Resources for
Follow USAVolleyball
Share
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 22, 2025) – Playing its second consecutive five-set match, the Men’s U21 National Team moved to 3-0 at the 2025 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship with an intense 3-2 (26-24, 31-33, 37-35, 23-25, 15-10) win over previously undefeated Egypt on Saturday (late Friday in the U.S.) in Jiangmen, China.
After a day off, the U.S. (3-0) faces host China (2-0 with a match against Thailand later today) on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 11 p.m. PT.
“We are looking forward to playing (China) on their home floor. The crowd should be great. China is a great-coached team. They are disciplined and clean,” said U.S. head coach John Hawks. “I love the way we are competing as a team. We are gritty, we are tough, and this is a group that will be special for a long time.”
The U.S. finished with a significant advantage in kills (76-61) but were nearly even in blocks (15 to Egypt’s 16). Both teams served six aces with Egypt making 11 fewer errors (44-33).
Outside hitter Riggs Guy led the U.S. with 26 points on 23 kills, two blocks and an ace. He also recorded a team-best 10 successful receptions. Outside Sebastiano Sani totaled 19 points on 17 kills and two blocks.
Opposite Kainoa Wade finished with 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and an ace, while middle blocker Tre Jordan contributed 15 points on 11 kills, three blocks and an ace. Fellow middle Micah Goss also reached double digits with 10 points on seven kills and three blocks.
Setter Trent Taliaferro ran the offense that produced a 15-kill advantage and added three points on a pair of blocks and a kill.
“It was a gritty war. It was a full team effort. I thought everyone played really well,” he said. “The guys who came in were essential to that win.”
Libero Kellen Larson shared the team lead with Wade with eight digs and finished with six successful receptions. Outside hitter Sean Kelly scored six points on five kills and a block after entering the match late in the third set.
Egypt scored four points in a row to take a 13-8 lead in the first set. The U.S. scored the next three points to cut the lead to two points, but Egypt answered with its own three-point run to regain its five-point advantage, 16-11.
The U.S. charged out of a timeout with four consecutive points to pull within one. Guy scored on an overpass and a Taliaferro block made it 16-15. The U.S. pulled within a point again five times before Guy tied the set by putting away an overpass off a Goss kill. Wade pushed a ball to the back court for a 23-22 U.S. lead, but Egypt scored the next two points.
The U.S. saved set point and earned its first set point on a hitting error and took the set on Sani’s fourth kill of the set, this time on a back row attack. Guy scored six points on four kills, a block and an ace.
Egypt used a 7-2 run to take a 12-9 lead in the second set. Sani scored on consecutive plays to pull the U.S. within a point, 13-12. A Taliaferro kill on a second ball brought the U.S. back within a point again, 14-13. The U.S. cut the deficit to one again at 15-14 but Egypt scored the next five points for its biggest lead of the set.
A block by Goss and a Jordan ace off the net cut the lead back to a point, 22-21. After an Egypt timeout, another U.S. block tied the set. A hitting error gave the U.S. a 23-22 advantage and a Goss block gave the U.S. two set points and capped a 10-2 run that turned a six-point deficit into a two-point lead. Egypt saved both set points, the second on a block to even the set at 24 apiece.
Sani scored on the following play to give the U.S. its third set point but Egypt again saved set point. Guy crushed a ball on a back row attack for a 26-25 lead, but Egypt snuck a ball between the U.S. block and the net. Egypt earned its first set point with an ace, but Goss retied the set, this time at 27-27. Goss’ strong serve led to an overpass and Sani finished the play with a kill on a back row attack before Egypt saved a fourth set point.
Guy scored off the block for a 29-28 U.S. lead before Egypt scored the next two points for a 30-29 advantage. A Jordan kill saved a second set point for the U.S. Egypt earned its third set point with a side out but Sani scored off the block to make it 31-31. Egypt scored on a back row attack to earn another set point and a hitting error tied the match at one set each. Sani scored seven points on five kills and two blocks, while Guy added five kills.
Nearly mirroring the first two sets, Egypt took a 13-10 lead in the third set. The lead grew to four points, 18-14, at which point the U.S. took its final timeout. Middle blocker Jackson Cryst came in and served an ace to cut the margin to two points, 18-16.
A Guy kill on an overpass off a Goss serve brought the U.S. within a point, 21-20. After an Egypt timeout, an error evened the set at 21 but Egypt scored the next two points for a 23-21 lead. The U.S. tied the score again at 23 on a kill from Kelly. Egypt earned set point, but the U.S. scored the next point to make it the third consecutive set to go extra points. Egypt went ahead seven more times before a block gave the U.S. its first set point.
