In his 3rd season abroad in Europe, Vegas Ramblers Opposite Ryan Mather has been continuing his success from the 2021 NVA season by leading his new team Nordenskov UIF in the Danish Premier League. Previous to joining the Ramblers, Mather played in Finland in 2017/18 and Luxembourg in 2019/20. The reigning top-NVA Opposite now finds himself in Denmark, near the South-West coast in the small town of Nordenskov near the seaport town of Esbjerg. In previous years, the team has been home to other NVA Players, including previous Stunner’s Outside Hitter’s Chris Chapelle and Louis Richards and new Rambler’s addition, Setter Spencer Andrews.
Over the Christmas break, Ryan had this to say looking back on his year with Nordenskov…
“It has been a bit of a change coming from Los Angeles to Nordenskov. There are over 600 people that live in the town, which is a cool experience for me. Living in the middle of nowhere rather than a big metropolitan city in Southern California. That’s why I love playing overseas, one, the volleyball is awesome, but two, experiencing towns and areas I wouldn’t normally visit. It’s been a great time so far, and I’m excited to get into the 2nd half of the season” stated Mather.
So far this season, Ryan has led the league as the top scorer, currently leading the rankings in points per set ratio at 5.6 (235/42). Mather also led the league for the entire first half of the season as the top player in total points, just falling behind by 5 points as this article was being written, to last year’s top opposite, Varming Sigurd Neltoft. Varming managed to snag the lead, having played one more game than Mather since coming back from the break. Mather is still a top-ten player in other statistical categories as well, ranked; 5th for aces per set (17/42), 7th in attack efficiency (51%, 205/399), and 8th in total aces at 17, and can quickly retake the lead during his next match.
Nordenskov UIF will certainly need Ryan to maintain his form as they push to move up from 8th place and secure a better seed for the finals. There is plenty of volleyball left in the second half of the season and plenty of chances to catch Mather in action. You can show your support by watching matches live on Volleyball Denmark’s website by following the link below. Their next game is against the 7th place team DHV Odense on January 29th, 2022, at 2pm CET and 5am PST. Also, be sure to go give Ryan Mather (@rmather10) a follow on Instagram to get a behind-the-scenes look at his time in Nordenskov!
Volley Denmark Live Stream and Statistics Website
https://dvbf-web.dataproject.com/CompetitionHome.aspx?ID=118
-NVA Staff Writer
]]>The NVA finished off 2021 with a bang by bringing their all-stars to the AVCA’s 40thAnniversary Convention in Columbus, Ohio! For three days, the league’s players and coaches hit the courts with some of the world’s greatest volleyball minds to help advance the sport of volleyball, educating the next generation of American coaches. The NVA had the privilege to work alongside inspirational icons such as Karch Kiraly and John Speraw as well as hosting the All-American Banquet recognizing elite players from Women’s Collegiate Volleyball.
Those who attended the All-American Banquet and the coinciding NCAA Div. 1 championship match, between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Wisconsin Badgers, witnessed some of the most extraordinary players in the history of NCAA. The game had historical precedence, with one player becoming the first-ever five-time AVCA First-Team All-American. Of course, it would be none other than the Division 1 player of the year, Wisconsin middle blocker Dana Rettke!
The NVA had the privilege of handing out the awards to the AVCA Players of the Year, and we are excited to share their names with you again! Readers can find the complete list of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team selections from each division on the AVCA website. https://www.avca.org/awards/
AVCA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
NAIA AVCA Player of the Year– Nada Meawad, Park (Missouri)
Two-Year College AVCA Player of the Year– Marian Ovalle, New Mexico Military Institute
NCCAA AVCA Player of the Year– Sydney Schwitters, University of Northwestern-St. Paul
NCAA Division III AVCA Player of the Year– Heidi Westra, Calvin University
NCAA Division II AVCA Player of the Year– Alexis Cardoza, Cal State San Bernardino
NCAA Division I AVCA Player of the Year– Dana Rettke, University of Wisconsin – Madison
For many of the NVA players present for the convention, the best moment of the event came from the Athletes Unlimited Draft, which has invited nine graduating collegiate stars to join their league. Athletes Unlimited is the only pro indoor women’s volleyball league in the U.S., which premiered last year on the CBS Sports Network! Two of the draftees, Div. 1 Player of the Year, Dana Rettke, and Nebraska’s Laura Stivrins, went head-to-head, middle on middle, in the 5-Set NCAA Championship thriller. This historic draft is the first of its kind in the U.S. to provide an immediate pipeline for the nation’s most valuable volleyball players to go straight from university to the major leagues!
