Donald Suxho

Olympian 2004, 2012

Athlete Bio#

Height

6'5 (196cm)"

Age

Hometown

Huntington Beach, CA

Education

USC

Personal

Born Donald Suxho in 1976 in Albania... Has a son named Shane born in 2001... Married volleyball player Eleni Gkortsaniouk in August, 2011 in Ukraine. The couple has two sons, Leo and Marcus... Donald's brother, Rando, also played Volleyball in Albania. Donald also played soccer and was a swimmer... Donald came to America in 1996 and lived in Massachusetts while searching for a college... Communications major at USC... Enjoys skiing, hiking, swimming, movies and traveling... One of his fondest childhood memories is traveling to Bulgaria for the first time... Describes himself as "fun, outgoing and not picky.”

Career Highlights

2012: – Olympic Games
2012: FIVB World League (Silver Medal)
2012: NORCECA Men's Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament (gold medal).
2012: – Named USA Volleyball Men's Indoor Most Improved Player
2012: Was the team’s starting setter in 2012, playing in 92 out of 115 sets. Finished season with 46 points on 18 kills, 24 blocks and four aces. Also had 128 digs (1.39 per set). Was credited with 705 running sets (7.67 per set)
2012: Started 20 out of 21 sets at the Olympic Games, finishing with 10 points on three kills, six blocks and one ace. Match high was three points against Brazil on two kills and one block. Finished second among Olympic setters with 213 running sets (10.65 per set). Credited with 31 digs (1.55 per set)
2012: Played in 57 out of 60 World League sets, scoring 29 points on 14 kills and 15 blocks, including highs of five points against France in France (4 kills, 1 block) and against France in Dallas (1 kill, 4 blocks). Finished first among all setters in pool play with 331 running sets (5.81 per set). Finished second among all setters in the World League Final Round with 74 running sets (5.29 per set)
2012: Started 15 out of 16 sets at the NORCECA Olympic Qualifier. Finished with seven points on one kills, three blocks and three aces. Credited with 87 running sets (5.44 per set). Finished second on the team with 22 digs (1.47 digs per set)
2012: During the winter of 2011-12, played for Sisley Belluno in Italy's Serie A League
2011: – FIVB World League.
2011: – Played in 10 World League sets and started eight before Brian Thornton took over as the starter
2011: Credited with 67 assists (6.7 assists per set).
2010: –Donald did not play for the U.S. in 2010 after suffering an injury to his leg in an FIVB World League match against Egypt on June 18 in North Carolina
2010: He played in 13 World League sets and placed 24th among the League's best setters, and second on the U.S. team, wth 71 running sets, 181 still sets. A running set is defined as a set from a player that puts their hitter against one blocker or none. Still sets happen when a player sets an attacker and there are two blockers or more. He averaged 1.45 assists per set. He also tied for third among the team with 21 digs (0.43 per set)
2010: Played for Italy's Prisma Taranto during the winter of 2009-10.
2009: – 2010 FIVB World Championship Qualifier for NORCECA Group F (Gold Medal)
2009: – After taking a season off from the U.S. team and playing professionally in the Middle East, Suxho returned under new head coach Alan Knipe and shared starting setter duties with Kevin Hansen. He finished the season credited with 174 running sets (assists) and six faults on 780 attempts. He averaged 4.14 running sets per set. He also scored 21 points on seven kills, nine blocks and five aces in 42 sets
2009: Suxho was named Best Setter at the FIVB World Championship Qualifier, where he finished with 18 running sets and no faults on 80 attempts, averaging 2.0 running sets per set
2009: Suxho helped the U.S. Men win their pool at World League. They went on to finish sixth overall. Suxho was credited with 150 running sets and three faults on 644 attempts in pool play. That is an average of 3.33 running sets per set.
2007: –In March, Donald partially ruptured his left Achilles tendon while playing for Acqua Paradiso in Italy. He had surgery in Italy and then returned to the United States for rehab with the U.S. Men's National Team's athletic trainer Aaron Brock.
2006: – FIVB World Championships
2006: Pan American Cup (Gold Medal)
2006: Argentina Tour.
2006: – Started every match at the World Championships
2006: Was the starting U.S. setter in every match of the FIVB World League
2006: Started as setter for the inaugural Pan American Cup, but did not play the entire tournament due to a sprained ankle
2006: Helped the team finish 4-1 in the Argentina series
2006: Finished the season with 42 kills and 15 aces.
2005: – Pacific Northwest Tour vs. Netherlands
2005: USOC International Sports Invitational (Silver Medal)
2005: Americas' Cup (Gold Medal)
2005: FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)
2005: NORCECA Continental Championships (Gold Medal)
2005: World Grand Champions Cup (Silver Medal).
2005: – Nominated by USA Volleyball for the 2005 United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year honor
2005: In his first year as the full-time starter, Donald quarterbacked Team USA to one of its most successful seasons in years
2005: The Americans posted a record of 27-6 and earned five podium placements during the year, including a silver medal at the USOC International Sports Invitational (San Diego, Calif.)
2005: a gold medal at the America's Cup (Brazil)
2005: a gold medal at the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament (Puerto Rico)
2005: a gold medal at the NORCECA Championships (Canada)
2005: and a silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup (Japan)
2005: Suxho led the team in service aces with 25 and helped the Americans post a stellar hitting percentage of .376 on the season
2005: He also finished third on the team in blocks with 48
2005: He capped his first season as a starter for the USA squad that captured the silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in November in Japan
2005: The Americans, who lost to defending Olympic gold medalist Brazil in the first match of the tournament, lost just one set the rest of the way as they defeated Japan (3-1), 2004 Olympic silver medalist Italy (3-0), Egypt (3-0) and China (3-0) en route to their fifth medal in five events this season
2005: Started at setter as the USA Men stunned the world's best team when it defeated 2004 Olympic gold medalist Brazil in five sets to win the America's Cup tournament in Brazil on Aug. 7
2005: Earned "Best Server" honors as Team USA won its second-straight NORCECA Continental Championship with a four-set victory over Cuba on Sept. 15
2005: The USA Men qualified for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup with the gold-medal win
2005: Also earned a gold medal in August at the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament as the USA Men qualified for the 2006 World Championships.
2004: – NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (Gold Medal)
2004: Japan Tour
2004: Houston Series
2004: USA Global Challenge (First Place)
2004: Serbia and Montenegro Tour (Second Place)
2004: Olympic Games (Fourth Place).
2004: – Made his first Olympic appearance in Athens, Greece as the USA Men finished fourth overall. The U.S. Men were trailing Greece 2 sets to 1 and losing 5-0 in the fourth set when Head Coach Doug Beal brought Suxho in to replace starter Lloy Ball. Suxho helped the U.S. Men come back from a 20-12 deficit to win the fourth set 25-23 and the U.S. went on to win the fifth set 17-15
2004: Served as the backup setter to starter Lloy Ball.
2003: – Colorado/Nebraska Tour
2003: Canada Tour
2003: Pan American Games (Fourth Place)
2003: NORCECA Zone Championships (Gold Medal)
2003: World Cup (Fourth Place).
2003: – Started at setter until the NORCECA Zone Championships in Mexico as Team USA captured the gold medal and a berth in the 2003 World Cup, the first Olympic qualifier
2003: Served as the backup setter to starter Lloy Ball at the NORCECA championships and World Cup.
2001: – World League
2001: NORCECA Zone Championships.
2000: – American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Year
2000: AVCA First-Team All-American
2000: First-Team All Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
2000: Asics/