Four players with ties to Hawaii have been selected to the 12-man U.S. men's volleyball roster for this summer's Paris Olympics, it was announced Friday.
Veterans Micah Christenson and Eric Shoji were selected for their third Olympics, while Micah Ma and Taylor Averill were selected for their first Olympic appearance.
Christenson, a USC graduate from Kamehameha and Honolulu, and Maa, a Punahou and UCLA graduate from Kaneohe, are the team's two setters.
Shoji is a graduate of Punahou University and Stanford University, the son of former Hawaii women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji, and the team's only libero. Christenson and Shoji won bronze medals at the 2016 Olympics.
Averil, a native of San Jose, California, was a standout middle in Hawaii from 2012 to 2015.
For the first time, Long Beach State graduate Kyle Ensing has been named the official top alternate in the event a player is unavailable.
UCLA's John Spero is the head coach of a team that has won back-to-back NCAA men's championships.
The United States ranks second in the world. The Olympic competition schedule will be announced after June 30th after the final round of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League. The Olympics will be held from July 26th to August 11th.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. Contact him at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
