Stanford alums named to U.S. Olympic roster
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford men's volleyball alums Kawika and Erik Shoji have been named to the 12-man U.S. Olympic Team roster, USA Volleyball announced Tuesday.
Kawika ('10) and Erik ('12) become the ninth and 10th Olympians in program history. The pair helped guide the Cardinal to its second national title in 2010. A three-time All-American, Kawika was named the AVCA National Player of the Year in 2010, while Erik became the first four-time AVCA First Team All-American in the history of the honors.
The Shojis are two of the eight newcomers on the roster, which features four veterans including 2008 gold medalists David Lee and Reid Priddy. Joining the Shojis as first-time Olympic team members are setter Micah Christenson, outside hitters Thomas Jaeschke, Aaron Russell and Taylor Sander, middle blocker Max Holt and opposite Murphy Troy.
"I felt the team dynamic we've had the entire (Olympic) quadrennial has been great," head coach John Speraw said. "This is a tight-knit group. They are empathetic to the situation of teammates who don't get to go to the Games. But now we have an opportunity to focus on the task at hand."
The average age of the team is 27.8 and there are nine players younger than 30 on the roster. Speraw knows a lack of experience will be one of this team's greatest challenges.
"The goal is to make sure we are the best team we can be in Rio," 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."
Matt Fuerbringer ('97), another Cardinal alum, will serve as an assistant coach on Speraw's staff. Fuerbringer was a four-time All-American for Stanford from 1994-97, capping his career by guiding the Cardinal to the program's first national title.
The U.S. qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games by winning the 2015 FIVB World Cup and will begin play in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 7 against Canada.
The U.S. men have qualified for 10 previous Olympic Games: 1964, '68, '84, '88, '92, '96, 2000, '04, '08 and '12. It won the Olympic gold medal in 1984, '88 and 2008, and won bronze in 1992. The U.S. finished tied for fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games.
The team is playing this weekend (June 24-26) in the FIVB World League in Rome and will be back in the U.S. on July 1-3 to play World League matches in Dallas.