per set... Was the top U.S. blocker and fourth overall at the NORCECA Continental Championship. He was credited with 13 blocks on 32 attempts…. Was the top U.S. blocker and second overall at the Pan American Games where he was credited with 12 blocks for an average of 0.75 per set... David was the United States’ leading blocker with an average of 0.43 per set... Started seven out of 10 World League poolplay matches and played in 10. 2006 – Played in six FIVB World League matches in place of Ryan Millar... Played two matches in the inaugural Pan America Cup in June with a 4-0 record... Helped the team finish 4-1 on the Argentina tour. 2005 – Played 65 of 119 sets during the year but finished second in total blocks with 59. Finished second in blocks per set (0.91)... Named “Best Blocker” and earned a gold medal in August at the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament as the USA Men qualified for the 2006 World Championships. 2003 – Scored 20 points as the U.S. Men captured the bronze medal at the World University Games with a 3-2 win over France in Daegu, South Korea. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2004 – Named first team AVCA All American. 2003 – Named to the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) secondteam... Led the team and conference with a .483 hitting percentage... Recorded a team-high 1.18 blocks per game. 2002 – Appeared in 118

No. 2 Jeff Menzel

Opp/OH * 6-6 Santa Barbara, Calif. College: UC Santa Barbara Birth Year: 1988 Joined Team: 2012 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Champioship. 2012 – Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2011 – World University Games... Pan American Cup (Silver Medal) INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Made the preliminary roster for the FIVB World League... Played the winter of 2012-13 for BCC-NEB Castellana Grotte in Italy’s Serie A League. 2011 – Competed with the U.S. Men’s Team that finished 12th at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China… Competed for the U.S. Men’s Team that finished second at the Pan American Cup in Canada. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2011 – First team AVCA All American and AllMPSF... Helped Santa Barbara to the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship match where it lost to Ohio State... Led the Gauchos in most offensive categories in 2011, including kills (453), kills per game (4.23), service aces (29) and total points (509). Kill rate was good enough for fourth in the conference, and his serving also placed him in the conference top-10 for serving... Was a staple on the back line for the Gauchos, compiling 135 digs on the year, good for third on the team, while also leading the team in reception attempts... Finished his UCSB career third all time on the kills list and second all time on the aces list. 2010 – All MPSF Third Team... Led the nation in kills (588) and is second in kills per set (5.16)... Led the MPSF in

total points (672.5) and points per set (5.9). Set career highs in kills (34), aces (5), and total points (37.0). 2009 – An Honorable Mention All-MPSF selection for the second straight season ... Led the team in kills (530), kills per set (5.25), total attacks (1,185), service aces (36), receptions (677), and points (601.0) ... His 5.25 kills per set average ranked sixth in the country ... Started all 26 of the matches he suited up for at outside hitter ... His 530 kills rank eighth in UCSB single season history ... His 36 aces rank fifth on UCSB’s single season list. 2008 – Picked up All-MPSF Honorable Mention accolades ... As a true freshman, started all 27 matches and played in 95 of a possible 98 sets ... Started his first five matches at outside hitter before being moved to opposite for the rest of the season ... Ranked fourth in kills per set and points per set among all MPSF players ... Also ranked in the top-10 nationally in those two categories ... Led the Gauchos in kills (450), kills per set (4.74), attack attempts (992), and aces (25) ... Second in blocks (68) and fourth in digs (112) ... Led UCSB in kills 20 times, attack attempts 21 times, and point production 18 times ... Began his career with 11 or more kills in 12 straight matches ... Posted double-digit kill totals in all but two matches ... Had 20 or more kills 10 times ... Recorded multiple aces eight times. CLUB/HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: A 2007 graduate of San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, Calif. ... Named 2007 AVCA High School All-American as a senior… Named First Team All-CIF as a sophomore in 2005… Was also a three-time All-CIF performer. PERSONAL: Born Jeffrey Menzel in 1988 in Santa Barbara, Calif… Parents are Paul and Karen Menzel… Older sisters are Erica and Marisa… Favorite professional team is the LA Lakers… Favorite TV show is Californication on Showtime… Favorite music artist is Lil’ Wayne… Favorite moment in life was when he won former UCSB volleyball coach, Ken Preston’s, final career match in 2008… Majored in sociology at UCSB.

No. 8 Reid Priddy

Outside Hitter * 6-4 Richmond, Virginia College: Loyola Marymount Birth Year: 1977 Joined Team: 2000 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship 2012 – Olympic Games... FIVB World League (silver medal)... NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament (gold medal). 2011 – FIVB World Cup... FIVB World League. 2010 –FIVB World Championship... FIVB World League. 2009 – NORCECA Continental Championship. 2008 – Olympic Games (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League (Gold Medal)... NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Championship (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB World Cup... NORCECA Continental Championship (Gold Medal)... Americas’ Cup (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League (Bronze Medal). 2006 – FIVB World Championships... FIVB World League... Pan American Cup (Gold Medal)... Argentina Tour. 2005 – World Grand Champions Cup (Silver Medal). 2004 – NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)... Japan Tour ... Houston Series... USA Global Challenge (Gold Medal)... Serbia and Montenegro Tour (Silver Medal)... Olympic Games (Fourth Place). 2003 – Colorado/Nebraska Tour... Canada Tour... Pan American Games (Fourth Place)... NORCECA Zone Championships (Gold Medal)... World Cup (Fourth Place). 2002 – Bulgaria Tour... Greece Tour... Florida Tour... World Championships. 2001 – Japan Tour... World League... World Championship Qualifier... NORCECA Zone Championships... Jeep America’s Cup. 1999 – Pan American Games. INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Played in Turkey during the winter of 2012-13. 2012 – Finished the season with 196 points on 146 kills, 32 blocks and 18 aces in 66 sets... Was the team’s fourth-leading scorer in World League, finishing with 94 points on 74 kills, 16 blocks and four aces... Was the U.S. Men’s third-leading scorer at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament with 47 points on 35 kills, six blocks and six aces...HIs hitting efficiency was .400 and his kill percent was 46.7. During the 2011-12 winter season, helped Zenit Kazan win the Russian Super League Championship. 2011 – Finished the season as the U.S. Men’s third-leading scorer with 311 points on 262 kills, 31 blocks and 18 aces in 88 sets played. Was the U.S. Men’s third-leading scorer at the FIVB World Cup with 106 points on 86 kills, 13 blocks and seven aces. He was third on the team in digs with 39. The U.S. Men finished sixth… While training for the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship, Reid was elbowed in the face during practice while coming down from a block. The injury and its resulting complications required two surgeries and he was not able to play in the tournament… Reid was the United States’ thirdleading scorer of the FIVB World League, finishing the tournament with 205 points (3.87 per set) on 176 kills (50.0 kill percent), 18 blocks and 11 aces. Helped Zenit Kazan win the Russian Superleague title during the winter of 2010-11. 2010 – Served as the U.S. team captain for the 2010 season... Finished the season as the team’s third leading scorer with 161 points on 136 kills, eight blocks and seven aces in 42 sets played. Played in 26 sets for the U.S. Men at the FIVB World Championship in Italy where the U.S. Men finished sixth. Reid was the U.S. Men’s second-leading scorer and 21st overall, finishing with 100 points on 84 kills, 11 blocks and five aces... He played in 17 sets for the U.S. men in the FIVB World League and tallied 51 kills. His 3.0 kills per set was the team high. He also tallied seven blocks and 16 digs. Played the winter of 2009-10 for Lokomotive Novosibirsk in Russia. 2009 – Took most of the summer of 2009 off from the U.S. Men’s Team and played beach volleyball on the AVP tour. Returned to the team for the NORCECA Continental Championship, where he tied with Evan Patak as the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 49 points on 40 kills, six blocks and three aces as the U.S. Men finished second. Played the winter of 2008-09 for Lokomotive Novosibirsk in Russia. 2008 – Named the USAV Male Player of the Year... Helped the U.S. Men win the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. Finished fourth among all scorers and second among U.S. scorers with 112 points on 93 kills, 10 blocks and nine aces. Helped the U.S. Men win their first FIVB World League title. Priddy and teammate Clay Stanley tied for second in scoring in the final round behind Serbia’s Ivan Miljkovic.

