Nick Lucena named USA Volleyball's 2015 Men's Beach Player of the Year

Nick Lucena is the 2015 USA Volleyball Male Beach Player of the Year, following a season that saw him hit the podium eight times.

In a season that began the 2016 Rio Olympics qualification process, Lucena overcame a partner switch mid-season to finish the year well in reach of the Olympics becoming a reality. The Florida State graduate began the year with Theo Brunner - the former team’s points still rank 23rd in provisional Olympic rankings despite their split in July. A surge of success with Phil Dalhausser now has the duo ranked 18th in the world with their six medals in seven events counted towards qualification.

"The 2015 season overall was long as can be," Lucena said. "We started January 1 and played in a Brazilian exhibition in February, we've been playing ever since. When I switched to Phil, it was like a brand new season."

Lucena and Brunner finished fourth at the Beach World Championships in The Netherlands and added a bronze at the St. Petersburg Grand Slam. After eight tournaments and following a ninth-place finish at the Yokohama Grand Slam, Lucena made the switch to the five-time USAV Player of the Year, Phil Dalhausser.

"It's different than any other partnership I've had recently. This feels way different, because I'm playing with Phil and he's won a bunch of tournaments and is playing at a high level. I've always felt like I could be there. Phil and I doing as well as we did kind of justifies it for me."

The duos first event together since 2005 came during a break in the FIVB World Tour. They played back-to-back domestic tournaments on the AVP Tour, finishing second at the Seattle Open and followed with a victory at the Manhattan Beach Open. The warmup proved enough for them to get in sync because the pair went on to finish first in three FIVB events and second in four.

"To make seven finals out of eight tournaments, I thought that was special. I've never done that before. Overall I'm happy with how the year went. I'm looking forward to playing next year."

Lucena is once again on pace to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, he and Dalhausser are 18th in provisional rankings with 3,600 points, only 460 behind John Hyden and Tri Bourne and 1,020 behind U.S. point leaders Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson.

"Nick is a good teammate to have on your side. There is no one that is going to work harder on and off the court," Dalhausser said. "I really like that about him. He is a solid player and is one of the best defensive players in the world. He's got great ball control and is really good with strategy, game planning and adjusting during matches."

The success has come full circle for Lucena. He made his international debut with Dalhausser at a 2005 FIVB event, and earned his first FIVB gold in 2015. His next big goal, the Games.

"I'm looking forward to competing and hopefully we make the Olympics. It's been a lot of fun playing with Phil and having Paul Baxter as our coach," said Lucena.

USA Volleyball Men's Beach Player of the Year

2015: Nick Lucena

2014: Phil Dalhausser

2013: Jake Gibb

2012: Jake Gibb

2011: Phil Dalhausser

2010: Phil Dalhausser

2009: Phil Dalhausser

2008: Phil Dalhausser

2007: Todd Rogers

For more information, contact:

Corinne Calabro

Manager, Communications

Corinne.Calabro@usav.org

Office: +1 (719) 228-6800

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