USA Men's VB Hot Sheet-Sept.
Tony Lovitt
CONTACT: TONY LOVITT-(619) 625-8200 or PHIL WORTH-(303) 237-0616
USA VOLLEYBALL MONTHLY HOT SHEET
USA MEN’S TEAM EDITION - SEPT. - 1996
USA MEN TIE FOR NINTH IN OLYMPICS - - Arriving in Atlanta with high
hopes despite having only four players with prior Olympic experience,
Team USA opened the 1996 Olympic Games by sweeping both Poland and
Argentina in straight sets. Cuba, however, provided stronger
opposition, edging out the Americans in a tight fifth set, 18-16. Even
after a subsequent loss to Brazil, the Team USA needed only a win
against Bulgaria (which it had defeated twice just days before flying
to Atlanta) to escape Pool A and join the medal contenders. Bulgaria,
however, stunned Team USA, pulling out a 15-12 win in set five. The
Americans saw their final chance to advance evaporate when Brazil beat
first-place Cuba in straight sets, whereas a win by Cuba would have
given Team USA new life in the tournament. The loss relegated the USA
men to ninth place and out of medal contention.
IVIE, STORK ANNOUNCE RETIREMENTS - - Following the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta, a pair of mainstays for the USA men’s volleyball team for
several years announced their respective retirements from the national
team program. A member of the starting lineup since 1991 and once
regarded as the cornerstone of the men’s national team program, Bryan
Ivie has left Team USA to play professionally in Brazil. Ivie
accumulated numerous awards and played in 19 major international
competitions, including the 1996 and 1992 Olympics. Consistently among
the team’s leading attackers and blockers, Ivie was named the team’s
MVP in 1995 (with Bob Ctvrtlik), 1993 and 1992. The middle blocker
from Manhattan Beach, Calif., was also recognized as most valuable
player at the World Championship Qualification Tournament (November
1993), and best blocker at the 1991 World Cup (54 total blocks), as
well as chosen to participate in the 1993 World Gala. Also retiring is
Jeff Stork, who returned to Team USA in April 1995, seeking to regain
the starting setter’s berth for the 1996 Olympic team. Stork, a
three-time Olympian (1996, 1992, 1988), originally came to the USA
national team program in the summer of 1984 before returning in May
1985. He was a member of the USA team that won gold in 1986 at the
World Championships and in 1985 at the World Cup. The three-time
All-American at Pepperdine University was the spark in the drive toward
the gold medal in 1988, despite being sidelined by a back injury early
in the competition. Stork was also the second-highest-rated setter of
the 1992 Olympics in which the USA captured a bronze. Stork will play
for a pro team in Greece this fall.
OVER THERE - - In addition to Bryan Ivie (Brazil), and Jeff Stork
(Greece), several USA players have signed contracts to play
professional volleyball overseas. Starting setter Lloy Ball will play
in Japan, while Bob Ctvrtlik and Tom Sorensen will go to Italy.
Outside hitter Dan Landry will play with a professional team in France.
JAPAN TO PROVIDE FINAL COMPETITION FOR USA MEN IN ‘96 - - Little more
than two weeks after its last Olympic match, Team USA began practicing
again, Aug. 21, in preparation for eight matches vs. Japan. The U.S.
spikers departed for Japan Aug. 26, and played its first match, Aug.
29, in Sapporo. Team USA won the initial tilt in five sets, behind the
36-kill performance of Dexter Rogers and a career-high 26 kills from
Brett Winslow. Kitami will be the match site on Aug. 31, with the last
match in Japan to be played in Obihiro, Sept.1. Both teams will have
only a few days of rest before starting the U.S. part of the tour at
the Target Center in Minneapolis, Sept.5. Other tour stops are:
Milwaukee (Bradley Center), Sept. 6; Chicago (Rosemont Horizon), Sept.
7; Grand Rapids, Mich. (Ford Arena), Sept. 11 (where they will
commemorate the opening of Healthcare Equities Group’s first USA
Volleyball Center); and St. Louis (Kiel Center), Sept. 14. A match
originally scheduled in Detroit, Sept. 13, was replaced by the Grand
Rapids date. The matches with Japan conclude Team USA’s 1996
competitive schedule.
USA STARTERS VS. JAPAN - - USA head coach Fred Sturm plans to bring
only 10 players for the three matches in Japan: setters Lloy Ball and
Chip McCaw; outside hitters John Hyden, Dan Landry, Patrick Sinclair
and Chris Underwood; middle blockers Jeff Nygaard, Ethan Watts and
Brett Winslow; and opposite Dexter Rodgers. Team captain Bob Ctvrtlik,
Scott Fortune and middle blocker James Hammerstrand will join the team
for the domestic leg of the tour. Team USA has yet to play Japan in
1996 and are 84-38 against Japan since 1983.
