COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 13, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Brazil on Sunday, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21 in an exhibition match in Sao Paolo.
The match was the first of two exhibitions the teams are playing in Brazil. They will play again at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Manaus.
On Aug. 18-19, the teams will play two USAV Cup matches at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Each match will start at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be live streamed at USAVolleyball.org.
Brazil is ranked No. 1 in the world and is the defending Olympic champion. The U.S. Men are ranked No. 2 and took bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“Tough match but always great to play in Brazil,” U.S. Men’s Head Coach John Speraw tweeted after the match. “We will learn and be better in Manaus.”
Playing with its top team, Brazil led the match in kills (41-36), blocks (7-5) and aces (5-4). The U.S. Men were hurt by 16 service errors.
Opposite Ben Patch led the United States with 12 points on a match-high 11 kills and one ace. Outside hitter T.J. DeFalco added 10 points on nine kills and one block. Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk had two aces for the United States and middle blocker David Smith had two blocks.
Brazil’s Lucas Saatkamp led all scorers with 14 points on a match-high four blocks, nine kills and one ace.
Brazil led the first set 19-13 when the U.S. scored twice on a block and Brazil’s net violation. With Brazil leading 20-15, outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke scored out of the back row. Patch followed with a kill off the block. But after that the U.S. scored only single points.
The U.S. trailed in the second set 19-16 when outside hitter Garrett Muagututia, substituting for Jaeschke, scored on a kill and Jendryk followed with two straight aces to tie the score. Brazil reached set point first at 24-23, but DeFalco scored with a kill. Brazil won the set on a kill and a U.S. hitting error.
The third set was tied 10-10 when Brazil used a 4-1 scoring run to take a lead it never relinquished.
U.S. Starters vs Brazil
Outside hitters: Thomas Jaeschke and T.J. DeFalco
Middle blockers: David Smith and Jeff Jendryk
Opposite: Ben Patch
Setter: Micah Christenson
Libero: Erik Shoji
U.S. Statistics vs Brazil
Kills: Patch 11, DeFalco 9, Jaeschke 7, Jendryk 3, Smith 3, Garrett Muagututia 3
Blocks: Smith 2, Jendryk 1, DeFalco 1, Muagututia 1
Aces: Jendryk 2, Christenson 1, Patch 1
Schedule
Aug. 13: Brazil def USA, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21
Aug. 15: Brazil vs USA in Manaus
Aug. 18: USA vs Brazil in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Aug. 19: USA vs Brazil in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
U.S. Men’s Roster for Brazil Matches
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
5. James Shaw (S, 6-8, Woodside, Calif., Stanford)
10. Thomas Jaeschke Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
11. Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
12. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
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)
16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20C. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
22. Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
24. Michael Brinkley (L, 5-10, Huntington Beach, Calif., UC Irvine)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Rob Neilson
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
U.S. Men’s Roster for USAV Cup Matches
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1. Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-9, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2. Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
7. 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)
12. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
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. Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20C. 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
Assistant Coaches: Rob Neilson and Brian Thornton
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Athletic Trainer: Tim Pelot