Inspired by AU Sports, the NVA is preparing to eventually establish their draft, looking to bring graduating student-athletes into the fold after the NCAA Men’s Final. With another successful year at the AVCA, the NVA has done well to show attending coaches just how disciplined, determined, and hungry our athletes are. We hope that the word will continue to spread from coaches to the next generation of college players that the dream of becoming a professional volleyball athlete is just on the other side of graduation! With this much talent already on display on the women’s side, the NVA and their teams are eager to see what homegrown products come from NCAA Men’s Volleyball this summer!
-NVA Staff Writer
]]>After a stellar 2021 season with the Vegas Ramblers, helping to finish 2nd in the NVA Championships and finishing 4th overall in digs with 87, Libero Ryan Manoogian is now carrying that momentum over in Romania. Last month, he and his team Dinamo București won the Romanian Supercup for the first time in club history. Even more, the team has an undefeated record so far this season in the Romanian Divizia A1. As put by Ryan, his recent success has made his dreams as a professional athlete a reality!
In his 5th season abroad playing in Europe, Ryan seems to have found himself a team that can turn his spectacular defense and reception into kills and games won! With his previous teams in Finland, Norway, and Hungary, Ryan consistently led the stats board, being named:
– 2017/18 Hungarian Cup Final MVP (First libero in Hungarian Cup history to receive the award!).
– 2018/19 TIF Viking’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR’ (Norway).
– 2019/20 Finnish Mestaruusliiga Number #1 ‘Dream Team’ Libero.
However, despite all of his accomplishments, it hasn’t been until this year that he finally can add a championship trophy to his mantle. “The Romanian league is so much stronger than my previous experiences. Plus, this team is the most competitive ever, filled with literally all National players, including Romanians, Dutch, and Serbians,” mentioned Manoogian in a statement.
Ryan still has three more titles on the horizon with; The Romanian Cup Championship, Divizia A1 Championships, and the prestigious 2022 European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) Volleyball Cup later this season. This year will be Ryan’s 4th appearance in a CEV event! He previously competed in the 2018 CEV Challenge Cup with Penzugyor SE in Hungary and then the 2019 CEV Champions League & CEV Cup with the TIF Vikings in Norway. Dinamo București hopes that the addition of Manoogian to their roster will surely bring them back to the CEV Cup finals for the first time since 1978/79 when they won gold.
“I am always hungry to improve my game, and I’ve been learning a lot with this program since my teammates are super experienced. We didn’t expect to play this well together so soon, so our goal is to stay this consistent to make our goal of winning the Cup and League a reality,” said Ryan Manoogian
Already the CEV Cup is fast approaching with their first round of competition starting against UVC Holding Graz on November 10th, 2021, at 19:00 local time in Graz, Austria. Check out the CEV website to find match details and see what other top European teams compete for the cup this year! https://www.cev.eu/club/cev-cup/men/
Fans can also learn more about the club Dinamo București and their long-standing tradition of excellence in 30 sports, including professional teams and participation in the Olympics Games. http://www.csdinamo.eu/
Lastly, be sure to go and give Ryan Manoogian (@ryanmanoogian) a follow on Instagram to stay up to date with all of his triumphs and travels this season through Europe. You can also read more about his career and the teams he played for by checking out his website! https://www.ryanmanoogian.com/. The Vegas Ramblers want to wish Ryan and Dinamo București the best of luck for the rest of their season, and we can’t wait to have him back in the gym for the 2022 NVA Season.
“Ramble On!”
