U.S. Men Sweep Portugal at 2025 Worlds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 15, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team notched its second sweep at the 2025 World Championship with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17) win over Portugal Monday in Manila, Philippines.

The U.S. (2-0) will face Cuba on Sept. 17 at 2:30 a.m. PT. Cuba is 1-1 after losing to Portugal last week and defeating Colombia earlier on Monday. A victory for the U.S. on Wednesday assures them a spot in the Round of 16.

“We were impressed with Portugal two days ago. They played really good volleyball in dismantling Cuba, which can be an incredibly dangerous team,” U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly said. “So, we came in with huge respect for Portugal. They have a great setter in Miguel Tavares, who ran them very successfully against Cuba. We wanted to keep our foot on the gas. We were excited to play somebody that looked like was going to be a huge handful across the net.”

It was a big night for the U.S. from the service line. The two teams each had four aces, but the U.S. service pressure kept Portugal on its heels throughout the match. The U.S. led Portugal in kills (40-36) and blocks (8-5). Portugal allowed the U.S. 23 points on its errors with the U.S. only giving Portugal 13.

“By not qualifying for VNL Finals week, that’s a down, that’s a disappointment. But the upside of that is you get two extra weeks of training at home,” Kiraly said. “One of our focus points was at the service line as a group. Sometimes, even in practice, we would practice the service order and go through, and [how] everybody’s serve is related to each other and how different people hit it different ways; we looked to hit in more and hit more aggressively. So far, it’s paying off. Champ (Ethan Champlin) started us right off the bat and scored a bunch of points with his. Everyone’s doing a nice job so far. That’s going to help us significantly to try to score break points at the highest level possible.”

Individually, Gabi Garcia and Jordan Ewert each scored 12 points. Garcia had eight kills, two blocks and two aces; Ewert had 11 kills and a block. Champlin had another strong night with eight kills and two aces. In the middle, Merrick McHenry had eight points (six kills, two blocks) and Jeff Jendryk scored six kills and a block.

Micah Christenson scored three points (one kill, two blocks) and set the team to .405 hitting percentage. U.S. hitters made just eight errors in the match. Ewert paced the U.S. with five digs and four successful receptions.

The U.S. was in control all of set one and never trailed. Leading 8-7, the U.S. scored off a Portugal service error and kills by Ewert and Champlin to move to 11-7. Portugal brought it back to 11-10 with a pair of blocks, but a kill by Champlin and a kill and a block from Ewert increased the lead to four again, 15-11. Portugal could never cut the lead to fewer than three. The U.S. ended the match scoring three of the final four points on a Garcia block and two Ewert kills. The U.S. had just two unforced errors in the set, and Ewert led the U.S. with six points.

Portugal jumped to early leads of 5-2 and 12-8 in the second set. At 14-11, a Portugal service error and three straight Jendryk kills moved the U.S. ahead 15-14. The U.S. did not relinquish the lead again. McHenry and Garcia had consecutive tandem blocks to give the U.S set point at 24-18, but Portugal scored four straight to close the gap to 24-22. A service error on Portugal’s side gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead. McHenry led the U.S. with five points on three kills and two blocks in the set.

Set three was similar to set two with Portugal taking an early 6-3 lead. A Jendryk kill and a block and a kill from McHenry tied the match at 6. At 10-10, Garcia scored four straight points to break the U.S. out to a 14-10 lead. A Portugal kill made it 15-12, but Micah Ma’a came into serve and the U.S. scored on a Christenson block, Champlin kill and Portugal error for 19-12. The U.S. kept the pressure on for a 25-17 win, finishing on an Ewert kill.

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 def. Portugal, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17)
Sept. 17: USA vs. Cuba, 2:30 a.m.