Written By: The Emerald 
Mario Raden, a sophomore at Old Dominion University, has been selected to play for the U21 (Under-21) USA Beach Volleyball National Team. Mario played volleyball at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach and helped the high school win the state championship in volleyball in his senior year. He currently serves as the coach for the Coastal Virginia Volleyball Club and coached the team to a 15th place finish at the 14U (Under-14) Open Division at the National Championship. This year, Coastal Virginia finished the season 18-1 and three of the members have accepted offers to play volleyball at Division 1 schools. To achieve a place on the U21 team, Mario had to compete in one of 15 regional try-outs. At each regional try-out, only one player was selected to advance to the national try-out in Manhattan Beach, California. He then competed against 15 others for one of 10 spots. He was selected for the team. As someone who is selected, Mario is now training for a spot on the 2020 or 2024 USA Beach Volleyball Olympic Team.
Mario is an exercise science student at ODU, who wishes to become a Physical Therapist, and is Virginia Beach, VA.