-NVA Staff Writer
]]>The 2021 NVA Best Outside Hitter, Brandon Rattray, is back again in Europe for his second season abroad, competing in the German Bundesliga with the Energiequelle Netzhoppers. Located in Königs Wusterhausen, a small town outside Berlin, the Netzhopper Kangaroos have competed in the Bundesliga 1st division since 2006 after their conception in 1991.
The team looks set to make a big push this year after improving from bronze finish in the 16/17 German Cup to silver last year in 20/21. They hope to finally take home their first gold medal in the cup and their first Bundesliga podium finish this year. Part of that mission has included recruiting the first American players in the team’s history, looking to some of the US’s biggest and most lethal talent to get the job done.
Alongside Rattray, the team also has American middle blockers Max Chamberlain (Pepperdine) and Blake Leeson (Ohio State) in their third seasons in European Premier leagues. The trio already has an impressive international experience in Spain, France, Greece, Finland, and Switzerland. On top of all their experiences competing in the NCAA Championships during their collegiate careers.
Already the Netzhoppers have been a great host for other players in the NVA as Southern Exposure’s Uchenna Ofoha played for the team back in 2019/2020. Hopefully, the Netzhoppers will see the same success that Rattray and the Ramblers had this last 2021 season in the NVA. The Ramblers and the NVA wish Brandon the best of luck as he and his teammates look to make history in the Bundesliga!
The Netzhoppers’ next game will be October 6th at 10:30 AM Pacific Time against United Volley’s Frankfurt. The match will surely be an exhilarating season opener. The last time the two-team met was in the German Cup Championships, where Frankfurt took home the gold. The game will be a real test of if the American additions are championship material.
Be sure to give (@_the_rattray_way_) and the Energiequelle Netzhoppers (@netzhoppers) a follow on Instagram to stay up to date with their journey to the championships this season. Fans can catch all the club’s matches on the home page of their website.
NVA Staff Writer
]]>Every team needs the glue to hold their teams together, whether that is through energy, effort, or communication, it is the basis of all teams and allows the team to push forward during difficult times. For the Las Vega Ramblers, one piece of glue that is always holding the team together is the starting libero, Ryan Manoogian. Ryan played a majority of his college career at Long Beach State University from the years of 2014-2017, where he would be put in as a defensive sub due to his complete disregard of his body and would give all the effort he had to make sure that ball didn’t hit the ground. Ryan then went on to boast an extensive career overseas playing for clubs in Hungary, Denmark, and Finland. Now Ryan is trying to improve his game by playing with the Ramblers, but the personal goal never interferes with the team goal as he is always pushing to make his team better.
Ryan as a libero has a main focus of passing the ball and digging the ball, which are both skills he excels at. Thanks to his ability to cover a very large amount of court quickly, he can be seen passing a majority of the court, allowing his pin hitters to focus on hitting as Ryan will cut them off and deliver a perfect pass. Ryan is currently passing 89% overall with a total of only 5 errors on the entire season. Defensively, Ryan allows his block to be at constant ease, as he consistently makes his present known with his tenacious digging ability. With all games accounted for, Ryan has a total of 63 digs on the season. Check out Ryan Manoogian and the rest of the Las Vegas Ramblers July 9th-11th as they make their attempt at the NVA Championship trophy.
]]>After his first season abroad playing in Lugo, Spain with Arenal Emevé, Brandon Rattray entered the 2021 NVA season with a bang becoming the league’s top scorer after the first event in San Bernadino. Showing off his international skill set and whip of an arm, Brandon racked up an impressive 62 kills over three matches, hitting 62% and averaging 6.2 kills a set. The remarkable feat was made possible by the immediate connection found with setter Michael Keegan who unleashed the beast by setting Rattray 100 times. Currently, with a whopping 24-point lead on the next kill leader in the league, it will take a miracle to take the throne from Brandon keeps producing these kinds of numbers. Rattray also unleashed a destructive spin serve, which tore down the Texas Tyrants defense as Brandon scored five aces in one game.
