Micah Ma'a in action in the Volleyball Nations League.
Photo by: 2019 FIVB
MVB: Summer Updates on Bruins on U.S. Teams
July 05, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
U.S. Men's Volleyball Team in Action in VNL in Anaheim
The U.S. Men's Volleyball Team, which features UCLA head coach John Speraw and Bruin players Garrett Muagututia and Micah Ma'a, will compete over the next several days in Anaheim when it plays four Volleyball Nations League (VNL) preliminary matches beginning on July 5 at 8:30 p.m. PT with a contest against Cuba in the Anaheim Convention Center. The U.S. Men go into the Cuba (2-6 record, ranked No. 12 in the world) match in second place in the VNL standings after compiling a 7-1 record in previous preliminary matches and are currently ranked second in the world. The U.S. Men will also world play world No. 7 Argentina (5-3), No. 5 France (3-5), the reigning Olympic champion, and No. 25 Bulgaria (1-7).
Speraw, who led the UCLA men's volleyball team to the 2023 NCAA National Championship, has been the U.S. Men's head coach since 2013 and helped them to the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. His assistants are former indoor and beach player Matt Fuerbringer, who has coached college and club teams, and Javier Weber, a three-time Olympian for Argentina who also coached Argentina's national team and continues to coach for professional club teams. His second assistant coaches include Mike Wall and current Bruin assistant Morteza Shiari.
A 6-5 outside hitter from Oceanside, Calif. (Francis Parker HS), Muagututia made his debut with the U.S. Men's National Team in 2011 at the Pan American Cup. He has played professionally in Spain, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Poland, China, Portugal and Greece. In 2019, Muagututia was a member of the U.S. team which captured the bronze medal at the FIVB World Cup, brought home the silver medal at the FIVB Nation's League and helped the U.S. earn a trip to Tokyo at the FIVB Men's Volleyball Qualification Tournament. He was selected to the 12-man team that competed for the U.S. at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. At UCLA, Muagututia earned second-team All-America honors in multiple seasons (2010, 2008). He led the Bruins in kills as a senior (446) and finished his career with 71 double-digit kill matches, 19 double-doubles and 99 aces. Muagututia ended his Bruin playing days as the rally scoring era school leader in block solos (44) for a career and in second-place on the all-time kills list (1,473).
Ma'a (Punahou School) is a 6-3 setter from Kaneohe, Hawai'i who played at UCLA from 2016-19 and has been a member of the U.S. Men's National Team since 2018. He has played professionally in France since 2019. Ma'a was a 2018 and 2019 first-team AVCA All-America and first-team All-MPSF selection while setting the Bruins to two of the highest attack percentages in the country each season. He established a school record for most aces in a season with 67 in 2019 when he ranked third nationally with a 0.64 aces per set average and finished up his UCLA career with a school-record total of 208 aces.
Volleyball Nations League is the world's premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament and one of the key tournaments in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Games. The top 16 teams in the world play four matches a week for three weeks of preliminary competition. The top eight teams at the end of the preliminary rounds will go to the Final Round on July 19-23 in Gdansk, Poland. The U.S. Men won the silver medal at the 2022 VNL.
U.S. Roster for the Anaheim Matches
No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
11 Micah Christenson(S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley)
14 Micah Ma'a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Kyle Russell (OPP, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine, Northern California)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer, Javier Weber
Second Assistant Coaches: Morteza Shiari, Mike Wall
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
U.S. Men's Schedule/Results for the 2023 VNL
Week 1 in Ottawa, Canada
June 7 USA def Netherlands 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21)
June 8 USA def Italy 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19)
June 10 USA def Canada 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20)
June 11 Brazil def USA 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 21-25)
Week 2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands
June 20 USA def Serbia 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21)
June 21 USA def China 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-18)
June 23 USA def Iran 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23)
June 24 USA def Poland 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19)
Week 3 in Anaheim, California
July 5 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Cuba
July 7 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Argentina
July 8 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs France
July 9 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Bulgaria
All matches will be broadcast on volleyballworld.tv
(All times PT)
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U.S. U21 Men's Team Heads to World Championships
USA Volleyball selected 12 athletes, including two Bruins, to represent the United States at the 2023 Men's U21 World Championships on July 7-16 in Manama, Bahrain. Andrew Rowan and Zach Rama are members of UCLA's 2023 NCAA National Championship team and also played for the 2022 U.S. team that won the Men's U21 Pan American Cup for the first time and earned qualification for the 2023 World Championship. Rowan, who will serve as the U.S. captain, was named the Best Setter, Best Server and MVP at that 2022 tournament. Rama was named the Second-Best Attacker.
Andy Read, who led the 2022-23 Men's U21 Teams, will serve as head coach and be joined by assistants Rory Prager and Chris Seiffert. "With the experience gained in Cuba and the potential to add in a few new players for this run at the World Championship, this U.S. Men's U21 Team will be the most athletic and dynamic team possible," Read said. "All the players know the challenge they face to take on the best in the world. To a man, they have embraced that challenge and cannot wait to take their place on the world stage."
