John Speraw masterminded USA's epic win at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup 2015
Tokyo, Japan, September 23, 2015 - John Speraw struggled to find the words to describe USA's triumph in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup 2015 and added that there is "no harder tournament to win."
USA coach John Speraw: "I'm rarely at a loss for words. To do something that hasn't been done in 30 years. There is not a harder tournament to win. The team kept focus. The challenge of the tournament made us better. This is a team that has tremendous promise. It's incredible what we could accomplish without players like Russell and Sander having even played a minute of pro volleyball. David Lee has put together a good career. Matt Anderson is stepping into a leadership role. I want to thank USA Volleyball, my staff. I can't say enough. They were tremendous all the way through. It's a stressful challenge for any coach to qualify for the Olympics. I thought our serve was good throughout the tournament and our blocking got better as we went along."
Argentina coach Julio Velasco: "We didn't come here to qualify for the Olympics directly. We did good and got the best result ever for Argentina in the World Cup. We lost our opposite just two days before the tournament began, which made it difficult for us. We learned a lot here. We played at the same level with the best teams even when we lost. Now we need to rest and then train for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in October."
USA captain David Lee: "We came here to win the tournament. The stars aligned and we were able to take the gold for the first time in 30 years. I can't say enough now about how the team played and took it one point at a time. It was a great performance."
USA player Matt Anderson: "It has been quite a whirlwind. Hats off to Italy and Poland. We had a lot of stress to prepare for this tournament. Our team had a goal they wanted to accomplish and that was to win the World Cup. This is my second time to qualify for the Olympics. We had an incredible performance here. I will hold this close to me for the rest of my life."
Argentina captain Luciano De Cecco: "Congratulations to the USA for qualifying for the Olympics. There is not much to say. We played well against the USA. We are satisfied on how we played in this tournament."