COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The U.S. Men’s National Team – the reigning Olympic gold medalist – will bring its exciting brand of volleyball to three great American cities this summer for the FIVB World League competition.

USA Volleyball has announced that the U.S. Men will play Egypt at Cabarrus Arena and Events Center in Concord, N.C.; Finland at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and Russia at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan., for the 2010 World League.

The FIVB World League is an elite men’s volleyball competition in which the world’s best teams are divided into four pools and play an Intercontinental Round for six straight weekends from June 4 to July 10. Winners from each pool will qualify for the Final Round on July 21-25 in Cordoba, Argentina, along with the host country and the best second-place team in pool play. The total World League prize purse is more than $20 million, with the winning team collecting a prize of more than $1 million.

After winning the World League for the first time in 2008, the U.S. Men won their pool during the 2009 edition and advanced to the Final Round, where they finished sixth overall. “This is the fifth straight year that our U.S. Men’s Team will compete in the World League. The fan support and attendance has increased every year,” USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal said. “After the Olympics and World Championship, the World League is considered the most important men’s volleyball competition in the world. We are happy to be bringing it back to our supporters in the United States.”p> “We had phenomenal fan support in both Wichita and Hoffman Estates last year, so the team and I are really looking forward to returning to those cities,” said U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.). “We are also excited about our new stop in Concord, N.C., and bringing U.S. Men’s Volleyball to a new region of the country.”