U.S. Men Finish World Champs in 6th after Loss to Poland

U.S. Men's National Team competing at World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 8, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s National Team ended its 2022 season on a with grit, determination and a little heartbreak on Thursday when it fell to Poland, 3-2 (25-20 27-25, 21-25, 22-25, 15-12) in the quarterfinals of the FIVB World Championship in Gliwice, Poland.

The U.S. Men finish their 2022 season with a record of 15-5 in FIVB matches. They finished the tournament in sixth place. Poland will play Brazil in the semifinals on Sept. 10 and Slovenia will play Italy.

After losing the first two sets, the U.S. Men came back to win the next two sets in front of a pro-Polish crowd of 12,258. In the fifth set, the score was tied 2-2 when Poland scored twice to take the lead. The U.S. Men pulled to within one at 6-5, but Poland scored two more points and put the match out of reach.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Poland led the U.S. in kills (67-63), blocks (9-4) and aces (8-6). The U.S. Men took advantage of 34 errors by Poland while giving up 26.

U.S. outside hitter Aaron Russell led all scorers with 24 points on a match-high 22 kills, one block and one ace. Opposite Matt Anderson had his best match of the tournament, scoring 18 points on 18 kills. Anderson also led the team in digs with five.

Setter Micah Christenson scored two points on two kills and set the U.S. Men to a .443 hitting efficiency. Libero Erik Shoji was credited with two excellent receptions and one dig.

Outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, who started the second set for T.J. DeFalco and played the rest of the match, scored nine points on seven kills and a team-high two aces.

Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk finished with seven points on five kills, one block and one ace. Middle David Smith added six points on five kills and one block.

DeFalco scored three points on two kills and an ace. Middle Taylor Averill, who started the match but then switched off and on with Jendryk, scored three points on a kill, a block and an ace. Opposite Kyle Ensing played as a substitute and scored on a kill.

Opposite Kyle Russell and setter Josh Tuaniga also played as substitutes.

U.S. Men’s 14-Person Roster for the FIVB World Championship

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
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)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
15 Kyle Russell (OPP, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine, Northern California)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii, Northern California)
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)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer, Mike Wall, Javier Weber
Performance Analyst and Team Manager: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Consultant Coach: Mike Wall
Consultant Coach: Morteza Shiari
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Doctor: Daniel Green