Men's U21 Suffers Second Setback to Czechia at World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 12, 2023) – For the second time in three matches, the U.S. Men’s U21 National Team fell to Czechia in pool play at the 2023 U21 World Championship on Saturday in Manama, Bahrain. Czechia defeated the U.S., 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17).

The U.S. and Mexico will each be looking for their first win at the championship at 1 a.m. PT on Thursday.

Outside hitter Dillon Klein paced the U.S. with 13 kills and a .444 hitting efficiency percentage with just one error in 27 total attacks. He hit .461 with six kills and no errors in 13 total attacks in the third set.

Eight other players scored for the U.S. with opposite Shane Wetzel and middle blocker Owen Rose contributing six points apiece. Outside hitter Zach Rama recorded five kills and outside hitter Theo Snoey totaled three kills. Rama added seven successful receptions.

The U.S. fell behind early in each set, including dropping six of the first eight points of the match. Trailing 10-7 in the second set, they went on a 3-0 run to tie the set, capped by a block from Rose. However, Czechia scored the next four points and outscored the U.S. 15-6 the rest of the way. Czechia jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never trailed.

Czechia opposite David Kollator, who plays for VK Lvi Praha and was the top scorer at the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival U19, led all scorers with 14 points.

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. PT vs. Mexico
July 15 Semifinals and consolation playoffs
July 16 Finals and consolation matches