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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 25, 2025) – The U.S. lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the 2025 World Championship as Bulgaria stormed back from two sets down to win 21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13 in Manila, Philippines.
The U.S. finished the tournament 4-1 while Bulgaria (5-0) moves on to face Czechia in the semifinals.
“This team has come a long way from our first scrimmages down in Brazil in early June,” head coach Karch Kiraly said. “I give the 14 guys here huge credit, and we are far more than 14. We had 30 in the gym all through VNL, and plenty more since. They all helped us add up to something significant here. We came up a little short. It really hurts. Give Bulgaria great credit; they did a masterful job of coming back. Alex Nikolov got them out of lots of trouble. He was really good those last three sets. We need to use this loss and the pain from this, store that up in our belly and have a fire for next year and beyond. Lots to build on, and a really painful loss to end the season.”
Kiraly gave a shout out to the Philippines and the fans.
“I thought Philippines did a wonderful job,” he said. “The competition court and the venue are fantastic, good visibility. As the tournament went on, the attendance was up, and when it was up, it was electric, like tonight. The hotel was great, the food, the police escorts everywhere we went cut the commute times in half. They did a nice job. We certainly appreciated everyone in the organizing committee and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make us feel so welcome. We enjoyed our stay here in Manila.”
The two teams were relatively even statistically through five sets. Bulgaria led the U.S. in kills (61-57), blocks (7-6) and aces (7-5). The U.S. gave up 34 points on errors and Bulgaria gave up 30.
Ethan Champlin led the U.S. with 17 points on 16 kills and one block. Jordan Ewert had 15 kills, and Merrick McHenry scored 12 on 10 kills, one block and an ace. Gabi Garcia notched nine points (six kills, one block, two aces), and Jeff Jendryk had six kills and one block. Matt Knigge came off the bench and was a gamechanger, scoring four points (three kills, one block). Micah Christenson had a block and two aces, and Cooper Robinson rounded out the U.S. scoring with a kill. Garcia had 10 digs.
The U.S. came out firing in set one with three straight kills from Jendryk for a 5-2 lead. The U.S. led 11-10 when kills by Champlin and Ewert plus two Bulgaria errors gave the U.S. a 15-10 edge. Two aces from Moni Nikolov brought Bulgaria within three at 18-15, and the three-point lead held through 21-18. A Garcia ace and Ewert Kill gave the U.S. set point at 24-18. Bulgaria scored three straight but a service error ended the set at 25-21.
Despite having an early lead, Bulgaria struggled from the service line with eight errors in set two. The U.S. pulled ahead 14-13 on a Bulgaria error. A Christenson ace and kills by McHenry and Ewert increased the lead to 17-13. Bulgaria shrunk the lead at 17-15 but could get no closer. McHenry added a kill and an ace for a 21-16 lead and another Ewert kill made it 22-17. The two teams traded points until the set ended 25-19.
Bulgaria returned to form in the third set, building an early 6-2 lead after consecutive errors from Ewert and Garcia. The U.S. crawled back to within two on a Garcia kill at 8-6, but Bulgaria pulled ahead again with five-point leads at 14-9 and 16-11. The lead increased to six at 19-13 as Bulgaria continued its serving pressure and offensive spark. The U.S. never got closer and Bulgaria won, 25-17.
Set four was a back-and-forth battle with neither team gaining a significant advantage until the end. At 22-22 a Christenson service error and Garcia error gave Bulgaria set point, and they finished on a block, 25-23.
The momentum was in Bulgaria’s favor in the fifth as they jumped out to a 6-3 lead. At 11-8, Garcia served an ace off the net to cut the lead to two, 11-9. At 12-10, Bulgaria scored off a fantastic rally to make it 13-10, and their defense then won another for match point. A Champlin kill and block cut the lead back to two 14-12, and a challenge on a play at the net made it 14-13. A kill by Bulgaria completed the comeback, 15-13.
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)
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)
27 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
Training Alternate
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
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
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)
Sept: 22: Round of 16: USA def. Slovenia, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20)
Sept. 25: Bulgaria def. USA, 3-2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13)
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