U.S. Men's National Team Battles Poland in First Loss at 2025 VNL Week Two

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 28, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team dropped its first match of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) week to powerhouse Poland, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) on Saturday before a sold-out crowd filled with fans of both teams at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

The U.S. (4-3) will complete the second week of action against Italy (5-2) tomorrow, Sunday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m. PT.

Poland held small advantages in kills (40-36) and blocks (7-6) with the U.S. serving two more aces (7-5). Poland made nine fewer errors.

“What we’ve been doing throughout VNL is to try to find solutions and a little bit of improvement. We found a little bit, but we didn’t find the right serving target enough. We tried to make something out of nothing too much and didn’t take care of the easy plays,” said head coach Karch Kiraly. “We are looking forward to playing a very good Italy team. They are going to challenge us. This was a really good team and it was not Poland’s best team. They play with discipline, and they really pushed us, so we are looking forward to being pushed again and learning, for example, when to challenge a really good block and when we need to be smart. We made too many unsmart plays tonight.”

Outside hitter Cooper Robinson led the U.S. with nine points on six kills and three aces, and middle blocker Merrick McHenry hit .556 with six kills and just one error in nine attacks, adding two blocks, to score eight points.

Outside Jacob Pasteur (six kills, one ace) and opposites Gabi Garcia (seven kills) and Kyle Hobus (six kills, one block) each scored seven points. Middle blocker Matthew Knigge added five points on two kills, a block and two aces.

Outside hitter Jordan Ewert paced the team with six successful receptions, while Robinson and libero Kyle Dagostino each recorded three. Micah Ma’a totaled 13 assists and added an ace after taking over for Quinn Isaacson, who had seven assists.

“We made some changes. The guys are always ready on this team and that is something that makes this team special,” Ma’a remarked. “It’s tough to play here against Poland, but it’s also the best. It’s tough when the match is short because you just want to play all night. I thought we put up a good fight at the end, and Poland is a great team.”

McHenry scored three consecutive points, the first on a kill and then on back-to-back blocks to cut a five-set deficit to two, 11-9, in set one. A strong serve by Isaacson led to a Pasteur kill on an overpass to make it 11-10 but the U.S. was never able to square the set. Pasteur scored six points on five kills and an ace that clocked in at 76 miles per hour. Hobus finished the set with five points on four kills and a block.

Poland took a quick 6-2 lead in the second set, forcing an early U.S. timeout. The lead was five (16-11) when the U.S. went on a 6-1 run with back-to-back aces by Knigge tying the set at 17. Poland scored the next three points and never trailed after that.

Robinson came in to the match after the early timeout in the second set and scored his fourth point on an ace (to go with three kills) to make it 21-20 and McHenry scored his sixth point to pull the U.S. back within a point at 22-21. Poland ended the set with a pair of aces. Knigge matched Robinson’s four points with a kill and a block to go with his two aces.

The third set featured the return of captain and libero Erik Shoji, who was returning to the court after leaving with an injury in Wednesday’s match against China. Neither team could separate themselves in the set. Garcia scored three of the U.S. points in a row to tie the set 13, 14 and 15. A Poland hitting error gave the U.S. a 16-15 lead, its first since 4-3.

Poland took a 21-18 lead before the U.S. scored twice, pulling within one on a Robinson ace. Down 22-20, Robinson delivered a kill on a play started on a perfect pass from Shoji. Garcia finished the set with five kills, while Robinson scored five points on three kills and two aces. Shoji registered four successful receptions in the set.

U.S. Men’s Week Two Roster for 2025 VNL

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)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State, Great Lakes)
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)
12 Shane Holdaway (MB, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
22C 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)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

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

2025 Volleyball Nations League Schedule for Week 2
NOW Arena
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
All times PDT; Matches will be shown live on VBTV and either CBS Sports Network or Big Ten Network

June 25 USA def. China, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11)
June 26 USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 30-28)
June 28 Poland def. USA, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22)
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy

Week 1 Results
June 11: Ukraine def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)
June 12 USA def. Iran, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15)
June 14 Slovenia def. USA, 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23)
June 15 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23)