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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 21, 2025) – The 2025 Men’s U21 National Team earned its second consecutive win at the 2025 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship, defeating Türkiye, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7) on Friday (Thursday in the U.S.) in Jiangmen, China.
Next up for the U.S. (2-0) is a matchup with Egypt tonight, Friday, Aug. 22 (Saturday in China) at 8 p.m. PT.
“We don’t win that match without the efforts of Seba Sani coming and Micah Goss making a couple nice plays in a critical stretch, and having Jackson Cryst go back to the service line and just be unconscious. It was a great team effort and a good team win,” remarked U.S. head coach John Hawks.
The U.S. finished with advantages in kills (51-41), blocks (14-8) and service aces (11-6). Türkiye finished with six fewer errors (37-31) and a 68-50 lead in digs.
Outside hitter Sean Kelly led the U.S. attack with 20 kills, adding a pair of blocks for 22 total points. He added four digs and four successful receptions. Opposite Cole Hartke finished with 16 points on 13 kills, a block and two aces.
Middle blockers Jackson Cryst and Tre Jordan shared match-high honors with four blocks. Cryst led all players with five aces and his two kills gave him 11 points. Jordan also reached double digits with six kills for 10 points.
Outside hitter Sebastiano Sani contributed six points on four kills and two blocks, with outside Sterling Foley (five kills) and setter Tread Rosenthal (two kills, two aces and a block) each adding five points. Libero Kellen Larson led the team with six digs and five successful receptions.
After dropping the first point of the match on a block, Türkiye trailed only one more time in the set. A Rosenthal ace evened the set at 13 and a Kelly ace gave the U.S. its only other lead, 15-14. Foley scored off an overpass to tie the set at 18 but Türkiye scored the next four points. The U.S. pulled back within two points, 23-21, on a Kelly kill, but Türkiye scored the final two points. Kelly scored six points on five kills and an ace.
Türkiye scored the first two points of the second set, but the U.S. ran off the next four points. A Hartke kill off a Foley set, and a Rosenthal ace keyed a 5-0 run that put the U.S. ahead 9-4. A Kelly ace pushed the lead to six points, 12-6. Cryst served three aces, including two in a row, and Jordan recorded a block for a 17-7 U.S. advantage.
Hartke delivered a kill for a 24-12 lead and, after one Türkiye point, another one to end the set and even the match. Cryst scored six points on two blocks, a kill and three of the team’s six aces in the set. Hartke and Kelly each contributed five points on four kills and an ace.
Türkiye jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, prompting a quick U.S. timeout. The lead grew to five, 9-4, on an ace. Hartke, Kelly and Jordan each produced kills to pull the U.S. within two points with the Jordan kill putting the score at 12-10. Türkiye scored the next four points with back-to-back aces making it 16-10.
Cryst put a ball down to cap a 5-0 U.S. run that cut the margin to one point, 16-15. Türkiye went back up by three points on a kill off the net, 19-16. After the teams exchanged the next two points, there was a substantial officials’ delay before the next point, a trademark of this summer’s international competition for matches involving U.S. teams.
Sani earned blocks on the next two points and Jordan tied the set 20-20 when he put a ball straight down. After a Türkiye timeout, a hitting error gave the U.S. its first lead, and a Sani kill on a play that started with a strong Hartke dig finished a 5-0 U.S. run for a 22-20 lead. After yielding one point, a Kelly back row attack and Jordan block gave the U.S. set point. Türkiye saved one set point, but a service error put the U.S. up two sets to one. Hartke scored five points on three kills and two blocks.
Türkiye took a 10-6 lead in the fourth set before the U.S. scored four consecutive points to tie the set. The U.S. evened the set seven more times after that but was never able to take the lead. Türkiye took a four-point lead, 23-19, forcing the U.S. to take its final timeout. The teams split the final four points to send the match to a deciding set. Kelly recorded six kills in the set.
Kelly scored on an off-balance shot off the block and a Türkiye hitting error gave the U.S. the first two points of the fifth set. The lead grew to three, 5-2, on another hitting error, leading to a Türkiye timeout. Cryst served back-to-back aces and Jordan followed with a block for an 8-2 U.S. lead as the teams switched sides.
Kills by Jordan and Hartke made it 10-3 and Hartke, whose previous serve was passed over the net, served an ace for an 11-3 lead. Jordan came up with another block to raise the lead to nine points, 12-3. A diving dig by Larson kept a rally alive that the U.S. eventually won to move ahead 13-4. A service error gave the U.S. match point, 14-5, and after Türkiye saved two match points, a service error gave the U.S. the victory. Hartke (two kills and an ace) and Jordan (two blocks and a kill) each scored three points in the set.
Men’s U21 National Team World Championship Roster
Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School/Club, USAV Region)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-9, Irvine, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
3 Cole Hartke (OPP, 6-11, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
9 Tre Jordan (MB, 6-10, Mesa, Ariz., Univ. of Hawaii, Arizona)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Los Angeles, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
13 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
16 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
17 Riggs Guy (OH, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
18 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-10, Kailua, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha Region)
21 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
22 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Long Beach State, Chesapeake)
23 Micah Goss (MB, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
Coaches
Head Coach: John Hawks (UCLA)
Assistant Coach: Donan Cruz
Assistant Coach: Matthew Pollock (Pepperdine)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt (The Volleyball institute)
Athletic Trainer: Rachel Menze (Pepperdine)
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (NTDP)
All times PT
Aug. 20: USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
Aug. 21: USA def. Türkiye, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7)
Aug. 22: USA vs. vs. Egypt, 8 p.m.
Aug. 24: USA vs. China, 11 p.m.
Aug. 25: USA vs. Morocco, 11 p.m.
Aug. 26: Round of 16
Aug. 29: Quarterfinals
Aug. 30: Semifinals
Aug. 31: Medal matches
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