To catch up on all the Event 1 matches and see Brandon Rattray in action on the court, head on over to Youtube at NVA USA. Fans can also head on over the NVA News page to read a written recap of all three Rambler’s matches. Do not forget to follow Brandon (@_the_rattray_way_), the Las Vegas Ramblers (@ramblersnvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa) on Instagram and Facebook to get weekly updates of the team and your favorite players.
LAS VEGAS RAMBLERS FULL THREE-DAY RECAP OF APRIL NVA EVENT
https://ramblers.nvausa.com/2021/05/05/las-vegas-ramblers-full-three-day-recap-of-april-nva-event/
Arenal Emevé Home Page
]]>Around this time of year, U.S. athletes begin to compete with the NVA for the summer after completing their seasons abroad and returning home. As the Ramblers have already made their first season appearance going 3-0, it’s nice to reflect and see what impact these players have had while overseas.
Middle Blocker Antwain Aguillard played for the French team the AS Cannes back in 2017/18. He helped win the French B1 league and advanced to the premier A1 division the following season. Two years later, AS Cannes won the French A league with the U.S. National Team middle blocker Taylor Averill leading the charge. Check out the following link to read more about the club’s historical growth and development and Averill’s season!
https://www.ascannesvolley.com/renversant-les-dragons-champions-de-france/
Setter Michael Keegan had a unique 20/21 season making a mid-season transfer from his team Arcada Galați in Romania to Saaremaa V.K. in Estonia. Although a challenging experience to go through, it gave Michael the chance to play in two countries in one year while also leaving a positive impact on the two teams. Both teams had strong finishes in their league, with Arcada taking 1st in the Romanian A1 Division and 3rd in the Cup. At the same time, Michael secured Saaremaa a 2nd place finish in the Estonian League, 3rd in the Estonian Cup, 2nd in the Baltic League, and 9th in the CEV Challenge Cup.
https://volleybox.net/saaremaa-vk-t5442/players
https://volleybox.net/arcada-galai-t3038/players
It seems that everything the rambling men touch turns to gold, with this season looking no different as the team has become a top contender for the NVA Championship this season. The team is as stacked as ever and looks ready to help bring U.S. Men’s Professional Volleyball onto the national stage!
To get weekly social media updates, you can check the Rambler’s (@ramblersnvausa) and the NVA (@nvausa) on Instagram and Facebook as well as their website (ramblers.nvausa.com). As always, fans can check out the NVA on YouTube to catch reruns of Rambler’s first event of 2021 and live-stream coverage of the upcoming games in Atlantic City, NJ, May 28th-30th. Until then, RAMBLE ON!
]]>The game has changed dramatically throughout volleyball’s life since its first conception in 1895. Moving away from basic fireman rotations on the court, changes to the rules on net touches and back row attacks, and even having the game ball switch between Molten and Mikasa every year. Other transitions such as going from side-out scoring to 15 points onto rally scoring to 25 like we all play today have been a marking distinction between the old and new generations. The most significant change that has affected how younger players train and develop has been introducing role positions with middle blockers, outside hitters, setters, opposites, and liberos. Its introduction has been great for delineating responsibilities on the court and allowing players to become masters for their specific skill sets.
One by-product of this system is that once a player becomes established in their position, it can be nearly impossible to transition to another. It’s even rarer for middle blockers who seldom get defensive training in the backcourt, leaving them to be known as “block-heads.” One such player for the Ramblers, who has seen his career skyrocket since breaking out of the middle’s curse, has been opposite hitter Ryan Mather. Throughout high school and most of his career at Grand Canyon University, Ryan was an accolade-winning middle. In club volleyball, he took home bronze with SCVC at Junior Nationals, was nominated for all MIVA 2nd team nomination three years straight, and was even selected to play for the USA junior national team in 2012.
Proving himself to be an incredibly active middle with skills beyond the frontcourt, Ryan transitioned to the opposite in 2015 and has taken off since. Heading out from GCU, Ryan has played two years professionally overseas, where he got to put his skills to the test. Abroad he played for Akaa-Volley (@akaavolley) in Finland and Chev Diekirch Volley (@chevdiekirchvolleyball) in Luxembourg. The small country located between Belgium, France, and Germany is a unique place to play as one of Europe’s highest GDP per capita. As a smaller country, teams usually travel and play against all the surrounding country’s leagues, which can be great exposure for beginning players. With Diekirch, he finished 2nd in the Luxembourg SuperCup before COVID 19 canceled the rest of the tournaments.
