Aug. 2, 2011

Story courtesy of USA Volleyball

Colorado Springs, Colo. - Twelve of the top men's college volleyball players in the country will represent the United States at the World University Games on Aug. 12-23 in Shenzhen, China.

Led by Head Coach Gordon Mayforth (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the group will play warm-up matches in Japan on Aug. 4-6 and Aug. 8.

"The team motto is `The Tradition Continues,'" Mayforth said. "The USA has had a long tradition of doing well at this event. When you read the players and names on the list, I think we should expect to be in the mix."

The roster includes three players from Stanford University - brothers Eric and Kawika Shoji, both from Honolulu, and fellow Cardinal Brad Lawson, who is also from Honolulu. USC also put three players on the team - Tri Bourne (Kailua, Hawaii), Riley McKibbin (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Murphy Troy (St. Louis, Mo.).

UC Irvine put two players on the roster, Carson Clark (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Cory Yoder (San Clemente, Calif.). UCLA also has two on the roster, Weston Dunlap (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Thomas Amberg (El Cajon, Calif.).

Finally, Ryan Meehan (Dana Point, Calif.) will play from Long Beach State and Jeff Menzel (Santa Barbara, Calif.) will represent UC Santa Barbara.

"The training camp was very competitive and we are pleased with the team that we are taking to Japan and China," Mayforth said.

"The setters (Shoji and McKibbin) are both very experienced, and run a fast offense. The opposites (Clark and Troy) have had time with the U.S. Men's National Team and will be a strong force for our team.

"The middles blockers (Amberg, Dunlap, and Meehan) are big guys that can make their presence known in the middle of the court. Our outside hitters (Bourne, Lawson, Menzel and Yoder) are a great mix of athletic talent, fire power, as well as skill. Finally the libero Erik Shoji is a gifted player at his position and we expect him to make some plays."

Six other players, who have been training with the group at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif., were named alternates to the team: Jim Baughman (Valencia, Calif./Long Beach State), Matt Pollock (Orland Park, Ill./Pepperdine), Taylor Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif./Pacific), Kyle Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif./UCLA), Rob Stowell (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./BYU) and Matt Rawson (Los Angeles, Calif./Hawaii).

The U.S. last sent a men's team to the World University Games, which occur every two year, in 2007, when it finished third in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2005, the U.S. placed 11th in Izmir, Turkey. In 2003 the team won the bronze in Daegu, Korea. This year, the team will play three warm-up matches against Japan's World University Games team on Aug. 4, 5 and 6 in Osaka and then will play two matches against Toyoda Gosei on Aug. 8-9 in Nagoya.

The U.S. team will begin play in Shenzhen on Aug. 12 and will open against Mexico. Also in the U.S. pool are Turkey, Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Thailand.

2011 World University Games
Aug. 12-23 in Shenzhen, China

U.S. Men's Roster
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
Thomas Amberg (OH, 6-7, Westwood, Calif., UCLA)
Tri Bourne (OH, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, USC)
Carson Clark (Opp, 6-5, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
Weston Dunlap (MB, 6-9, Newport Beach, Calif., UCLA)
Brad Lawson (OH, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Riley McKibbin (S, 6-2, Honolulu, Hawaii, USC)
Ryan Meehan (MB, 6-8, Dana Point, Calif., Long Beach State)
Jeff Menzel (OH, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Murphy Troy (Opp, 6-8, St. Louis, Mo., USC)
Cory Yoder (OH, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine)

Staff
Head Coach: Gordon Mayforth (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Assistant Coach /Team Leader: Pete Hanson (Ohio State)
Assistant Coach: J.T. Wenger (UCLA)
Trainer: Larnie Boquiren

Alternates
Jim Baughman (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State)
Kyle Caldwell (Opp, 6-9, Newport Beach, Calif., UCLA)
Taylor Hughes (OH, 6-7, Fallbrook, Calif., Pacific)
Matt Pollock (MB, 6-9, Orland Park, Ill., Pepperdine)
Matt Rawson (MB, 6-7, Los Angeles, Calif., Hawaii)
Rob Stowell (Opp, 6-7, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., BYU)

Match Schedule (All times local)
Aug 12 at 11 a.m.: USA vs. Mexico
Aug 13 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Turkey
Aug 15 at 3 p.m.: USA vs. Czech Republic
Aug 16 at 3 p.m.: USA vs. United Arab Emirates
Aug 17 at 6 p.m.: USA vs. Thailand
Aug 19: Quarterfinals
Aug 20: Semifinals
Aug 22: Gold and bronze medal matches