Hanes Unstoppable in U.S. Men's First Win of 2024 VNL

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 26, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s National Team’s first win of the tournament came against Türkiye 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-21) in the week one finale of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Sunday in Antalya, Türkiye.

“It feels great, we put in a lot of work,” outside hitter Ethan Champlin told Volleyball World. “One thing we always talk about in the locker room is that, this team, these fourteen guys are only going to play together once. It’s probably not going to happen ever again. So we’re just enjoying the moments together, playing hard, playing for one another. That’s what’s most important.”

The U.S. Men finish week one with a 1-3 record. Week two of VNL will begin June 4 in Ottawa, Canada.

MATCH STATISTICS

Opposite Jake Hanes could not be stopped, putting up an astounding 31 points on 29 kills and two aces.

Middle blocker Patrick Gasman had 13 points on nine kills, three blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Jordan Ewert had seven points on six kills and one ace. Champlin added six points on four kills and two aces.

Aside from the massive stat line from Hanes, service pressure made the difference in the match with the U.S. scoring seven aces to Türkiye’s three. Türkiye did have the slight advantage on kills (51-50) and the teams were even on blocks (8-8). The U.S. scored on 32 opponent errors while committing 31.

After dropping the first set, the U.S. saw an energy shift when Hanes tied set two at 18-18 with an ace followed by a kill from the back row. Middle blocker Daniel Wetter made his VNL debut and contributed right away with a block to give the U.S. set point. Hanes took care of the rest once again from the back row to even the match 1-1.

The third set stayed close until the U.S. took the lead 15-14 after Champlin’s ace serve. A tough serve from Ewert led to a Türkiye attack error and gave the U.S. its first match lead (2-1) of the tournament.

Türkiye fought hard in the fourth set in front of their loud home crowd. However, the momentum was already well on the side of the U.S. Men and they didn’t give it back. Taking advantage of Türkiye’s errors and feeding the hot hand of Hanes, the U.S. Men secured its first VNL win.

Setter Quinn Isaacson added three points on two blocks and one ace.

Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with nine digs and seven successful receptions. Libero Mason Briggs started the fourth set and was credited with four digs.

Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez, outside hitter Brett Wildman and setter Josh Tuaniga all saw action as substitutes.

U.S. Men’s Preliminary Roster for 2024 VNL

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
3 Gabi Garcia Fernandez (Opp, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU, Intermountain)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State Univ., Great Lakes)
9 Jake Hanes (Opp, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
13 Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-10, Clovis, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)
24 Brett Wildman (OH, 6-5, Virginia Beach, Va., Penn State Univ., Old Dominion)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
27 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis, Excelsior Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
30 Daniel Wetter (MB, 6-5, Camarillo, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coaches: Nicholas MacRae, Morteza Shiari
Technical Coordinator: Jimmy Kim
Athletic Trainer: Benjamin Colletti
Team Manager: David Dantes
Doctors: Warren Young

U.S. Men’s Schedule for 2024 VNL
All times PDT
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv

Week 1 in Antalya, Türkiye
May 22 at 10 a.m. Poland def. USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 26-24)
May 24 at 7 a.m. France def. USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
May 25 at 10 a.m. Bulgaria def. USA 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21)
May 26 at 7 a.m. USA def. Türkiye 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-21)

Week 2 in Ottawa, Canada
June 4 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Argentina
June 6 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Italy
June 7 at 5 p.m. USA vs Serbia
June 8 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Canada

Week 3 in Manila Philippines
June 19 at 4 a.m. USA vs Iran
June 20 at 4 a.m. USA vs Brazil
June 21 at 8 p.m. USA vs Germany
June 23 at 4 a.m. USA vs Japan

Final Round on June 27-30 in Łódź, Poland