Two years ago, at age 25, Matt Anderson was the youngest player on the U.S. men’s volleyball team, the baby and top outside hitter on a veteran squad that suffered a stunning loss to Italy in the quarterfinals of the London Olympics.
The following March, John Speraw took over as head coach of the U.S. team. Speraw realized the national team was undergoing what he called a “generational shift.” The team that underachieved in London had been dominated by older players, some of whom had won a gold medal in 2008 at Beijing and played in multiple Olympics.
Speraw’s team was getting younger. He recognized the need to develop new leadership as he reshaped the roster in the three-year lead-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Anderson, a hard-working, accountable star who was entering his early prime, seemed like a good place to start.
Anderson, a native of West Seneca, had established himself as one of the most dynamic players in the world. This past season, he led his professional team – Zenit Kazan – to the Russian league championship. For two years in a row, he has been the top scorer on the American national team.
He was still young, but suddenly a veteran, someone Speraw could look to for leadership. So as he prepared the U.S. team for the two-month World League competition this past spring, Speraw made a dramatic decision: He switched Anderson from left outside hitter to opposite hitter.
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