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Stanford libero Justin Lui will get an extended look with the Canadian Men’s National Team this offseason.
Volleyball Canada, the country’s national governing body for the sport, recently announced that Lui was among the 18 players selected to participate in the National Excellence Program.
The National Excellence Program enables the top young Canadian players to train together under the guidance of Canadian assistant coach Dan Lewis and continue their development that could result in a future roster spot on the Canadian Men’s National Team. The program started earlier this month and is slated to end in December.
Lui returned to Canada after ending his redshirt freshman season with Stanford among the NCAA leaders with a 2.23 digs per game average. The libero during that shortened 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic also spent time as the Cardinal starting setter because of injuries and led the team to a victory against UCLA.
Stanford, though, announced during the summer that it would disband its men’s volleyball program following the 2021 season. This decision could make Lui a defacto free agent as he enters his junior season.
Lui in recent years has been a fixture in Canada’s national team. He was the starting libero for the Canadian Men’s Junior National Team last year that finished in 12th place at the FIVB U21 World Championship.
Lui is one of two liberos selected for the National Excellence Program
The Canadian Men’s National Team is No. 10 in the FIVB World Rankings and is in the 12-team men’s volleyball tournament field for the 2021 Olympics.