U.S. Men Keep Calm, Carry on in Win over Japan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 10, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s National Team rebounded from a rough first set and outlasted a determined Japanese side to win its third straight Volleyball Nations League match 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-28, 15-9) on Friday in Brasilia, Brazil.

The U.S. Men (3-0) will have little time to recover as it plays the early match (11 a.m. PT) on Saturday against Brazil (2-0). All matches are shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv, a subscription service.

By the end of the match, the U.S. Men led in all three scoring categories: kills (64-60), blocks (10-3) and aces (4-1).

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

That is in stark contrast to the first set when Japan led in kills 15-9 and scored eight points on U.S. errors while committing six.

“Japan played exceptionally well in the first set,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “They served the ball very well and made some great defensive plays. They passed the ball almost perfectly.

“For us to turn that around in the second set was the first of many positives.”

Speraw was also pleased with his team’s comeback in the fifth set after losing a sideout battle in the fourth set.

“Sometimes when you get close and don’t take advantage of those opportunities, it’s hard to regroup,” Speraw said. “The guys played a really nice fifth set. I’m proud of them for coming back and refocusing and getting the win.”

For a third-straight match, outside hitter Aaron Russell and opposite Kyle Ensing led the U.S. in scoring. Each finished with 20 points.

Russell scored on 16 kills (.394 hitting efficiency), a match-high three aces and one block. Ensing scored on 19 kills (.472) and one block.

Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk also had a great game, adding 16 points on 11 kills (.588), a match-high four blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke finished with 11 points on nine kills and two blocks.

Middle and Team Captain David Smith scored six points on five kills and one block.

Setter Josh Tuaniga scored three points on two kills and a block. He and setter James Shaw, who played as a substitute in the front row, set the U.S. Men to a .405 hitting efficiency.

Libero Kyle Dagostino also had a solid match, finishing with 14 digs and five successful receptions. Jaeschke led in receptions with 13.

U.S. Men’s National Team 25-Person Roster for
2022 Volleyball Nations League
No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
3 James Shaw (S, 6-8, Woodside, Calif. Stanford, Northern California)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State Univ., Chesapeake)
9 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
13 Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-10, Clovis, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)
27 Tyler Mitchem (MB, 6-11, Bolingbrook, Ill., Lewis Univ., Great Lakes)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer, Mike Wall, Javier Weber
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Consultant Coach: Mike Sealy
Sports Psychologist: Andrea Becker
Sports Psychologist: Bernard Whitney
Team Doctor: James Suchy

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2022 VNL (All times PDT)
All matches to be shown on VolleyballWorld.tv

Preliminary Round 1 – Brasilia, Brazil
USA def Slovenia, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
USA def Netherlands, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-16)
USA def Japan, 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-28, 15-9)

June 11 at 11 a.m.
USA vs Brazil

Preliminary Round 2 – Sofia, Bulgaria
June 22 at 10 a.m.
USA vs Serbia

June 23 at 10 a.m.
USA vs Iran

June 25 at 10 a.m.
USA vs Bulgaria

June 26 at 6:30 a.m.
USA vs Poland

Preliminary Round 3 – Osaka, Japan
July 4 at 11 p.m.
USA vs Germany

July 6 at 8 p.m.
USA vs France

July 8 at 11:40 p.m.
USA vs Canada

July 9 at 8:40 p.m.
USA vs Argentina

Final Round – Bologna, Italy
July 20-24