Was also the team’s leading scorer in pool play with 101 points on 82 kills, 10 blocks and nine aces... Helped the U.S. Men qualify for the Olympics by winning the NORCECA qualifying tournament. Priddy scored 24 points on 19 kills, three aces and two blocks. 2007 – Was the United States’ leading scorer in 2007 with 525 points scored in 121 sets for an average of 4.34 points per set. His season-high was the 21 points he scored against Poland in the third-place match at World League. Reid led the team in kills with 421 in 822 attempts. Tied Clay Stanley for most aces on the team with 29. Second on the team in digs with an average of 2.1 digs per set and was third in blocks with 65... Was the United States’ scoring leader in the World Cup, World League and NORCECA Continental Championship... Priddy just missed winning the World League’s Top Scorer award when he was passed by Russia’s Semen Poltavsky in the final match. Finished the World League final round with 61 points scored on 53 kills, four blocks and four serves. 2006 – Led the team in overall scoring in 2006 with 416 and in overall kills with 343. His kill percentage was 48 percent... Also led the team in aces with 26. Was second on the team in scoring blocks with 47... Was one of the overall World League leaders in scoring and hitting during pool play... Helped the U.S. team go undefeated (4-0) at the inaugural Pan American Cup in June. 2005 – Made his indoor season debut in Japan at the World Grand Champions Cup as the U.S. Men claimed the silver medal with a record of 4-1... Played in each of the final four matches (eight out of 13 sets) and scored 27 points on 23 kills, two blocks and two service aces... Finished ninth three times in 10 Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournaments during the year. 2004 – Made his first-ever Olympic appearance in Athens, Greece. The U.S. Men finished fourth overall... Finished second on the team and 11th overall in total scoring with 86 points on 72 kills, 11 blocks and three service aces...Team USA qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, by winning the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament... Scored a match-high 16 points on 13 kills and three blocks in the championship match. 2003 – Emerged as one of the starting outside hitters on the left side... Served as the team captain at the Pan American Games... Battled an abdominal injury for much of the season but still finished third on the team in kills (224) and fourth on the squad in service aces (17). 2002 – Rejoined the team in late July... Played in 58 of a possible 141 sets during the year... Led the team in total points (70), kills (60) and blocks (eight) in six matches at the World Championships... Finished the season first on the team in points per game (2.98) and sixth in total points (173). 2001 – Led the team in kills (258) and digs (184)... Finished second in blocks (41) and was tied for third in service aces (14)... Played professionally for the Vienna Hotvolleys in Austria. 2000 – Was one of four alternates for the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2000 – Earned American Volleyball Coaches Association first-team All-America honors as a senior at Loyola Marymount University. 1999 – Earned AVCA second-team All-America honors for the second-straight season... Also garnered second-team all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF)honors... Led the team in kills (435), kills per game (5.80) and service aces (35). 1998 – Became the first All-American in school history when he was named to the second-team AVCA All-American team... Led the Lions with 391 kills and in matches with 10-or-more kills (17)... Also earned all-MPSF honorable mention accolades. 1997 - Appeared in 18 matches (42 games)... Posted 150 kills, 70 digs and 12 service aces. PERSONAL: Born William Reid Priddy in 1977 in Richmond, Va.... Parents are Ken and Sharon Priddy... Has three sisters: Brooke, Kara and Dylan... Reid married Lindsay Pierce in March 2007. The couple has a son, Caden, born in September of 2010... Enjoys wakeboarding, surfing and making humorous videos... Graduated from LMU with a degree in communication studies in 2000... Started playing volleyball after his family moved from Richmond to Florida where he tried it in a summer-school PE class... When his family later moved to Phoenix, Ariz., in 1994, he played for Mountain Pointe High School, participating in the first year of varsity volleyball in the state. As a junior, he led the school to its first state championship in 1995. He graduated from high school in 1996. “Men’s volleyball was such a new sport in our area that there was no example to follow. At the time we would shop at the thrift store for our clothes, trying to find the craziest outfit we could. We were very active, playing beach volleyball, wake-boarding, going to the lake and jumping off rocks and stuff like that.”... Reid helped start an Internet radio show called The NET Live devoted to volleyball along with former U.S. Men’s player Kevin Barnett.

Kaliningrad, Russia. 2007 – Named the Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Men’s match against Egypt at the FIVB World Cup. Scored 18 points on 15 kills, two blocks and one ace as the United States won in straight sets... Was the team’s leading scorer at the Pan American Games and third overall with 64 points on 58 kills, five blocks and one ace in five matches. He was the Pan Am Games’ leading “spiker” with an efficiency percentage of 42.11... Traveled to every World League match and started in four. 2003 – Played with the 2003 World University Games team that won a bronze medal in Daegu, Korea.

No. 2 Sean Rooney

Outside Hitter * 6-9 Wheaton, Illinois College: Pepperdine Birth Date: Nov. 13, 1982 Joined Team: 2007 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship. 2012 – Olympic Games... FIVB World League (silver medal) 2011 – FIVB World Cup.. NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship (Silver Medal)… FIVB World League. 2010 – FIVB World Championship... FIVB World League. 2009 – NORCECA Continental Championship (Silver Medal)... 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier for NORCECA Group F (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League. 2008 – Olympic Games (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League (Gold Medal)... NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship (Gold Medal). 2007 – FIVB World Cup... Americas’ Cup (Gold Medal)... Pan American Games (Silver Medal)... FIVB World League (Bronze Medal). 2003 – World University Games (bronze). INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – After struggling with an injured shoulder in 2011, made his full-time return to the U.S. Men’s Team at the FIVB World League and he made the most of the opportunity, finishing as the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 112 points on 68 attacks, 17 blocks and seven aces. The performance helped him land a spot on his second straight Olympic Team. Finished the season with 132 points on 102 kills, 23 blocks and seven aces in 37 sets. 2011 – Struggled with an injured shoulder for much of the season and saw limited playing time… He played in 16 sets and scored 45 points on 43 attacks and two blocks. Played for Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza in Italy’s Serie A league during the winter of 2010-11. 2010 – Finished the 2010 season as the team’s secondleading scorer with 198 points (3.25 points per set) on 170 kills (0.27 hitting percentage), 25 blocks (0.41 blocks per set) and three aces (0.05 aces per set) in 61 sets played. Sean was second on the team in kills. He also had 60 digs (0.98 digs per set), which was fourth best on the team... During the winter of 2009-10, played for Fakel Novy Urengoi in Russia. 2009 – Was named USA Volleyball’s Male Player of the Year for 2009. Finished as the team’s leading scorer with 258 points on 224 kills, 22 blocks and 12 aces. His 224 kills were by far the best on the team and his hitting average was 0.435. Sean also led the team in digs with 80 (1.19 per set)... Named Best Spiker at the 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier for NORCECA Group F on Aug. 15-17 in Irvine, Calif., as the U.S. won all three matches and qualified for the 2010 World Championship. Finished the competition with 19 kills and one error on 29 attempts for a success percentage of 65.52... Was the United States’ leading scorer in both pool play and the final round of the FIVB World League competition, where the U.S. Men finished sixth. During the winter of 2008-09, played for Fakel Novy Urengoi in Russia. 2008 – Finished the 2008 season with 167 points (2.98 points per set) and a hitting percentage of .41. He also finished with 140 kills (2.50 per set) and 20 blocks... Helped the U.S. Men win the Olympic gold medal in Beijing as a substitute and serving specialist... Helped the U.S. Men win their first FIVB World League title. Led the team in scoring with 20 points in a loss to Bulgaria on June 21...Helped the U.S. Men win the Four Nations Tournament on May 11-13 in Germany... Named “Best Spiker” of the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying tournament on Jan. 6-11 in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Finished the tournament with 46 points on 43 kills and three blocks. The U.S. Men won the tournament and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2007-08, he played for Dinamo-Yantar in

