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RIMINI, Italy, June 16, 2021 - The United States
men’s national team gained an important piece to
use for the remainder of the 2021 FIVB
Volleyball Nations League campaign after team
captain Taylor Sander made his debut in the
tournament in Week 4.
Sander’s appearance in the Americans’ 3-0
victory against Italy on Tuesday was his first
international match since the 2019 VNL as the
29-year-old outside hitter has had to deal with
injuries over the last two years.
A Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, Sander had
to undergo surgery on his right shoulder at the
end of 2019 and sat out of the entire club
season. He returned to action in 2020-2021
playing for PGE Skra Belchatow in Poland but
ended the season with an ankle injury that kept
him out of the first three weeks of the VNL.
“It’s really good to be back, but I felt a
little bit uncomfortable,” he said after scoring
14 points against the Italians. “I haven’t had
too many days of actual training with the team
so it was hard for me. I don't feel like I’m in
very good shape and it will take me some time to
get comfortable and play our system of
volleyball.”
Besides regaining his best physical shape,
Sander, the MVP of the 2014 FIVB Volleyball
World League, feels he also needs to work on
chemistry with most of his teammates. As a
handful of younger players joined the team
during his absence, he says getting to know them
all will be the next step in his return to the
court.
“The goal, not only for me but for the entire
team, is to get better,” he explained. “We’ve
had some injuries so now it’s just about getting
better as a team. There are some new guys out
there I haven’t played with so much, so it’s
about getting comfortable with each other and
defining our roles as players. That’s all we got
to do.”
With five wins in their first ten matches, the
Americans will need to step up their game to
qualify for the semifinals of the VNL. But they
also want to use their next five matches in
Rimini to finish their preparation for the Tokyo
Olympics.
With the 12 players who will make the trip to
Japan already announced by head coach John
Speraw, now it’s time to make a final push and
head to Tokyo at full pace.
“We have a lot of good guys on our roster,”
Sander added. “It’s special for the guys who
have made it, but it’s also important to
recognise the ones who didn’t. We’ve all worked
really hard to try and go to Tokyo and be on the
roster and it’s crazy that it’s here now. Now
it’s up to us to get better and try and win the
Olympic Games.” |
