LBSU Men’s Volleyball Has Four on U.S. Men’s VNL Preliminary Roster
5/25/2019 1:09:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, Josh Tuaniga, and Dustin Watten make up the 25-man roster
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Weeks after winning their second-straight NCAA National Championship and days after graduating from Long Beach State University, the Beach trio of TJ DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, and Josh Tuaniga, join former LBSU men's volleyball standout and professional volleyball veteran Dustin Watten, on the 25-man roster for the U.S. Men's National Team at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
DeFalco, Ensing and Tuaniga concluded their collegiate careers as one of the most decorated classes in Long Beach State men's volleyball history. The trio led the Beach to a 108-15 (.878) record over four years, two NCAA National Titles, four-straight NCAA Final Four appearances, three regular season conference titles, two conference tournament championships, and a perfect 43-0 record inside the Walter Pyramid.
DeFalco, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year (2017 and 2019) and four-time AVCA First Team All-American, was named MVP of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He finished his LBSU career as the program's all-time service aces leader (183) and is ranked fifth all-time with 1,661 career kills.
Ensing, the 2019 Big West Conference Player of the Year, earned AVCA First Team All-American honors for the second time in his career. Ensing concluded his Long Beach State career with 1,421 career kills to rank 10th all-time at the Beach.
Tuaniga, the 2018 AVCA National Player of the Year, is a three-time AVCA First Team All-American. He was named to both the 2018 and 2019 NCAA All-Tournament Teams and took home MVP honors in his junior season. Tuaniga finished his career at the Beach with 4,607 career assists to rank fourth all-time at Long Beach State.
The trio join Dustin Watten, a 2009 AVCA Second Team All-American who played at Long Beach State from 2006-09, on the 25-man roster. Following his career at the Beach, Watten went on to lead the U.S. Men's National Team to a Bronze Medal at the 2015 FIVB World League, before winning a Gold Medal at the 2015 FIVB World Cup.
Each week, coaches may choose 14 players from the 25-man roster to compete in the VNL preliminary matches as well as the final round. The U.S. is hosting the VNL Final Round on July 10-14 in Chicago and therefore automatically qualifies.
U.S. Men's Preliminary Roster
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-9, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State)
3C Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State)
6 Mitch Stahl (MB, 6-8, Chambersburg, Pa., UCLA)
7 Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
9 Jake Langlois (OH, 6-10, San Jose, Calif., BYU)
10 Dan McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Phoenix, Ariz., UC Irvine)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
13 Ben Patch (Opp, 6-8, Provo, Utah, BYU)
14 Micah Ma'a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
21 Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
23 Larry Tuileta Jr. (L, 6-2, Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii)
24 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Fla., Stanford)
25 Kyle Russell (Opp, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine)
26 Michael Saeta (S, 6-5, South Pasadena, Calif., UC Irvine)
2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League
U.S. Men's Schedule (all times PT)
Katowice, Poland
May 31 at 8:30 a.m.: USA v Brazil
June 1 at 8 a.m.: USA v Poland
June 2 at 5 a.m.: USA v Australia
Ufa, Russia
June 7 at 4 a.m.: USA v Italy
June 8 at 7 a.m.: USA v Russia
June 9 at 4 a.m.: USA v Portugal
Cannes, France
June 14 at 8 a.m.: USA v Argentina
June 15 at 8 a.m.: USA v Germany
June 16 at 8 a.m.: USA v France
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
June 21 at 6 p.m.: USA v Japan
June 22 at 5:30 p.m.: USA v Canada
June 23 at 2:30 p.m.: USA v China
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
June 28 at 10:40 a.m.: USA v Bulgaria
June 29 at 7 a.m.: USA v Serbia
June 30 at 7 a.m.: USA v Iran
DeFalco, Ensing and Tuaniga concluded their collegiate careers as one of the most decorated classes in Long Beach State men's volleyball history. The trio led the Beach to a 108-15 (.878) record over four years, two NCAA National Titles, four-straight NCAA Final Four appearances, three regular season conference titles, two conference tournament championships, and a perfect 43-0 record inside the Walter Pyramid.
DeFalco, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year (2017 and 2019) and four-time AVCA First Team All-American, was named MVP of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He finished his LBSU career as the program's all-time service aces leader (183) and is ranked fifth all-time with 1,661 career kills.
Ensing, the 2019 Big West Conference Player of the Year, earned AVCA First Team All-American honors for the second time in his career. Ensing concluded his Long Beach State career with 1,421 career kills to rank 10th all-time at the Beach.
Tuaniga, the 2018 AVCA National Player of the Year, is a three-time AVCA First Team All-American. He was named to both the 2018 and 2019 NCAA All-Tournament Teams and took home MVP honors in his junior season. Tuaniga finished his career at the Beach with 4,607 career assists to rank fourth all-time at Long Beach State.
The trio join Dustin Watten, a 2009 AVCA Second Team All-American who played at Long Beach State from 2006-09, on the 25-man roster. Following his career at the Beach, Watten went on to lead the U.S. Men's National Team to a Bronze Medal at the 2015 FIVB World League, before winning a Gold Medal at the 2015 FIVB World Cup.
Each week, coaches may choose 14 players from the 25-man roster to compete in the VNL preliminary matches as well as the final round. The U.S. is hosting the VNL Final Round on July 10-14 in Chicago and therefore automatically qualifies.
U.S. Men's Preliminary Roster
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-9, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State)
3C Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State)
6 Mitch Stahl (MB, 6-8, Chambersburg, Pa., UCLA)
7 Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
9 Jake Langlois (OH, 6-10, San Jose, Calif., BYU)
10 Dan McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Phoenix, Ariz., UC Irvine)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
13 Ben Patch (Opp, 6-8, Provo, Utah, BYU)
14 Micah Ma'a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
21 Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
23 Larry Tuileta Jr. (L, 6-2, Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii)
24 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Fla., Stanford)
25 Kyle Russell (Opp, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine)
26 Michael Saeta (S, 6-5, South Pasadena, Calif., UC Irvine)
2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League
U.S. Men's Schedule (all times PT)
Katowice, Poland
May 31 at 8:30 a.m.: USA v Brazil
June 1 at 8 a.m.: USA v Poland
June 2 at 5 a.m.: USA v Australia
Ufa, Russia
June 7 at 4 a.m.: USA v Italy
June 8 at 7 a.m.: USA v Russia
June 9 at 4 a.m.: USA v Portugal
Cannes, France
June 14 at 8 a.m.: USA v Argentina
June 15 at 8 a.m.: USA v Germany
June 16 at 8 a.m.: USA v France
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
June 21 at 6 p.m.: USA v Japan
June 22 at 5:30 p.m.: USA v Canada
June 23 at 2:30 p.m.: USA v China
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
June 28 at 10:40 a.m.: USA v Bulgaria
June 29 at 7 a.m.: USA v Serbia
June 30 at 7 a.m.: USA v Iran
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballNCAA National Collegiate Championship Post Match Press Conference (Finals)- #1 UCLA
Sunday, May 05
NCAA National Collegiate Championship Post-Match Press Conference (Finals) #2 Long Beach State
Sunday, May 05
#1 UCLA Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
#2 Long Beach State Practice Day 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Press Conference
Friday, May 03
