Taylor Sander played a big part in the United States’ bounce back in week two, doing so well enough to earn himself the FIVB World League Week Two Player of the Week.
Sander led the U.S. during week two in points, just one tally ahead of Ben Patch. He started the week off with 10 points (second on the team) on nine kills and an ace in a sweep of Italy. Then, in a three-set win against Russia, Sander was again second on the U.S. with 14 points (13 kills and one block).
The only loss came against undefeated France, although Sander was not as fault as he had a match-high 25 points on 20 kills, three blocks and a pair of aces.
He finished with a total of 49 points in the three matches, where his team took two of three. He averaged just under five points a set and put up 4.2 kills per set. His 69.2% success rate on spikes also ranked fifth of anyone in week two. Overall, Sander now has 89 points through six matches, which ranks fifth in World League.
Sander is a wing-spiker who has spent the past few years with the U.S. Men’s National Team after winning AVCA Player of the Year at BYU in 2014. After playing last season with Beijing of the Chinese league and Al-rabi in Qatar, Sander has signed a contract to join the Italian champions Lube next season.
Sander will look to continue his success in week three, as the United States will need a strong weekend to make The Final Six.
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