U.S. Men's U21 Roster - FIVB World Championship
No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
5 Dillon Klein (OH, 6-4, 2003, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, 2003, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-11, 2004, Encinitas, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
U.S. Men's U21 Schedule - FIVB World Championship
(All times PT)
July 7 at 7 a.m. USA vs Argentina
July 8 at 10 a.m. USA Vs Belgium
July 9 at 10 a.m. USA vs Czechia
July 11-13 Second round of pool play
July 15 Semifinals and consolation playoffs
July 16 Finals and consolation matches
Live stream on VolleyballWorld.tv
The U.S. Men's Volleyball Team, which features UCLA head coach John Speraw and Bruin players Garrett Muagututia and Micah Ma'a, will compete over the next several days in Anaheim when it plays four Volleyball Nations League (VNL) preliminary matches beginning on July 5 at 8:30 p.m. PT with a contest against Cuba in the Anaheim Convention Center. The U.S. Men go into the Cuba (2-6 record, ranked No. 12 in the world) match in second place in the VNL standings after compiling a 7-1 record in previous preliminary matches and are currently ranked second in the world. The U.S. Men will also world play world No. 7 Argentina (5-3), No. 5 France (3-5), the reigning Olympic champion, and No. 25 Bulgaria (1-7).
Speraw, who led the UCLA men's volleyball team to the 2023 NCAA National Championship, has been the U.S. Men's head coach since 2013 and helped them to the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. His assistants are former indoor and beach player Matt Fuerbringer, who has coached college and club teams, and Javier Weber, a three-time Olympian for Argentina who also coached Argentina's national team and continues to coach for professional club teams. His second assistant coaches include Mike Wall and current Bruin assistant Morteza Shiari.
A 6-5 outside hitter from Oceanside, Calif. (Francis Parker HS), Muagututia made his debut with the U.S. Men's National Team in 2011 at the Pan American Cup. He has played professionally in Spain, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Poland, China, Portugal and Greece. In 2019, Muagututia was a member of the U.S. team which captured the bronze medal at the FIVB World Cup, brought home the silver medal at the FIVB Nation's League and helped the U.S. earn a trip to Tokyo at the FIVB Men's Volleyball Qualification Tournament. He was selected to the 12-man team that competed for the U.S. at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. At UCLA, Muagututia earned second-team All-America honors in multiple seasons (2010, 2008). He led the Bruins in kills as a senior (446) and finished his career with 71 double-digit kill matches, 19 double-doubles and 99 aces. Muagututia ended his Bruin playing days as the rally scoring era school leader in block solos (44) for a career and in second-place on the all-time kills list (1,473).
Ma'a (Punahou School) is a 6-3 setter from Kaneohe, Hawai'i who played at UCLA from 2016-19 and has been a member of the U.S. Men's National Team since 2018. He has played professionally in France since 2019. Ma'a was a 2018 and 2019 first-team AVCA All-America and first-team All-MPSF selection while setting the Bruins to two of the highest attack percentages in the country each season. He established a school record for most aces in a season with 67 in 2019 when he ranked third nationally with a 0.64 aces per set average and finished up his UCLA career with a school-record total of 208 aces.
Volleyball Nations League is the world's premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament and one of the key tournaments in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Games. The top 16 teams in the world play four matches a week for three weeks of preliminary competition. The top eight teams at the end of the preliminary rounds will go to the Final Round on July 19-23 in Gdansk, Poland. The U.S. Men won the silver medal at the 2022 VNL.
U.S. Roster for the Anaheim Matches
No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
11 Micah Christenson(S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley)
14 Micah Ma'a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Kyle Russell (OPP, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine, Northern California)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer, Javier Weber
Second Assistant Coaches: Morteza Shiari, Mike Wall
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
U.S. Men's Schedule/Results for the 2023 VNL
Week 1 in Ottawa, Canada
June 7 USA def Netherlands 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21)
June 8 USA def Italy 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19)
June 10 USA def Canada 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20)
June 11 Brazil def USA 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 21-25)
Week 2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands
June 20 USA def Serbia 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21)
June 21 USA def China 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-18)
June 23 USA def Iran 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23)
June 24 USA def Poland 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19)
Week 3 in Anaheim, California
July 5 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Cuba
July 7 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Argentina
July 8 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs France
July 9 at 8:30 p.m. USA vs Bulgaria
All matches will be broadcast on volleyballworld.tv
(All times PT)
---------------
U.S. U21 Men's Team Heads to World Championships
USA Volleyball selected 12 athletes, including two Bruins, to represent the United States at the 2023 Men's U21 World Championships on July 7-16 in Manama, Bahrain. Andrew Rowan and Zach Rama are members of UCLA's 2023 NCAA National Championship team and also played for the 2022 U.S. team that won the Men's U21 Pan American Cup for the first time and earned qualification for the 2023 World Championship. Rowan, who will serve as the U.S. captain, was named the Best Setter, Best Server and MVP at that 2022 tournament. Rama was named the Second-Best Attacker.
Andy Read, who led the 2022-23 Men's U21 Teams, will serve as head coach and be joined by assistants Rory Prager and Chris Seiffert. "With the experience gained in Cuba and the potential to add in a few new players for this run at the World Championship, this U.S. Men's U21 Team will be the most athletic and dynamic team possible," Read said. "All the players know the challenge they face to take on the best in the world. To a man, they have embraced that challenge and cannot wait to take their place on the world stage."
U.S. Men's U21 Roster - FIVB World Championship
No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
5 Dillon Klein (OH, 6-4, 2003, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, 2003, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-11, 2004, Encinitas, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
U.S. Men's U21 Schedule - FIVB World Championship
(All times PT)
July 7 at 7 a.m. USA vs Argentina
July 8 at 10 a.m. USA Vs Belgium
July 9 at 10 a.m. USA vs Czechia
July 11-13 Second round of pool play
July 15 Semifinals and consolation playoffs
July 16 Finals and consolation matches
Live stream on VolleyballWorld.tv
Players Mentioned
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