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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 14, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team completed Volleyball Nations League (VNL) play with a 3-1 record after falling to world top-ranked Italy, 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10) on Sunday in Ottawa, Canada. Despite the close match score, no set was decided by fewer than five points.
The U.S., currently ranked fourth in the world, will begin VNL Week Two in Orleans, France against Cuba at 8 a.m. PT on Wednesday, June 24.
“I give us a lot of nice marks,” U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly responded to a question of what grade he would give the team after week one. “Any team would be happy to come away with three W’s even though it is not only about the victories. It’s about are we making progress, are we improving, are we learning about some of our people since it’s only week one for VNL and I think we accomplished a number of those objectives.”
Italy finished with a 57-50 advantage in kills, while the U.S. held slight leads in blocks (12-10) and service aces (8-7).
“It was a struggle the whole night and I credit our guys for fighting through. It was like we were slogging through quicksand the whole time and that is a really good team across the net, and they had three sets where they were just bombing serves and that serving overwhelmed us. I admire the way we kept fighting, losing the first, fight back second, lose the third, fight back in the fourth. We never quit, never gave up and that’s a part of who we are. We’re not going away,” Kiraly commented.
Opposite Jake Hanes led the U.S. as he did in all three of his matches this week with a match-high 25 points on 18 kills, two blocks and a match-high five aces. Captain and outside hitter Matt Anderson totaled 17 points on 16 kills and a block. “It came down to a couple plays and that’s how high-level volleyball is. They made a couple risky serves that caught lines and they had some really good passes on hard serves from us. A couple plays here and there swayed the match for them,” Anderson remarked. “It was a great weekend for us. Last night was a big win and just a great experience for us to build off, especially for some of the young guys out there.”
Outside hitter Jordan Ewert scored 14 points on 11 kills and three blocks. Middle blockers Jeff Jendryk (three blocks, one kill, one ace) and Taylor Averill (three kills, one block, one ace) scored five points apiece. In addition to setting, Micah Ma’a contributed four points on a pair of blocks, a kill and an ace. Libero Erik Shoji and Ewert shared the team lead with seven digs with Ma’a adding six. Shoji led all players with nine successful receptions of the strong Italy serve and Anderson finished with seven.
Italy scored four consecutive points to take an 8-5 lead in the first set. After Italy stretched the advantage to five points, 12-7, the U.S. went on a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to two points, the closest it would get the rest of the set. Italy scored the next three points to regain its five-point lead, 16-11. Jendryk served an ace to make it 16-13 but Italy scored four of the next five points to take command of the set. Ewert was the only U.S. player with more than two points with six points on four kills and two blocks.
A 121-kilometer ace by Hanes gave the U.S. a 6-3 lead in the second set. A Ma’a block put the U.S. ahead 8-5. Averill served an ace and Jendryk finished the next rally with a block that sent the U.S. to a five-point lead, 11-6, and forced Italy to take its second timeout. The U.S. scored the first three points after the timeout with Anderson giving the U.S. a 14-6 lead. Another Jendryk block doubled up the score, 16-8.
Italy used a 5-2 stretch to cut the deficit to five, 19-14, but Averill and Ma’a delivered kills to push the lead back to seven points. Ma’a ended the set with an ace. It marked just the second time in eight VNL meetings between the teams that went past three sets. Hanes paced the U.S. with five points on four kills and an ace and Jendryk recorded three blocks.
Italy started fast in the third set, taking a 9-5 lead. The margin stretched to five points at 13-8. An Anderson kill and Hanes ace on back-to-back plays brought the U.S. within three, 14-11, but the lead remained at least three points for the rest of the set. The U.S. scored three of the next four points after a fiery timeout speech by Kiraly with an Averill kill cutting the deficit back to three, 21-18, but Italy finished the set on a 7-1 run. Anderson (four kills) and Hanes (three kills and an ace) each scored four points in the set.
Back-to-back aces helped Italy go on a 4-0 run for an 8-5 lead in the fourth set. Hanes scored three consecutive points on a kill and consecutive aces, the second at 124 kilometers (77 miles) per hour, to even the set at 8-8. Another Hanes kill and an Anderson cut shot put the U.S. back in front, 10-9. Anderson scored consecutive points, the first on a play in which Ma’a defended a serve off the tape, for a two-point U.S. advantage, 13-11. An Ewert block raised the margin to four points, 16-12.
Hanes’ fifth ace of the match gave the U.S. a 19-14 lead. Ethan Champlin entered the match to serve, and Italy was unable to get his first attempt back over the net, putting the U.S. up 22-16. Anderson used a hard angle to score on a triple block on a set from Shoji for a 23-17 lead and the U.S. eventually sent the match to a fifth set on a hitting error that was unsuccessfully challenged. Hanes led all scorers with eight points on four kills, three aces and a block. Anderson added five points on four kills and a block.
Italy took advantage of errors on the first two points of the deciding set to take a 3-0 lead and never trailed in earning the match victory. An ace made it 6-2 before Hanes scored the first offensive point of the set for the U.S. An Ewert kill brought the U.S. as close as it would get at 6-4. Hanes and Ma’a collided on a scrambling play that gave Italy a 12-6 lead. Hanes scored three points in a row on match point to bring the U.S. within 14-10 before the U.S. finished the match with a kill. Hanes scored six points on five kills and a block.
U.S. Men’s Week One Roster for 2026 VNL
No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
3 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
6 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
12 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
13 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawai’i, Northern California)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
17 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
18 Cole Hartke (OPP, 7-0, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
20 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Senior Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Team Doctors: Andrew Gregory, Mark Hutchinson, Christopher Lee, Michael Terry, Eugene Yim
Statisticians: Jimmy Kim, Frank Pham
U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV.
(All times PDT)
Week 1: Ottawa, Canada
June 10 USA def. Türkiye, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23),
June 12 USA def. Germany, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20)
June 13 def. Canada, 3-2 (20-25, 33-35, 26-24, 25-21, 15-11)
June 14 Italy def. USA, 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10)
Week 2: Orleans, France
June 24 vs. Cuba at 8 a.m.
June 25 vs. Iran at 8 a.m.
June 27 vs. Japan at 8 a.m.
June 28 vs. Serbia at 11:30 a.m.
Week 3: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Get your tickets.
July 15 vs. China at 6 p.m.
July 16 vs. Brazil at 6 p.m.
July 18 vs. Bulgaria at 6 p.m.
July 19 vs. Poland at 6 p.m.
The U.S. Men's National Team stormed back from a two-set deficit to defeat host Canada, 3-2 (20-25, 33-35, 26-24, 25-21, 15-11) on Saturday before a boisterous home crowd in the capital city of Ottawa.
The U.S. Men's National Team swept Germany, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20) at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League play on Friday in Ottawa, Canada. Germany rallied for a five-set victory over the U.S. in last year's VNL.
The U.S. Men's National Team defeated Türkiye, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23), to begin 2026 Volleyball Nations League play on Wednesday in Ottawa, Canada. The U.S. finished fifth and Türkiye placed sixth at the 2025 FIVB World Championship.
Five Olympians are on the Men's National Team roster for week one of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, set for June 10-14 in Ottawa, Canada.
USA Volleyball announces its preliminary roster for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, headlined by eight Olympians, including the return of Matt Anderson and TJ DeFalco.
