97974609797460

Mende Added to Men's Junior National Training Team

June 7, 2017

USAVolleyball Release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ââ'¬" The 2017 Men's Junior National Training Team (MJNTT) includes 20 of the top men's volleyball players in the United States under the age of 21 including Penn State's Calvin Mende as released by USA Volleyball.

The next challenge for the team's staff will be choosing just 12 athletes to compete at the 2017 FIVB Men's U21 World Championship on June 23-July 2 in the Czech Republic.

One of the newcomers to the high performance national team includes the aforementioned Penn State redshirt freshman opposite Calvin Mende.

Mende recently wrapped up his freshman season in the Blue & White finishing the season as a second-team All-American recording 325 kills (3.25/set) hitting .294 and adding 11 service aces as well as 116 digs and 81 total blocks helping lead Penn State back to the NCAA tournament where their season ended in the play-in game versus Hawai'I in Columbus, Ohio.

"For the guys that came back (from last year), I want to see how much they've progressed over the year," said MJNTT Head Coach Jay Hosack. "I am excited to see where they have ended up after this season.

"For the new guys, I am excited to see where they fit into the mix."

The team will begin training on June 9 in Lake Placid, N.Y. The staff, including Hosack and assistant coaches Jonah Carson and Matthew McCarthy will trim the team to 12 after five days.

"We are not in the market to improve on their game as much as we want to find the best pieces to fit together," Hosack said of the team's training. "We need to see who fits well with whom and who responds well with whom."

U.S. Men's Junior National Training Team
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, Region)

  1. Matt Douglas (L, 5-10, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Southern California [USC], SCVA)
  2. Gage Worsley (L, 6-2, Moragao, Calif., signed with Hawaii, NCVA)
  3. Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-2, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
  4. Micah Ma'a (S, 6-4, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
  5. Dylan Missry (OH, 6-4, Holbrook, N.Y., UCLA, Garden Empire)
  6. Matt Yoshimoto (S, 6-5, Ventura, Calif., Lewis, SCVA)
  7. Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, NCVA)
  8. Austin Matautia (OH, 6-5, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Hawaii, Aloha)
  9. Brett Rosenmeier (OH, 6-6, Virginia Beach, Va., Hawaii, Old Dominion)
  10. T.J. DeFalco (6-6, OH, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
  11. Parker Dixon (6-6, OH, Dallas, Texas, Princeton, Lone Star)
  12. Noah Dyer (OH, 6-6, San Clemente, Calif., Pepperdine, SCVA)
  13. Keenan Sanders (MB, 6-7, San Diego, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, SCVA)
  14. Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
  15. Matthew Szews (Opp, 6-8, Brookfield, Wis., Ball State, Badger)
  16. Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-8, Clovis, Calif., Hawaii, NCVA)
  17. Tyler Mitchem (MB, 6-10, Bolingbrook, Ill., Lewis, Great Lakes)
  18. Calvin Mende (Opp, 6-11, Redlands, Calif., Penn State, SCVA)
  19. Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine, Badger)
  20. George Huhmann (MB, 6-10, High Ridge, Mo., Princeton, Gateway)

Information from USAVolleyball was used in this article.