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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 12, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team cruised to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14) victory over Colombia in its first match at the 2025 FIVB World Championship in Manila, Philippines.
The U.S. (1-0) will face Portugal on Monday, Sept. 15, at 6 a.m. PT
Head coach Karch Kiraly started three Olympians with Micah Christenson at setter, Jeff Jendryk at middle and Erik Shoji at libero. Rounding out the starters were Jordan Ewert and Ethan Champlin at outside hitter, Merrick McHenry in the middle, and Gabi Garcia at opposite.
“I thought the guys did a really nice job of focusing on our side of the net,” Kiraly said. “Out of our seven starters, four of them had never played any points at a World Championship or Olympics, those competitions that happen less than annually. I know when I played my first points at tournaments like that, I had some butterflies. They did a really nice job of working through that and making it appear like they’ve been doing it many times.”
The U.S. led Colombia in kills (40-31), blocks (6-4) and aces (8-3). Champlin paced the U.S. with 17 points on 12 kills, two blocks and three aces, hitting .476. Garcia had 12 points on eight kills and a match-high four aces, and Ewert had 10 kills and a block for 11 points. McHenry had five kills, a block and an ace. Jendryk had two blocks and three kills. Outside hitter Cooper Robinson came in late in the third to grab two kills.
Christenson set the team to a .405 hitting efficiency. Ewert led the team with 10 digs, and Shoji had six successful receptions.
“We had a five-week training block at home and then a training camp in Japan,” Kiraly added. “Our guys were really hungry to finally play a different color jersey across the net. They were excited to get it going today, and excited to keep it going against not only quality opponents but the variety that you play from match to match and the adjustments you have to make.”
The U.S. led throughout the first set on a strong offense, making just two hitting errors. The team led by as many as 10 at 22-12 before Colombia began inching back, scoring three straight to make it 22-15. After kills from Garcia and Champlin gave the U.S. set point at 24-16, Colombia reeled off five straight to cut the lead to 24-20. The comeback stopped there with a service error on the U.S.’s fifth and final set point. Champlin led the U.S. in the set with six points on four kills, a block and an ace.
Set two was tighter, with Colombia keeping a two-point lead until the midway point. At 17-17, two straight Ewert kills and a Colombia error gave the U.S. a three-point lead. At 20-18, Garcia notched a kill and three straight aces to reach set point. Colombia had another late rally, scoring three consecutive points before an error ended it at 25-21.
“Colombia doesn’t earn the right to play at every World Championship, and I think they were a little a nervous,” Kiraly said. “They settled down, and it was really good that they pushed us in the second game. In the first two-thirds of that first set, that wasn’t representative of what they can do.”
It was all U.S in set three, as the team stormed out to a 6-1 lead. Colombia never cut the lead to fewer than five in the 25-14 U.S. win. Champlin was a force in the set, scoring eight points on six kills, a block and an ace.
U.S. Men’s World Championship Roster
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
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 Southern Nevada)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State Univ., Chesapeake)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11C Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Aloha)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
Training Alternate
27 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
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 Manager: David Dantes
Consultant Coach: Chris McGown
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Team Doctors: Eugene Yim, Mark Hutchinson, Michael Shepard, Warren Young
Pool Play Schedule
All times PDT
Watch live on VBTV; some matches are also on CBS Sports Network (check listings)
Sept. 12: USA def. Colombia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14).
Sept. 15: USA vs. Portugal, 6 a.m.
Sept. 17: USA vs. Cuba, 2:30 a.m.