University Southern California Trojans
Ciarelli And Olgard Honored By NSCA
April 09, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
April 9, 2012
USC volleyball players Tony Ciarelli and Alexis Olgard were named All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, in recognition of their dedication to strength training and conditioning.
The NSCA honored 225 collegiate and high school athletes from 90 schools with this award.
USC assistant strength and conditioning coach Brent Metz, who supervises the training program for the volleyball teams, selected senior Ciarelli and freshman Olgard for the award.
"Tony has been a focused lifter since his first day on campus as a freshman," said Metz. "He has an internal drive to succeed in the weight room and knows that his improvements will advance him on the court. Each off-season, he has done the work to enter the next season at a higher level than the previous season. I commend Tony on his work ethic.
"Alexis came in as a freshman ready to push hard in the weight room. She significantly improved throughout her freshman year. Then at the end of the season, she had knee surgery so she lost all spring and half of the summer time for training. When she was cleared to lift again mid-summer, she attacked the weights and agility drills to improve. Because of her effort during the end of summer and during the season, she was able to regain or exceed her personal bests in every lift, jump, spring and agility drill."
Ciarelli is one of the nation's most dominant players. The four-year starter has been a key factor why USC has played in 2 of the past 3 NCAA Final Fours and the Trojans are ranked No. 1 in 2012. He has more than 1,500 kills, 600 digs and 250 blocks in his career and his 146 career aces is a USC rally scoring era record.
Olgard has helped the Women of Troy to the NCAA Final Four the past 2 seasons. When healthy in 2011, she started 12 times. She made the Freshman all-Conference team in 2010 while starting 25 matches.
The NSCA All-American Athlete of the Year Award program is in its 33rd year. It is made possible by a grant from Power Systems, Inc.
