U.S. Men Moving on to Round of 16 after Loss to Poland

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 30, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s National Team battled but couldn’t get past Poland and fell 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21) on Tuesday at the FIVB World Championship in Katowice, Poland.

The U.S. Men finish pool play 2-1 and will play in the Round of 16, which starts Saturday (Sept. 3).

Against Poland, the U.S. Men led in blocks (7-6) and aces (8-6). Poland led in kills (55-44) and scored 31 points on U.S. errors while committing 27.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Outside hitter T.J. DeFalco led the U.S. Men, scoring 16 points on 14 kills, one block and one ace.

Outside hitter Aaron Russell added 14 points on 12 kills (.545 hitting efficiency), one block and one ace. Russell led the team in excellet receptions with seven.

Middle blocker David Smith totaled eight points on three kills, a match-high four blocks and one ace.

Libero Erik Shoji was credited with five digs.

Backup opposite Kyle Ensing subbed in the second and third sets and started the fourth and finished with seven points on six kills and one ace.

Starting opposite Matt Anderson scored four points on four kills. Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk totaled four points on two kills, one block and one ace.

Tuaniga scored on one kill and one ace. He set the U.S. to a .383 hitting efficiency.

Middle blocker Taylor Averill started the third and fourth sets and scored on two kills.

Opposite Kyle Russell played as a serving substitute and scored on two aces.

U.S. Men’s 14-Person Roster for the FIVB World Championship

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (OPP, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
15 Kyle Russell (OPP, 6-9, Loomis, Calif., UC Irvine, Northern California)
16 Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer, Mike Wall, Javier Weber
Performance Analyst and Team Manager: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Consultant Coach: Mike Wall
Consultant Coach: Morteza Shiari
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Doctor: Daniel Green