Donald Suxho
Position: Setter
Height: 6-5 (196cm)
Weight: 216 lbs (98kg)
Hometown: Korce, Albania
College: USC
Birth Date: February 1976
Joined Team: January 2001
PERSONAL: Born Donald Suxho on Feb. 21, 1976 in Albania... He was the starting setter for the Albanian National Team (1995-96) and junior national team (1991-96)... He also played for the Skenderbeu club team from 1991 to 1996 that was coached by his father, Petraq (who was an assistant for the Albanian national team and the head coach of the country's junior national team), and the Studenti club team that won the 1996 Albanian national championship. He prepped at Koci Bako High in Korce, Albania. He also played soccer and was a swimmer. His brother, Rando, also played volleyball in Albania... Donald came to America in 1996 and lived in Massachusetts while searching for a college... Communications major at USC...Enjoys skiing, hiking, swimming, movies and traveling... Donald has a son named Shane... Says one of the most defining moments in his life is choosing to play volleyball at USC because "I am who I am because of that"... His goals off the court are to "be the best person I can be and give my son a better life than mine"... Most prized possessions are "my son, my car and my family"... One of his fondest childhood memories is traveling to Bulgaria for the first time... Wants to vacation in Tahiti... Says the luxury item he could not live without is a "nice car"... If he won the lottery, he would buy his "parents all they want, open a savings account for my son" and party around the world with his friends... Says most people would be surprised that he has a big heart... Describes himself as "fun, outgoing and not picky".
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: 2009 - 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier for NORCECA Group F (Gold Medal)... FIVB World League. 2006 - FIVB World Championships... FIVB World League... Pan American Cup (Gold Medal)... Argentina Tour. 2005 - Pacific Northwest Tour vs. Netherlands... USOC International Sports Invitational (Silver Medal)...Argentina Tour... Americas' Cup (Gold Medal)... FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)... NORCECA Continental Championships (Gold Medal)... World Grand Champions Cup (Silver Medal). 2004 - NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)... Japan Tour... Houston Series... USA Global Challenge (First Place)... Serbia and Montenegro Tour (Second Place)... Olympic Games (Fourth Place). 2003 - Colorado/Nebraska Tour... Canada Tour... Pan American Games (Fourth Place)... NORCECA Zone Championships (Gold Medal)... World Cup (Fourth Place). 2001 - World League... NORCECA Zone Championships.
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2007 - In March, Donald partially ruptured his left Achilles tendon while playing for Acqua Paradiso in Italy. Suxho had surgery in Italy and then returned to the United States for rehab with the U.S. Men's National Team's athletic trainer Aaron Brock. 2006 - Started every match at the World Championships...Was the starting U.S. setter in every match of the FIVB World League... Started as setter for the inaugural Pan American Cup, but did not play the entire tournament due to a sprained ankle... Helped the team finish 4-1 in the Argentina series... Finished the season with 42 kills and 15 aces. 2005 - Nominated by USA Volleyball for the 2005 United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year honor... In his first year as the full-time starter, Donald quarterbacked Team USA to one of its most successful seasons in years...The Americans posted a record of 27-6 and earned five podium placements during the year, including a silver medal at the USOC International Sports Invitational (San Diego, Calif.); a gold medal at the America's Cup (Brazil); a gold medal at the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament (Puerto Rico); a gold medal at the NORCECA Championships (Canada); and a silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup (Japan)... Suxho led the team in service aces with 25 and helped the Americans post a stellar hitting percentage of .376 on the season... He also finished third on the team in blocks with 48... He capped his first season as a starter for the USA squad that captured the silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in November in Japan... The Americans, who lost to defending Olympic gold medalist Brazil in the first match of the tournament, lost just one set the rest of the way as they defeated Japan (3-1), 2004 Olympic silver medalist Italy (3-0), Egypt (3-0) and China (3-0) en route to their fifth medal in five events this season... Started at setter as the USA Men stunned the world's best team when it defeated 2004 Olympic gold medalist Brazil in five sets to win the America's Cup tournament in Brazil on Aug. 7... Earned "Best Server" honors as Team USA won its second-straight NORCECA Continental Championship with a four-set victory over Cuba on Sept. 15... The USA Men qualified for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup with the gold-medal win... Also earned a gold medal in August at the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament as the USA Men qualified for the 2006 World Championships. 2004 - Donald made his first-ever Olympic appearance in Athens, Greece as the USA Men finished fourth overall... Team USA qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, by winning the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico on Jan. 10... The men posted a perfect record of 6-0 en route to the gold medal, which included a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over Cuba in the championship match... Served as the back-up setter to starter Lloy Ball. 2003 - Started at setter until the NORCECA Zone Championships in Mexico as Team USA captured the gold medal and a berth in the 2003 World Cup, the first Olympic qualifier... Served as the back-up setter to starter Lloy Ball at the NORCECA championships and World Cup.
COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 2000 - American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year... AVCA First-Team All-American... First-Team All Mountain Pacific Sports Federation... Asics/Volleyball First-Team All-American...Led the team in assists (2,025) and aces (57) and ranked second in digs (169) and third in blocks (94). 1999 - AVCA First-Team All-American... Asics/Volleyball Second-Team All-American... Second-Team All-MPSF... Set a USC single-season record with 63 aces...Ranked second in the country with a .594 aces-per-game average and No. 7 with 17.6 assists per game. 1998 - Third-team All-MPSF... Played in each of the team's 99 games...Recorded 1,518 assists, 214 digs, 103 blocks and 95 kills. 1997 - Starting setter as a freshman... Set an NCAA single-match record with 129 assists against Ohio State... Posted 1,585 assists, 220 digs, 93 kills and 63 blocks.
