U.S. Men Finish First in Pool at 2025 Worlds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 15, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team secured the top seed in Pool D with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25) win over Cuba at the 2025 World Championship in Manila, Philippines.

The U.S. (3-0) will face the winner of today’s Slovenia/Germany match in the Round of 16, set for Sept. 22. Both Slovenia and Germany lost to Pool E winner Bulgaria and defeated Chile.

“It’s a little unusual tournament in that we have four complete days before we play again,” head coach Karch Kiraly said. “We’ll take a day off. We (the coaches) will probably stay here and watch because it’s simple mathematics, whoever wins between Slovenia and Germany is going to be our opponent. They’re both very quality teams and will be a difficult matchup. We lost to both of them in VNL, so we’re looking forward to that. But we will have three days to prepare, as will the winner of this match. This tournament’s been kind of crazy, some of the results in some of the pools, so we’re really happy to come out 3-0. A solid group win for us.”

The U.S. Men used nearly all their players in today’s victory. They led in kills (61-45) and blocks (13-10), but Cuba had a 6-3 edge in aces. Cuba scored 28 points off U.S. errors while the U.S. had 23 from Cuba.

“We believe we’re going to need all 14 players in uniform,” Kiraly said. “We’ve also had Michael Marshman here as number 15, and we had so many at home over the course of this season in VNL…well over 30. Everybody’s made a real contribution to who we are and how we’re playing right now. But, the 14 in the uniform all have to be ready and they all made contributions today. It was nice to get them some minutes so that when they are needed next, if and when, they have had some experience under the spotlight on that court.”

Cooper Robinson led the U.S. with 14 points on 13 kills and one block, while Gabi Garcia notched 12 points on eight kills, two blocks and two aces. Jordan Ewert also had 12 points (10 kills, two blocks), and Kyle Ensing scored seven (six kills, one block).

Four players scored six points for the U.S.: Jeff Jendryk (four kills, two blocks), Jacob Pasteur (six kills), Merrick McHenry (six kills), and Matthew Knigge (two kills, a team-high three blocks and one ace). Ethan Champlin scored four points (three kills, one block, team-high nine digs), Micah Christenson had two kills, and Micah Ma’a had a kill and a block. Erik Shoji and Kyle Dagostino split time at libero to anchor the defense.

The U.S. was firing on all cylinders in set one, jumping out to an 8-2 lead before anyone could blink. As they have throughout the tournament, the U.S. Men used strong serving to keep Cuba at bay, and were a force at the net. The U.S. didn’t let up on the gas in the 25-17 win. Jordan Ewert scored six on five kills and a block.

Knigge, Robinson and Ensing all made appearances in a 25-23 set two win for the U.S. Cuba returned to form in the set, staying even with the until the U.S. took a 19-17 lead late on a McHenry kill. Consecutive service errors by the U.S. and Cuba made it 20-18, and Cuba closed the gap to 20-19 on a kill. The U.S. inched ahead again on a Robinson kill, and a Cuba error made it 23-20. But two U.S. errors brought Cuba within one again. An error gave U.S. set point, and Micah Christenson ended it with a crowd-pleasing kill.

The set two win guaranteed the U.S. the top spot in its pool, and head coach Karch Kiraly used the opportunity to change his lineup in the third, starting Ma’a, Ensing, Robinson, Pasteur, McHenry, Knigge and Dagostino. Cuba took advantage of the lineup as the U.S. worked to find its rhythm, jumping out to an early 10-5 lead. Cuba kept the momentum, but the U.S. chipped away late. A Pasteur kill and Knigge/Ma’a block cut the lead to 22-18. A Cuba ace gave them set point at 24-19. Garcia then entered the match and put down a kill and two aces, and then Robinson had a kill to make it 24-23. The epic comeback fell short with a Cuba kill, 25-23.

Kiraly used the same lineup in set four, and this time the U.S. kept pace with Cuba. Cuba pulled away late and grabbed a 23-19 lead. The U.S. began its comeback with four straight kills: one by Ma’a, two from Robinson, and another by Ensing to tie the game. Cuba had set point with a kill, but a big Robinson/Knigge block tied it. The U.S. had match point at 25-24, but a Cuba block evened it. Ewert came in late and gave the U.S. another match point at 26-25, and Robinson ended it on a kill.

“Coop came in and made a couple of really nice swings,” Kiraly said. “It’s fun to see him finish it out. Again, everyone made contributions, and the first and the second touch often go unnoticed. The kill that Cooper made is more noticed, but it’s a team effort. I’m happy for him. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him. He’s had a solid first season with USA.”

U.S. Men’s World Championship Roster

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
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 Southern Nevada)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State Univ., Chesapeake)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11C Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Aloha)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Training Alternate
27 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Senior Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Team Manager: David Dantes
Consultant Coach: Chris McGown
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Team Doctors:  Eugene Yim, Mark Hutchinson, Michael Shepard, Warren Young

Pool Play Schedule

All times PDT
Watch live on VBTV; some matches are also on CBS Sports Network (check listings)

Sept. 12: USA def. Colombia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14).
Sept. 15: USA def. Portugal, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17)
Sept. 17: USA vs. Cuba, 2:30 a.m. (25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25)