I just got back from the Team USA scrimmage in southern california. The team has 4 BYU players on it, as of now... Here are a few of my impressions of the BYU players and Team USA...

From what I could tell, Speraw (head coach) played the starting team, Vs his B team (instead of a mish-mash of starters/non-starters on each team). The starting team had Taylor Sander and a handful of other seasoned players on it. His brother Brenden Sander was also on this team, but didn't start. Team B had Patch and Langlois. Both started for Team B. Team B ended up winning the first two sets, thank in large part by Langlois and Patch, but lost the 3rd... If I'm Speraw, I'd be a little nervous that my starting team floundered...

Let's start with Taylor Sander. Given the fact that Matt Anderson (OPP/OH), Max Holt (MB) and Aaron Russell (OH) are all out resting or hurt for World League, that leaves Taylor as one of the few "veteran" players on Team USA. But boy did he play like veteran. Having watched Taylor up close for so many years, I don't think I've ever seen him this sharp, experienced and just straight up good, as I saw him tonight! He played with a level of confidence that IMO is unmatched by most. He oozes "been there, done that". His serving was elite, his passing elite, his hitting elite. Didn't notice a block but I'm sure he assisted. He was absolutely the guy and plays soooo calmly, seems like the youngins are hoping to glean some of his calm, mojo.

Staying w/ the starting team, Brenden came in, in the 3rd set, the first set the starters won. After Brenden entered, they immediately served him. He completely dimed it the setter and they got an easy kill. I didn't see much else action out of him as he was one of the more novice players, but he was one of the first to sub in for that team. It was especially cool to see both Taylor and Brenden back passing together. At one point Brenden passed it, then the setter set it to Taylor and he got the kill, the announcer described: "From Sander to Christensen (setter) to Sander for the kill". Pretty cool to see/hear that. Would be crazy to see them both be on the court for Team USA at the same time in an official game. Brenden has a ways to go though, and he might have to go through Jake Langlois to get there...

So Jake... He played pretty good overall I'd say. He started off sketchy, but started ramping up as the game went along. His serve was on tonight as he got a few aces. The starting team targeted him a ton and I'd say he didn't pass many balls well at all. He passed most of them well enough that at least two hitters could get set, but it was rarely on target to open up the middle hitter for a swing. The coaches kept him in though. You got the sense that they want him to grow and learn as fast as possible cause they can see his potential. While he's away in Italy for this coming season, if he consistently starts, he should come back sooo much better. It'll be fun to watch his progression. But he definitely had a lot of good plays to build off of tonight...

Now Patch... His serve was typically better than I'm used to seeing and his hitting was on-point. A couple times he simply hit it over the opponents. That has to be demoralizing, when a player hits it over THE best athletes the USA has to offer. He's an incredible athlete. Ben's demeanor was good and positive. This is an aspect of his game I was worried about, but he seemed to be REALLY enjoying his experience and getting along w/ the guys, lifting each other up. If he got blocked, it wasn't a big deal, he'd just move on. You could tell many in the gym liked seeing Ben succeed and get these amazing kills.

As for the starting rotation for World League. I see it being Micah Christensen (setter), Taylor Sander (OH1), Garrett Maugagutia (OH2), Smith (MB1), anyone else at (MB2) and Carson Clarke (OPP). Carson was on the starting team and played a VERY solid game. He's tall, experienced, athletic and a lefty, I'd be surprised if Patch got the nod over him...

Anyways, it was a fun match to watch, with what may be be the most BYU talent on team USA I've ever seen at the same time...

I took some video, but nothing mind blowing or worth while to share...

Edit: I lied, here's a few clips...

Kill by Taylor Sander
https://goo.gl/photos/hCLM79GaHK5UcBnq8

Langlois shank + Taylor kill
https://goo.gl/photos/PbNa8VAR9avFSwLb7

A couple warm up hits by Taylor and Patch
https://goo.gl/photos/DSWAYXpF8h29xVtt7