U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team

The U.S. men’s volleyball team will play in its seventh-straight Olympic Games when it plays in Beijing, according to the volleyball.teamusa.org Web site.  The 10-man team is ranked third in the world, and is the 2008 World League champion.

Setter Lloy Ball will compete in his fourth Olympic games. In the 2004 games in Athens, the team finished in fourth place. Reid Priddy and Riley Salmon are both outside hitters who played in the ‘04 games. Priddy has been the team’s leading scorer for two seasons. Tom Hoff, who played in two Olympics games, is the team’s captain. The coach is Hugh McCutcheon of Christchurch, New Zealand.

The 1980s and early ’90s were successful times for the men’s volleyall team, but Brazil has been No. 1 in the world and the dominant force in the sport since the turn of the century. Russia is ranked No. 2.

The members of the United States’ men’s indoor volleyball team are:

Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) - 6′8; 209 lbs., Position: setter; Age: 36

Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) - 6′9″; 220 lbs; Position outside hitter; Age: 25

David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) - 6′8″; 210 lbs.; Position: middle blocker;  Age: 26

Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) - 6′3″; 200 lbs.; Position: libero; Age: 33

Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) - 6′5″; 195 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 30

Ryan Miller (Palmdale, Calif.) – 6′8″; 220 lbs.; Position: middle blocker; Age: 30

Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) - 6′6″; 196 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 32

Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) - 6′8″; 215 lbs.; Position: middle blocker; Age: 35

Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) – 6′9′; 229 lbs; Position: opposite; Age: 30

Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) – 6′5″; 205 lbs; Position: setter; Age: 26

Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) – 6′9; 227 lbs.; Position: opposite; Age: 32

Scott Touzinsky (St. Louis, Mo.) – 6′6; 195 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 26

To learn more about mens volleyball in the Olympics, go to the sport’s official website. For history and interesting facts about the sport in the Olympic games (it became an Olympic sport in 1964), go to the official Beijing games site, or the official Olympics page.  If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the games, search on this official U.S. Olympics page.