There will be plenty of experience on the U.S. roster in its tune-up tournament for the upcoming Olympics.
Eight former Olympians highlight the 19 players selected Tuesday to the U.S. Men’s National Team that will compete in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
“We are coming into this Olympic summer with much more experience than we did going into Rio,” coach John Speraw said in a statement. “So that’s a big strength and we also have some newer faces who weren’t with us last quad and I think that will have a positive impact on our VNL experience.”
The United States is the defending Olympic bronze medalist. In addition, the team advanced to the gold-medal match of the 2019 Volleyball Nations League Finals.
Long Beach State leads all schools with four former players making the U.S. roster. BYU, Loyola, Penn State, Stanford and UCLA each also had multiple alumni selected to the roster.
Along with these teams, Hawai’i, Ohio State, UC Irvine and USC all are represented on the U.S. roster.
The Volleyball Nations League will take place May 28 through June 27 in Rimini, Italy. The 16-team tournament will feature each team playing 15 preliminary round matches with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.
All matches will be played in a secure bubble for players and staff with no fan attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Volleyball Nations League is currently the only slated international competition for the United States before the start of the Olympics on July 24.
U.S. Men’s National Team roster
Setter: Micah Christenson, USC
Setter: Kawika Shoji, Stanford
Setter: Josh Tuaniga, Long Beach State
Opposite: Matt Anderson, Penn State
Opposite: Jake Hanes, Ohio State
Opposite: Ben Patch, BYU
Outside attacker: TJ DeFalco, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: Thomas Jaeschke, Loyola
Outside attacker: Garrett Muagututia, UCLA
Outside attacker: Brenden Sander, BYU
Outside attacker: Taylor Sander, BYU
Middle attacker: Taylor Averill, Hawai’i
Middle attacker: Max Holt, Penn State
Middle attacker: Jeff Jendryk, Loyola
Middle attacker: David Smith, UC Irvine
Middle attacker: Mitch Stahl, UCLA
Libero: Erik Shoji, Stanford
Libero: Dustin Watten, Long Beach State