Men's U21 Dominates Mexico to Conclude World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 16, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team dominated in every phase to defeat Mexico, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18) in the 13th-place match to conclude play at the Men’s U21 World Championship in Manama, Bahrain. The win avenged a four-set loss to Mexico in the second round of pool play on Thursday.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

The U.S. finished with a 40-30 advantage in kills, 12-2 in blocks, and 6-0 in service aces. Setter Island Doty led the offense to a remarkable .431 hitting percentage, adding five points of his own on two kills, a block, and two aces.

Outside hitter Dillon Klein led a balanced offense with 14 points on 13 kills and one block, hitting at a .346 efficiency percentage. Middle blocker Marc Smith totaled 13 points on nine kills, three blocks, and an ace, while hitting .583.

Outside hitter Alex Rottman turned in his best all-around performance of the tournament with 12 points on seven kills with a .462 hitting efficiency percentage, a team-high four blocks, and one ace. Outside hitter Zach Rama contributed eight points on five kills (.333 efficiency percentage), a block, and two aces. He also finished with five successful receptions and five digs.

Middle blocker Owen Rose scored six points with four kills and two blocks, hitting at a .600 efficiency for the match. Libero Ryan Merk led the squad with eight successful receptions and seven digs.

Apart from a few ties early in the first two sets, the U.S. led throughout the entire match.

U.S. Men’s U21 Roster for the 2023 FIVB World Championship
No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
5 Dillon Klein (OH, 6-4, 2003, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, 2003, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-11, 2004, Encinitas, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read (Long Beach State)
Assistant Coach: Chris Seiffert (Concordia-Irvine)
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager (Univ. of Southern California)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt
Team Doctor: Dr. Chris Cornell
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (USAV NTDP)

U.S. Men’s U21 Schedule for the 2023 FIVB World Championship
Live stream on VolleyballWorld.tv
(All times PT)
July 7 Argentina def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23)
July 8 Belgium def. USA, 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 25-20)
July 9 Czechia def. USA, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22)
July 11 Egypt def. USA, 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20)
July 12 Czechia def. USA, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17)
July 13 at 1 a.m. Mexico def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22)
July 15 Consolation playoffs USA def. Bahrain, 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21)
July 16 13th place match USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18)