BEIJING ? Ron Larsen, former head coach of the UC San Diego men's volleyball team, was named the interim head coach of U.S.A. Men's Volleyball for its first round match-up with Venezuela following the tragic death of head coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law in Beijing. With McCutcheon attending to the needs of his family, Larsen assumed the head coaching duties and led the U.S. to a 3-2 victory on Sunday. It is not known when McCutcheon will return to the team. The U.S. will play Italy on Tuesday.

Current UC San Diego women's volleyball head coach Tom Black stated that, “Larsen has experienced a lot in his career and is the right man for the job in this circumstance.”

Larsen was the head coach at UCSD from 2000-2005 and guided the Tritons to a Division III National Championship in his first season. In 2004, he led UCSD to several program firsts, including wins over nationally ranked powers Penn State, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. Larsen also led UCSD to wins over top-ranked NAIA power Cal Baptist and 15th-ranked USC during his tenure.
 
Larsen came to the Triton family from the University of Rutgers-Newark. A veteran of seven seasons at the New Jersey university, Larsen has coaching roots in the University of California system. His coaching career began at the University of California-Berkeley, where he led the Bears' men's volleyball team to a record of 102-29 at the club level. He coached at Cal from 1980 to 1984, and again from 1987 to 1989. He also served as assistant coach of the women's volleyball team at St. Mary's College from 1987 to 1988, before moving on to the University of California, Davis in 1989. At Davis, he served as assistant coach of the women's team for four seasons, and head coach of the men's team from 1991-93, leading the Aggies to a 65-31 record and a fifth-place finish at the 1993 national club volleyball tournament.
 
Larsen served as head men's and women's coach at Rutgers-Newark from 1993 to 1999, compiling a record of 97-80 in men's volleyball and 111-79 with the women's team. The men's team was consistently ranked in the nation's top 15, and Larsen was named New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1998, and Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Coach of the Year in 1998.