June 1, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Less than a month after competing in the NCAA national semifinals with the Nittany Lion men's volleyball team, senior Aaron Russell traded his Penn State jersey for one with the letters U.S.A. on the front.
Making his debut appearance with the United States Men's National Team this weekend, Russell helped the U.S. to a pair of wins against Iran in the opening series of the 2015 FIVB World League.
"I was pretty nervous throughout the day, but when the time came for the match to start I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be," Russell said.
Nerves proved not to be a factor for the three-time Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year, as the two-time first team AVCA All-American came out firing in the first match with 17 points, all off of kills. The United States topped Iran in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23) Saturday evening at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
Following the match, Iranian head coach Slobodan Kovac was quick to point out Russell's breakout performance.
"I don't know why they didn't play Troy (Murphy) and they played Russell (Aaron) and he played very well. In the first two sets we don't know him because he didn't play before. This is a new player and he did his job very good," Kovac said.
The very next evening, Russell showed no signs of fatigue as he finished third on the team with 13 points in the second match. The U.S. men took down Iran in four sets (25-16, 25-16, 20-25, 25-20) to close out the opening series with a 2-0 mark.
"It wasn't until after the first match, after we won, that I realized what an accomplish it was to get my first start and even more, to get a win" Russell said, looking back on his debut experience.
Russell was not the only Penn State presence on the court as he joined former Nittany Lions Max Holt and Matt Anderson in the starting lineup for both matches. Anderson and Holt are U.S. A. volleyball veterans, having helped the U.S. Men win the 2014 FIVB World League title a year ago.
Anderson had 11 points playing at opposite in the first match, before leading the team with 19 points (15 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces, 3 digs) in the second match, back at outside hitter. Holt posted nine points in the first outing before tallying 10 points in the second match.
All three made back-to-back appearances starting lineup, combining for 79 points across both matches.
"I think we all got along well on the court together, they (Anderson, Holt) both play hard and they are very physical," Russell said. "They were very helpful to me, communicating a lot, and helping to make sure I understood what going on during the match."
Russell, Holt, Anderson and the rest of the United States continue World League play this weekend, taking on defending Olympic champion Russia June 5-6 in Long Beach.
"I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer with this team, I had a lot of fun playing with these guys," Russell said. "Russia is coming in next we so we have to make sure we're prepared for them."