The United States competed in the 29th Summer Universiade Games (World University Games) in Taipei in August and the American women finished 10th, while the men placed 17th.
The USA women, coached by former USA women’s national team assistant Joe Trinsey, were swept by Japan, swept Latvia and then lost in five to Thailand. The USA beat Mexico and the Czech Republic in five before falling in four to Switzerland. Japan finished second and Thailand sixth. The USA team was comprised of former NCAA standouts.
USA Women’s Team Roster
1. Madeline Garda, Libero, Bowling Green
2. Danielle Harbin, Outside Hitter, Arkansas
3. Maggie Speaks, Setter, NC State
4. Val Jeffery, Setter, Youngstown State
5. Jazzmine McDonald, Middle Blocker, Indiana
6. Ashley Mariani, Middle Blocker, Iowa
7. Imani Wimbush, Opposite, Gonzaga
8. Katie Horton, Outside Hitter, Florida State
9. Teegan Van Gunst, Outside Hitter, Georgia Tech
10. Krystal Rivers, Opposite, Alabama
11. Jenelle Jordan, Middle Blocker, California
12. Jordan Tucker, Middle Blocker, Duke
• Head Coach — Joe Trinsey
• Assistant Coach — Lizzie Stemke
• Assistant Coach — Sander Cohen
• Trainer —Shannon Murphy
The men were coached by Stanford men’s coach John Kosty. Their pool included the host, Chinese Taipei, and Japan, France and Brazil, but five-set losses to Japan and Chinese Tapei did them in. The USA was swept by France and Brazil. They finished with a four-set victory over Australia and a sweep of Latvia. The men’s team included many current NCAA players.
USA Men’s Team Roster
1. Evan Enriques, Libero, Stanford
2. Kyle Ensing, Opposite, Long Beach State
3. Amir Lugo-Rodriguez, Middle Blocker, Long Beach State
4. Ryan Coenen, Outside Hitter, Lewis
5. Miles Johnson, Opposite, Ohio State
6. Jordan Ewert, Outside HItter, Stanford
7. Kevin Rakestraw, Middle Blocker, Stanford
8. Paul Bischoff, Setter, Stanford
9. Jake Arnitz, Outside Hitter, UCLA
10. Arvis Greene, Opposite, Cal State Northridge
11. Michael Saeta, Setter, UC Irvine
12. Blake Leeson, Middle Blocker, Ohio State
• Head Coach — John Kosty
• Assistant Coach — Dan Friend
• Assistant Coach — David Heller
• Trainer — Shannon Murphy
The 29th Summer Universiade was hosted by Taipei City from August 19-August 30, 2017. The Games included more than 11,000 volunteers. The delegations stayed in the athletes village, which was built specifically for the Games. It will be converted into low-income housing for Taipei residents.
