After finishing 11th last year, Top Volley Latina of Italy’s Serie A has announced the signing of American libero Erik Shoji, which will be his first in the top Italian league. Shoji is the starting libero for the USA Men’s National Team, where he plays alongside brother Kawika Shoji, the Captain of the USA Men’s Team. Kawika recently signed with Monza in the Italian league, meaning the brothers will compete against each other this coming season. Erik and Kawika are both sons of the recently retired, legendary coach Dave Shoji. Dave was the head coach of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team from 1975-2007, winning four national titles during that period.
Even in such great company, Erik’s achievements speak for themselves. His list of accomplishments began at Stanford where he became the only four-time first team AVCA All-American in history. At Stanford, he set the record for digs in a season when he had 447 in 2008, helped his team to a National Championship in 2010, and was featured on ESPN’s Plays of the Week with a kick set he made in at match vs UC San Diego.
Since turning pro, Erik has won championships in Austria in 2013-14 with Tirol Innsbruck and in the German Bundesliga with SSC Berlin in 2015-16. As a member of Team USA, Erik was named MVP of the 2014 NORCECA World Championships and Best Libero at the 2016 FIVB World Cup. Erik was also a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. This past year, Erik played alongside brother Kawika with Lokomotiv NV of the Russian Superliga.
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