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2005 – By the end of his college career, Sean ranked second nationally among NCAA Division I-II players in points per game with 6.35 while hitting .395 on the season as he led Pepperdine to the 2005 NCAA national championship... He extended his consecutive double-digit kill match streak to 50 matches, while averaging 1.46 digs and 0.49 aces per game. Totaled 20 or more kills in 14 matches, including two 30-plus kill contests in 2005... Was a four-time AVCA All-American and only the seventh male student-athlete to achieve such an honor. 2004 – Had a stellar season culminating in being named Volleyball Magazine’s Player of the Year... Postseason accolades included being named AVCA first team All-American and Volleyball first team All-American... Tabbed MPSF first team All-Conference... Led the team with 461 kills and hit .406 for the year. 2003 – Named First Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and by Volleyball Magazine; Tabbed First-Team All-MPSF. As a key component to the Wave’s 24-6 season, Sean led the team with a total of 480 kills (.354 hitting percentage) and also led the team in kills per game, with an average of 4.53. 2002 – Selected the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) “Freshman of the Year”... A second team All-American selection by the AVCA and a second team All-MPSF pick as a rookie... Helped Pepperdine compile a 29-5 record and advance to the NCAA title match before losing a four-game decision to Hawaii... The Waves captured the regular season MPSF title with a 20-2 mark and won the league’s postseason tournament... Led the Waves with 510 kills. PERSONAL: Born Sean Michael Rooney in 1982 in Wheaton, Ill.... Parents are Mike and Carol Rooney... Sean also has two sisters, Melissa and Megan... Married wife, Valerie, in 2013... Graduated from Pepperdine in 2005 with a degree in business administration... In 2004, Rooney joined the AVP beach volleyball tour. His highest placing was fifth, which he achieved three times. Was considered a sports celebrity in South Korea when he played volleyball for the Hyundai Skywalkers in 2006 and 07… Enjoys the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson, The Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dave Matthews and the Counting Crows... SportsCenter is his FIVB Photo favorite TV show.... Calls his grandfather his role model for “devoting his life to helping others.”

National Championship all-tournament 17s choice for the runner-up Outrigger Canoe Volleyball Club of Honolulu.

No. 22 Erik Shoji Libero * 6-0 Honolulu, Hawaii College: Stanford Birth Year: 1989 Joined Team: 2013

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2011 – World University Games. 2009 – FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship. 2008 – NORCECA Continental Championship (Bronze Medal). 2007 – FIVB Youth World Championships in Baja, Calif. and Mexico. 2006 – NORCECA Continental Championships, Dominican Republic (Silver Medal) INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Started all 39 sets of the FIVB World League and led all players in pool play with 118 digs... Played the winter of 2013-13 for CV Mitteldeutschland in Germany’s top league. 2011 – Competed for the United States at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China… The U.S. finished 12th, though it posted a 5-3 record. 2009 – Was a member of the Men’s Junior National Team that finished eighth at the FIVB Junior World Championship in Pune, India. 2008 – Member of the Men’s Junior National Team that took bronze at the NORCECA Continental Championships in El Salvador. Named Best Passer, Best Defender, and Best Libero of the Tournament. 2007 – Member of the Boys’ Youth National Team that competed in the FIVB World Championships in Baja, Calif. and Mexico. Named FIVB Photo Best Defender and Best Libero. 2006 – Member of the Boys’ Youth National Team that took silver in the NORCECA Continental Championships in the Dominican Republic CLUB/PREP HIGHLIGHTS: Four-time all-state first-team selection while playing for Punahou School in Honolulu ... Two-time All-America selection. 2008 – Interscholastic League of Honolulu player of the year. 2006 – Boys’

COLLEGIATE HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Became the first four-time firstteam All-America in the history of AVCA honors... Named AVCA first-team All-America... Made his first All-MPSF first team and named to the MPSF All-Tournament team… Finished as collegiate record-holder in career digs, with 1,402, which also is the most in Stanford history, including the sideout era... Set Stanford career records for digs per set (3.16) and in sets played (443)... Received the Biff Hoffman Award as the school’s Outstanding Male Senior, by the Stanford Athletic Board. 2011 – Earned a third AVCA firstteam All-America honor, becoming just the second Stanford player to do so... Set a Stanford record for career digs (1,098) for all eras while recording the third-best singleseason dig total for a Cardinal player (286) in the rally-scoring era... Named to the All-MPSF second team and the MPSF All-Academic team. 2010 – Earned his second consecutive AVCA first-team All-America honor... First-team choice by Volleyball Magazine... Led MPSF, and was fourth in the nation, in digs per game (3.46). 2009 – The AVCA’s national Newcomer of the Year for 2009... AVCA first-team All-American ... Erik and brother Kawikia became the first brothers ever to earn first-team honors in the same yea ... Set the unofficial national record for digs in a season, with 447 (the NCAA began to keep official records in 2009)... National Leader in digs (447) and digs per set (3.92)... Named to All-MPSF second team and All-MPSF freshmen team. PERSONAL: Born Erik Thomas Shoji in 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii... Parents are Dave and Mary Shoji... Has a brother, Kawika (1987) and a sister Cobey (1979)... Kawika is also on the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team as a setter… Father is University of Hawaii women’s volleyball coach and has won four national titles in 34 seasons... Mother played basketball at Hawaii... Erik graduated from Punahou School in 2008... While playing for Stanford, Erik had a “kick set” featured on ESPN’s Plays of the Week... Favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird... Favorite food is sushi... Favorite athletes are Marat Safin and Serena Williams.

No. 9 Murphy Troy

Courtesy of NORCECA

Opposite * 6-8 St. Louis, Mo. College: USC Birth Year: 1989 Joined Team: 2012

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship... FIVB World League. 2012 – Pan American Cup (Gold Medal). 2011 – World University Games in Shenzhen, China... London International Invitational (Bronze medal)... Pan American Cup (Silver Medal) 2008 – NORCECA Continental Championships, El Salvador (Bronze medal). 2007 – FIVB World Youth Championships, Baja, Calif. and Mexico. 2006 – NORCECA Continental Championships, Dominican Republic (Silver medal) INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – Played in 13 sets in World League primarily as a backup, finishing with 33 points on 30 kills, one ace and two blocks.. Played the winter of 2012-13 for Andreoli Latina in Italya’s Serie A League. 2012 – Was the third-leading scorer for the U.S. Men’s Team that won the Pan American Cup on July 9-14 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic... Started 14 sets and finished with 46 points on 37 kills, (.681 hitting efficiency), two blocks and seven aces... His tournament high was 16 points on 15 attacks and one block scored against Dominican Republic... Played the winter of 2011-12 for Andreoli Latina in Italy’s Serie A League. 2011 – Competed for the United States at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China... Played in 25 sets and started 18... Scored a total of 71 points on 62 kills, five blocks and four aces... Finished with a kill percent of 48.8 and a hitting efficiency of 0.402... Competed at the Pan American Cup in Canada where the U.S. Men’s A2 Team finished second... Played in 11 sets and started two... Finished with 18 points on 15 kills, one block and two aces. 2009 – Captain of the Men’s Junior National Team that took bronze at the NORCECA Continental Championships in El Salvador. 2007 – Captain of the Boys’ Youth National Team that competed in the FIVB World Championships in Baja, Calif. and Mexico. 2006 – Member of the Boys’ Youth National Team that took silver in the NORCECA Continental Championships in the Dominican Republic. COLLEGIATE HIGHLIGHTS: 2011 – Named 2011 AVCA Men’s Division I-II National Player of the Year and MPSF Player of the Year and AVCA AllAmerica First-Team honoree... Received the 2010-11 Pac-10 Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership... Helped lead USC to a 23-3 record, the MPSF regular season title with a 20-2 league mark, and the No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship semifinal, where it was upset by fourth-seeded UC Santa Barbara... Going into that semifinal match, Troy led USC in kills (358) and aces (37) in 2011 and was fourth in digs (140) and blocks (57). He was eighth nationally in aces (0.41), 10th in hitting percentage (.357) and 13th in kills (3.98). In his career, the USC co-captain had 1,884 kills, 655 digs, 249 blocks and 142 aces. His kills, aces and 32 matches with 20-plus kills were USC rally scoring era career records. 2010 – Started all 26 matches in which he appeared (19 at opposite hitter and 7 mid-season matches at outside hitter). Led USC with 481 kills while hitting .255, plus he had 27 aces (second on USC), 179 digs (third on USC) and 77 blocks (third on USC)... He was in double kill figures 25 times (including 10 times with 20plus kills, with a USC season high of 34 kills against Pacific), had 5-plus digs 18 times (including 6 times with 10-plus digs) and 5-plus blocks 5 times... He was fifth in the MPSF (10th in the NCAA) in kill average (4.62)

