As part of the 2002-03 Diamond Jubilee Celebration, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA), the Executive Committee of USA Volleyball approved a proposal by long-time USVBA member Glen Davies to select—and honor—players and coaches selected as members of five men’s and women’s All-USVBA/USAV teams representing five different and distinct eras in the history of the organization.

USA Volleyball President Al Monaco approved Davies as the coordinator of the selection and the procedures to be followed in naming the teams.

Davies’ responsibilities include: establishing the criteria for players and coaches to meet to have their names appear on the ballots; appointing the members of the five Selection Committees for players; determining the voting procedures; tabulating the results of the voting; and presenting the finished product to USA Volleyball.

Davies appointed Tom Slaymaker and Doug Beal as chairs of the Players Selection Committees and the Coaches Selection Committee, respectively.

The teams — three men’s (1928-1952; 1953-1977; 1978-2002) and two women’s (1949-1977; 1978-2002) — are comprised of 12 players and three-to-four coaches from that era and were chosen by five separately appointed Selection Committees.  The players who received the highest vote total for each of the five teams were named the Most Valuable Player of that particular team.

The following are the 12 players selected as members of the 1978-2002 All-USVBA Men’s Team:

ALDIS BERZINS

Aldis Berzins had a long and noteworthy USA National Team career, which spanned eight years, from 1977 to 1985.  He was a member of gold-medal winning teams at the 1984 Olympics and the 1985 World Cup.  He also competed in the 1978 and 1982 World Championships and in the 1979 Pan Am Games.  In 1980, Aldis was a member of the USVBA Male All-Rookie Team, along with Karch Kiraly.  Along the way Aldis garnered several prestigious awards.  He was selected to the 1985 World Cup All-Tournament Team.  He won the 1985 Southland Corporation Olympia Award for Excellence in Academics and Athletics.  He was named MVP of the USA National Team in 1983.  More recently, Aldis was inducted into the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the Ohio State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

CRAIG BUCK

Craig Buck won five gold medals on his way to becoming a member of this All-USVBA men’s team.  Craig won gold medals at the 1985 World Cup, the 1986 World Championships, the 1987 Pan Am Games and the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.  He also competed for two US Open National Championships teams and in the 1982 and 1990 World Championships.  Craig was a three-time USVBA First-Team All-American and, in 1987, was named the U.S. Open Player of the Year.  Craig was selected as a USVBA All-Time Great Player in 1996 and inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998.

BOB CTVRTLIK

Bob Ctvrtlik was a member of the 1984 USVBA Male All-Rookie Team, a two-time USVBA First-Team All-American and a two-time U.S. Open Player of the Year.  However, individual achievements were not enough for Bob, so he decided to win some championships too.  Bob won gold medals at the 1985 World Cup, the 1986 World Championships, the 1987 Pan Am Games and the 1988 Olympics.  He also won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics and competed in the 1989 and 1995 World Cups, the 1991 and 1995 Pan Am Games, the 1994 World Championships and the 1996 Olympics.

DUSTY DVORAK

Dusty Dvorak is another member of the USA’s first Olympic Volleyball gold-medal winning team of 1984.  In 1977 Dusty was named to the USVBA Male All-Rookie Team and made his first appearance as a USVBA First-Team All-American in 1980, a feat he would repeat the next three years.  In 1981 he was the U.S. Open Player of the Year.  Dusty also played on gold-medal winning teams at the 1985 World Cup and 1986 World Championships, as well as being a four-time member of a U.S. Open National Championship team.  Dusty was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998 and selected as USVBA’s Tom Haine All-Time Great Player honoree in 1999.

BRYAN IVIE

Bryan Ivie won the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics, perhaps the crowning achievement of his great career.  He competed in the 1996 Olympics as well, in addition to the 1990 and 1994 World Championships, the 1991 and 1995 World Cups and the 1995 Pan Am Games.  Bryan also played on one U.S. Open National Championships team.

