What One Year in College Can Do

Erin Campbell August 04, 2010

Photo: FIVB

Maurice Torres, already a threat at 6-7, has added some dimension to his game.

Erin Campbell
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6864
E-Mail: erin.campbell@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 4, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s Junior National Training camp started Friday at the GaREAT Facility in Geneva, Ohio and will conclude Sunday. For four of the players at the camp, the long practice days and the physical and mental exhaustion are something they’ve spent the last year preparing for.

Scott Kevorkan (Westlake Village, Calif.) just finished a redshirt season at UC Irvine. Even though he didn’t see action on the court, he has grown both as a student of the game and as a player on the court.

“I feel like [a year in college] is really helpful,” Kevorkan said. “For the four guys that have been training for a whole year at the Division I level, you play older guys and you learn the inner workings of the game. I developed more of an in-depth knowledge of the game and while getting a year under my belt.”

Along with Kevorkan, Dylan Davis (Newport Beach, Calif.), Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) and Evan Mottram (Leona Valley, Calif.) are all currently playing volleyball at the collegiate level.

Mottram, a libero, redshirted at UC Santa Barbara in the 2010 season but has been in the USA Volleyball High Performance pipeline for some time now and knows what to expect going into the camp.

“Evan’s been with the team a couple of years now,” U.S. Men’s Junior National Team Head Coach John Hawks said. “Evan’s overall experience is going to be a steady influence in serve receive and I am looking forward to him bringing that experience to training.”

Davis, a middle blocker, played in 96 sets at UC-Santa Barbara in the 2010 season. He posted 143 kills, 1.49 per set, and 77 blocks, 0.80 per set. His .425 hitting percentage was the second highest amongst his teammates. Not bad for a true freshman.

“Dylan has been offensively turning it on,” Hawks said. “He is going to be bringing a much higher level of volleyball in the gym.”

Torres earned his position at opposite and played in 101 sets for Pepperdine in 2010. He was second on the team with 3.87 kills per set and averaged 0.94 blocks per set. His excellence on the court positioned him on the MPSF All-Freshman Team.

“These guys are going to bring a physical maturity to the group,” Hawks said. “Maurice has physically matured over the last year where he’s jumping high, he’s much stronger and he can withstand high levels of training.”

A long nine-day camp, like the training camp, is exactly where their college experience becomes an advantage. They’ve spent the last year in the weight room getting stronger and running on the track to be able to sustain this kind of performance conditions.

“This is what I was trained to do,” Kevorkan said. “I have been training my body to build up stamina and endurance so I can excel in these situations.”

Along with the physical development as well as the overall knowledge, Hawks is excited to have different levels of experience in the training gym.

“I expect a level of maturity from all of these guys,” Hawks said. “Everyone in their own right can be a leader and should be a leader. The older guys are going to bring a mature attitude, like ‘been there, done that’ type of attitude. They know that in the end, our goal is to win gold. I hope they bring that to the dorm situations, training environment and everything else we do.”

Alongside the U.S., 10 teams will be competing at the Championships: Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, Guatemala, Martinique and St. Lucia. The preliminary round begins Aug. 16 and the final round will conclude on Aug. 21.

Not only will the event determine the new NORCECA champion and give the winning team world ranking points, it will also determine at least two bids for the 2011 FIVB World Junior Championships.

USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Training Team:

No Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, High School/Grad. Year)

1 Taylor Averill (S, 6-6, San Jose, Calif., Braham/2010)
2 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5,Honolulu, Hawaii, Kamehameha Kapalama/2011)
3 Tanner Clayton (MB, 6-10, San Diego, Calif., Rancho Bernardo/2010)
4 Brian Cook (OH, 6-6, Santa Cruz, Calif., Soquel/2010)
5 Taylor Crabb (OH, 6-10, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou/2010
6 Dylan Davis (MB, 6-9, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona Del Mar/2009)
7 Jeremy Dejno (OH, 6-4, New Berlin, Wis., New Berlin Eisenhower/2010)
8 Parker Kalmbach (OH, 6-7, Coto De Caza, Calif., Tesoro/2010)
9 Scott Kevorken (MB, 6-9, Westlake Village, Calif., Westlake/2009)
10 Michael McMahon (L, 5-9, Coto De Caza, Calif., Santa Margarita Catholic/2010)
11 Eric Mochalski (OPP, 6-6, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa/2010)
12 Evan Mottram (L, 6-4, Leona Valley, Calif., Quartz Hill/2009)
13 Matt West (S, 6-5.5, Seattle, Wash., Shorewood/2011)
14 Robart Page (OH, 7-0, Victor, N.Y., Victor/2010)
15 Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Norco, Calif., Norco/2010)
16 Daniel Stork (S, 6-3, Topanga, Calif., Crespi/2010)
17 Josh Taylor (OH, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou/2011)
18 Maurice Torres (OPP, 6-7, Riverside, Calif., Lutheran/2009)
19 Shane Welch (MB, 6-9, Coral Springs, Fla., Stoneman Douglas/2010)