Two Bruins Named to U.S. Olympic MVB Team

USA Volleyball announced Friday that two Bruins – Garrett Muagututia (UCLA 2007-10) and Micah Ma'a (2016-19) -- have been selected to the 12-player men's team that will compete for the U.S. at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 under the direction of head coach John Speraw (UCLA's current men's volleyball coach), pending approval from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

This will be the second Olympics for Muagututia who went to Tokyo with the U.S. team in 2021 and was an alternate for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. It will be the first Olympics competition for Ma'a. Both players are currently training with the U.S. in preparation for the FIVB Volleyball Nation's League (VNL) competition which begins May 22 in Turkey and continues with preliminary competition rounds in Canada (June 4) and the Philippines (June 19).  The top eight teams at the end of the preliminaries will advance to the VNL Final Round on June 27-30 in Poland. The U.S. will enter the 2024 competition ranked No. 2 in the world and has won the silver medal at the last two VNL's (in 2022 and 2023).
 
A 6-5 outside hitter from Oceanside, Calif. (Francis Parker HS), Muagututia made his debut with the U.S. Men's National Team in 2011 at the Pan American Cup and appeared in his initial Olympics at Tokyo. He has played professionally in Spain, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Poland, China, Portugal and Greece. In 2023, he helped the U.S. earn gold in the Olympic Qualifying event and the NORCECA Continental Cup. Muagututia was a member of the 2023 U.S. VNL team which captured silver and appeared in the FIVB World Championships. He also participated in the 2022 VNL. In 2019, Muagututia was a member of the U.S. team which won the bronze medal at the FIVB World Cup, brought home the silver medal at the FIVB Nation's League and helped the U.S. earn a trip to Tokyo at the FIVB Men's Volleyball Qualification Tournament.
 
At UCLA, Muagututia earned second-team All-America honors in multiple seasons (2010, 2008). He led the Bruins in kills as a senior (446) and finished his career with 71 double-digit kill matches, 19 double-doubles and 99 aces. Muagututia ended his Bruin playing days as the rally scoring era school leader in block solos (44) for a career and in second-place on the all-time kills list (1,473).

Ma'a made his debut for the U.S. National Team in 2018 after a standout career with the Junior National squad. He helped the U.S. win silver in the 2019 VNL and bronze at the 2019 FIVB World Cup. Ma'a was also a member of the U.S. team which won gold while qualifying for the Tokyo Games. In 2023, he was on the U.S. squad which secured silver at the VNL and gold at the NORCECA Continental Championship. Ma'a was a member of the squad which helped the U.S. win gold in qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
 
"One of the hardest parts about coaching this team is naming the final 12 athletes who will play at the Olympics," U.S. Men's Head Coach John Speraw said. "We travel 14 players to every single tournament during a quad. To narrow it down to 12 is always such a challenge.
 
"It's such a tough decision because we have so many talented, hard-working, high-character athletes who have been great teammates and represented the United States very well. Ultimately, we decided that this was the best 12 to go compete for us in Paris.
 
"Choosing the team now allows us to manage a veteran team and the grind of Volleyball Nations League (VNL) travel to ensure we have a good balance between training, recovery and competition to prepare ourselves for the Games.
 
"It's an incredible honor to coach these men. I've known all of them for a long time. I have such a high degree of trust in their ability to play the game and respect for how they compete and represent the United States. I know how special this experience is and I'm grateful to these 12 men and to all the athletes who have given their best toward this Olympic effort."
 
Speraw will serve as head coach of his third Olympic team after leading the U.S. Men in Rio, where they took the bronze medal, and Tokyo. He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's Team that won gold at the Beijing 2008 Games, and for the London 2012 team. Speraw is also the head coach of the UCLA men's volleyball team and won his second straight NCAA championship on May 5.

Indoor volleyball competition at the 2024 Olympic Games will be held at the South Paris Arena. The men's competition will commence on July 27 and runs through August 10. The U.S. men have won five Olympic indoor volleyball medals with the last, a bronze, coming in 2016. The U.S. has captured the Olympic gold medal in indoor men's volleyball three times, in the 1984, 1988 and 2008 Games.
 
U.S. Men's Roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024
No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola-Chicago)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, USC)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
14 Micah Ma'a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola-Chicago)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawai'i)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Official Alternate: 5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State)