Coming back to the states during the world’s first stage of lockdowns, Mather was quickly scooped up by the Vegas Ramblers to give them an edge for the 2020 Championships. Already well adapted to the desert heat from his years in Arizona, the Nevada team was a perfect fit for the California native. It was also a huge convenience to have his former setter and fellow Antelope, Tanner Maxwell, on the team. It was clear their connection was still crisp as the team finished third place at the tournament, with Ryan being named to the NVA All-Tournament team. It was clear as day how much Ryan had grown and developed as a player while abroad in Europe, displaying his bag of tricks and skills. With a powerful arm, high-IQ plays, and some fantastic backcourt defense from a big man Ryan Solidified himself as one of the All-Star players coming into the next season.
“I’m super stoked to get volleyball moving professionally here in the states. Our national team is top 5 in the world and one of the best teams, so we need to have that level here in the states to promote volleyball and keep us top in the world.” – Ryan Mather.
Fans can follow Ryan Mather (@rmather10), the Vegas Ramblers (@ramblersnvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa) on Instagram and Facebook to get weekly media updates leading up to the 2021 season. To see Ryan and the Ramblers in action, check out the NVA’s YouTube page to watch replays of the 2020 Championships in Salt Lake City and live stream coverage and commentary for the new season starting April 23rd-25th. The NVA is excited to have Mather back again this year! RAMBLE ON!
]]>Last year’s NVA Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, was one for the books, marking a critical transformation of the league and professional volleyball in the United States. While sports leagues worldwide struggled to transform under mandatory shutdowns during the pandemic, professional athletes’ greatness still showed through as they all adapted to new challenges. Whether training from home, moving to new countries to find safer locations to play and even spending weeks in a bubble, players have chased their dreams of being a champion. In that regard, the NVA has significantly benefited this year as US players who typically have been overseas playing were back stateside for the restart of the 2020 Season.
One such spectacular LBSU alumni who put on quite the performance last year was none other than Las Vegas Rambler’s Middle, Antwain Aguillard. Outside of those on the USA Men’s National team Antwain by far has been one of the best American players to grace the collegiate and international world of volleyball in the last decade. Having fantastic agility and a spring-loaded 12 foot plus vertical touch has allowed him to be a dream middle for any team. He’s been able to prove that time and time again, with his most recent accolade coming from winning the NVA All-Tournament Middle Blocker and pushing the Vegas Ramblers to a third-place finish.
Starting his collegiate career at Long Beach City College, he led the team to a state championship as a sophomore and a third-place finish in the state tournament as a freshman. Was named California Community College Men’s Volleyball State Player of the Year, Western States Conference Player of the Year, and first-team All-Western States Conference. His success carried over into his time as Long Beach State 49er as the team took a 3rd place finish in the MPSF Conference. He was the team’s best blocker and carried a deadly scoring and hitting percentage that earned him an all MPSF Third Team nomination his senior year. Just this last year, he was selected for the Team Americana in the Off the Block Games for the world’s best region in college men’s for his 2011 All-American nomination and being the 2011 National Blocker of the Year finalist.
http://www.offtheblockblog.com/2020/10/off-the-block-games-to-decide-worlds-best-region-in-college-mens-volleyball/
Since College, Antwain has played in the world’s premier volleyball leagues with the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A1 Division, French Ligue B, Romanian Divisia A1, Finland, and now the NVA. He’s also won the French Liga Championship in 2017/18 and third in the Finish Cup, going on with the team to compete in the CEV Champions League and Cup. He even played together with LA Blaze Middle Blocker Greg Faulkner while with CS Banatul Caransebeş în România. His accolades and performance have ranked him in the top 6,000 volleyball players in the world on the Volleyball database for professional men’s athletes. Antwain has had the ultimate experience that many American players dream of having when they imagine playing the most outstanding volleyball the world has ever seen.
https://volleybox.net/antwain-aquillard-p4159/clubs
The NVA and American professional volleyball are blessed to have Aguillard back playing on home soil and leading his hometown team with the Ramblers. The Rambler’s run for the championships this year will surely be amazing to watch. If you want to stay up to date with Antwain (@antwain_aguillard), The Vegas Ramblers (@ramblersnvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa), make sure to follow them on Instagram to get weekly media updates. As always, fans can catch reruns of the Rambler’s games during the 2020 Championship and live-stream coverage of this year’s events starting April 23rd-25th on the NVA’s YouTube page.
