U.S. Men Drop Cuba in 2026 Men’s VNL Week Two Opener
The U.S. Men's National Team moved to 4-1 at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) win over Cuba on a hot Wednesday in Orleans, France.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 25, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team swept Iran, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 31-29) on Thursday at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in Orleans, France. The teams had split their last four meetings in VNL play with the U.S. now holding a 5-3 advantage.
The U.S. (5-1) have a day off before meeting undefeated Japan on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT.
The match was close not only on the scoreboard, but also statistically. The U.S. finished with slight advantages in kills (51-49), blocks (6-5) and served five of the seven aces in the match.
“Love that Iran really came at us hard in that third set, had us down, and I think our team responded really well. Then our side-out game got particularly clean and everything kind of heightened our senses and played the probably the cleanest volleyball those last 10-12 points of that match,” said U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly. “I love when we get pushed and have to respond. I like to play more volleyball. It’s really hot in here, but I don’t mind playing a little extra volleyball, even an extra set. It is good for us to be in those very close situations, what we would call extra innings in the U.S.A.”
Veteran outside hitter Matt Anderson (15 kills, two blocks, one serve) and young opposite Cole Hartke (17 kills, one ace) shared match-high honors with 18 points. Anderson also led the team with eight digs and added five successful receptions. “The key was trusting our block and defense system at the end, getting some digs, and turning into some points. Our goal, regardless of who is out there is to win and give us a chance to go to the finals and hopefully win the finals,” Anderson stated. “We are still early in the quad. We have the luxury of getting the automatic bid for the LA Games, so it gives us a little more time to play with some lineups, to play with some new guys out there and see how certain guys play together and how they perform individually out there.”
Hartke saved his best for the third set when he scored nine points. “He’s 20 years old. It’s pretty wild, he’s 19 years younger than me,” Anderson laughed. “I can remember my first couple of summers with the team and how difficult it can be, how much pressure there can be if you let it be there. He’s doing really well and giving himself a chance.”
“To see a young guy like Cole Hartke respond with some great kills, including match point, along with all the other guys on the court at the time and the whole group of 15 was exceptional. It wasn’t always clean, but we were together and battled,” Kiraly added.
Libero Kyle Dagostino contributed seven digs and setter Micah Christenson finished with six. Outside hitter Ethan Champlin scored 11 points on eight kills, a block, and was the only player with two aces. Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk also reached double digits with 10 points on eight kills and a pair of blocks. Middle Tyler Averill totaled four points on three blocks and a kill.
The match started with a successful U.S. challenge and an Averill block put the U.S. ahead 6-3. Hartke served an ace for an 8-4 lead at the first hydration break. A Champlin ace gave the U.S. a 10-7 lead. Iran tied the set at 13 apiece and had a swing for its first lead at 15-15, but a Champlin block gave the U.S. a one-point lead at the second break. Anderson and Hartke scored on consecutive plays as the U.S. regained its two-point lead, 19-17.
Iran scored the next two points but an Anderson tip and Hartke kill put the U.S. back up by two points, prompting Iran to take its last timeout. A back row attack by Anderson and an Averill kill gave the U.S. two set points. Iran scored the next point but committed a foot fault to end the set. Hartke scored six points on five kills and an ace, while Anderson also recorded five kills.
Back-to-back blocks put Iran ahead 6-4 in the second set and led 8-7 at the first break. Iran scored the first two points out of the break, the first with great scrambling defense, for its first three-point lead of the match. Iran took advantage of an overpass to make it 12-8. The U.S. quickly tied the set with the next four points with Anderson earning a pair of kills and joining Jendryk in a double block that made it 12-12. After an Iran timeout, Anderson kept the run going with a block and kill. With Christenson continuing his strong service run and Iran made an error to give the U.S. a three-point advantage, 15-12. A Champlin kill put the U.S. up 16-14 at the second break.
A strong Anderson serve put Iran out of system and led to a Jendryk block for a 17-14 lead. Iran made consecutive errors to fall behind by five points, 19-14, and called its final timeout. The U.S. led 21-17 on a Hartke kill and ended the set on another Anderson kill after scoring three points on Iran errors. Anderson led the way with seven points on four kills, two blocks and an ace.
Hartke scored off the block to give the U.S. an 8-6 lead at the first break. Anderson scored on a pipe attack for an 11-8 U.S. lead, but Iran scored the next two points to pull back within a point and served an ace to even the set at 12 apiece. A Hartke kill and Champlin ace quickly put the U.S. back up by a pair. Iran used another ace to tie the set, 15-15. Anderson scored for a 16-15 lead at the second break.
Iran scored the first two points out of the break to take the lead for the first time since very early in the set. A kill and block by Jendryk made it 18-17 U.S. Micah Ma’a came in to serve and immediately got Iran out of system, leading to a Champlin kill and 20-18 advantage. Iran scored the next two points, the second on a block, to tie the set again. A strong Hartke ace led to an Anderson kill and a 22-20 U.S. lead. Iran leveled the set with a touch kill making it 22-22 and then earned its first set point, three points later, 24-23.
The U.S. defended three set points before taking a 27-26 lead after a one-handed up by Anderson led to a Hartke kill. Dagostino set Hartke, who scored against a triple block, for a 29-28 lead. After a service error put the U.S. ahead 30-29 and Hartke ended the match with another kill after Champlin served and stayed deep to be able to play the ball off the block from the Iran attack. Hartke finished the set with nine kills and Anderson registered six more kills.
After returning from France, the U.S. men prepare for an anticipated homestand in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (July 15-19). Get your tickets.
U.S. Men’s Roster for 2026 VNL Week Two
No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, USC, Aloha)
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)
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)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
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 USA def. Cuba, 3-0, (25-21, 25-21, 25-19)
June 25 USA def. Iran, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 31-29)
June 27 vs. Japan at 8 a.m.
June 28 vs. Serbia at 11:30 a.m.
Week 3: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
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.
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