USA men defeat Dominican Republic in quest for World Championship bid

The USA Men's National Volleyball Team began their quest to qualify for the 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships Friday night with a 3-0 victory over the Dominican Republic in the opening match of the 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships Qualification Tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The game scores were 25-17, 25-13, 25-12.

The match was played at the Investors Group Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Manitoba.

Team USA was led in scoring by Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Illinois/Long Beach State University) with 13 points (nine kills and four blocks). Reid Priddy (Los Angeles, California/Loyola Marymount University) and Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii/University of Hawaii) each scored 11 points in the victory.

The USA will look to be one of three teams from the NORCECA Region to qualify for the 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championshipsm which are scheduled to be held in Argentina, September 28 through October 13, 2002. If the USA wins Pool N (USA, Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Canada) they will automatically earn a bid to the 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships. If Team USA finishes second in this weekend's qualifying tournament, they must be ranked higher than the second place team from Pool M (Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Netherlands Antilles) in order to qualify. This weekend's (July 26-28) qualifying tournament will see the USA face The Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Canada in a round robin format, with the top finisher qualifying for the 2002 World Championships.

A total of 24 teams will qualify for the 2002 Men's Volleyball World Championships. Two teams received automatic berths to the World Championships, Italy by virtue of being the defending World Champions from 1998, and Argentina by virtue of being the host country for the 2002 World Championships. The other 22 teams trying to qualify for the event must qualify through qualification tournaments hosted by the Confederation of which it is a member.

The NORCECA Confederation, of which the United States is a member, is allotted three qualifying spots for the 2002 World Championships. The teams finishing in first place in Pool M and Pool N will qualify for the 2002 World Championships. The best second ranked team of Pool M and Pool N will qualify for the final spot in the 2002 World Championships.

For more information, go to the USA Volleyball website.

For more information on the FIVB and the World Championships, go to the FIVB website.