COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 25, 2017) –The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team (MJNT) fell to Russia, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 on Sunday in the FIVB Men’s Under-21 World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic.
The United States finished pool play at 0-3 while Russia was 3-0. The U.S. Men will move to Ceske Budejovice to play in Pool G starting June 27. They will face Italy (1-2), Czech Republic (1-2) and Egypt (0-3).
The U.S. led Russia in kills (36-28), but trailed in blocks (9-8) and aces (7-4). Russia also scored on 31 U.S. errors while committing 15. The sets were close. The U.S. held an 11-3 lead in the second set and were within one point in the third set at 23-22.
“When you look at the rosters of every team that we’ve faced so far in this tournament, every single one of their players are professional players making a lot of money,” U.S. MJNT Head Coach Jay Hosack said. “Our guys are still in college and learning the game at a high level.
“For us to be in the matches and fight the way we’re fighting shows the determination of our kids to get better and work harder every day.”
Outside hitter Dylan Missry led the MJNT with 12 points on 12 kills. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert added 11 points on 10 kills and one block. Opposite Matthew Szews scored 10 points on seven kills, two aces and one block.
“I think we played better than we did against Turkey and Cuba,” Missry said. “Russia is obviously an experienced team. They’ve been playing professionally for a couple of years now.
“I think we can make a good run in the second half of the bracket and still finish on a high note.”
Starters for U.S. MJNT vs Russia
Outside hitters: Dylan Missry and Jordan Ewert
Middle blockers: Patrick Gasman and Scott Stadick
Setter: Micah Ma’a
Opposite: Matthew Szews
Libero: Gage Worsley
Statistics for U.S. MJNT vs Russia
Kills: Missry 12, Ewert 10, Szews 7, Ma’a 3, Stadick 3, Gasman 1
Blocks: Ma’a 3, Stadick 2, Szews 1, Ewert 1, Gasman 1
Aces: Szews 2, Stadick 1, Gasman 1
Digs: Worsley 7, Ma’a 7, Szews 7, Ewert 2, Missry 2, Stadick 1
U.S. Men’s Junior National Team
No – Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, Region)
2 – Gage Worsley (L, 6-2, Moraga, Calif., signed with Hawaii, NCVA)
3 – Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-2, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
4 – Micah Ma’a (S, 6-4, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
5 – Dylan Missry (OH, 6-4, Holbrook, N.Y., UCLA, Garden Empire)
7 – Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, NCVA)
8 – Austin Matautia (OH, 6-5, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Hawaii, Aloha)
9 – Brett Rosenmeier (OH, 6-6, Virginia Beach, Va., Hawaii, Old Dominion)
14 – Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
15 – Matthew Szews (Opp, 6-8, Brookfield, Wis., Ball State, Badger)
16 – Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-8, Clovis, Calif., Hawaii, NCVA)
19 – Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine, Badger)
20 – George Huhmann (MB, 6-10, High Ridge, Mo., Princeton, Gateway)
Head Coach: Jay Hosack (George Mason University)
Assistant Coach: Jonah Carson (Mountain View Volleyball Club) Matt McCarthy (Lewis University)
Team Manager: Jen Armson Dyer
Doctor: David Dyck, Jr.
Technical Coordinator: Galen Dodd
U.S. Schedule for the FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
(all times PT)
Pool B
June 23: Turkey def. USA, 25-19, 25-14, 30-28
June 24: Cuba def. USA, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20
June 25: Russia def. USA, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22
Pool G
June 27: USA vs. Italy, 3:30 a.m.
June 28: USA vs. Czech Republic, 8:30 a.m.
June 29: USA vs. Egypt, 3:30 a.m.
Pools for the FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
Pool A
Poland 3-0
Canada 2-1
Czech Republic 1-2
Morocco 0-3
Pool B
Russia 3-0
Cuba 2-1
Turkey 1-2
USA 0-3
Pool C
Iran 3-0
Argentina 2-1
Italy 1-2
Ukraine 0-3
Pool D
Brazil 3-0
China 2-1
Japan 1-2
Egypt 0-3