Western Empire Volleyball Association

WEVA Player Receives Incredible Honor:
Outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) has been named the USA Volleyball Indoor Male Athlete of the Year for 2012, while setter Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) has been selected as USA Volleyball’s Most Improved Player in the indoor male athlete category.

At 25, Anderson was the youngest player on the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team and finished the 2012 season as the team’s leading scorer with 393 points on a team-leading 326 kills, 42 blocks and 25 aces (second highest on team). Anderson started 96 out of the 97 sets for the U.S. Men. His kill percent was 50.7 and his hitting efficiency was .440.

“My success this season with the National Team came from the realization of the trust my teammates and coaches had in me,” Anderson said via e-mail from Russia where he is playing for Zenit Kazan in the Super League. “In training we created an atmosphere of the best volleyball and it was tough to differentiate between training and big-time matches.”

Anderson started all 21 sets of the Olympic Games in London and was the team’s leading scorer with 81 points on 69 kills (.390 hitting efficiency), six aces and six blocks. His tournament best was 18 points (16 attacks, one block and one ace) scored in 3-2, pool play loss to Russia. The U.S. Men finished fifth in London.

“The highlight of my 2012 season was being a part of the 2012 Olympic Games,” Anderson said. “There is no words to describe the honor I received being able to walk with the team in Opening Ceremonies, and then to compete on the world’s biggest stage for my country, the USA. The low point is leaving the Olympics knowing we could have accomplished more as a team.”

Anderson played in all 60 FIVB World League sets in which the U.S. Men competed and was the team’s leading scorer. He finished with 248 points on a team-leading 205 kills, 32 blocks and 11 aces. He was fifth among all World League scorers at the end of pool play. His tournament high was 21 points scored against Korea on June 16.

Anderson was named “Best Spiker” at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament on May 7-12 in Long Beach, Calif., as the U.S. Men qualified for the Olympic Games. He played in 15 out of 16 sets and was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 64 points on 52 kills, four blocks, and eight aces. His hitting efficiency was .585 and he scored a tournament-high 24 points against Cuba.

“My sights are already set on (the Olympic Games in) Rio 2016,” Anderson said. “If I’m lucky enough to make that squad, I don’t want to go home from those Games without a medal, hopefully gold.”

To view the complete USAV release, click here.

NEW First Come/First Serve Patriot Division:
USA Volleyball has announced that their new First Come/First Serve Patriot Division at the 2013 Girls' Junior National Championships will open for registrations on January 2nd, 2013, according to an announcement made at a commissioners' meeting.

2012 WEVA Scholarship Announcements

As commissioner of the Western Empire region, I wish to congratulate this year’s winners of the Gary Adler scholarship awards. This year we had more applicants than we’ve had since the beginning of the award. The essays this year were all very well written, which made the voting very competitive. Thanks and good luck in your future to all who applied this year.

This year’s award for a female student going on to college is Jordan Tylec from the Niagara Frontier Volleyball Club. Jordan attended North Tonawanda senior high school and will be attending Canisius College this fall.

This year’s award for a male student going on to college is Kyle Acker from Eden Mizuno Volleyball Club. Kyle attended Eden senior high school and will be attending Graceland University this fall.

Congratulations to you all for your acceptance at the various colleges that you have chosen. You have all been and will continue to be a credit to Western Empire volleyball area and we hope that you will be able to assist in the development of our future players and leaders in our community.

Thanks again and good luck at College.

John W Hughes
Commissioner WEVA