and seventh in the MPSF in points average (5.31)... He made the 2010 Volleyball Magazine All-American second team and All-MPSF third team. 2009 – While starting for his second season (the first 18 matches at outside hitter and the final 14 at his more natural opposite hitter), he ranked among the top players in the collegiate game as a sophomore... He made the AVCA All-American first team, Volleyball Magazine All-American first team and AllMPSF first team (USC’s first such honoree at either level since 2000) ... He also made the NCAA All-Tournament team (he had 50 kills, hit .465 and had 11 digs)... He hit .319 and led USC in kills (615) and aces (43), and also had 192 digs and 50 blocks ... His 615 kills, 5.04 kill average, 29 matches in double figure kills and 16 matches with 20-plus kills are USC rally scoring era season records ... He was in double kill figures 29 times (including 16 times with 20-plus kills, with a high of 33), hit .500-plus 6 times and had 5-plus digs 21 times (including 4 times with 10-plus digs) ... His 33 kills and 62 attempts against UCLA were USC season highs. 2008 – As a first-year freshman, started all of 2008 at outside hitter and had a dramatic impact ... Overall while starting all 29 matches, he led USC in aces (35), was second in kills (430) and third in digs (144) .. He also had 65 blocks and hit .287... Made the 2008 Asics/Volleyball Magazine All-American honorable mention and All-MPSF third team. CLUB/PREP HIGHLIGHTS: 2007 – Helped his St. Louis (Mo.) University High team to the 2007 Missouri Class 4 State Volleyball championship ... He was named the 2007 Volleyball Magazine All-American first team, Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 list and St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Player of the Year while posting 171 kills, 22 blocks and 117 digs as a senior despite missing the early part of the season with a broken foot. 2006 – Made the St. Louis Post Dispatch All-Metro First Team. PERSONAL: Born Murphy Edward Troy in 1989 in St. Louis, Mo. ... Parents are John Troy and Sally Miller... Has a brother Phineas (1985) and a sister Sadie (1987)... Began playing volleyball in 1999 with Midwest Select Volleyball Club... Favorite book is Catcher in the Rye... Favorite sports team is the St. Louis Cardinals and favorite athlete is Albert Pujols... Hobbies include basketball and football... Most admired person is his mother... Has a yellow Labrador named Buster... Currently attends USC majoring in physics... Was named a 2009 Marks Scholar

No. 21 Futi Tavana Middle Blocker * 6-8 Saipipi, Samoa College: BYU Birth Year: 1987 Joined Team: 2013

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2013 – NORCECA Continental Championship. 2012-13 – Played for Copra Elior Piacenza in Italy, winning the 2013 CEV Challenge Cup. 2013-14 – Playing for Touluse in France. COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Played for Brigham Young University… Three-time AVCA All-American… Four-time All-MPSF First Team… Named to the MPSF All-Academic Team… Finished his collegiate career ranking first in BYU history for career total blocks… Ranked second nationally in the NCAA in blocks. 2012 – Played in 24 matches, starting all of them, and 91 sets…Finished the season with 170 kills, a .385 hitting percentage, six aces and 155 digs… Contributed a team-high 14 solo blocks and 145 total blocks to bring his career total to 625. 2011 – Named Blocker of the Year in Off the Block’s inaugural season of the award… Played in 105 sets and started all 28 matches… Tallied 234 kills, 23 as-

sists, seven aces, 44 digs and a team-high and NCAA-leading 160 blocks. 2010 – Started 25 of 30 matches… Broke the BYU all-time record for total blocks achieved against thenNo. 10 UC Santa Barbara, with 15… Ranked second on the Cougars with 151 blocks. 2009 – Started all 30 matches… Led the team with 169 blocks, averaging 1.47 per set… Led the team with a .387 attack percentage, ranking sixth in the conference… Named Walk On of the Year at the Y Awards. CLUB/HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: Started playing volleyball in 2002 for ASICS Rainbow… Played for Kauai High School from 2002-2005. PERSONAL: Born Va’afuti Gaugau Tavana Jr. in 1987 in Auckland, New Zealand… Parents are Dr. Tofa Tavana Namulauulu G. Vaafuti and Palagi Tavana… Has two brothers, Dennis Murray (1980) and Devin Matauaina (1991), and four sisters, Taufao Faith (1976), Lupeautino Phaedra (1978), Justina Puluafi (1982) and Delsa Julie (1985)… Graduated from BYU in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in commercial management… Favorite foods are kalo and palusami… Favorite book is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson… He most admires his dad because, “he has always been a great example of hard work and dedication.”

Courtesy of NORCECA

that finished fifth at the 2011 Pan American Games.

John Speraw

In 2012, Speraw returned as the assistant coach for the FIVB World League and filled in as head coach for the 2012 World League team for four overseas pool play matches while then head coach Alan Knipe was dealing with a family emergency. The U.S. Men went on to win the silver medal in the FIVB World League Final Round.

Head Coach * First Year Hometown: Los Angeles

John Speraw, a two-time Olympic assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, was named the program’s head coach for the Olympic Games quadrennial culminating at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, on March 25, 2013. Speraw, 41, also continues as the head men’s volleyball coach at UCLA in a dual role with the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team. He accepted the head job at his alma mater in June 2012. “I am very happy that John has accepted our offer to be the U.S. Men’s head coach,” Beal said. “He’s the right person for the job for this quad at this time. He’s a terrifically talented coach who has had a remarkable level of success at the college level. He knows the current U.S. Men’s player pool very well from his experiences over the last two quads. He has mentored under both Hugh McCutcheon and Alan Knipe.” Speraw said he felt ready for the challenge of leading two men’s volleyball teams.

Speraw assisted Knipe at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where the U.S. Men placed fifth after winning its preliminary pool with a 4-1 record. The U.S. Men go into 2013 ranked fifth in the world by the FIVB. Speraw served as head coach of the U.S. Men’s Junior National Volleyball Team that won the silver medal at the NORCECA Men’s Junior (U-21) Continental Volleyball Championship in 2004 and the team that placed sixth at the 2005 FIVB Junior World Championship. He served as an assistant for the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team (1998 and 2001), the World University Games Team (1997 and 1999) and the Pan American Games Team (1999, 2007). As UC Irvine’s men’s volleyball coach, Speraw transformed the program into a national power. Under his direction, the Anteaters won three NCAA Men’s National Collegiate Volleyball Championship titles in the last six years and advanced to the NCAA Championship four times, won two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season titles and a pair of MPSF Tournament championships. USAV/Matt Brown

“Now that I’ve been at UCLA for almost a full season, it is apparent that (coaching both teams) is doable,” Speraw said. “The support and resources at UCLA are beyond what I have imagined. I have two great assistant coaches (at UCLA) in Brad Keller and Andrea Becker and an amazing staff. “I am excited to take on this new role with USA Volleyball,” Speraw said. “I am honored to have been selected to coach this elite group of talented U.S. players and I appreciate UCLA’s support in allowing me to pursue this tremendous opportunity.” The U.S. Men’s National Team moved to Anaheim in 2006 and it is now the Official Host City for both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Volleyball Teams. Speraw joined the U.S. Men’s staff in 2007 under then head coach Hugh McCutcheon. In 2008, he traveled with the U.S. Men to the Olympic Games in Beijing where they won the gold medal. After 2008, he worked with the U.S. Men as needed, including a stint as the head coach of a young team

In 2008, Speraw received a Pillar Award, which showcases outstanding achievement in ethical leadership at the12th Annual Ethics in America Awards. In 2011, he was given the U.S. Olympic Achievement Award, an honor that recognizes the colleges and universities whose coaches and student-athletes have won Olympic medals. Prior to UCI, Speraw served in various roles with the UCLA men’s volleyball program for 12 years. He played middle blocker for the Bruins from 199295 and was a member of two national championship teams. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 1995 when he had 11 kills and eight blocks in the championship victory over Penn State. Speraw became a volunteer assistant coach with the Bruins before assuming a full-time assistant’s position in 1998. He graduated from UCLA in 1995 with a bachelor of science degree in microbiology and molecular genetics. Speraw is the co-author of the book “Exercise for Your Muscle Type: The Smart Way to Get Fit.”

