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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 28, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team reached the semifinal round of the 2025 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship for the first time since 2011 with a come-from-behind 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12) victory over France on Friday (Thursday night in the U.S.) in Jiangmen, China.
The U.S. (7-0) will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between host China and defending champion Iran in the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 29 in the U.S./Saturday, Aug. 30 in Jiangmen.
“I’m so proud of the guys. We talked about how it just takes one player making one play and we had multiple players making several plays,” commented U.S. head coach John Hawks. “We just got done talking and we are not done. We need to get ready for Iran or China in the next match. We know what we can do so we are just excited to play in front of these great fans and be great for the fans back home.”
The teams finished even in kills with 59 and while U.S. held just a one-point edge in aces (5-4), it registered 14 blocks to nine for France. Each team made 30 errors.
Four U.S. players reached double digits and two more scored at least six points with every player making big plays at different times. Captain and outside hitter Sean Kelly led all players with 20 kills and 21 points, adding a block.
“It was definitely revenge (France defeated a U.S. U19 team in the semifinals of the World Championship in 2023 with many U.S. players now on this U21 team). That’s how we stick together and fight to the end. We played together and made some plays with a couple key digs and blocks, and high ball swings that were massive at the end,” Kelly said.
Setter Tread Rosenthal ran the offense that hit at a .354 efficiency percentage for the match while scoring six points on four kills and two blocks and adding five digs. Libero Kellen Larson led the team with seven digs and six successful receptions.
Opposite Cole Hartke ranked second in the match with 15 kills and 19 points, recorded a block, five digs and led all players with three aces. Outside Sterling Foley scored 12 points on eight kills, three blocks and an ace, while also contributing six digs and five successful receptions. Middle blocker Tre Jordan rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points on eight kills and three blocks. Middle Jackson Cryst led all players with four blocks, totaling nine points with four kills and an ace.
France used a 7-1 run to take a 16-12 lead in the opening set, holding a four-block advantage at that stage. The U.S. pulled within two points, 21-19, but could get no closer. Kelly registered five kills in the set, and Hartke added four points on three kills and a block.
Kelly scored his seventh and eighth kills to give the U.S. a 12-7 lead in the second set. Rosenthal put away an overpass to put the U.S. out in front 15-9. The lead grew to nine on a 3-0 mini-run on an ace from Foley and kills from Rosenthal and Kelly. Already leading 21-14, the U.S. finished the set on a 4-1 run which included two more kills from Kelly, who produced six kills in the set. Foley scored four points on three kills and an ace.
A Cryst block and Kelly kill put the U.S. in front 9-7 in the third set but France took the lead with four consecutive points. The U.S. used back-to-back blocks from Rosenthal and Cryst to even the set at 19 but France immediately rebuilt its two-point advantage on a kill and the seventh U.S. hitting error of the set. A block extended the France lead to four points, 23-19. Jordan led the team with four kills.
In the fourth set, the U.S. used consecutive blocks from Hartke and Jordan to jump out to a 5-2 lead, and a Hartke ace made it 7-3. The first France block of the set cut the deficit to two points, 10-8, but the U.S. scored the next four points. A great dig by Foley led to an off-speed shot by Hartke that was not picked up off the block, and a Foley block highlighted the stretch.
Rosenthal scored off a free ball to make it 17-12 but the U.S. gave up the next two points and called timeout with the deficit cut to three. France used an ace to move within two points, 18-16. Hartke pushed a ball off the block for a 20-17 U.S. lead. France scored the next two points, the second on an ace, to pull within a point before the U.S. outlasted the defense on the next rally that ended with a Foley kill.
A Rosenthal block put the U.S. up 23-20 and another push off the block by Hartke gave the U.S. three set points at 24-21. France, which held off set points on a service error and a block, had a swing to tie the set but Jordan recorded the seventh block of the set for the U.S. to send the match to a fifth set. Hartke scored six points on four kills, a block and an ace. Kelly added four kills and Jordan scored four points on two blocks and two kills.
Kelly’s second kill of the fifth set gave the U.S. a 5-2 lead in the deciding set before France went on a 4-1 run to even the score at six. Foley tooled the block and then Jordan recorded a block to give the U.S. an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. Leading 8-7, the U.S. was out of system on the next serve, but Hartke scored off the top of the block on a set from Foley.
Another Hartke kill made it 10-8 and the U.S. took 11-9 and 12-10 leads on France hitting errors. Cryst scored to make it 13-11 and another France hitting error gave the U.S. match point. After yielding one point, Jordan sent the U.S. to the semifinals with a kill. Hartke and Kelly each recorded two kills in the set, while Jordan’s kill and block gave him two points.
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 def. China, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18)
Aug. 25: USA def. Morocco, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-23)
Aug. 26: Round of 16: USA def. Bulgaria, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20)
Aug. 29: Quarterfinals: USA def. France, 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Aug. 30: Semifinals: USA vs. China/Iran
Aug. 31: Medal matches
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