Ryan Millar

Ryan Madsen Millar (born January 22, 1978) is an American indoor volleyball player, who plays as an middle-blocker for the U.S. National Team. He joined the team in May 1999.

Personal life

Millar was born in San Dimas, California. He attended Highland High School in Palmdale, California.

In 1997, he got married. In 2006, his first son, Max, was born.

College

Millar played volleyball at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah from 1996-1999. He graduated from BYU in 2001 with a degree in sociology.

In 1996, he was named the Volleyball Magazine National Freshman of the Year and was a Third-Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In 1999, he was named the MPSF Player of the Year and was a First Team American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American. In 1998, he finished second in the nation in blocks per game (2.02) en route to repeating as a First Team All-American. In 1999, he capped off his successful career by leading BYU to the program's first ever NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship and was once again a First Team All-American as he ranked first in the country in hitting percentage (.498) and blocks per game (2.14)

Coaching

In July 2006, Millar was named as an assistant coach for the BYU men's volleyball team under Head Coach Tom Peterson. In August 2006, Ryan was named co-interim head coach of the BYU men's volleyball team after Peterson's sudden resignation.

International

Professional

Former teams he has played professionaly on:

*2000 – flagicon|ITA Volley Forli
*2001 – flagicon|ITA Bossini Montichiari
*2002 – flagicon|ITA Bossini Montichiari
*2003 – flagicon|ITA Aqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari
*2004 – flagicon|ITA Aqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari
*2005 – flagicon|ITA Itas Diatec Trentino Volley
*2007 – flagicon|ITA Sparkling Volley Milano
*2008 – flagicon|TUR Istanbul Belediyesi

Olympics

He has played at the 2000 Olympics, 2004 Olympics and the 2008 Olympics.

In 2000, the U.S. men had a disappointing Olympic tournament, failing to win a single match. At Athens, Ryan helped the USA Men finished fourth overall. During the Olympics, he ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 70 points on 53 kills, and 16 blocks. In 2008, Millar helped Team USA to the gold medal.

Individual Awards

* "2005 NORCECA Championship "Best Blocker""
* "2005 FIVB Grand Champions Cup "Best Blocker""
* "2007 USA Volleyball "Indoor Player of the Year""

External links

* [http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/profiles/men/player.asp?number=9 U.S. National Team Bio]
* [http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1389/bio/index.html Bio at NBC Olympics]