Speraw Leads Team USA to Bronze
August 21, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
Coach John Speraw's U.S. men's volleyball team rallied from a 0-2 pool play start in Olympic competition and a 0-2 set start in Sunday's bronze medal match to defeat the 2012 Gold Medalists from Russia 3-2, 15-13 in the deciding set. Scores of the match played at Maracanazinho Arena were 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-13. It is the fifth time the U.S. has come away with an Olympic medal (gold in 1984, '88, 08; and bronze in 1992). Russia was denied a trip to the medal podium for the first time since 1996.
"I think it really took so much for us to come back and play after the disappointment of the Italian match (a loss in the semifinals)," Speraw said. "I was watching our guys in the first two sets… I could empathize with where they were. It was really, really hard. But before the match started, I had a pretty good suspicion that that would be the case and that we would have to go to our bench. I was prepared to do that early and did."
Speraw, winner of three NCAA titles as a head coach, was named UCLA's men's volleyball head coach in 2012. He has been a part of eight NCAA men's volleyball championship teams (1993-player; 1995-player; 1996-asst. coach; 1998-asst. coach; 2000-asst. coach; 2007-head coach; 2009-head coach; 2012-head coach). Speraw was a two-time Olympic men's volleyball assistant at the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Games, before being named head U.S. National Team coach in 2013.
Other former Bruins helping the USA to the bronze medal in Rio were Team Leader Erik Sullivan, who was a two-time Olympian as a player and captured a pair of NCAA titles while at UCLA (1992-95). Sports Psychologist Andrea Becker joined USA Volleyball in 2013 after serving as a UCLA assistant coach, under Speraw, at UCLA from 2012-15 while taking a sabbatical from her role as an assistant professor. Assistant Olympic coach Matt Fuerbringer served under Speraw as a volunteer assistant men's volleyball coach at UCLA in 2013. Matt's wife, Joy, is a former UCLA women's volleyball assistant coach.