USA Volleyball announces 12-man roster for Rio
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The 12-man volleyball roster that will compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was announced by USA Volleyball on Tuesday.
The U.S. men's team qualified with their gold-medal win at the 2015 FIVB Men’s World Cup.
“The goal is to make sure we are the best team we can be in Rio,” head coach John Speraw said. “In order for us to achieve our goal, we are going to need one of the greatest collective efforts in USAV history. We don’t have the experience that past teams have had. For us to go through this is going to require all of us to be at our very best.”
The U.S. finished tied for fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. They last won gold in 2008.
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The team features four past Olympians and is led by outside hitter Reid Priddy, who is just the second American to play on four Olympic indoor volleyball teams. He sustained a brutal ACL injury at the 2014 FIVB World League tournament. He underwent double knee surgery where doctors used a ligament from his good knee to repair the damaged one.
The team will also feature brothers Erik and Kawika Shoji on their first Olympic team.
One potential star to watch is former BYU standout Taylor Sander, who earned Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker honors at the 2014 FIVB World League Final Round, where the U.S. won gold.
The full roster is below:
Matt Anderson (2012 Olympian)
Aaron Russell
Taylor Sander
David Lee(2008 and 2012 Olympian)
Kawika Shoji
Reid Priddy (2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympian)
Murphy Troy
Thomas Jaeschke
Micah Christenson
Max Holt
David Smith (2012 Olympian)
Erik Shoji
The team will see action weekend in the FIVB World League in Rome. The first Olympic match for the U.S. is set for Aug. 7 against Canada.
