COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 11, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Team left for Brazil on Thursday to play two friendly matches against the world’s No. 1 team, before returning to play two matches in the United States.
The U.S. Men, ranked No. 2 in the world, will play Brazil in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Aug. 13 and again in Manaus, Brazil on Aug. 15.
The teams will then travel to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., for two USA Volleyball Cup matches on Aug. 18 and 19. Both matches will be at 7:30 p.m. CT.
The matches will also be live streamed on USAVolleyball.org.
Both teams are preparing for the FIVB Grand Champions Cup on Sept. 12-16 in Japan.
The last time the two teams played was in the semifinals of the 2017 FIVB World League where Brazil won, 3-1. At the 2016 Olympic Games, the U.S. beat Brazil in pool play, 3-1. Brazil went on to win the gold medal while the U.S. took bronze.
The two teams also played four USAV Cup matches around Southern California in 2015, with Brazil taking three of the four.
U.S. Men’s Roster for Brazil Matches
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
5. James Shaw (S, 6-8, Woodside, Calif., Stanford)
10. Thomas Jaeschke Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
11. Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
12. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
13. Dan McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Glendale, Ariz., UC Irvine)
14. Ben Patch (Opp, 6-8, Provo, Utah, BYU)
15. Carson Clark (Opp, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
16. Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20C. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
22. Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
24. Michael Brinkley (L, 5-10, Huntington Beach, Calif., UC Irvine)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Rob Neilson
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
U.S. Men’s Roster for USAV Cup Matches
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1. Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-9, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
2. Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
7. Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
10. Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
11. Micah Christenson (S, 6-6, Honolulu, Southern California)
12. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
13. Dan McDonnell (MB, 6-6, Glendale, Ariz., UC Irvine)
14. Ben Patch (Opp, 6-8, Provo, Utah, BYU)
15. Carson Clark (Opp, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
17. Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State)
18. Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Hawaii)
20C. David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
21. Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
22. Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Rob Neilson and Brian Thornton
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Athletic Trainer: Tim Pelot