U.S. Men to Play for 2026 VNL Gold After Dramatic Win over Previously Unbeaten Japan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 1, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play for the gold medal at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League Final after rallying for a dramatic 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13) victory over previously undefeated Japan on Saturday in Ningbo Beilun, China. Japan finished 12-0 in preliminary round play, including a five-set win over the U.S. by a 15-13 score in the deciding set.

The U.S. will attempt to win its first VNL gold medal tomorrow, Sunday, at 4:30 a.m. PT against defending champion Poland. The gold medal match is a rematch of the 2023 VNL final won by Poland. The teams met in the final match of this year’s preliminary round with Poland winning in straight sets.

The U.S. led in multiple statistical categories: 67-57 in kills, 9-7 in blocks and 7-2 in service aces. Japan made 10 fewer errors (35-25).

“That team won 13 straight matches and a lot of them went to the tiebreaker. They are just an amazing team. You think you’ve got a kill and then they put a hand out and make a great set and all of a sudden, it’s point Japan,” said U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly. “A lot of credit to a couple of the guys who came in and gave us a lift, Jeff Jendryk and Cooper Robinson. Cooper came in for Ethan (Champlin) and Ethan stayed ready and made a couple of great serves down the stretch to put us in a position to win that tiebreak. We had to dig really deep and that’s what we expect every time against this great Japan team.”

Outside hitter Matt Anderson and opposite Jake Hanes shared match-high honors with 24 points apiece. Anderson led all players with 21 points to go with two blocks, an ace, five digs and sharing a match-best total with seven successful receptions. Hanes led all players with three aces, delivering 20 kills and a block while adding four digs. Anderson hit .450 for the match with Hanes hitting at a .485 clip.

“They are a really good team. They play all aspects of the game really well. We had to be just a tiny bit better in certain situations. Some of that is block and defense, some of that is being a little more aggressive in our serve and taking advantage of the plays where they misconnect or make a mistake,” Anderson commented.

In a matchup featuring two of the best liberos in the world, Erik Shoji led the match with 14 digs, several of which were spectacular, and added four successful receptions. Middle blocker Taylor Averill joined Anderson and Hanes in hitting at least .450 as he hit .455 with seven kills and totaled nine points with a block and an ace. Setter Micah Christenson led the team to a .385 hitting efficiency percentage against the strong Japan defense and scored three points on two kills and a block.

Outside hitters Robinson (six kills and an ace) and Champlin (five kills, a block and an ace) each scored seven points as did middle Merrick McHenry, who led all players with three blocks and produced four kills. Middle Jeff Jendryk contributed two kills.

Japan scored the first two points of the match and led 12-9 before the U.S. went on a 6-2 run to take its first lead. A diving up from Shoji led to an Averill kill that cut the deficit to one point, 14-13, when McHenry and Champlin recorded back-to-back blocks. A Hanes block as part of a double block with McHenry and a McHenry block put the U.S. up 18-16. A perfect pass from Shoji set up a Hanes kill. Micah Ma’a served two points for a 21-17 U.S. lead behind a diving up from Champlin for a Hanes kill and a strong serve that allowed Hanes to score on an overpass. Another perfect Shoji pass led to an Averill kill and a 22-18 lead. Anderson scored for a 23-19 lead and then his strong serve caused an overpass that Averill put away to give the U.S. set point. A Japan hitting error ended the set. Hanes scored eight points on six kills, a block and the only ace of the set. The U.S. recorded four of the five blocks.

Japan used some phenomenal early defense to take a 6-3 advantage in the second set. An Averill block and Anderson ace evened the set 7-7 but Japan regained a three-point lead with a 5-2 run that forced a U.S. timeout. Japan led 14-11 but the U.S. closed the gap to one taking advantage of a Japan service error and Anderson scoring on an overpass from a Ma’a serve. A Hanes kill and a solo block from Anderson made it a one-point set, 15-14. Japan called a timeout and scored the first two points afterward to regain its three-point lead on the 1,200th career VNL point from captain Yuki Ishikawa.

A great block cover and kill by Champlin and an Anderson kill cut the lead to two points, 19-17 and 20-18, before Japan scored on one of the match’s most exciting rally that included an incredible chase down by Shoji. Trailing 24-21, the U.S. saved two set points with a Hanes kill and Averill ace before Japan evened the match by taking the next point. Anderson scored nine points on six kills, two blocks and an ace.

Japan raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, prompting a quick U.S. timeout. The U.S. fired back with four consecutive points, keyed by strong Hanes serving. An Averill block tied the set at five apiece to end a rally that featured incredible defense from Japan libero Tomohiro Ogawa. After a timeout, Japan went on a 5-2 run to take a 10-7 lead. McHenry put a ball down to cut the deficit to one, 12-11. Japan regained a three-point advantage, 16-13, with a block after scrambling to return a strong Hanes serve. Champlin put a ball down to cut the lead to 17-15 before Japan scored the next two points to go back up by four and force a U.S. timeout. A Champlin kill set up by a McHenry pass and a Japan hitting error cut the lead in half, but Japan regained its four-point advantage on its way to taking the set and a 2-1 match lead. Anderson, Hanes and McHenry all produced three kills in the set.

Christenson scored on a setter dump to begin the fourth set but Japan scored the next three points. Hanes sliced a ball down the line to end another spectacular rally to tie the set 4-4. Hanes recorded back-to-back aces to put the U.S. ahead 7-5 and force a Japan timeout. Hanes’ next serve caused an overpass he handled and led to an Anderson kill. An Averill kill followed by a Hanes running kill off a set from Robinson extended the U.S. advantage to four points, 11-7. Anderson scored his 800th career VNL point for a 13-9 lead.

A great up by Hanes kept a rally going that ended with a Japan hitting error for a 15-10 U.S. lead. Another Hanes kill made the score 16-11 but Japan scored the next three points and had two swings to cut the margin to one before Anderson scored. A successful Japan video challenge cut the deficit back to two, 18-16. Averill put a ball down for a 19-16 lead. Japan scored the next point and had a swing to cut the lead to one, but a great Shoji dig led to a Robinson kill and when Robinson scored again on the next play, the U.S. forced a Japan timeout by taking a 21-17 lead. Hanes scored on the next play against a triple block after another great Shoji dig on the crosscourt angle. Robinson produced a kill and an ace to give the U.S. set point and two points later, Jendryk scored to send the match to a fifth set. Hanes scored seven points on five kills and a pair of aces with Anderson delivering six more kills.

The teams exchanged the first six points in the deciding set before a Hanes kill on a one-legged approach on a play that began with a great up from Shoji and a Robinson kill off a Hanes set gave the U.S. a 5-3 lead. A Robinson kill put the U.S. up 7-4 and Jendryk scored for an 8-5 lead. Japan scored the next two points, the second despite great defense from Christenson. Anderson tooled the block for a 9-7 advantage. Japan used a 5-2 run to take its first lead, 12-11, on the match’s most exciting point that featured great U.S. defense. After a Japan service error, Champlin came in to serve and immediately put the U.S. back in front with an ace. Robinson scored off the block to give the U.S. match point, 14-12. Two points later, Anderson scored on a give and go to send the U.S. to the gold medal match. Six players scored for the U.S. in the set with Hanes, Robinson and Anderson each producing

U.S. Men’s Roster for 2026 VNL Final

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
3 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
6 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
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)
15 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
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)

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 Final
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV.
(All times PDT)

July 30
Quarterfinal: USA def. Italy, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)

August 1
Semifinal: USA def. Japan, 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13)

August 2
Final: USA vs. Poland, 4:30 a.m.