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

TV Schedule and Results

Date and OpponentResultLocationTV (all times EDT)
June 2SerbiaL (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21)Novi Sad, SerbiaJune 2: 9:30-11:30 p.m. NBCSN
June 3CanadaL (23-25, 25-19,18-25, 25-23, 15-11)Novi Sad, SerbiaJune 3: 3-5 p.m. NBCSN
June 4BelgiumL (25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 28-26)Novi Sad, SerbiaJune 4: 6-8 p.m. UniHD
June 9ItalyW (25-22, 25-23, 25-23)Pau, FranceJune 9: 6-8 p.m. NBCSN
June 10RussiaW (25-20, 25-22, 25-22)Pau, FranceJune 10: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. UniHD
June 11FranceL (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21)Pau, FranceJune 11: 3-4:30 p.m. NBCSN
June 15IranW (25-17, 25-22, 30-28)Katowice, PolandJune 15: 12-2 p.m.. NBCSN
June 17RussiaL (31-29, 17-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13)Lodz, PolandJune 17: 6:30-8:30 p.m. NBCSN
June 18PolandW (26-31, 25-17, 27-25, 25-20)Lodz, PolandJune 18: 6-8 p.m. NBCSN
July 4Final Round pool playBrazil def Canada, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 25-19Curitiba, BrazilJuly 4, 2 p.m. on Universal HD
July 4Final Round pool playFrance def USA, 27-25, 20-25, 26-24, 17-25, 15-12Curitiba, BrazilJuly 4, 4:40 p.m. on UniHD
July 5Final Round pool playCanada def Russia, 25-23, 29-27, 25-17Curitiba, BrazilJuly 5, 2 p.m. on UniHD
July 5Final Round pool playUSA def Serbia, 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22Curitiba, BrazilJuly 5, 4:30 p.m. on UniHD
July 6Final Round pool playBrazil def Russia, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19, 22-25, 16-14Curitiba, BrazilJuly 6, 2 p.m. on UniHD
July 6Final Round pool playFrance def Serbia, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 15-11Curitiba, BrazilJuly 6, 4;30 on UniHD
July 7SemifinalsBrazil def USA, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19Curitiba, BrazilJuly 7 at 2 p.m. on UniHD
July 7SemifinalsFrance def Canada, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21Curitiba, BrazilJuly 7 at 4:30 on UniHD
July 8Bronze medalCanada vs USACuritiba, BrazilJuly 8 at 7 p.m. on UniHD
July 8Gold medalBrazil vs FranceCuritiba, BrazilJuly 8 at 10:05 p.m. on UniHD