The 2017 World University Games are hosted by Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan. Athletes from over 150 countries spread across 22 sports will compete in Taipei 2017. The Mayor of Taipei has deemed this event as the “biggest and most prominent international sporting event ever held in Taiwan”.
The Opening Ceremonies will take place on August 19th and signify the start of competition for all sports and then conclude on August 30th. Volleyball competition will run from August 20-29 for the Men and August 21-28 for the Women.
After meeting in Long Beach for three training sessions together at Long Beach Mizuno’s MAC Athletic Center, the USA Athletes arrived in Taipei on August 16 and were immediately welcomed by USA Team Staff and the very hospitable Taipei 2017 Staff. Both delegations were escorted to the Athlete Village in New Taipei City. The Men’s and Women’s Teams will prepare and train each day leading up to the first match.
The Athlete Village is modeled after that of the Olympics, which has been a great tradition of friendship among countries throughout the years. The 2017 Taipei Committee puts an emphasis on promoting peace and great relationships between all countries. Taipei 2017 aims to help connect the world through sport and provides these athletes with the opportunity to make friends around the world while playing the sport they love.
The Athlete Village is made up of many apartment style buildings to host all of the delegations as well as an extremely large dining hall, hair salon, dry cleaner, bank, cultural center, fitness center, convenience stores and internet cafes. Men and women’s volleyball are sharing an apartment building with the rest of the USA Teams as well as the teams from Canada.
“Taipei has been a wonderful host for the 2017 World University Games. Our athletes thoroughly enjoy the facilities and the Athlete Village. We’re very excited to start our competition on Sunday” said Men’s Head Coach, John Kosty on the experience thus far. USA Men will compete in preliminary pool play against Japan, Taipei, and France. There are 22 total teams in the Men’s competition, breaking into two pools of six and two pools of five. After the preliminary round robin in pool play, the teams will be seeded into respective divisions which will play for Positions 1-8, 9-16, and 17-22 based on their finish in the preliminary pool.
Men’s Preliminary Pool Play Schedule:
- August 20: USA vs. Japan at 18:00 local Taipei time
- August 21: USA vs. Taipei at 20:00 local Taipei time
- August 22: USA vs. France at 18:00 local Taipei time
- August 25: USA vs. Brazil 18:00 local Taipei time
“This is a really special experience to represent USA in a multi sport competition of this magnitude. We are going to play our hardest and make our country proud”, said Joe Trinsey, Head Coach of the Women’s Team. USA Women will compete in their preliminary pool against Japan, Thailand, and Latvia. There are 16 total teams in the Women’s competition, breaking into four pools of four teams in each. After the preliminary round robin in pool play, the teams will be seeded into respective divisions which will play for Positions 1-8 and Positions 9-16 based on their finish in the preliminary pool.
The Men’s team will have a friendly match on August 18 with Switzerland and the Women will have friendly matches with Finland (August 18) and Canada (August 19) to prepare for match play.
Women’s Preliminary Pool Play Schedule:
- August 21: USA vs. Japan at 15:00 local Taipei time
- August 22: USA vs. Latvia at 15:00 local Taipei time
- August 23: USA vs. Thailand at 15:00 local Taipei time
USA Men’s Team Roster:
- Evan Enriques, Libero, Stanford University
- Kyle Ensing, Opposite, Long Beach State University
- Amir Lugo-Rodriguez, Middle Blocker, Long Beach State University
- Ryan Coenen, Outside Hitter, Lewis University
- Miles Johnson, Opposite, The Ohio State University
- Jordan Ewert, Outside HItter, Stanford University
- Kevin Rakestraw, Middle Blocker, Stanford University
- Paul Bischoff, Setter, Stanford University
- Jake Arnitz, Outside Hitter, University of California Los Angeles
- Arvis Greene, Opposite, California State University Northridge
- Michael Saeta, Setter, University of California Irvine
- Blake Leeson, Middle Blocker, The Ohio State University
- Head Coach- John Kosty
- Assistant Coach- Daniel Friend
- Assistant Coach- David Heller
- Trainer- Shannon Murphy
USA Women’s Team Roster:
- Madeline Garda, Libero, Bowling Green State University
- Danielle Harbin, Outside Hitter, University of Arkansas
- Maggie Speaks, Setter, North Carolina State University
- Val Jeffery, Setter, Youngstown State University
- Jazzmine McDonald, Middle Blocker, University of Indiana
- Ashley Mariani, Middle Blocker, University of Iowa
- Imani Wimbush, Opposite, Gonzaga University
- Katie Horton, Outside Hitter, Florida State University
- Teegan Van Gunst, Outside Hitter, Georgia Tech
- Krystal Rivers, Opposite, University of Alabama
- Jenelle Jordan, Middle Blocker, University of California
- Jordan Tucker, Middle Blocker, Duke University
- Head Coach- Joe Trinsey
- Assistant Coach- Elizabeth Stemke
- Assistant Coach- Sander Cohen
- Trainer- Shannon Murphy