U.S. Men Drop Cuba in 2026 Men's VNL Week Two Opener

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 24, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team moved to 4-1 at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) win over Cuba on a hot Wednesday in Orleans, France.

The U.S. (4-1) will face Iran at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Playing in greater than 85 degrees heat the U.S. finished with a 10-4 advantage in blocks and made 12 fewer errors (29-17). Cuba recorded one more kill (36-35) and recorded four of five aces.

“This is the first time this group has been together and it’s a long season. I told the guys this is a very long process. This is only match five and teams want to really peak and hit their best in late July as finals week occurs, so we would love to qualify for finals week, continue to improve every day. We knew these conditions would be really challenging. It’s very warm in here. (The temperature) was much higher than it should be for an indoor volleyball event, but our team handled it really well,” said U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly.

“Generally, I thought we did a nice job. We can play a lot better. Mostly I didn’t like how in each of the three sets, it was close until about 16. We’re waiting too long. We need to exert pressure earlier and try to break it open. We that around 16-17-18 in each of those sets. You don’t want to let a really good team hang around if there is a way to avoid that,” Kiraly added. “A lot of guys made contributions. We are still learning how to use eight substitutions. We had Gabi Garcia come in, Ethan Champlin served and double serve/double change with Cole Hartke and Micah Ma’a. Each team it seemed to give us something, so we’ll learn more about all of those options as this tournament unfolds.”

Opposite Jake Hanes scored 14 points on 13 kills and a block. Outside hitter TJ DeFalco, playing for the national team for the first time in nearly two years, reached double digits with 10 points on eight kills, a block and the team’s lone ace. “It feels fantastic. It’s been almost two years without playing with this jersey on, so having it back on my chest gives me a happy feeling,” DeFalco remarked. “Playing against Cuba, they are always going to come with heavy weapons, but arms, big serves, so getting a 3-0 win against them is really big. We capitalized a lot today. We just keep stacking brick by brick by brick to build the foundation of what USA is. Just being here and being able to do that with these guys is a once-in-a-world feeling. It’s a positive environment because we have so much depth, which is good especially in an environment like this where it is so hot that we have to change in and change out. We’re finding our groove.”

Matt Anderson (five kills and two blocks) and middle blocker Merrick McHenry (four kills and three blocks) scored seven points apiece. Middle Jeff Jendryk recorded four kills and setter Micah Christenson, in addition to running the effective offense, shared the team lead with three blocks and added a kill for four points. Libero Erik Shoji led all players with seven digs, followed closely by Christenson with six. Shoji and Anderson shared match-high honors with six successful receptions.

McHenry and Hanes each scored two points as the U.S. took an 8-7 lead into the first hydration break of the match. Consecutive kills by Jendryk, Hanes and DeFalco gave the U.S. the first two-point lead for either team, 16-14. The U.S. lead increased to three, 22-19, on Cuba’s third service error in four attempts and a hitting error. Anderson won a joust after another Cuba error to give the U.S. set point, 24-19. Cuba saved two set points, the second on an ace, before another service error ended the set. Hanes recorded four kills, while the U.S. earned six points in the middle with McHenry and Jendryk each delivering three kills.

A McHenry kill and block gave the U.S. a 4-2 lead to begin the second set. Hanes scored out of system after a great Shoji dig and Christenson followed with a block to put the U.S. up 8-7 at the break. The U.S. took a two-point lead, 11-9, on a DeFalco kill and a Hanes score after DeFalco’s serve was passed over the net. A McHenry block gave the U.S. a 16-15 lead at the second break. Cuba served an ace to take a 17-16 lead, but a Hanes kill and DeFalco ace put the U.S. back in front.

After taking a timeout when Cuba tied the score 20-20, the U.S. retook a two-point advantage on kills by Anderson and DeFalco. After a Cuba timeout, DeFalco scored again, benefitting from a strong Anderson serve, to give the U.S. the first three-point lead of the set. Scrambling defensive plays by Shoji, Anderson and DeFalco led to a Cuba error and set point at 24-21. DeFalco ended the set with his team-best fifth kill and sixth point of the set.

Cba took its only two-point lead of the match, 4-2. For the third consecutive set, the U.S. took an 8-7 lead into the first break and maintained the one-point advantage at the second break, 16-15. A Hanes block as part of a triple block and an Anderson kill off a Shoji set gave the U.S. a three-point lead, 18-15. Cuba errors increased the deficit to four points, 20-16, and forced Cuba to use its final timeout. DeFalco scored for a 23-18 lead and a service error made it match point at 24-19. McHenry ended the match with a block. Hanes paced the U.S. in the set with six points on five kills and a block.

After returning from France, the U.S. men prepare for an anticipated homestand in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (July 15-19). Get your tickets.

U.S. Men’s Roster for 2026 VNL Week Two

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, USC, Aloha)
13 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawai’i, Northern California)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
17 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
18 Cole Hartke (OPP, 7-0, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
20 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, 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)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, 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 Doctors:  Andrew Gregory, Mark Hutchinson, Christopher Lee, Michael Terry, Eugene Yim
Statisticians: Jimmy Kim, Frank Pham

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV.
(All times PDT)

Week 1: Ottawa, Canada
June 10 USA def. Türkiye, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23),
June 12 USA def. Germany, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20)
June 13 def. Canada, 3-2 (20-25, 33-35, 26-24, 25-21, 15-11)
June 14 Italy def. USA, 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10)

Week 2: Orleans, France
June 24 USA def. Cuba, 3-0, (25-21, 25-21, 25-19)
June 25 vs. Iran at 8 a.m.
June 27 vs. Japan at 8 a.m.
June 28 vs. Serbia at 11:30 a.m.

Week 3: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
July 15 vs. China at 6 p.m.
July 16 vs. Brazil at 6 p.m.
July 18 vs. Bulgaria at 6 p.m.
July 19 vs. Poland at 6 p.m.