QUALIFIED! U.S. Men Secure Olympic Berth with Serbia Sweep

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 7, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s National Team qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) win over Serbia at the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier in Tokyo.

The U.S. Men improved to 6-0 with one match to go in the tournament against Japan (5-1), which also secured qualification on Saturday. The two top teams in the group qualify and neither can finish worse than second.

The two teams will play each other at 3:25 a.m. PT on Sunday.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

The U.S. Men qualified for their 11th straight Olympic Games and 13th overall.

On Saturday, the U.S. Men’s serve-and-pass game was on point. They U.S. Men led in aces 12-2. Middle blocker Max Holt finished with four strikes. Middle Jeff Jendryk and opposite Matt Anderson each had two. The U.S. had 12 service errors as a team.

Solid passing, led by libero Erik Shoji with five digs and five successful receptions, allowed setter Micah Christenson to set the team to a .533 hitting efficiency.

“We were steady the whole way through, and our side-out game was incredible, maybe the best of the summer,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “It was at the right time when we needed it to seal our trip to Paris next summer.

“This tournament had a really challenging format and we just handled it so well. We have learned how to manage ourselves in a tournament like this. But more important was the depth that we have developed over the past few years.”

Holt led all scorers with 13 points on seven kills, a team-high two blocks and the match-high four aces.

Anderson and Jendryk each scored 11 points and each had nine kills to go with their two aces.

Outside hitter Aaron Russell scored 10 points on eight kills, one block and one ace. Outside T.J. DeFalco added eight points on six kills, one block and one ace.

Christenson and outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, who played as a substitute, each scored a point with an ace.

U.S. Men’s Roster for 2023 Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer and Javier Weber
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Team Leader: Nate Ngo
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Second Assistant: Morteza Shiari
Second Assistant: Michael Wall
Team Doctor: Lori Boyajian-O’Neill

U.S. Men’s Schedule and Results for the 2023 VNL
All matches will be broadcast on volleyballworld.tv

All times PT
Sept. 30 USA def Egypt, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19)
Oct. 1 USA def Finland, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-17)
Oct. 3 USA def. Türkiye, 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 32-30, 25-20)
Oct. 4 USA def. Tunisia, 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-14)
Oct. 6 USA def. Slovenia, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18)
Oct. 7 USA def Serbia, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17)
Oct. 8 at 3:25 a.m. USA vs Japan (world No. 5)