U.S. Men Improve in Third Match of '24 VNL

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Bulgaria 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) in Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Friday in Antalya, Türkiye.

The U.S. Men (0-3) will play the host country Türkiye (0-3) on Sunday at 7 a.m. PT.

MATCH STATISTICS

The squad showed improvement, taking one set from Bulgaria. Opposite Jake Hanes provided the spark that allowed the U.S. to get its first set win of the 2024 VNL. Hanes led all scorers with 24 points on 20 kills, three blocks and one ace.

The U.S. Men will look to build on that as they prepare for their final match of week one.

“We got to hold it down later in the sets,” setter Josh Tuaniga told Volleyball World. “Right now we’re playing really well in the beginning and toward the end, that’s where we start to let go of some opportunities. So I think that comes with experience and some chemistry. We’re a new group, we just started playing together not too long ago. Hopefully going into the next match we can speed that process up and really handle those late points.”

Outside hitter Jordan Ewert scored 13 points on 11 kills and two blocks. Middle blocker Matthew Knigge added 11 points on eight kills and three aces.

Middle blocker Patrick Gasman had six points on five kills and one block. Outside hitter Ethan Champlin, who started the second set and on, also had six points on five kills and one ace.

Setter Quinn Isaacson started the third and fourth sets for Tuaniga and had two kills.

Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with 12 digs and five successful receptions.

Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez and outside hitter Brett Wildman saw action as substitutes.

U.S. Men’s Preliminary Roster for 2024 VNL

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
3 Gabi Garcia Fernandez (Opp, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU, Intermountain)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State Univ., Great Lakes)
9 Jake Hanes (Opp, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
13 Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-10, Clovis, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)
24 Brett Wildman (OH, 6-5, Virginia Beach, Va., Penn State Univ., Old Dominion)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
27 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis, Excelsior Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
30 Daniel Wetter (MB, 6-5, Camarillo, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coaches: Nicholas MacRae, Morteza Shiari
Technical Coordinator: Jimmy Kim
Athletic Trainer: Benjamin Colletti
Team Manager: David Dantes
Doctors: Warren Young

U.S. Men’s Schedule for 2024 VNL
All times PDT
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv

Week 1 in Antalya, Türkiye
May 22 at 10 a.m. Poland def. USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 26-24)
May 24 at 7 a.m. France def. USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
May 25 at 10 a.m. Bulgaria def. USA 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21)
May 26 at 7 a.m. USA vs Türkiye

Week 2 in Ottawa, Canada
June 4 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Argentina
June 6 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Italy
June 7 at 5 p.m. USA vs Serbia
June 8 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Canada

Week 3 in Manila Philippines
June 19 at 4 a.m. USA vs Iran
June 20 at 4 a.m. USA vs Brazil
June 21 at 8 p.m. USA vs Germany
June 23 at 4 a.m. USA vs Japan

Final Round on June 27-30 in Łódź, Poland