Men's volleyball head coach David Kniffin
Men's volleyball head coach David Kniffin will direct 12 players from seven universities on the U.S. team at the World University Games next month in South Korea. Steve Zylius / UC Irvine

UC Irvine men’s volleyball head coach David Kniffin will lead the U.S. men’s team at the World University Games on July 4-12 in Gwangju, South Korea. Assisted by Mount Olive’s David Heller and Ball State’s Joel Walton, Kniffin will guide 12 collegiate players from seven universities. UCI leads the way with three current Anteaters on the team: Jason Agopian, Kyle Russell and Michael Saeta. “This group of student-athletes represents a wonderful cross section of universities at the Division I-II level,” Kniffin said. The multisport World University Games is scheduled every two years, with the summer games attracting more than 10,000 athletes and staff from 150 countries. To be eligible for the games, an athlete must be an officially registered student progressing toward a degree at an accredited university or be a university graduate who received a degree in 2014.