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The U.S. roster is set for the upcoming FIVB U21 World Championship qualifying tournament.
USA Volleyball announced on Thursday it selected the 12 players from the 17-player preliminary to compete with the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team at the U21 NORCECA Continental Championship.
Stanford opposite Jaylen Jasper highlights the roster that is primarily comprised of college players. Jasper, an Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshman All-American, finished last season seventh in the nation with a 3.92 kills per game average.
Jasper is one of three 2018 MPSF All-Freshmen Team selections to make the U.S. roster.
Stanford middle attacker Kyler Presho and USC middle attacker Sam Lewis both earned the all-conference honor. In addition, Lewis was named the U.S. team captain for the international tournament.
All three players and Loyola outside attacker Devin Joslyn also rejoin the United States after helping the country reach the Round of 16 at the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championship.
Stanford led all players with four players on the U.S. roster. Loyola was the only other school to have multiple players selected to this team.
Along with these two schools, the defending NCAA champions Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Princeton, UC San Diego, UCLA and USC each had a current player or recruit earn a roster spot.
The United States will be one of nine teams competing at the NORCECA Championship that begins Monday in Cuba. The top-two teams from this tournament will qualify for the World Championship next year.
The United States is the defending gold medalists of this bi-annual tournament and has won three of the last four tournaments.
U.S. Men’s Junior National Team roster
Setter: Blake Crisp, UC San Diego
Setter: Joe Kelly, Princeton
Opposite: Luke Denton, Loyola
Opposite: Jaylen Jasper, Stanford
Outside attacker: Devin Joslyn, Loyola
Outside attacker: Kevin Lamp, Stanford
Outside attacker: Spencer Olivier, Long Beach State
Outside attacker: J.P. Reilly, Stanford
Middle attacker: Sam Lewis, USC
Middle attacker: JT Martin, Pepperdine
Middle attacker: Kyler Presho, Stanford
Libero: Garland Peed V, UCLA