U.S. Men Fall Short against France

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 11, 2017) – Despite 25 points from Taylor Sander, the U.S. Men’s National Team fell to France on Sunday, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-21 in an FIVB World League match in Pau, France.

The U.S. Men fall to 2-4 in World League pool play before moving on to Poland where they will play Iran, Russia and Poland. France remains undefeated in World League pool play at 6-0.

The U.S. Men out-scored France on kills, 51-44 and beat the Europeans in blocking 11-2. France led in aces 6-3 and scored 41 points on U.S. errors while committing 23.

“France was better than we were in some critical elements of the game,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw told the French volleyball federation. “In the end, it was about the strength of our block versus the strength of their serve and their serve proved to be stronger than our block at the end. I am happy with the way we competed.”

Outside hitter Sander scored on a match-high 20 kills (.586 hitting efficiency), three blocks and two aces. He was also credited with 25 excellent receptions. Opposite Ben Patch added 16 points on 15 kills and one block.

“They were serving really well,” Sander said. “They had us in trouble a lot. (Stephen) Boyer played really well and we haven’t seen him before.”

Boyer, an outside hitter, led France with 17 points on 17 kills and two aces.

Setter Micah Christenson helped his team to a .394 hitting efficiency while France hit .225.

Rookie middle blocker Jeff Jendryk played well as a substitute in the final three sets, scoring on five kills and two blocks. Libero Erik Shoji finished with seven digs.

U.S. Starters vs. France
Outside hitters: Taylor Sander and T.J. DeFalco
Middle blockers: David Smith and Dan McDonnell
Opposite: Ben Patch
Setter: Micah Christenson
Libero: Erik Shoji

U.S. Statistics vs. France
Kills: Sander 20, Patch 15, DeFalco 6, Jendryk 5, Smith 4, Christenson 1
Blocks: Smith 3, Sander 3, Jendryk 2, McDonnell 1, Patch 1, DeFalco 1
Aces: Sander 2, Christenson 1
Digs: E Shoji 7, Christenson 5, Sander 5, DeFalco 3, Patch 2, Smith 2, McDonnell 1

2017 FIVB World League
June 9-11 in Pau, France
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)
9. Jake Langlois (OH, 6-10, San Jose, Calif., BYU)
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
Strength Coach: Tim Pelot
Consultant Coach: Anton Brams

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