Mike Wall

Matt Fuerbringer Assistant Coach * First Year

Assistant Coach * First Year

Hometown: Costa Mesa, Calif.

Hometown: Santa Barbara, Calif.

Matt Fuerbringer joined the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team staff as an assistant coach on April 1, 2013.

Mike Wall joined USA Volleyball in June, 2013 to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Fuerbringer, 39, has almost 10 years of experience coaching junior club volleyball and has spent the last year as the volunteer assistant coach under Speraw at UCLA. He is well-known for being a pro beach volleyball player and came close to making the 2012 U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Team. He played indoor volleyball for Stanford University and also professionally overseas.

Wall (Santa Barbara, Calif.) comes to USA Volleyball from the Arizona State women’s volleyball team where he served as an assistant coach. He has also been a part of the Gold Medal Squared Volleyball Program since 2003.

“I was honored and humbled to be asked to be an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team,” Fuerbringer said. “Coaching is what I have always wanted to do and working with John at UCLA has helped me realize I’m ready to take my coaching career to the next level.” “Matt is an absolutely outstanding coach even though he doesn’t have much formal experience,” Speraw said. “He’s been a professional on the beach and an excellent player on the beach for a long time. He’s got great presence. He’s articulate and intelligent.” Speraw, who was named the U.S. Men’s National Team head coach on March 25, 2013, has known Fuerbringer since the two played against each other in college. Speraw was a middle blocker at UCLA and Fuerbringer played outside hitter at Stanford. Prior to working with Speraw at UCLA, Fuerbringer coached at Mizuno Long Beach, a program directed by his wife Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer, and founded Team Rockstar three years ago. Fuerbringer grew up in Costa Mesa, Calif., and played volleyball and basketball at Estancia High School. At Stanford, Fuerbringer was a four-time AVCA All-American and a member of the 1997 NCAA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship team. His final block sealed the first NCAA men’s volleyball title for Stanford. After Stanford, Fuerbringer played professional indoor volleyball from 19992003. Fuerbringer has played pro beach volleyball since 2003. In 2012, he and partner Nick Lucena were edged out for the United States’ final Olympic Games berth in a battle that came down to the final qualification tournament. Fuerbringer and Lucena finished fifth in the FIVB Olympic rankings and were the highest ranked team not to go to London because the United States was limited to two teams per gender.

“Mike has high-level experience both in volleyball and in business,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw (Los Angeles) said. “His talents will be invaluable to us both on the court and in the office as we work to build the U.S. Men’s National Team program.” “I’m honored and excited to be joining John, Matt Fuerbringer and the USA men’s volleyball program for the next three years,” Wall said. “Our staff is committed to working hard for this group of athletes. I’m looking forward to the challenge. From 2006-2008 Wall served as the first assistant coach for Arizona State University women’s volleyball. In 2012, Wall rejoined the program, helping Arizona State reach the NCAA Division I Women’s National Championship Tournament. In 2005, Wall served as the first assistant coach at the University of Utah. The Utes won the MWC Tournament, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Before Utah, Wall coached at Saint Mary’s College. While on the Gaels’ staff, he helped the team to a 24-4 overall record. Prior to his stint at Saint Mary’s, Wall was an assistant coach at UC-San Diego in 2003-04. There he helped UCSD to its best season in program history. Wall has played volleyball at the international level as well. He participated in the 2001 FIVB World League Tournament with the U.S. Men’s National Team. After finishing his senior campaign at Brigham Young, Wall returned to the U.S. National Team to take part in the Dallas and Italian tours. From 2002-04, Wall played volleyball overseas. He began playing in the Swiss National League A in 2002-03 and spent part of 2004 playing for San Sebastian Volleyball Club in Puerto Rico. Wall played college volleyball at Brigham Young where he was an opposite from 1997-2002 and was a part of two NCAA National Championship squads. In 2001 and 2002, Wall was named an AVCA First Team All-American. After beating UCLA in three sets to take the 2002 NCAA championship, Wall was named the Final Four MVP and BYU’s Most Competitive Athlete.

Matt Fuerbringer and Joy Fuerbringer-McKienzie have two children, Charlie and Mateo.

Aaron Brock

Anton Willert

Director, Sports Medicine and Performance to the U.S. National Teams Eighth Year

Technical Coordinator First Year

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

Hometown: Storm Lake, Iowa Anton Willert serves as the technical coordinator for the U.S. Men’s National Team. “It’s an honor to be a part of the Olympic team coaching staff for the quad,” Willert said. “It is an opportunity to work with a great team and one of the best coaches in the world. I’m looking forward to spending all of my time supporting the team.” Willert, a native of Berlin, Germany, spent the last year and a half as the team manager and video coordinator for the men’s and women’s volleyball programs at the University of Hawaii, where he is working toward a master’s degree in communicology. In 2009-10, Willert was an assistant coach for Team-Berlin and 2nd Division VC Olympia in Germany’s Premier League . He spent the 2010-2011 season as an assistant coach for the German junior national team. He was also an assistant coach for 1st Division VC Olympia volleyball club in Premier League during this time. From 2007-10, Willert served as the head coach of 3rd Division BBSC volleyball club. While he was at the helm, the team won the Berlin-Brandenburg regional championship in 2009. He holds two bachelor’s degrees; one in journalism/mass communication from Freie University in Berlin, and the other in business studies from the University of Potsdam in Brandenburg. Both were earned in 2011. As a player, he was a libero and outside hitter and a member of BTSC volleyball club, which won four German championships. He graduated CoubertinGymnasium in 2007, and his team won third place at the High School World Championship in 2006.

Aaron Brock of Storm Lake, Iowa, is in his seventh year in 2012 as the full-time certified athletic trainer for the U.S. Men’s National Team at its headquarters at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif. In 2009, he added the title of Director of Sports Medicine and Performance to the U.S. National Teams. In 2008, he was working with the U.S. Men’s Team as it won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing and its first FIVB World League title. The U.S. Men’s Team had its best season of the next four-year Olympic quadrennial in 2012 as it achieved a 5-0 match record to win the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament on May 7-12 in Long Beach, Calif. The U.S. Men won their pool in the 2012 FIVB World League. The team advanced to the Final Round where it won the silver medal. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the U.S. Men again won their pool, advancing to the quarterfinals where they fell to Italy. They finished tied for fifth. Before joining the U.S. Men’s Team in 2006, Aaron worked with the U.S. Water Polo Team at the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2004 Olympic Games. He also has experience with high school and NCAA Division I and Division III sports teams as well as professional football and basketball teams. Aaron, who was a four-sport high school athlete in Storm Lake, Iowa, went to the University of Iowa for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Aaron is married to Kelly and has sons named Noah (born 2007) and Cameron (born 2010) along with a daughter named Bayla (2012). He lives in Tustin, Calif. Aaron’s day starts around 8 a.m. when he writes up rehabilitation and treatment protocols. He also gets the players ready for practice with taping and stretching exercises. Once practice starts, he runs a 15-minute injury-prevention session that includes core abdominal and back exercises and proprioception exercises for ankle and knee stability. Finally, there are shoulder exercises to generate strength and wake up the muscles. Players who can’t practice due to injury will go to the athletic training room and do rehab. Brock monitors practice in case there is an injury. After practice, Brock runs a stretching session. Then it’s time for more treatments for the athletes who are playing and practicing while injured.

Becker received her PhD in Sport Studies from the University of Tennessee in 2007 where she also worked in the volunteer athletic department providing sport psychology services to athletes, coaches and teams. In final year at Tennessee, she was honored with the Edward A. Capen Research Award and the Extraordinary Professional Promise Award. She received her BS and MS degrees in Kinesiology and Sport Performance from Sacramento State, where she was honored with the A.W. Hobt Teaching Award for the 2004-05 academic year.

