COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 8, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Teams journey from last place to semifinalist in the FIVB World League did not end as the team hoped on Saturday as the United States fell to Canada, 18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21.
The U.S. finishes World League with a record of 5-8.
“I’m really proud of the fact that we were able to get this far and have an opportunity here,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “I am disappointed at how we played the last couple matches. We passed the ball really well and usually when you win that serve-pass battle you should be in a better position to win.
“We need to kill the ball better. We need to set the ball better. We need to be smarter offensively. It’s such an important part of the game.”
The U.S. Men led in kills (49-43). Canada led in blocks (10-9) and the teams tied in aces (3-3). Canada scored 37 points on U.S. errors while committing 29.
Outside hitter Taylor Sander and middle blocker David Smith each finished with 14 points to lead all scorers. Sander had a match-high 13 kills. Smith had a match-high four blocks and two aces to go with eight kills.
Outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke and opposite Ben Patch each finished with 12 points, even though Patch did not play in the fourth set.
“I think we are the most improved team in the tournament, but we are not one of the best three,” U.S. Team Captain Kawika Shoji said. “It hurts now, but we will learn and come back stronger.”
U.S. Men’s Starters vs. Canada
Outsides: Taylor Sander and Thomas Jaeschke
Middles: David Smith and Jeff Jendryk
Setter: Micah Christenson
Opposite: Ben Patch
Libero: Erik Shoji
U.S. Men’s Statistics vs. Canada
Kills: Sander 13, Jaeschke 12, Patch 10, Smith 8, McDonnell 2, Clark 2, Jendryk 1, Christenson 1
Blocks: Smith 4, Patch 2, K Shoji 1, Jendryk 1, Sander 1
Aces: Smith 2, Clark 1
Digs: E Shoji 12, Jaeschke 8, Christenson 7, Smith 6, Patch 5, Sander 5, Jendryk 3, Kawika Shoji 3, Clark 2, MxDonnell 2
2017 FIVB World League Final Round
July 4-8 in Curitiba, Brazil
U.S. Men’s Roster
3. Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
7C. Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
10. Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
11. Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
13. Dan McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Glendale, Ariz., UC Irvine)
14. Ben Patch (Opp, 6-8, Provo, Utah, BYU)
15. Carson Clark (Opp, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
17. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
21. Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
22. Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Team Leader: Mike Wall
Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer and Robert Neilson
Sports Psychologist: Andrea Becker
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
| Date and Opponent | Result | Location | TV (all times EDT) | |||||||||
| June 2 | Serbia | L (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21) | Novi Sad, Serbia | June 2: 9:30-11:30 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 3 | Canada | L (23-25, 25-19,18-25, 25-23, 15-11) | Novi Sad, Serbia | June 3: 3-5 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 4 | Belgium | L (25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 28-26) | Novi Sad, Serbia | June 4: 6-8 p.m. UniHD | ||||||||
| June 9 | Italy | W (25-22, 25-23, 25-23) | Pau, France | June 9: 6-8 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 10 | Russia | W (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) | Pau, France | June 10: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. UniHD | ||||||||
| June 11 | France | L (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21) | Pau, France | June 11: 3-4:30 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 15 | Iran | W (25-17, 25-22, 30-28) | Katowice, Poland | June 15: 12-2 p.m.. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 17 | Russia | L (31-29, 17-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13) | Lodz, Poland | June 17: 6:30-8:30 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| June 18 | Poland | W (26-31, 25-17, 27-25, 25-20) | Lodz, Poland | June 18: 6-8 p.m. NBCSN | ||||||||
| July 4 | Final Round pool play | Brazil def Canada, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-19 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 4, 2 p.m. on Universal HD | ||||||||
| July 4 | Final Round pool play | France def USA, 27-25, 20-25, 26-24, 17-25, 15-12 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 4, 4:40 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 5 | Final Round pool play | Canada def Russia, 25-23, 29-27, 25-17 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 5, 2 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 5 | Final Round pool play | USA def Serbia, 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 5, 4:30 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 6 | Final Round pool play | Brazil def Russia, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19, 22-25, 16-14 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 6, 2 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 6 | Final Round pool play | France def Serbia, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 15-11 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 6, 4;30 on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 7 | Semifinals | Brazil def USA, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 7 at 2 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 7 | Semifinals | France def Canada, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21 | Curitiba, Brazil | July 7 at 4:30 on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 8 | Bronze medal | Canada vs USA | Curitiba, Brazil | July 8 at 7 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||
| July 8 | Gold medal | Brazil vs France | Curitiba, Brazil | July 8 at 10:05 p.m. on UniHD | ||||||||