Aaron Russell

Aaron Russell (born June 4, 1993) is an American volleyball player, member of the United States men's national volleyball team and Italian club Gas Sales Piacenza. He was part of the bronze medalist winning USA team at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Aaron Russell
Personal information
Full nameAaron Joseph Russell
NicknameRonnie
Ron
Nationality American
Born (1993-06-04) June 4, 1993
Baltimore, MD, United States
HometownEllicott City, United States
Height2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Spike360 cm (142 in)
Block339 cm (133 in)
College(s)Pennsylvania State University
Volleyball information
PositionOutside hitter
Current club Gas Sales Piacenza
Number2
Career
YearsTeams
2012–2015
2015–2018
2018–2020
2020–		 Penn State Nittany Lions
Sir Safety Perugia
Trentino Volley
Gas Sales Piacenza
National team
2014– United States
Honours
Men's volleyball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro
FIVB World Championship
2018 Italy/Bulgaria
FIVB World Cup
2015 Japan
2019 Japan
FIVB World League
2015 Rio de Janeiro
FIVB Nations League
2019 Chicago
2018 Lille
NORCECA Championship
2017 United States

Personal life

Aaron Russell grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland, U.S. His parents are Stewart and Marian Russell.[1] Aaron is the second-oldest of five brothers. The other brothers are Peter (1992), Samuel (1995), Tim (1999) and Paul (2002). Peter also plays volleyball professionally. Russell was a top soccer player for Centennial High School in Maryland. The school did not have a boys’ volleyball team so he helped the girls’ team train while playing club volleyball. In 2015 he graduated from Pennsylvania State University.[2] On July 30, 2017, he married former Penn State women's volleyball player Kendall Pierce, his college sweetheart.

Career

In 2015, he completed his four-year volleyball career at Penn State, where he was named an AVCA All-American in 2013 and 2014. Both years he also helped Penn State reach the NCAA men's championship semifinals. Russell was a member of the Boys’ Youth Team in 2010 and ’11 and a member of the Men's Junior National Team in 2013. He made his debut with the senior national team at the 2014 World Championship Qualifier, where he helped the U.S. win gold and was named Best Spiker.

In 2015 he joined his first senior team, Italian club Sir Safety Perugia.[3]

In 2016 Aaron Russell took part in his first Olympic Games. He was a member of Olympic United States men's national team and achieved bronze medal on August 21, 2016. U.S. beat Russia in five sets and claim the bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro.[4] Russell was named one of the Best Outside Spiker's of the Olympic tournament.

In June 2018, after 3 years playing for Perugia, Russell signed for another Italian club Diatec Trentino. In the FIVB Club World Championship 2018, he was named the Most Valuable Player for his contribution to Diatec Trentino's 5th gold medal, the most by any club team in the history of the tournament.

Sporting achievements

Clubs

Individual awards

College
  • NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team - 2015
  • AVCA First Team All-American - 2014, 2015
  • Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year - 2013, 2014, 2015
  • EIVA Championship Most Outstanding Player - 2013, 2015
  • EIVA Championship All-Tournament Team - 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • EIVA First Team All-Conference - 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Awards
Preceded by
First Award		 Best Outside Spiker of
Olympic Games
2016
ex aequo Ricardo Lucarelli Souza		 Succeeded by
TBD

References
  1. AARON RUSSELL player profile - July 30, 2017
  2. PSU Men's Volleyball profile Archived June 29, 2015, at the Wayback Machine - July 30, 2017
  3. Block Devils "Stars&Stripes"! Aaron Russell sbarca a Perugia! Archived July 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine - legavolley.it - July 15, 2017
  4. U.S. men's volleyball pulls off gutsy comeback, rallies to win bronze - nbcolympics.com - August 21, 2016
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