U.S. Men Withstand Germany Rally, Win in 5 in Paris

PARIS, France (July 30, 2024) –After playing nearly flawless volleyball in the first two sets, the U.S. Men’s National Team was taken to a fifth set before coming away with its second win in as many matches at the Paris Olympics, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 20-25, 15-11) over Germany on Tuesday. With the five-set win, the U.S. received two points and leads Pool C with five points. Germany earned one point and now has three points.

“The smaller pools make this feel like it’s a playoff match right from the start,” head coach John Speraw said . “I always say in the playoffs we just have to survive and learn. There’s a lot of lessons we can take from this experience that will make us better and to do that while we’re winning is a great opportunity for us.”

The U.S. concludes pool play on Friday, Aug. 2 at noon PT against the world’s second-ranked team Japan.

The match was nearly even statistically with the U.S. edging Germany in blocks (8-7) and trailing slightly in kills (59-56). The key statistical advantage was behind the serving line where the U.S. led 11-6 with three of those aces coming in the fifth set. Each team scored 27 points on opponent errors. The U.S. scored three more points, 102-99.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

Middle blockers Max Holt and Taylor Averill combined for 25 points and five blocks. Holt scored 13 points on nine kills, two blocks and two aces, hitting at a .727 efficiency percentage with one error in 11 total attacks. Averill totaled 12 points on five kills, a team-high three blocks and a match-best four aces. His five kills came on seven attacks, giving him 11 kills on 13 attacks in his first two Olympic matches.

Setter and captain Micah Christenson again led the U.S. to a strong hitting performance as the team hit .400 (56 kills, 14 errors, 105 total attacks).

Three other U.S. players joined the middle blockers in double figures, led by outside hitter T.J. DeFalco, who totaled 18 points on 14 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Russell led the team with 15 kills and added an ace. Opposite Matt Anderson finished with 14 points on 11 kills, a block and two aces.

Libero Erik Shoji led the team with 13 successful receptions with Anderson and Russell each contributing seven. Russell recorded a team-high eight digs with DeFalco adding six, and Anderson and Shoji each contributing five.

A Christenson dump staked the U.S. to a 5-2 lead in the opening set. After the teams exchanged the next 10 points, an Anderson kill gave the U.S. an 11-7 lead and forced a Germany timeout. Kills by Anderson and DeFalco stretched the lead to five points, 17-12. Germany later scored back-to-back points for only the second time in the set to cut the lead to two points, 20-18, and force the U.S. to take its first time out.

Russell finished the first set with a kill off the block and an ace that just caught the end of the back line. Anderson led the team with six points on five kills and an ace, and Russell added five points on four kills and the set-clinching ace. DeFalco totaled four points on three kills and an ace, while Holt and Averill each registered kills on both their attempts.

A Holt block gave the U.S. an early three-point lead, 9-6, in the second set. With the lead down to one point, 11-10, the U.S. went on a 6-0 run, keyed by a great dig by Shoji that helped extend the lead back to three points and an ace by Anderson after a Germany timeout to give the U.S. a 15-10 advantage.

Holt’s fourth kill in as many attacks made it 21-12 and Germany could not get any closer than eight points. DeFalco led the way in the second set with seven points on five kills, a block and an ace. Anderson, Russell, and Holt each scored three points.

Germany jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, prompting an early time out by the U.S. Consecutive blocks by DeFalco and Averill cut the lead to two points, 11-9. On a rally that included a great dig by DeFalco, Russell delivered a kill through the block to bring the U.S. within a point, 13-12, but Germany scored the next two points, the second on an ace that crawled over the net off the tape. The lead grew to eight, 24-16, on a U.S. hitting error. Averill paced the team with four points in the set on two kills and two blocks, and Holt adding three kills.

Averill’s third ace of the match gave the U.S. its first lead of the fourth set, 8-7. Trailing 11-10, Germany scored the next four points and six of the next seven to take a 16-12 lead. Averill recorded another ace to cut the lead to two, 17-15. After calling its first timeout, Germany scored the next two points to run the lead back to four points. Holt (three kills, one block) and Averill (two kills, wo blocks) each scored four points in the set.

The teams traded sideouts for the first five points of the decisive set before a DeFalco kill gave the U.S. a 4-2 lead but Germany responded by scoring the next three points. After a timeout, the U.S. ran off six consecutive points. Holt served two aces, Russell produced back-to-back kills, and Averill came up with a huge block.

“”I just felt like we needed a little something extra,” Holt said on his back-to-back aces in the fifth. “They were kind of punching us with their serve and I just felt like we needed a little something. I just happened to be that guy today. We have many weapons and anybody can do it at any moment.”

After a service error made it 11-6, Germany scored three consecutive points, cutting the lead to two on a block that forced the U.S. to take its second timeout. A hitting error extended the lead back to three points and the U.S. earned a match point on a kill by Russell and an ace from DeFalco. Germany fought off two match points, but a service error ended the match.

U.S. Men’s Roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024

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)
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, Aloha)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)

Official Alternate: 5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer, Javier Weber and Mike Wall
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Team Leader: Erik Sullivan
Mental Performance Coaches: Andrea Becker and Peter Naschak
Technical Coordinator: David Dantes
Team Doctor: Lori Boyajian-O’Neill

U.S. Men’s Schedule (PT) at the Olympic Game Paris 2024.

July 27 USA def. Argentina, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-16)
July 30 USA def. Germany, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 20-25, 15-11)
Aug. 2 at 12 p.m. USA vs Japan
Aug. 5 Quarterfinals
Aug. 7 Semifinals
Aug. 9 at 8 a.m. Bronze medal
Aug. 10 at 4 a.m. Gold medal