Matthew Knigge’s unlikely path to USA gym: “Now I play volleyball”

When the USA men played Poland in Volleyball Nations League on Wednesday, Matthew Knigge had four kills, an ace and a block. 

On the surface, stats not normally worth noting.

But in Knigge’s case, and in the case of the men’s college volleyball world, it was a really big deal.

Knigge, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker from New Egypt, New Jersey — which is about halfway between New York City and Philadelphia and in terms of central New Jersey and/or men’s volleyball in the middle of nowhere — went to Vassar.

Vassar is in Division III and, well there haven’t been too many DIII players in the USA national-team gym, so much as one who started a Volleyball Nations League match.

Knigge got into the USA gym for the first time last summer, but was injured and unable to make the most of it.

So this year, “To get the call, after a good European season — I had a really good European season — and to be physically healthy and in the gym and starting to play the level you know you can play at, it’s like a moment in a movie when the clouds start to clear and you see the sun for the first time,” Knigge said with a laugh.

“So it’s just a special moment of feeling honored to be coming from where I’m coming from, but then also understanding that the job is not done.”

We talked after practice two weeks ago in Anahaim, a few days before coach John Speraw announced the Olympic team. Knigge was certainly not going to be one of the dozen plus an alternate going to Paris, but everyone knew that another group of players would go to Antalya, Türkiye, for the first round of VNL.

The USA got swept by Poland and plays again Friday against France and finishes with Bulgaria on Saturday and Türkiye on Sunday. 

All of which represented a tremendous opportunity for Knigge.

Since his last season at Vassar, the 27-year-old has played a pro season for FC Schüttorf in Germany, two seasons for Arenal Emeve Lugo in Spain, three seasons for Club Voleibol Guaguas in the Canary Islands, and the past two seasons for SVG Lüneburg in Germany.

Next year he said he will play for Berlin Recycling Volleys.

Which might have been the last thing you could have expected.

Knigge played four sports at tiny New Egypt High School, where volleyball was not an option.

Baseball was his favorite, but at 16, he said, “is when I made that switch to…