Team PMI to Compete at FIVB Club World Champs

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

NOTE: Team PMI will scrimmage a Russian team from the University of Moscow at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9 at the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif. Admission is free.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 8, 2010) – The United States may not have a pro volleyball league, but it does have a club team that will compete at the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship on Dec. 15-21 in Doha, Qatar.

Team PMI (AKA Team Paul Mitchell) will go up against seven other top club teams from around the world.

Team PMI has long been a fixture at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships, having won eight national open titles and five silver medals since 1994.

“We were selected at the NORCECA representative to the Club World Championship based on our success at the U.S. Open,” said Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.), the team’s head coach.

The team has been training at the American Sports Center in Anaheim, Calif.

“”We’ve been working to get our offensive and defensive systems coordinated,” Sato said. “We’ve also been improving our passing and setting rhythm.”

“But all these great athletes are anxious to test their skills against some of the best club teams in the world.”

Many of the 12 players on Team PMI have most recently been playing beach volleyball. However, they all have extensive indoor experience as well and many of them have played internationally.

Leading the way is team captain and setter Tyler Hildebrand (Mesa, Ariz.), who has been on the U.S. National Team roster the last two years and saw playing time during the 2010 FIVB World League and at the Pan American Cups in 2008, ’09 and ’10. He was also a three-time first team AVCA All-American while playing at Long Beach State from 2003-06.

Chris Seiffert (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) served as the backup to setter Lloy Ball on the 2002-03 U.S. National Team and also played professionally in Turkey. He was a three-time second-team AVCA All-American setter at LBSU.

Outside hitters Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Nils Nielsen (Fallbrook, Calif.) both played for Corozal, the Puerto Rican league champion, during the winter of 2009-10. Nielsen was also on the U.S. Men’s Team for the 2007 Pan American Games, where it took silver, and the 2009 Pan American Cup, where it won the gold medal.

Outside hitter Damien Scott (Santa Ana, Calif.) was the MVP of the Puerto Rican league in 2008, when he played for Lares. In 2009-10 he played for Finikas Syros in Greece and he has also been on club teams in Turkey and Kuwait. He played collegiately for UCLA in 2003-06.

Opposite Dean Bittner (Lakewood, Calif.) was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Pan American Cup as the U.S. team won the gold medal. He was also on the 2010 team that won the gold medal at the Pan American Cup. He was a first-team AVCA All-American at Long Beach State, where he played 2007-10.

Outside hitter Eric Vance (Camarillo, Calif.) played for the Guaynabo Mets in the Puerto Rican league during the winter of 2009-10 and his team finished second to Patterson, Nielsen and Corozal in the league finals. He was a two-time first team AVCA All-American at Cal State Northridge, where he played 2006-09.

Middle blocker Duncan Budinger (Encinitas, Calif.) played at Long Beach State from 2002-2006 and was a two-time second team AVCA All-American. He went on to play in Germany and Netherlands.

Matt Prosser (Ventura, Calif.) was a four-year starter at Long Beach States who was a first team AVCA All-American in 2000. He went on to play professional volleyball for IGM Maribor Slovenia (2003-04).

Libero Paul Muñoz (Huntington Beach, Calif.) played at Long Beach State in 2001-05 then played for Lamia in Greece (2006-07).

Middle blocker John Mayer (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) played setter and outside hitter for Pepperdine in 2002-05. His team won the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship when Mayer was a senior.

Middle blocker Matt Rawson (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished his collegiate career at the University of Hawaii in 2010. He was the third player in school history to record 500 career kills and 400 blocks.

Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.) will serve as the team’s head coach. Sato is also the U.S. Men’s assistant coach. Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.), who works as the technical coordinator for the U.S. Men’s Team, will serve as Team PMI’s assistant coach.

For more information on the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship, click here.

Team PMI

No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 Eric Vance (OH, 6-4, Camarillo, Calif., Cal State Northridge)
2 Chris Seiffert (S, 6-6, Laguna Niguel, Calif., Long Beach State)
3 John Mayer (Opp, 6-7, Thousand Oaks, Calif., Pepperdine)
5 Matt Prosser (MB, 6-7, Ventura, Calif., Long Beach State)
6 Nils Nielsen (OH, 6-4, Fallbrook, Calif., Cal State Northridge)
7 Tyler Hildebrand (S, 6-4, Mesa, Ariz., Long Beach State)
8 Matt Rawson (MB, 6-7, Los Angeles, Calif., Hawaii)
9 Duncan Budinger (MB, 6-8, Encinitas, Calif., Long Beach State)
10 Casey Patterson (OH, 6-7, Van Nuys, Calif., BYU)
11 Dean Bittner (Opp, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State)
13 Paul Muñoz (L, 6-1, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
18 Damien Scott (OH, 6-5, Santa Ana, Calif., UCLA)

Head Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Team Manager: Alan Segal (Savannah, Ga.)
Assistant Coach: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Therapist/Trainer: Erin Wahlen (Anaheim, Calif.)
Medical Support: Maria Boquiren (Culver City, Calif.)

Pool A
BCH - PGE Skra Belchatow (POL)
AAH - Al Ahly (EGY)
PAY - Paykan (IRI)
AAR - Al Arabi Doha (QAT)

Pool B
TRE - Trentino (ITA)
MOS - Dynamo Moscow (RUS)
PMI (USA)
BLV - Drean Bolivar (ARG)

FIVB Men’s Club World Championship Schedule
(all times PT)

Pool B
Dec. 15: PMI-BLV, 1 a.m.
Dec. 16: TRE-MOS, 6 a.m.
Dec. 17: MOS-PMI, 1 a.m.
Dec. 17: TRE-BLV, 4 a.m.
Dec. 19: MOS-BLV, 4 a.m.
Dec. 19: TRE-PMI, 6 a.m.

Semifinals
Dec. 20: 1A v 2B, 1 a.m.
Dec. 20: 1B v 2A, 8 a.m.

Finals
Dec. 21: Third-place match, 1 a.m.
Dec. 21: First-place match, 8 a.m.

Tags: Chris Jackson, Dean Bittner, FIVB, FIVB Club World Championship, Gary Sato, Nils Nielsen, Tyler Hildebrand