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Grand Canyon coach Matt Werle will coach the United States at the NORCECA Champions Cup, which starts today at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado . The men’s draw will include teams from Canada, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
The U.S. roster includes four players that have already played professionally abroad, seven players that just graduated from college, and two players still in college.
The Canadian roster includes current UCLA middle attacker Daenen Gyimah, while the Puerto Rican team roster includes current Purdue Fort Wayne outside attacker Pelegrin Vargas, Barton setter Oscar Fiorentino and outside attacker Adrian Iglesias, NJIT setter Roque Nido, and BYU opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez. Also on the Puerto Rican roster are former NCAA/NAIA men’s volleyball players: Josue Rivera (BYU), Pedro Nieves (Grand View), and Dennis Del Valle (Penn State).
Check out Off the Block associate editor Jonathan Bates’ interview with Werle as he discusses such topics as preparing for this tournament, coaching a roster with such varied playing experience, playing in elevation, coaching against players he’s coached against in college, and what he’s trying to accomplish this weekend.