Eurosport - Fri, 01 Aug 18:51:00 2008
U.S volleyballer Lloy Ball will appear in his fourth Olympic Games after being named in the squad for Beijing.
USA Volleyball announced the 12 members of the 2008 men's squad they had nominated, although the selection has to be formally approved by the U.S Olympic Committee.
The U.S have not won a medal in the event since a bronze at Barcelona in 1992.
Ball, 36, said he was sure that his experience and that of several players returning to the Games, would be a key factor for the team.
"As you get older and have more big-match experience, you become more confident in your own game as an individual player and also as a team," Ball said.
"We have a solid team, one through 12. The Olympics is such a different kind of tournament. It's such an emotional ride up and down...
"It takes a real strong athlete and a real strong team to do well. I thought we had that in the last Olympics and since we have so many guys carrying over from that team, I think we will have it this time," he said.
New Zealander Hugh McCutcheon, who has been in charge of the team since 2005, will coach the team.
McCutcheon was assistant coach of the team four years ago at Athens when they finished fourth.
U.S Men's volleyball Olympic squad: Lloy Ball, Gabe Gardner, Kevin Hansen, Tom Hoff , Rich Lambourne, David Lee , Ryan Millar, Reid Priddy, Sean Rooney, Riley Salmon, Clay Stanley, Scott Touzinsky.
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