USA Volleyball has announced the 14 players who will travel to Poland for the FIVB Men’s World Championship – Poland 2014 on Aug. 31-Sept. 21.
The roster includes 10 players from the 12-man team that won the gold medal at the FIVB World League Final Round in July.
Opposite and outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.), who was the World League leading scorer, will pace the U.S. Men, along with outside hitter Taylor Sander (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who was named World League Most Valuable Player.
Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.), a 2012 Olympian, and Garrett Muagututia (Oceanside, Calif.) are the other outside hitters who were on the World League Final Round roster.
Middle blockers David Lee (Alpine, Calif.), a two-time Olympian who was named World League Best Blocker, and Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio), who led World League players in aces, return to their positions. Lee will serve as the team’s captain in place of Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.), who will not make the trip due to injury.
Hawaiian setters Micah Christenson and Kawika Shoji, both from Honolulu, also return, as does Erik Shoji (Honolulu), Kawika’s brother, at libero.
Opposite Carson Clark (Santa Barbara, Calif.) is the final returner.
Joining those 10 are middle blockers David Smith (Saugus, Calif.), a 2012 Olympian, and Nick Vogel (San Diego, Calif.), outside hitter Tony Ciarelli (Huntington Beach, Calif.), and libero Alfee Reft (Oxnard, Calif.).
Twelve players, including one libero, will suit up for each World Championship match.
John Speraw (Los Angeles) is the U.S. Men’s head coach and he will be assisted by Mike Wall and Matt Fuerbringer. Andrea Becker will serve as the team manager and Anton Willert is the technical coordinator. Aaron Brock serves as the U.S. Men’s athletic trainer.
Tyler Hildebrand, Kathy DeBoer and Tim Pelot will be in Poland as consultant coaches and David Dyck and Christopher Lee are the team doctors.
The U.S. Men are training for a week in Germany prior to traveling to Poland and will play two friendly matches against the German National Team.
The U.S. Men will open the World Championship in Pool D along with Belgium, France, Iran, Italy and Puerto Rico. The top four finishers will advance to the second round, either in Łódź or Bydgoszcz. A total of 24 teams are competing in Poland.
U.S. Roster for the FIVB World Championship
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1. Matt Anderson (OH/Opp, 6-9, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
3. Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
4. David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State)
6. Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State)
7. Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
10. Tony Ciarelli (OH, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., USC)
11. Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
15. Carson Clark (Opp, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
17. Max Holt (MB, 6-9, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Alfee Reft (L, 5-10, Oxnard, Calif., Hawaii)
20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
21. Nick Vogel (MB, 6-9, San Diego, Calif., UCLA)
22. Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Team Manager: Andrea Becker
Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer and Mike Wall
Technical Coordinator: Anton Willert
Consultant Coaches: Tyler Hildebrand, Kathy DeBoer, Tim Pelot
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Doctors: David Dyck and Christopher Lee
2014 FIVB World Championship Pool D
Belgium
France
Iran
Italy
Puerto Rico
USA
2014 FIVB World Championship Schedule – Pool D
Kraków, Poland (all times ET)
Aug. 31
7 a.m. Italy vs Iran
10:30 a.m. Belgium vs USA
2:15 p.m. Puerto Rico vs France
Sept. 2
7 a.m. USA vs Iran
10:30 a.m. Belgium vs Puerto Rico
2:15 p.m. France vs Italy
Sept. 4
7 a.m. Puerto Rico vs USA
10:30 a.m. Iran vs France
2:15 p.m. Italy vs Belgium
Sept. 6
7 a.m. USA vs France
10:30 a.m. Belgium vs Iran
2:15 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Italy
Sept. 7
7 a.m. France vs Belgium
10:30 a.m. Iran vs Puerto Rico
2:15 p.m. Italy vs USA
Second Round: Sept. 10-15 in Łódź or Bydgoszcz
Third Round: Sept. 16-19 in Łódź or Katowice
Final Round: Sept. 20-21 in Łódź or Katowice
Source: TeamUSA.org