INJURY REPORT - -Middle blocker Tom Sorensen sustained a stress
fracture in his foot and will not play in the tour with Japan.
BIRTHDAY BOY - - Middle blocker Brett Winslow will turn 29 on Sept. 8.
A two-time All-America and all-conference performer at Long Beach
State, Winslow will celebrate following the Sept. 7 match against Japan
in Chicago.
STURM RECORD - - Fred Sturm, now in his sixth year as head coach of the
USA men's team, owns an updated national team coaching record of
152-149 (.505).
CTVRTLIK ELECTED TO IOC POST - - In a vote of all athletes at the 1996
Olympic Games, USA volleyball team captain Bob Ctvrtlik was elected to
a four-year term as an athlete representative to the International
Olympic Committee. The only U.S. athlete of the seven athletes
elected, Ctvrtlik is also the only American on any IOC board. His term
continues through the Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia in the year
2000.
“As I’m nearing the end of my volleyball playing career, this is a
great opportunity to stay involved in the sport and further the growth
of volleyball in this country and internationally,” said Ctvrtlik.
“And personally, it’s a great opportunity to work with the IOC and
sponsors on a worldwide level.”
USA VOLLEYBALL SPONSORS - - Official sponsors of USA Volleyball and the
USA national teams are: Champion (official outfitter), Kaepa (official
shoe supplier), Ricoh (facsimiles/copiers), Bud Light (malt beverage),
Active Ankle (ankle support system), Sport Court (athletic flooring),
Sports Imports (net support system), Office Depot (office products
retailer), United Airlines, PowerBar, and Eastman Kodak (cameras/
film). Rubio's Restaurant is an official training table of the USA
teams in San Diego.
USA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Japan Tour - Aug. 27-Sept. 14
NO. NAME POS. HT. WT.
DOB HOMETOWN COLLEGE
1 Lloy Ball S 6-9 215 02-17-72 Woodburn,
Ind. Ind.-Pur./FW
2 Patrick Sinclair OH 6-5 190 05-03-72 Walnut Creek,
Calif. BYU
3 John Hyden OH 6-5 215 10-07-72 San Diego,
Calif. San Diego State
**4 (c) Bob Ctvrtlik OH 6-4 200 07-08-63 Long Beach,
Calif. Pepperdine
7 Chip McCaw ....S 6-4 195..03-24-73 Tulsa,
Okla. Pepperdine
**8 Scott Fortune OH 6-6 200 01-23-66 Laguna Beach,
Calif. Stanford
9 Chris Underwood OH 6-5 205 11-27-70 Los Angeles, Calif. USC
12 Dexter Rogers ..OPP 6-3....205..04-30-69 St. Petersburg,
Fla. Westmar
13 Jeff Nygaard MB 6-8 202 08-03-72 Madison,
Wis. UCLA
15 Ethan Watts MB 6-7 210 05-04-72 Tulsa, Okla. BYU
16 Dan Landry OH 6-4 185 01-15-70 San Diego,
Calif. UCLA
17 Brett Winslow MB 6-5 195 09-08-67 Irvine,
Calif. Long Beach State
**18 James Hammerstrand ...MB 6-9....215..03-02-71 Alpine,
Calif. San Diego State
(c) denotes team captain
** denotes players to compete only on U.S. portion of tour, Sept. 5-14
COACHES: Head Coach: Fred Sturm; Asst. Coaches: Rudy Suwara, Rod
Wilde
Team Manager: Eric Daly. Technical Assistant: Darrell Akimoto.
Medical: Woody Graham.
1996 USA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL RESULTS
DATE OPP. RESULT SCORE SITE REC.
03/19 SPAIN W, 3-0 15-5, 15-6, 15-7 San Diego,
Calif. (SDSU) 1-0
03/20 SPAIN W, 3-0 15-7, 15-12, 15-9 Vista, Calif.
(RBVHS) 2-0
03/22 SPAIN W, 3-0 15-6, 15-10, 15-7 San Diego,
Calif. (RBHS) 3-0
03/23 SPAIN W, 3-0 15-11, 15-13, 15-11 Chula Vista, Calif.
