Congratulations!
Jordan Larson: Indoor Player Of The Year
“First of all, what an incredible honor. I feel so blessed to not only play on this team, but to play alongside some incredibly talented and giving group of women. Secondly, I couldn’t have done it without them. They push me to be the best I can every day.”
“For me, I try to take one day at a time. Every day is another opportunity to find a way to be the best. Every time I step on the court, I try to find ways to get better and to help those around me be the best they can be. Again, I have been very blessed and fortunate to play at two of the top clubs in Europe and also with the No. 1 team in the world in Team USA. Playing around great talent makes my job easy.”
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Matt Anderson: Indoor Player Of The Year
“I can’t become MVP without a supporting cast,. I played well, but the team played extremely well together and fought through some really tough matches and some really tough times. We put ourselves in a great position. So MVP is for the team, not me.”
“My mental strength for sure was the hardest obstacle to get past this year. With the break I took, I was able to look inward and see what really made me a happy person. I was able to address personal issues. That allowed me to put even more of myself and more focus into training and competition.”
“I try to first lead by example with my work ethic and attention to our team’s system. I also try to keep things light in talks with other players because of the high-stress environment or competition.”
“Sometimes all we need is to get a little boost in confidence to shake the tunnel vision the stress can cause.”
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Molly Kreklow: Most Improved Player
“We threw Molly into the deep end this season. Her devotion to our number-one job of learning and improving paid big dividends, as she helped lead USA to a World Grand Prix gold medal, in only her second year with the program. There’s so much setters have to learn to compete at the highest international level; she continues to attack that sometimes daunting task, while serving her teammates with humility and caring.” -Coach Karch Kiraly On Molly.
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April Ross: Beach Player Of The Year
“I’ve never had a season like we had this past year. Kerri was injured the entire time from the first Grand Slam to our last tournament. It was tough, we didn’t get to play together as much as both of us wanted. When we did play together, we both grew a lot because of the situation we were put in. We had to tough it out and come up with ways to win that we wouldn’t have had to think of before. In the end, I’m thankful and finding the silver lining. We grew a lot as a team even though we weren’t 100-percent.”
“I feel like I’m playing my best beach volleyball. I’ve done a lot of visualizing in the off season and I’m ready to get better and clean things up. I think I’m imposing, that I’m a force. I want to own that and be aggressive. I think if I can do that I can be pretty scary.”
“There are a lot of tournaments before the cutoff date and we’ve picked and chosen the tournaments we’re going to already. I think it’s a pretty good schedule and it won’t be too overwhelming. I’ve never been a part of something where I feel like we’re preparing like crazy. We’re going to be prepared as we possibly can for 2016 and all the scenarios that could pop up.”
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Nick Lucena: Beach Player Of The Year
“The 2015 season overall was long as can be. We started January 1 and played in a Brazilian exhibition in February, we’ve been playing ever since. When I switched to Phil, it was like a brand new season.”
“It’s different than any other partnership I’ve had recently. This feels way different, because I’m playing with Phil and he’s won a bunch of tournaments and is playing at a high level. I’ve always felt like I could be there. Phil and I doing as well as we did kind of justifies it for me.”
“I’m looking forward to competing and hopefully we make the Olympics. It’s been a lot of fun playing with Phil and having Paul Baxter as our coach.”