Ryan Millar and Rich Lambourne joined coaches Carl McGown and Hugh McCutcheon in leading the Brigham Young Cougars to the first of two men's volleyball national championships nearly a decade ago.
    Now, they're taking aim at the Olympics.
    All four former Cougars were named to the U.S. men's team that will compete at the Beijing Games in China next month, hoping to win a medal for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games. Only Millar was on the team that finished fourth at the 2004 Athens Games (as well as the one that did not win a game at the 2000 Sydney Games), though McGown has coached at five Olympics and will serve as a scout for coach McCutcheon - his former BYU assistant - in China.
    "We feel very confident that we have selected the best team to represent this country at the upcoming Olympic Games," McCutcheon said in a statement. "We have a good mix of experience and youth and we have 12 very good volleyball players on this roster. They work well together both on and off the court and they compete at a very high level."
    The Americans are ranked third in the world and are still competing in the FIVB World League, assured of reaching the final six-team round in Brazil next week. They're grouped with Bulgaria - their next opponent in the World League - China, Italy, Japan and Venezuela for preliminary play at the Olympics, which begins Aug. 10.
    mcl@sltrib.com
   
   
    Player Pos. College
    Lloy Ball S IPFW
    Sean Rooney OH Pepperdine
    David Lee MB Long Beach State
    Rich Lambourne L Brigham Young
    Reid Priddy OH Loyola Marymount
    Ryan Millar MB Brigham Young
    Riley Salmon OH Pierce College
    Tom Hoff MB Long Beach State
    Clay Stanley OPP Hawaii
    Kevin Hansen S Stanford
    Gabe Gardner OPP Stanford
    Scott Touzinsky OH Long Beach State