]]>Nick England can certainly be considered a veteran player for the NVA. First playing for the Stunners through the 2019 season and now playing for the Ramblers, he holds opinions that are valued and have been developed through a plethora of experiences, especially regarding the league. Nick, who has been around since the beginnings of the NVA, took the time to sit down and elaborate on his thoughts containing quarantine, the Ramblers, and the upcoming season.
Q: How has quarantine been for you?
England: Quarantine has been overall fairly stressful, unfortunately. Work has been tough for me and those around me, and dealing with uncertainty on the day to day basis is never an ideal situation. Volleyball has also been my stress relief and way of staying in shape for as long as I can remember, so losing gym time on top of the added stress has also been a new obstacle to overcome. I have spent more of my free time learning about live streaming and how best to use social media to grow a brand and I am excited to continue learning more and bringing that to the NVA and the Ramblers!
Q: What are your thoughts on the upcoming season?
England: I’m so excited to continue growing volleyball. We have so much talent and so many great personalities in the space that I think we are really heading down the right path to bring professional volleyball to the US. COVID certainly made things harder, but I am very thankful for all of the hard work the NVA and teams are putting in to be sure that what we are doing is not so fragile that this off season was the end of it. Teams and players are working harder than ever to be ready to bring high level play back to volleyball fans everywhere!
Q: What are my thoughts on the Ramblers this year? Any strengths or players to mention?
England: The Ramblers are going to be an extremely exciting team to watch. After leaving the Stunners last season to help grow another team, I was nervous about what my future would hold. We are very unique in that our roster is split between Las Vegas and Southern California, so our matches will be a “meeting of the minds”. Our owner Vinny Rodriguez has worked very hard to scout players that are not only talented, but have the ability to easily mesh with other players. While there is no shortage of big names on the team to be excited about, like our middles Marty Ross, Antwain Aguillard, setter Tanner Maxwell and outside hitter Kendall Ratter, some of our younger guys are definitely going to be fun to watch develop as they see high level play- I am keeping an eye on Quinn Peterson.
Q: What are your thoughts on the potential of the NVA.
England: I played in the PVL prior to the NVA and there is such a noticeable difference in the trajectory and growth of the league. NVA will not settle for mediocrity and settle for being the same year after year. The process of growing a league is a slow one: getting players, fans, teams and a final product to share with the public is not an easy thing to do. I hope volleyball fans continue to engage with the league, share in its victories and know that no major US sports leagues were born overnight. Their support is essential to what we do, and the thought of bringing pro volleyball to the US is definitely a dream worthy of pursuit! It is also extremely important to me that future generations of players are able to have a goal of playing professionally here in the US after college.
Q: What teams really stick out to you this year?
England: This is a tough one to answer! With so many new teams added, there are a lot of new faces in the league. Many teams also lost players to overseas contracts, that would have usually been state-side if COVID had not occured. What excites me so much is that each team has such well developed identities that fans will be able to find a team that fits them; whether its due to geographical location, their players, or their playstyle! Team Freedom excels with their online content and branding, Utah Stingers have a wealth of BYU players and Russ Holmes at the helm and the Stunners never fail to produce some of the best talent in the league. I may be biased but I am most excited for the Ramblers, Las Vegas does not have any direct collegiate programs to feed the team, so we have really pulled players together from all sorts of backgrounds – the USA Team, NCAA D1, 2 and 3 Schools, NAIA and Im here making sure college club teams are represented as well! Our team never says die, and putting that all together on the court is sure to really deliver for NVA fans!
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