DOUG PARTIE

As the 1984 USVBA Male Rookie of the Year, expectations of Doug Partie’s career were immediately high.  He did not disappoint.  Besides being named an USVBA First-Team All-American in 1984 and 1987, Doug picked up his first gold medal as a member of the 1985 World Cup team.  Doug would wind up with three more gold medals before he was done, and in consecutive years to boot.  In 1986 he won gold at the World Championships, followed in 1987 at the Pan Am Games.  He earned the crown jewel of his collection at the 1988 Olympic Games.  Doug also played in the 1991 World Cup and the 1992 Olympics, where he picked up a bronze medal.

PAT POWERS

Pat Powers was a three-time USVBA First-Team All-American and two-time U.S. Open Player of the Year.  However, none of that compared to playing for the first Olympic gold-medal winning team in USA Volleyball history in 1984.  He repeated his gold-medal winning feat the next two years, at the 1985 World Cup and the 1986 World Championships.  Pat was also a member of the 1979 Pan Am Games team and was an eight-time member of a U.S. Open National Championships team.

ERIC SATO

Qualifications for Eric Sato’s admittance to this All-USVBA men’s team include three gold medals and one bronze medal.  Eric picked up his first gold medal at the 1986 World Championships and a second at the 1987 Pan Am Games.  The following year he picked up the best one of all at the 1988 Olympics, and then acquired another medal, a bronze, at the 1992 Olympics.  Eric was also a two-time member of an U.S. Open National Championship team, the 1991 World Cup team and the 1994 World Championships team, both of which finished third.

JEFF STORK

From 1985 through 1996, Jeff Stork was a regular on the USA Men’s National Team.  Jeff began this stretch with a bang, winning a gold medal at the 1985 World Cup.  But the string of gold medals, which would eventually last through 1988, would not end there.  He also won gold medals at the 1986 World Championships, the 1987 Pan Am Games and the 1988 Olympics.  Jeff concluded his National team experience by winning a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics and competing in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympics.

STEVE TIMMONS

Steve Timmons was selected as a USVBA All-Time Great Player in 1996 and inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998.  It should thus come as no surprise that the five–time gold-medal winner should find himself on this USVBA All-Era team.  Steve won his first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and then picked up another at the 1985 World Cup.  The following year he was a USVBA First-Team All-American and picked up a third gold medal at the 1986 World Championships.  In 1987 he decided to complete his set by adding a gold medal from the 1987 Pan Am Games.  In 1988, Steve started the cycle all over again, winning gold at the 1988 Olympics.  Steve also played for an U.S. Open National Championships team and picked up one more Olympic medal, a Bronze, in 1992.

MARC WALDIE

On the strength of his 1977 U.S. Open Player of the Year award and his five selections as a USVBA First-Team All-American, Marc Waldie was named as a USVBA All-Time Great Player in 1986.  However, it was his play for the 1984 USA Olympic team gold-medal winners that Marc probably cherishes the most.  Marc was also a four-time member of U.S. Open National Championships teams, a two-time member of World Championships teams and a member of the 1979 Pan Am Games team.

KARCH KIRALY (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER)

No list of great volleyball players would be complete without Karch Kiraly, the only male volleyball player in history to win three Olympic gold medals.  He captured his first two medals indoors at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Games, the added his third in 1996 while playing beach volleyball in Atlanta.  Karch exploded onto the scene in 1980, when he was voted the USVBA U.S. Open Male Rookie of the Year.  In the years to follow he would be a USVBA First-Team All-American five times.  His final selection came in 1985, when he was also appointed USA National Team captain.  In addition to his Olympic gold medals, Karch also played on gold-medal winning teams at the 1985 World Cup, the 1986 USA World Championships, the 1987 Pan Am Games and three U.S. Open National Championship teams.  The USVBA selected Karch Kiraly an All-Time Great Player in 1995 and he was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2001, a year in which the FIVB also named him Co-Best Player of the 20th Century.  Individual achievements were bestowed upon Karch during his playing days as well, including being a two-time U.S. Open Player of the Year, a two-time FIVB Best Player in the World, the MVP of the 1985 World Cup and a four-time finalist for the prestigious Sullivan Award.