Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

Rutgers-Newark is an institution of higher learning that prides itself on its immense diversity and vast variety of cultures. 

But it’s safe to say that the school’s athletic program was never more international, when a native of Tel Aviv, Israel became a member of the R-N men’s volleyball program. 

Liran Shapiro is a native of Israel who has dual citizenship, both in the United States and his native land. At one point in his life when he was a child, Shapiro lived in Maryland, but the majority of his life has been spent in Israel. 

When Shapiro was 15, he spent a summer visiting his grandparents in Pennsylvania and while he was there, he attended the Penn State Volleyball Camp. At that point, a dream was placed in young Liran’s mind. 

“I saw the facilities and saw the way the game was played and I knew I wanted that,” Shapiro said. “I dreamed about playing in front of a crowd. Volleyball wasn’t like that back in Israel. It’s not that developed. I knew that it was something I wanted to do.” 

But Shapiro had to wait a bit to fulfill his dream. That’s because every young Israeli man, from the ages of 18 through 21, has to serve active duty in the Israeli Army. While Shapiro aspired to eventually become an NCAA Division I volleyball player in the United States, his service to his native land had to take precedence. 

During his tenure in the Israeli Army, Shapiro kept his volleyball skills sharp by playing for Israel’s junior national team, where he eventually served as the team’s captain. His goal was always to come to the U.S. and play college volleyball and preferably, he wanted to play on the East coast. 

“I kept practicing and playing,” Shapiro said. “I sent Coach (Karl) France a video and that was it.” 

While France would like to take credit for the recruitment of Shapiro, it was actually the school’s previous volleyball coaching regime that first made the scholarship offer to Shapiro. 

“I knew that he wanted the East and he wanted Division I,” France said. “The prior coaching staff had the initial contact with Liran. I knew that he still wanted to be here.” 

Ironically, Shapiro received only two scholarship offers-- and they came from two schools separated by only a few blocks. New Jersey Institute of Technology also gave Shapiro a scholarship. 

“That was wild,” Shapiro said. “I looked it up on Google maps and realized that they were right next to each other.” 

Luckily for France and R-N, Shapiro had interest in studying business in college. 

“I came in undecided and I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Shapiro said. “But when I found out that there was a business major at Rutgers, I figured that’s where I would go.” 

Shapiro was older than your average freshman when he arrived. He was 21 when he enrolled and is now 22. 

“I am a freshman, but I’m the second oldest on the team,” Shapiro said. “I think I have the most volleyball experience than anyone on the team. I’ve been playing since I was 12 years old. I was also the captain on the Israeli Junior National team, so I got used to having that kind of responsibility.” 

France liked the fact that Shapiro had already participated in international competition, facing teams like France, Italy and the Netherlands while he was playing for Israel. 

“I knew that he would be fine when he got here and would be able to help us out right away,” France said. “Everything worked out pretty well. I also knew that he was more mature than most and that would help him. So he played against some of the best teams in Europe and was more mature than the rest of the team. He also had a high volleyball IQ. 

Added France, “Liran has become like the point guard on the basketball floor and is like our second coach out there. He has an amazing grasp of reality and keeps everyone focused. I knew he would step in right away and be a good player for us. He just had to get out on the court and show everyone what he could do. He gained approval from his teammates and just went from there.” 

Shapiro said that he didn’t have a tough time fitting in with his new team. 

“We have nine freshmen on the team and half of the entire team is new,” Shapiro said. “We all have volleyball in common, so it wasn’t that hard. We have a nice bunch of kids. I think it just took me a little while to get used to playing with the new players, but it wasn’t that hard. Volleyball is a universal game and it’s played the same way everywhere.” 

However, downtown Newark isn’t exactly downtown Tel Aviv. 

“I came here with a very open mind,” Shapiro said. “I didn’t know what to expect at all. Tel Aviv is our equivalent of New York City, but it’s really not that big of a city. It was definitely different when I got here. The weather was different, the food was different, the people were different. But I was all for experiencing new culture.” 

Shapiro said that he didn’t intentionally come to the area, because there is a heavy Jewish population. 

“I don’t think that had anything to do with it,” Shapiro said. “In Israel, everyone is Jewish. One of the things I like about Rutgers-Newark is that it’s so diverse with so many cultures and backgrounds.” 

Shapiro has also fit in well as the Scarlet Raiders’ main setter this season. His 712 assists (11.48 per game) is tops on the team and he’s had 82 digs, good for third. Shapiro has also led the Scarlet Raiders to an 8-13 record overall, but more importantly, they head to the EIVA quarterfinals this week against Princeton at Princeton. It’s the first time R-N has headed to the post-season in three years. 

“I don’t think it was so much of a surprise,” Shapiro said. “I think we all expected to get to this point. I feel like we’re one of the favorites. We’ve had a strong team this year and we’ll have one next year.” 

And the young man from Tel Aviv has more than made his home in downtown Newark. 

“I definitely am happy about my choice to come here,” Shapiro said. “It’s fun to play with these young guys. It was definitely the right move for me.”