Matt Anderson attacks from the right side during a 2014 World League match.
Los Angeles, USA, May 26, 2015 - With three weeks of practice and three days of competition under their belts, the USA will begin defense of their 2014 FIVB World League title against Iran on May 30-31 at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California.
Although the U.S. starting lineup for 2015 are all World League veterans, they are still adjusting to their roles. That became clear in a five-set loss to Canada on May 23 in the final of the NORCECA Champions Cup. Although the United States qualified for the 2015 FIVB World Cup at the tournament, the loss to Canada was a wake-up call.
“There are some aspects of the personnel on the floor that we need to work on,” U.S. head coach John Speraw said. “With a little training and refinement that we can save some points. We have a lot to improve on, and that is positive. I feel like this team has a lot of upside.
“We still have a lot to learn going into Iran next week.”
Three-time USA Volleyball player of the year Matt Anderson has moved back to left-side outside hitter, his natural position, after playing on the right side for most of 2013 and 2014. Murphy Troy has moved to the opposite position after a stellar club season in Poland, where he was the league’s leading scorer.
Taylor Sander, the 2014 World League MVP, returns as the other starting outside hitter. David Lee, who was the 2014 World League Best Blocker and a gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games, is back in the middle along with Max Holt. Hawaiians Micah Christenson and Erik Shoji round out the starting seven at setter and libero respectively.
Iran is a team the U.S. knows quite well after playing them six times in 2014. The United States beat Iran in the World League Final Round and went 3-1 against the squad in a series of friendly matches in August. However Iran came back to defeat the USA during the first round of the FIVB World Championship in Poland.
“Iran is getting better and better and we will need to be ready for them,” Speraw said. “We know them very well, but they also know us.”
Iran arrived in the United States on May 25 after a 14-day camp with five matches in Finland and Czech Republic.
The match on May 30 will begin at 7 p.m. PT while the May 31 match will start at 4 p.m.