COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 28, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team went the distance and came away with its first victory of the FIVB Men’s Under-21 World Championship, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7 over Czech Republic on Tuesday in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
The U.S. improves to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in Pool G and will face Egypt (1-4, 1-1) in the Pool G finale at 3:30 a.m. PT on Thursday.
After falling behind 2-1 in sets, the U.S. Men’s Junior National Team (MJNT) took an 8-5 lead in the fourth set and increased it to 21-15 before cruising to the win.
In the fifth set, the United States took a 9-2 lead, including two aces from Micah Ma’a, two kills from Jordan Ewert, two blocks from Scott Stadick and a block and kill from Kyle Ensing.
“It’s not easy. We were down 2-1 and we had to fight tooth and nail in order to get there,” U.S. MJNT Head Coach Jay Hosack said. “I thought we gained a lot of momentum in set four and I thought that carried over to set five.
“We served a lot better in the latter part of the match. I’m glad for my boys. I’m glad they got the W.”
The United States led in kills (64-55) and blocks (11-9) while Czech Republic led in aces (6-4).
Opposite Ensing led all scorers with 21 points on a match-high 20 kills and one block. Middle blocker Stadick added 17 points on 10 kills, a match-high six blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Ewert finished with 14 points on 13 kills and one block.
“It was a match to keep our errors down,” Ensing said. “We executed that very well. I think that’s why we won. We came into the match with a new mindset. Losing the last four matches was tough. But I think we’re on a new path.”
The U.S. MJNT had 31 errors, but Czech Republic almost equaled that at 29. The U.S. hitting efficiency was .344 while Czech Republic hit .221.
U.S. libero Gage Worsley was credited with 20 digs and only one error.
Starters for U.S. MJNT vs Czech Republic
Outside hitters: Brett Rosenmeier and Jordan Ewert
Middle blockers: Scott Stadick and George Huhmann
Setter: Josh Tuaniga
Opposite: Kyle Ensing
Libero: Gage Worsley
Statistics for U.S. MJNT vs Czech Republic
Kills: Ensing 20, Ewert 13, Stadick 10, Huhmann 9, Rosenmeier 8, Tuaniga 4
Blocks: Stadick 6, Huhmann 2, Ensing 1, Tuaniga 1, Ewert 1
Aces: Ma’a 2, Tuaniga 1, Stadick 1
Digs: Worsley 20, Ewert 10, Ensing 10, Tuaniga 8, Rosenmeier 6, Stadick 3, Ma’a 2
U.S. Men’s Junior National Team
No – Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, Region)
2 – Gage Worsley (L, 6-2, Moraga, Calif., signed with Hawaii, NCVA)
3 – Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-2, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
4 – Micah Ma’a (S, 6-4, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
5 – Dylan Missry (OH, 6-4, Holbrook, N.Y., UCLA, Garden Empire)
7 – Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, NCVA)
8 – Austin Matautia (OH, 6-5, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Hawaii, Aloha)
9 – Brett Rosenmeier (OH, 6-6, Virginia Beach, Va., Hawaii, Old Dominion)
14 – Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
15 – Matthew Szews (Opp, 6-8, Brookfield, Wis., Ball State, Badger)
16 – Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-8, Clovis, Calif., Hawaii, NCVA)
19 – Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine, Badger)
20 – George Huhmann (MB, 6-10, High Ridge, Mo., Princeton, Gateway)
Head Coach: Jay Hosack (George Mason University)
Assistant Coach: Jonah Carson (Mountain View Volleyball Club) Matt McCarthy (Lewis University)
Team Manager: Jen Armson Dyer
Doctor: David Dyck, Jr.
Technical Coordinator: Galen Dodd
U.S. Schedule for the FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
(all times PT)
Pool G
June 27: Italy def. USA, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23
June 28: USA def. Czech Republic, 25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7
June 29: USA vs. Egypt, 3:30 a.m.
Pool B
June 23: Turkey def. USA, 25-19, 25-14, 30-28
June 24: Cuba def. USA, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20
June 25: Russia def. USA, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22
Pools for the FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship
Pool E
Poland 2-0
Iran 1-1
Cuba 1-1
China 0-2
Pool F
Brazil 2-0
Russia 2-0
Canada 0-2
Argentina 0-2
Pool G
Italy 2-0
Egypt 1-1
USA 1-1
Czech Republic 0-2
Pool H
Turkey 2-0
Ukraine 1-1
Japan 1-1
Morocco 0-2