(ELHS) 4-0
04/14 Germany L, 3-1 15-7, 15-12, 10-15,
15-10 Friedrichshafen, Germany 4-1
04/16 Germany W, 3-1 11-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-11 Stuttgart,
Germany 5-1
04/17 Germany L, 3-0 15-8, 15-12, 15-6 Koblenz,
Germany 5-2
FOUR NATIONS DEUTSCHLAND CUP TOURNAMENT
04/19 Netherlands W, 3-0 15-12, 15-7,
15-8 Moers, Germany 6-2
04/20 Germany W, 3-2 9-15, 15-11, 8-15, 15-5,
15-11 Moers, Germany 7-2
04/21 Greece W, 3-0 15-9, 15-6, 15-4 Moers,
Germany 8-2
Final Standings: 1. USA; 2. Netherlands; 3. Germany; 4. Greece.
04/23 Russia W, 3-1 3-15, 15-9, 15-2, 15-12 Moscow,
Russia 9-2
04/26 Russia W, 3-2 14-16, 8-15, 15-6, 15-9, 23-21 Belgorod,
Russia 10-2
04/27 Russia L, 3-1 15-10, 7-15, 15-9, 15-13 Belgorod,
Russia 10-3
05/10 YUGO. L, 3-2 15-7, 15-10, 7-15, 11-15, 15-7 Madison,
Wis. 10-4
05/12 YUGO. W, 3-1 15-12, 15-11, 4-15,
15-12 Bloomington, Ill. 11-4
05/14 YUGO. W, 3-2 15-4, 8-15, 15-8, 13-15, 16-14 Muncie,
Ind. 12-4
05/17 YUGO. W, 3-1 15-5, 15-9, 7-15, 15-8 Dayton,
Ohio 13-4
05/18 YUGO. L, 3-0 15-5, 15-10, 15-10 Cleveland,
Ohio 13-5
06/12 FRANCE W, 3-1 14-16, 15-6, 15-7, 15-11 Ft. Wayne,
Ind. 14-5
06/14 FRANCE W, 3-1 15-12, 15-5, 13-15, 15-5 Ft. Wayne,
Ind. 15-5
06/15 FRANCE W, 3-1 15-10, 13-15, 15-12, 15-11 Ft. Wayne,
Ind. 16-5
07/11 BULGARIA W, 3-1 15-13, 15-13, 4-15, 15-7 San
Diego, Calif. ...17-5
07/12 BULGARIA W, 3-0 15-8, 15-7,
15-6 Tucson, Ariz. 18-5
1996 OLYMPICS
07/21 POLAND W, 3-0 15-13, 15-6, 15-8 Atlanta,
Ga. ...19-5
07/23 ARG. W, 3-0 15-7, 15-8, 15-11 Athens,
Ga. 20-5
07/25 CUBA L, 3-2 4-15, 15-9, 14-16, 15-8, 18-16 Atlanta,
Ga. 20-6
07/27 BRAZIL L, 3-0 15-11, 15-11, 15-7 Atlanta,
Ga. 20-7
07/29 BULGARIA L, 3-2 15-11, 13-15, 11-15, 15-5,
15-12 Atlanta, Ga. 20-8
Final Standings: 1. Netherlands; 2. Italy; 3. Yugoslavia; 4. Russia;
5. Brazil; 6. Cuba; 7. Bulgaria; 8. Argentina (U.S. tied for 9th place)
08/29 Japan W, 3-2 15-12, 15-11, 12-15, 7-15, 15-9 Sapporo,
Japan 21-8
08/31 Japan Kitami, Japan
09/01 Japan Obihiro, Japan
09/05 JAPAN Minneapolis,
Minn.
09/06 JAPAN Milwaukee, Wis.
09/07 JAPAN Chicago, Ill.
09/11 JAPAN Grand Rapids,
Mich.
09/14 JAPAN St. Louis, Mo.
[through 08/29/96}
####
Charlie Jackson
In article <50553k$m...@dfw-ixnews10.ix.netcom.com>,
tlo...@ix.netcom.com(Tony Lovitt ) wrote:
> CTVRTLIK ELECTED TO IOC POST - - In a vote of all athletes at the 1996
> Olympic Games, USA volleyball team captain Bob Ctvrtlik was elected to
> a four-year term as an athlete representative to the International
> Olympic Committee. The only U.S. athlete of the seven athletes
> elected, Ctvrtlik is also the only American on any IOC board. His term
> continues through the Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia in the year
> 2000.
A minor point, but I wonder if Tony meant 'is also the only American
athlete on any IOC board'? There are two Americans on the IOC now, Anita
Defrantz and Jim Easton.