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Senior Nate Meerstein is one of 12 players selected to represent the United States at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey, from Aug. 11-21. |
University Park, Pa., August 4, 2005 ¨C Senior menĄŻs volleyball player
Nate Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is one of 12 collegiate players selected to the 2005 World University Games squad that will represent the United States in Izmir, Turkey, from Aug. 11-21.
A 6-9 middle hitter, Meerstein was an AVCA First Team All-America selection last season after leading Penn State to the 2005 NCAA National Semifinal and its first 30-win season since 1982. Meerstein ended the season attacking at a .514 clip, good for second in the country and also averaged 2.92 kills per game and 1.39 blocks per game.
Meerstein is one of five 2005 AVCA First Team All-Americans on the squad, including Andy Hein (Pepperdine), Kevin Hansen (Stanford), Tyler Hildebrand (Long Beach State) and Robert Tarr (Long Beach State).
The squad - which departed Tuesday, Aug. 2 for team processing in Washington D.C., before traveling to Turkey - was selected from among a group of 19 players that have been training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., since July 18.
The United States is looking to continue its string of recent success at the World University Games. Team USA captured the gold medal in the event in 2001 in Beijing, China, and earned a bronze medal at the last World University Games in Daegu, South Korea.
The United States will be a member of Pool D in the 24-team tournament along with Belgium, China, France, Lebanon and Slovakia and its first match will be on Thursday, Aug. 11 against Lebanon.
Team USAĄŻs toughest competition in pool play figures to be France, whom they defeated, 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-10) in the bronze medal match in 2003. China finished 16th at the last WUG volleyball tournament, while Belgium, Lebanon and Slovakia did not field teams.
Three other pools make up the field for the menĄŻs volleyball tournament. Pool A consists of Bulgaria, Canada, Iran, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey, while Pool B includes defending gold medalist Korea, Brazil, Cyprus, Germany, Italy and United Arab Emirates. Pool C features Denmark, Hong Kong, 2003 silver medalist Japan, Mexico, Poland and Serbia and Montenegro.
2005 USA MenĄŻs World University Games Team
Matt Denmark (Edmond, Okla./Ball State)
Shaun Dyk (Mooresville, N.C./Cal Baptist University)
Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif./Stanford)
Andy Hein (Carol Stream, Ill./Pepperdine)
Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, Ariz./Long Beach State)
Kristopher Kraushaar (Irvine, Calif./UCLA)
Nathan Meerstein (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn State)
Paul Munoz (Huntington Beach, Calif./Long Beach State)
Nils Nielsen (Fallbrook, Calif./Cal State Northridge)
Jimmy Pelzel (Lake Forest, Calif./UC Irvine)
Robert Tarr (Rockledge, Fla./Long Beach State)
Brian Zodrow (Kaneohe, Hawaii/Pacific)
Head Coach: Joe Wortmann (Stockton, Calif./Pacific)
Assistant Coach: Sean Byron (North Plainfield, N.J./Rutgers-Newark)
Team Leader: Ken Preston (Santa Barbara, Calif./UC Santa Barbara)
2005 World University Games USA Pool Play Schedule
Thursday, Aug. 11
USA vs. Lebanon
Friday, Aug. 12
USA vs. France
Saturday, Aug. 13
USA vs. China
Sunday, Aug. 14
USA vs. Belgium
Monday, Aug. 15
USA vs. Slovakia
For more information on the Penn State menĄŻs volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. For more information on the 2005 World University Games, please visit USA Volleyball at http://usavolleyball.org.
USA Volleyball contributed to this release.
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Penn State will be the host for two national events in the volleyball world this year as Rec Hall will host both the 2005 NCAA WomenĄŻs Volleyball Regional Semifinals and Final on Dec. 9-10 and the 2006 NCAA MenĄŻs Volleyball National Collegiate Championship on May 4 and 6. For more information, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