Andrea Becker Consultant Coach

Hometown: Martinez, Calif.

Andrea Becker serves as a consultant coach for John Speraw and the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team. Becker also serves as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball team at UCLA, where Speraw is the head coach. Becker also served as an assistant men’s volleyball coach at UC Irvine in 2012 when the Anteaters marched to their third NCAA championship, has been hired in the same capacity at UCLA, Head Coach John Speraw announced Wednesday. Becker is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Cal State Fullerton but is taking a sabbatical while helping UCLA and the U.S. Men’s Team. In 2012, Becker helped UC Irvine capture the NCAA championship. UCI finished with a 26-5 record, won the MPSF Tournament crown and defeated top-ranked USC in three sets to capture its third national championship in six years.

Becker is an active member of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and the National Assn. for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. She has published her research in The Sport Psychologist, where she also serves on the editorial board. She is also co-author of Focused For Fastpitch, a softball-specific mental training book. She has written extensively about successful coaches, and coaching techniques and behaviors. In addition, she has several papers in progress, including a study of the role of optimism in coaching effectiveness. On the public speaking circuit, Becker has given numerous lectures and scholarly presentations both locally and nationally on successful coaching methods, sport research and training, and the practice of sport and exercise psychology. Becker was a four-year softball player at Sacramento State, where she played 118 games and started 102 primarily as a middle infielder. She was a four-year National Fastpitch Coaches Association Scholar All-American as well as a two-year CoSIDA Academic All-American. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Sacramento State in 2001.

FIVB Photo

All-Time U.S. Men's Indoor Volleyball Olympians 1964 (Tokyo) 9th Place Mike Bright Barry Brown Keith Erickson William Griebenow Richard Hammer Jacob Highland Ron Lang Charles Nelson Mike Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara Ernie Suwara John Taylor Pete Velasco, Jr. Head Coach: Harry Wilson Assistant Coach: Burt DeGroot 1968 (Mexico City) 7th Place John Alstrom Mike Bright Wink Davenport Smitty Duke Tom Haine John Henn Butch May Danny Patterson Larry Rundle Jon Stanley Rudy Suwara Pete Velasco, Jr. Head Coach: Jim Coleman Assistant Coach: John Lowell Trainer: Joe Abrahams 1984 (Los Angeles) Gold Medal Aldis Berzins Craig Buck Rich Duwelius Dusty Dvorak Karch Kiraly Chris Marlowe Pat Powers Steve Salmons Dave Saunders Paul Sunderland Steve Timmons Marc Waldie Head Coach: Doug Beal Assistant Coach: Bill Neville Assistant Coach: Tony Crabbe Team Manager: Mark Miller 1988 (Seoul) Gold Medal Craig Buck Bob Ctvrtlik Scott Fortune Karch Kiraly Ricci Luyties Doug Partie Jon Root Eric Sato Dave Saunders Jeff Stork Troy Tanner Steve Timmons Head Coach: Marv Dunphy Assistant Coach: Gary Sato Assistant Coach: Jim Coleman Team Manager: Gary Moy

1992 (Barcelona) Bronze Medal Nick Becker Carlos Briceno Bob Ctvrtlik Scott Fortune Dan Greenbaum Brent Hilliard Bryan Ivie Doug Partie Bob Samuelson Eric Sato Jeff Stork Steve Timmons Head Coach: Fred Sturm Assistant Coach: John Cook Assistant Coach: Gary Sato Team Manager: Kevin Ring 1996 (Atlanta) 9th Place Lloy Ball Bob Ctvrtlik Scott Fortune John Hyden Bryan Ivie Mike Lambert Dan Landry Jeff Nygaard Tom Sorensen Jeff Stork Ethan Watts Brett Winslow Head Coach: Fred Sturm Assistant Coach: Rudy Suwara Assistant Coach: Rod Wilde Team Manager: Eric Daly 2000 (Sydney) 11th Place Lloy Ball Kevin Barnett Tom Hoff John Hyden Mike Lambert Dan Landry Chip McCaw Ryan Millar Jeff Nygaard George Roumain Erik Sullivan Andy Witt Head Coach: Doug Beal Assistant Coach: Marv Dunphy Assistant Coach: Rod Wilde Team Leader: Jim Coleman

2004 (Athens) 4th Place Lloy Ball Kevin Barnett Brook Billings Phil Eatherton Gabe Gardner Tom Hoff Ryan Millar Reid Priddy Riley Salmon Clay Stanley Erik Sullivan Donald Suxho Head Coach: Doug Beal Assistant Coach: Hugh McCutcheon Assistant Coach: Rob Browning Assistant Coach: Carl McGown Team Consultant: Marv Dunphy Team Leader: Al Monaco Trainer: Nick Metskas 2008 (Beijing) Gold Medal Lloy Ball Gabe Gardner Kevin Hansen Tom Hoff Rich Lambourne David Lee Ryan Millar Reid Priddy Sean Rooney Riley Salmon Clay Stanley Scott Touzinsky Head Coach: Hugh McCutcheon Assistant Coach: John Speraw Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen Technical Consultant: Marv Dunphy Technical Consultant: Carl McGown Technical Coach: Jamie Morrison Team Doctor: Chris Koutures Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock 2012 (London) 5th Place Matt Anderson Sean Rooney David Lee Rich Lambourne Paul Lotman Donald Suxho Reid Priddy Brian Thornton Russell Holmes Clay Stanley David Smith David McKienzie Head Coach: Alan Knipe Team Manager: Rob Browning Assistant Coach: John Speraw Assistant Coach: Gary Sato Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson Medical Support: Aaron Brock Scout Coach: Andy Read Scout Coach: Mike Sealy

USA All-Time Versus International Competition USA Men's Volleyball Team Record vs. World (1981-2012) Country Argentina Australia Bahamas Barbados Brazil Bulgaria Cameroon Canada Chile China Costa Rica Cuba Cuba "B" Czech "B" Czech Rep. Denmark Domin. Rep.

Egypt Finland France Germany

Great Britain

Greece Guatemala Haiti Honduras India Iran Iraq Italy Jamaica Japan Korea Libya Mexico Neth. Ant.

Netherlands

Panama Poland Portugal

Puerto Rico

Romania Russia Russia "B"

Serbia/Mont.

Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Thailand Trin & Tob Tunisia Ukraine Venezuela Virgin Is. Total

Overall Record 43-8 17-1 1-0 9-0 64-75 23-13 2-0 94-34 2-0 44-12 3-0 76-69 0-3 1-0 20-5 3-0 14-0 13-0 13-1 39-18 18-6 1-0 12-8 6-0 4-0 1-0 1-0 2-0 1-0 26-42 1-0 137-59 49-7 1-0 27-0 2-0 24-31 7-0 33-18 3-0 28-1 1-0 56-46 1-0 11-13 1-0 4-0 16-5 10-4 1-0 2-0 9-0 1-1 12-3 2-0 992-483

1981 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-5 0-0 0-0 7-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-6 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

1982 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 8-1 1-0 3-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 4-2 0-0 11-4 6-1 1-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

1983 2-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 4-0 0-0 8-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-6 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-4 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 11-2 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

1984 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-8 4-0 0-0 2-2 0-0 5-0 0-0 5-7 0-0 1-0 5-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-0 4-0 0-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-1 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

1985 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 6-0 0-0 4-3 0-0 1-0 0-0 9-4 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 8-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 3-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 8-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0

1986 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 9-5 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 12-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 22-13 47-16 44-16 55-18 56-11 47-9 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986

1987 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 11-3 0-0 0-0 5-0 0-0 6-0 0-0 6-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 6-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 49-9 1987

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-0 2-1 0-0 14-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-1 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-0 11-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 9-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-1 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 64-8

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 5-1 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 8-1 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 3-7 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 8-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-4 0-1 1-0 0-5 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-7 0-2 0-0 5-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-5 0-0 3-4 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 5-2 1-0 0-1 0-0 1-3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 6-6 3-2 0-0 2-0 0-0 4-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