A Guy kill gave the U.S. a 33-32 lead, its second set point. A Jordan kill put the U.S. up 36-35 and Guy put a ball down for his 10th kill of the set after Egypt was forced to put over a free ball off a tough Wade serve to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the match. Wade scored six points on five kills and an ace.
Egypt jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth set, forcing the U.S. to use both of its timeouts in the first 13 points. For the fourth consecutive set, Egypt reached double digits first, eventually earning a six-point lead on three occasions. A Wade block cut the margin to three points, 17-14 and a Sani kill made it 17-15.
A Guy kill on a back row attack again cut the margin to two points, 18-16, but Egypt scored the next two points, the second on a block, for a four-point advantage. Another Egypt block made it 21-17 before the U.S. again cut the lead to two points on a Kelly kill and Wade ace. Kelly scored again to make it 22-20 and a Jordan block brought the U.S. within a point for the first time since early in the set.
A sixth U.S. service error of the set made it 23-21 before a Jordan kill and Egypt playing a ball over the net evened the set at 23 apiece. Egypt responded out of its timeout by scoring the final two points, the last of which came on an ace. Guy scored five points on four kills and a block, and Jordan contributed four points on two kills and two blocks.
Back-to-back blocks put Egypt ahead 2-1 in the fifth set. Wade tied the set at three and Jordan scored off the block after Egypt overpassed a Sani serve. A net violation put the U.S. up 5-3, its biggest lead since winning the third set. Sani scored on a back row attack for a 6-4 lead, but Egypt scored the next three points, the final two on back-to-back aces, for a 7-6 lead. Kelly tied the set again with a kill. Setter Tread Rosenthal came in to serve and Kelly provided a block for an 8-7 U.S. lead as the teams switched sides.
The teams traded service errors before another Egypt block evened the score at 9-9. Sani scored to give the U.S. the lead and Kelly pushed the lead to two points on a set from Rosenthal. After a timeout, a service error cut the margin to one point, but a kill from opposite Cole Hartke and a hitting error gave the U.S. a 13-10 advantage. Hartke served an ace to give the U.S. four match points but only one was needed as Rosenthal ended the match with a block. Kelly scored three points on two kills and a block.
Men’s U21 National Team World Championship Roster
Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School/Club, USAV Region)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-9, Irvine, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
3 Cole Hartke (OPP, 6-11, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
9 Tre Jordan (MB, 6-10, Mesa, Ariz., Univ. of Hawaii, Arizona)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Los Angeles, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
13 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
16 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-10, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
17 Riggs Guy (OH, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
18 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-10, Kailua, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha Region)
21 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
22 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Long Beach State, Chesapeake)
23 Micah Goss (MB, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
Coaches
Head Coach: John Hawks (UCLA)
Assistant Coach: Donan Cruz
Assistant Coach: Matthew Pollock (Pepperdine)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt (The Volleyball institute)
Athletic Trainer: Rachel Menze (Pepperdine)
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (NTDP)
All times PT
Aug. 20: USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
Aug. 21: USA def. Türkiye, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7)
Aug. 22: USA def. Egypt, 3-2 (26-24, 31-33, 37-35, 23-25, 15-10)
Aug. 24: USA vs. China, 11 p.m.
Aug. 25: USA vs. Morocco, 11 p.m.
Aug. 26: Round of 16
Aug. 29: Quarterfinals
Aug. 30: Semifinals
Aug. 31: Medal matches
The 2025 Men's U21 National Team earned its second consecutive win at the 2025 FIVB Men's U21 World Championship, defeating Türkiye, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7) on Friday (Thursday in the U.S.) in Jiangmen, China.
The 2025 Men's U21 National Team opened the 2025 FIVB Men's U21 World Championship with an impressive 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19) win over Thailand on Thursday in Jiangmen, China (Wednesday night in the U.S.)
USA Volleyball announces the 12 athletes on the 2025 Men's U21 National Team who are headed to Jiangmen, China, for the FIVB Men's U21 World Championship, Aug. 20-31.
The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team ended an undefeated run at the 2025 NORCECA U21 Men's Pan American Cup by capturing the gold medal with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18) victory over host Canada on Sunday night in Calgary. In similar fashion to its preliminary round win when the two teams met, the U.S. won the first two sets, dropped the third set and clinched the win in the fourth set.
USA Volleyball announces the 12 athletes on the 2025 U21 Men’s National Team who will compete at the NORCECA Men’s U21 Pan American Cup, Aug. 5-10 in Calgary, Canada.
USA Volleyball announces the 24 athletes on the 2025 U21 Men’s National Team who will prepare for the NORCECA Men’s U21 Pan American Cup and the FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship.
