U.S. Men Sweep Mexico to Open 2022 World Championship

U.S. Men's Team competing at the World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 26, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s National Team opened the 2022 FIVB World Championship on Friday with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-12) in Katowice, Poland.

The U.S. Men (1-0) will play Bulgaria in their second pool play match at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The U.S. Men led the statistics in kills (44-31), blocks (6-5) and aces (4-1). The U.S. Men scored 21 points on Mexico’s errors and committed 13.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

“We’re really happy with a 3-0 win,” said U.S. setter and Team Captain Micah Christenson. “Mexico is definitely a formidable opponent. I don’t think 3-0 reflected the battle on the court. I thought we kept a steady head. We didn’t know what they were going to bring. They threw a lot of surprises at us.”

Christenson set the team to a .585 hitting efficiency and scored three points on a kill, a block and an ace. Libero Erik Shoji was credited with five digs and two excellent receptions.

Outside hitter Aaron Russell led all scorers with 16 points on 12 kills (.444 hitting efficiency), a match-high three blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter T.J. DeFalco added 14 points on 12 kills (.611) and two blocks. DeFalco led the team in excellent receptions with five.

Opposite Matt Anderson, making his 2022 debut with the U.S. Men, scored 10 points on 10 kills (.667)

Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk scored seven points on seven kills (.545). Middle blocker David Smith scored two points with a kill and an ace. Middle blocker Taylor Averill, who shared time on the court with the starter Jendryk, scored with a kill and ace.

Opposite Kyle Russell played as a serving substitute.

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