0-0 0-0 1-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-4 1-12 1-4 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-5 1-1 6-4 6-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-1 0-0 3-2 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-8 1-5 2-0 4-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 2-1 0-0 2-2 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 0-4 0-2 1-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-7 3-9 5-4 7-3 0-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-4 0-0 0-2 3-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-1 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 2-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-0 2-2 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 0-0 3-2 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 39-19 21-37 29-23 26-31 18-38 27-26 36-27 28-8 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 11-8

5-0 3-1 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-0 0-0 7-1 0-0 6-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 3-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 4-1 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 2-4 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-1 0-0 47-19 1997 1998

2-0 3-0 0-0 1-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 3-3 0-0 1-0 0-0 4-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-3 1-0 6-1 2-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

2-1 4-0 0-0 0-0 4-4 2-1 0-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 4-2 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 4-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

1-1 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-5 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-4 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0

0-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-1 0-0 3-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-4 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0

0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 5-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 5-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 32-15 28-18 15-17 19-17 23-6 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

2-0 5-1 4-1 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 2-0 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-1 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-1 1-0 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 20-9 27-6 18-14 2004 2005 2006

3-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 2-1 2-0 0-0 1-0 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 3-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0 1-0 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-1 0-0 0-0 2-0 1-1 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-1 2-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 1-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 33-8 29-5 16-6 2007 2008 2009

1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 4-0 3-1 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 14-7 2010

2-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 2-6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 2-3 0-0 6-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 26-15 2011

1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-2 0-0 0-0 4-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 25-7 2012

International Volleyball Fact Sheet Introduction: Volleyball has major international competitions every year and, at its highest level, is a physically demanding sport played by some of the world’s most elite athletes. Of course, volleyball is also a popular recreational activity enjoyed by more than 38 million persons in the United States (more than any team sport but basketball) and more than 800 million persons globally, making it the world’s most popular participant sport. This fact sheet is designed to provide more understanding about international volleyball and its major competitions, including the Olympic Games.

Top 40 teams in the FIVB World Ranking:

International Governing Body: The international governing body for volleyball is the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The FIVB is the world’s largest sports federation, with more than 200 member nations. Under the direction of its president, Dr. Ruben Acosta of Mexico, the FIVB oversees the administration of volleyball throughout the world and is responsible for producing several major events, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World League and World Grand Prix. National Governing Body: The national governing body (NGB) for volleyball in the United States is USA Volleyball, formerly known as the United States Volleyball Association. Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is responsible for the administration of all forms of volleyball in the United States, including producing the annual USA Open Volleyball Championships, Junior Olympic Championships and the USA Outdoor National Championships. As mandated by the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, USA Volleyball is responsible to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and the FIVB for training and nominating the teams which represent the United States in the Olympic Games and other important volleyball competitions worldwide. Major Competitions: The four major events on the international volleyball calendar are the Olympic Games (men and women, indoor and beach), World Championships (men and women, indoor and beach), World Cup (men and women, indoor), World League (men, indoor) and World Grand Prix (women, indoor). All events are conducted quadrennially, with the exceptions of the annual World League/Grand Prix and the biennial Beach World Championships. World Rankings: Following the decision of the FIVB Board of Administration, a new system of point attribution based on a new scale has been implemented for the FIVB World Ranking of Volleyball National Teams. The following competitions are now included: • Senior World Championships included for four years - 25 percent reduction each year. Points are also granted for the qualification matches, to the best non-qualified teams. • Olympic Games included for four years - 25 percent reduction each year. Points are also granted for the qualification matches, to the best non-qualified teams. • World Cup included for two years - 50 percent reduction the second year. • Senior Continental Championships included for two years - 50 percent reduction the second year; points are also granted for the qualification matches to the best non-qualified teams. • Men’s World League / Women’s World Grand Prix included for one year.

Men’s Teams As of July 22, 2013

Women’s Teams As of July 22, 2013

1 Brazil 320 2 USA 305 3 Japan 291 4 Italy 260 5 China 241 6 Russia 175 7 Serbia 165 8 Dominican Republic 130 9 Germany 126 10 Republic of Korea 122 11 Turkey 120 12 Algeria 72 13 Poland 61 14 Kenya 58 15 Cuba 56 16 Thailad 52 17 Peru 50 18 Netherlands 45 19 Argentina 43 20 Puerto Rico 42 21 Great Britain 37 22 Czech Republic 35 23 Egypt 32 23 Canada 32 25 Mexico 29 26 Colombia 26 26 Costa Rica 26 28 Senegal 25 28 Kazakhstan 25 30 Chinese Taipei 24 31 Croatia 22 31 Bulgaria 22 32 Chile 22 33 Uruguay 20 33 Trinidad & Tobago 20 33 Cameroon 20 36 Tunisia 18 36 Romania 18 36 Azerbaijan 18

International Volleyball Fact Sheet Olympic Games: Volleyball made its debut in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Twelve teams in both the men’s and women’s draw earn the right to compete:

2002: Brazil (USA, ninth) 2006: Brazil (USA, 10th) 2010: Brazil (USA, sixth)

Past Olympic Champions (Men) 1964: Soviet Union (USA, ninth) 1968: Soviet Union (USA, seventh) 1972: Japan, (USA, DNQ) 1976: Poland (USA, DNQ) 1980: Soviet Union (USA, DNQ) 1984: USA 1988: USA 1992: Brazil (USA, third) 1996: Netherlands (USA, ninth) 2000: Yugoslavia (USA, 11th) 2004: Brazil (USA, fourth) 2008: USA 2012: Russia (USA, fifth)

Past World Champions (Women) 1952: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1956: Soviet Union (USA, ninth) 1960: Soviet Union (USA, sixth) 1962: Japan (USA, DNP) 1966: Japan (USA, second) 1970: Soviet Union (USA, 11th) 1974: Japan (USA, 12th) 1978: Cuba (USA, fifth) 1982: China (USA, third) 1986: China (USA, 10th) 1990: Soviet Union (USA, third) 1994: Cuba (USA, sixth) 1998: Cuba (USA, 13th) 2002: Italy (USA, second) 2006: Russia (USA, ninth) 2010: Russia (USA, fourth)

Past Olympic Champions (Women) 1964: Japan (USA, fifth) 1968: Soviet Union (USA, eighth) 1972: Soviet Union (USA, DNQ) 1976: Japan (USA, DNQ) 1980: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1984: China (USA, second) 1988: Soviet Union (USA, seventh) 1992: Cuba (USA, third) 1996: Cuba (USA, seventh) 2000: Cuba (USA, fourth) 2004: China (USA, fifth) 2008: Brazil (USA, second) 2012: Brazil (USA, second) World Championships: The World Championships are held every four years in the second year after the Olympics. The site, usually separate for the men’s and women’s competitions, is determined by the FIVB based on bids received from interested cities. The 24 berths for the men and women are gained in the following manner (2006 information is provided in parenthesis where available): • Host country • Defending World Champions • FIVB determined the appropriate number of qualification spots for each continent/zone based on performance at the 2002 World Championships and the number of teams registered for the 2006 World Championships. Each continent/zone played a World Championships Qualification Tournament in early 2002. Past World Champions (Men) 1949: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1952: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1956: Czechoslovakia (USA, sixth) 1960: Soviet Union (USA, seventh) 1962: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1966: Czechoslovakia (USA, 11th) 1970: East Germany (USA, 18th) 1974: Not held 1978: Soviet Union (USA, 19th) 1982: Soviet Union (USA, 13th) 1986: USA 1990: Italy (USA, 13th) 1994: Italy (USA, third) 1998: Italy (USA, ninth)

