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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 25, 2025) – Playing its best match of the 2025 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship so far, the U.S. Men’s U21 National Team defeated host China, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18) in a matchup of undefeated teams on Monday in Jiangmen.
The U.S. (4-0) completes pool play tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 25, at 11 p.m. PT against Morocco (0-4). The U.S. has qualified for the Round of 16 which will take place the following day.
“Playing in front of this crowd is an honor for us. We are looking forward to keeping up playing cleaner volleyball as we go forward,” said U.S. head coach John Hawks. “This group is really humble in their focus. It’s rare to get a combination of really talented athletes who are also humble and mature who are professionals all the time. I am very impressed with this group and looking forward to what we do tomorrow against Morocco.”
The U.S. produced 10 more kills (51-41) and blocks (15-5). Each team served five aces. China made seven fewer errors (35-28).
Outside hitter and captain Sean Kelly finished with match-highs of 16 kills and 19 points, adding three blocks. He shared the team lead with four digs and contributed four successful receptions. Opposite Cole Hartke led all players with seven blocks, and his 11 kills gave him 18 points.
Setter Tread Rosenthal ran the efficient U.S. offense to a .365 hitting efficiency percentage while scoring six points on three blocks, two kills and an ace.
“I think our passing was a lot better than it has been in the past and that helped us run the middle a lot,” Rosenthal said. “Huge shoutout to the guys for having a good start and (after) a little bit of a rough ending to set one, just coming back and getting right back on the horse and finishing well.”
Middle blocker Jackson Cryst totaled 11 points on eight kills, two blocks and an ace. Middle Tre Jordan recorded nine kills. Outside hitter Sterling Foley combined five kills and a match-best three aces for eight points. Libero Kellen Larson led the team with five successful receptions and shared the team lead with four digs.
The U.S. led for most of the first set, using a Foley ace to take a 3-0 lead and maintaining a three-point lead on blocks by Hartke (7-4) and Kelly (12-9). Kelly scored on an out-of-system attack for a 15-11 lead and was followed by kills from Hartke and Jordan to extend the lead to six points. The lead was still five, 19-14, when China went on an 8-2 run, culminating with a pair of blocks, to take its first lead.
Kelly scored on a cross-court attack to tie the set at 22 and a hitting error put the U.S. back out in front for the last time. China won four of the last five points to take the opening set. Hartke scored eight points on seven kills and a block, and Kelly added five points on four kills and a block. The U.S. was unable to overcome 11 errors in the set.
China took a 9-6 lead in the second set before the U.S. took its first lead with a four-point run. A Hartke block tied the set at nine and Foley put the U.S. out in front. After China evened the set at 13 apiece, a Cryst block put the U.S. back in the lead. China scored the next two points for its last lead of the set, 15-14.
A Rosenthal ace put the U.S. up 16-15 and after the teams split the next eight points, a Jordan kill gave the U.S. a two-point advantage, 21-19. After yielding the following point, the U.S. scored four of the final five points of the set to even the match at a set apiece. Hartke scored for a 22-20 lead and after a China hitting error, a Cryst kill made it 24-20. China saved one set point before a Kelly kill finished it with his fourth kill of the set. Cryst also scored four points with three kills and a block.
Two kills by Jordan, a Foley ace, and Kelly block helped the U.S. jump out to a 7-3 lead in the third set. Leading 8-4, the U.S. scored three points in a row with Cryst serving an ace, Foley scoring off the block after an overpass of Cryst’s serve, and a Hartke block. A Foley ace extended the lead to eight points, 14-6. A back row attack by Kelly gave the U.S. a 20-12 lead.
When the teams exchanged the next eight points, the U.S. held a 24-16 advantage. China fought off five consecutive set points to pull within three, but a service error ended the set. Kelly scored seven points on six kills and a block and Hartke recorded three blocks.
A Rosenthal kill and block, and two more Hartke blocks sparked the U.S. to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set. China pulled within three points, 13-10, but the U.S. scored the next three points. After a China net violation, Rosenthal scored on a setter dump off a one-handed up from Jordan and Kelly followed with a block. When Cryst put a ball straight down, the U.S. took a 19-13 advantage.
Kelly scored off the block for a 22-16 lead. After a China point, a service error and a Hartke kill gave the U.S. match point. Cryst ended the match with his eighth kill. Hartke scored four points with two kills and two aces, while Cryst also totaled four points on three kills and a block.
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 def. Egypt, 3-2 (26-24, 31-33, 37-35, 23-25, 15-10)
Aug. 24: USA def. China, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18)
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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