World Cup: The World Cup is held every four years, in the year prior to the Olympic Games. Though originally held at various sites, it has been hosted by Japan since 1977. Prior to 1991, the World Cup took place in the year immediately following the Olympics. The 12 berths in the World Cup for men and women are gained in the following manner: • Host country (Japan- Men and Women) • Defending World Cup champion • Winners of the five zone championships • The highest-placed team (of each zone) not qualified for the Olympic Games in accordance with the ranking of the zone championships. Past World Cup Champions (Men) 1965: Soviet Union (USA, DNP) 1969: East Germany (USA, DNP) 1973: Soviet Union (USA, seventh) 1977: Soviet Union (USA, 10th) 1981: Soviet Union (USA, DNQ) 1985: USA 1989: Cuba (USA, fourth) 1991: Soviet Union (USA, third) 1995: Italy (USA, fourth) 1999: Russia (USA, fourth) 2003: Brazil (USA, fourth) 2007: Brazil (USA, fourth) 2011: Russia (USA, sixth) Past World Cup Champions (Women) 1973: Soviet Union (USA, sixth) 1977: Japan (USA, seventh) 1981: China (USA, fourth) 1985: China (USA, DNQ) 1989: Cuba (USA, DNQ) 1991: Cuba (USA, fourth) 1995: Cuba (USA, seventh) 1999: Cuba (USA, ninth) 2003: China (USA, third) 2007: Italy (USA, third) 2011: Italy (USA, second)

International Volleyball Fact Sheet Zone Championships: The volleyball world is divided into five international zones.The United States is in the NORCECA (North America Central America Caribbean) Zone, with championships held every other year at various sites. The other zones are Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The frequency of zone championships competition varies in each of the five sections. Any nation in a particular zone may participate in its zone championships whenever such a competition is conducted. Past NORCECA Champions (Men) 1969: Cuba (USA, third) 1971: Cuba (USA, second) 1973: USA 1975: Cuba (USA, third) 1977: Cuba (USA, fifth) 1979: Cuba (USA, fifth) 1981: Cuba (USA, second) 1983: USA 1985: USA 1987: Cuba (USA, second) 1989: Cuba (USA, third) 1991: Cuba (USA, second) 1993: Cuba (USA, second) 1995: Cuba (USA, second) 1997: Cuba (USA, second) 1999: USA 2001: Cuba (USA, second) 2003: USA 2005: USA 2007: USA 2009: Cuba (USA, second) 2011: Cuba (USA, second) Past NORCECA Champions (Women) 1969: Mexico (USA, bronze) 1971: Mexico (USA, DNP) 1973: Cuba (USA, third) 1975: Cuba (USA, second) 1977: Cuba (USA, third) 1979: Cuba (USA, second) 1981: USA 1983: USA 1985: Cuba (USA, second) 1987: Cuba (USA, second) 1989: Cuba (USA, third) 1991: Cuba (USA, second) 1993: Cuba (USA, second) 1995: Cuba (USA, second) 1997: Cuba (USA, second) 1999: Cuba (USA, second) 2001: USA 2003: USA 2005: USA 2007: Cuba (USA, second) 2009: Dominican Republic (USA, fourth) 2011: USA

World League and World Grand Prix: The World League features the top 12 men’s volleyball teams in the world in competition for a total purse that has grown to $15 million since the inaugural season in 1990. Teams are divided into three, four-team pools and each country playing the other teams in their pool four times (twice at home, twice on the road). The winner and runner-up in each pool advance to a seeded playoff round. The regular season is usually played in May and June with playoffs in early July. The World Grand Prix is the women’s counterpart to the World League, and offers a total purse of $2 million to its 12-team field. Teams play in different four-team pools each weekend, at round-robin tournaments hosted by cities throughout Asia. The three teams with the best records join the host country for the Grand Prix Finals. The regular season is played in August and early-September with playoffs in mid-September. World League Champions 1990: Italy (USA, fourth in pool) 1991: Italy (USA, third in pool) 1992: Italy (USA, first in pool, third overall) 1993: Brazil (USA, fifth in pool) 1994: Italy (USA, fourth in pool) 1995: Italy (USA, fourth in pool) 1996: Netherlands (USA, DNP) 1997: Italy (USA, DNP) 1998: Cuba (USA, DNP) 1999: Italy (USA, DNP) 2000: Italy (USA, first in pool, sixth overall) 2001: Brazil (USA, third in pool, tied-ninth overall) 2002: Russia (USA, DNP) 2003: Brazil (USA, DNP) 2004: Brazil (USA, DNP) 2005: Brazil (USA, DNP) 2006: Brazil (USA, third in pool) 2007: Brazil (USA, third in finals) 2008: USA 2009: Brazil (USA, sixth) 2010: Brazil (USA, eighth) 2011: Russia (USA, seventh) 2012: Poland (USA, second) 2013: Russia (USA, 12th) World Grand Prix Champions 1993: Cuba (USA, seventh regular season) 1994: Brazil (USA, fifth regular season) 1995: USA 1996: Brazil (USA, fifth) 1997: Russia (USA, eighth) 1998: Brazil (USA, eighth) 1999: Russia (USA, DNP) 2000: Cuba (USA, sixth) 2001: USA 2002: Russia (USA, sixth) 2003: China (USA, third) 2004: Brazil (USA, third) 2005: Brazil (USA, eighth) 2006: Brazil (USA, seventh) 2007: Netherlands (USA, eighth final, seventh preliminary) 2008: Brazil (USA, fourth) 2009: Brazil (USA, ninth) 2010: USA 2011: USA 2012: USA 2013: Brazil (USA, sixth)

USA Volleyball Fact Sheet

Name: USA Volleyball Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. Founded: 1928 Membership: Approximately 275,000 Mission: USA Volleyball is the National Governing Body (NGB) for all disciplines of volleyball in the United States and is officially recognized by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). As mandated by the Amateur Sports Act, USA Volleyball is responsible for the growth of the sport in America at the grassroots and most elite levels. USA Volleyball is the parent organization of the USA National Teams. Chief Executive Officer: Doug Beal Head Coach USA Women: Karch Kiraly (First year as head coach with women’s team) Head Coach USA Men: John Speraw (First year as head coach with men’s team) Major 2013 National Team Events: Senior Men’s Volleyball FIVB World League (May 31-July 21 in Various countries) NORCECA Continental Championship (Sept. 23-29 in Langley, Canada) FIVB Grand Champions Cup (Nov. 19-24 in Japan)

Indoor High Performance and USAV Juniors (Youth and Junior) FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship (June 21-30 in Czech Republic) FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship (June 27-July 7 in Mexico) USAV Girls’ Junior National Championships (June 28-July 5, Dallas, Texas) NORCECA Boys’ Youth Championship (July 2-7, Mexico) USAV Boys’ Junior National Championships (June 27-July 4 in Dallas, Texas) USAV High Performance Championships (July 23-27 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship (July 26-Aug. 4 in Thailand) FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship (Aug. 22-Sept. 1 in Turkey)

Senior Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup (June 8-17 in Peru) USA Volleyball Cup vs. Japan (July 10, 12, 13 in San Diego/Long Beach/San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) FIVB World Grand Prix (Aug. 2-Sept. 1 in Various countries) Beach NORCECA Continental Championship (Sept. 14-22 in Omaha, Neb., USA) FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour (various countries) FIVB Grand Champions Cup (Nov. 12-17 in Japan) NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour (various countries) FIVB U23 World Championships (June 5-9 in Myslowice, Poland) Other USAV Events FIVB U21 World Championships (June 19-23 in Umag, Croatia) NCVF Collegiate Club Championships (April 4-6 in Dallas, Texas) FIVB U19 World Championships (July 11-14 in Porto, Portugal) USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge (March 14-17 in Chula Vista, Calif.) World University Games (July 5-17 in Kazan, Russia) USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge (April 20-21 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.) USAV High Performance Championships (July 17-20 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.) USA Volleyball Open National Championships (May 24-29, Lousiville, Calif.) USA Beach Junior Tour (various locations) About USA Volleyball: Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States. USA Volleyball is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USA Volleyball has over 275,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $17 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and Paralympic Teams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success as evidenced by winning an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984 and capturing numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans endeavoring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game. For more information please visit www.usavolleyball.org. Other: USA Volleyball consists of 40 regional volleyball associations which manage grassroots playing opportunities for the USA Volleyball membership and is affiliated with 36 member organizations (i.e. NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, YMCA) that provide playing opportunities at a variety of levels.

4065 Sinton Road, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Phone: 719-228-6800 USAVolleyball.org 80