U.S. Takes VNL Silver as Comeback Attempt Falls Short

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 24, 2022) – A furious rally by the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2022 Volleyball Nations League championship match fell just short Sunday as the U.S. lost to France, 3-2 (25-16, 25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 15-10) in Bologna, Italy.

The loss means second place and a silver medal for the U.S (12-3 in VNL). It’s the team’s third VNL medal; it won bronze in 2018 and silver in 2019.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS (PDF)

After U.S. losses in the first two sets, it looked as if the match would be a 3-0 sweep for France. In the third set, T.J. DeFalco moved to opposite and Garrett Muagututia started at outside hitter. The switch – a rotation that the U.S. hadn’t practiced before – paid off immediately. DeFalco scored seven points in the frame and Muagututia added five as the U.S. won the set, 15-25, to force a fourth.

Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk took over set No. 4, landing four kills and three blocks and leading the U.S. to a 21-25 set win. Instead of being swept, the Americans forced a fifth-set tiebreaker.

In that tiebreaker, the U.S. scored first when Aaron Russell placed an attack just inside the endline. France tied the score with a kill, but the U.S. retook the lead with a French service error. A U.S. service error then started a six-point French run, putting the U.S. down 7-2. Muagututia halted the run with a kill, and later in the frame, Russell scored twice in a row to bring the U.S. within two at 11-9, but that was as close as the U.S. would get. France ended the match on a 4-1 run to clinch the VNL title.

The MNT held one-point advantages in attacks (60-59) and blocks (7-6), but France controlled the service game (6-1).

Russell led the U.S. with 20 points, all from the attack. DeFalco landed 13 kills, and Muagututia 11. Libero Erik Shoji tallied nine digs, and setter Micah Christenson assisted on 26 points.

After the match, Christenson was named to the VNL Dream Team as Best Setter. David Smith joined him as Best Middle Blocker.

The U.S. will return to Anaheim, California, for a month of training before the 2022 FIVB Men’s World Championship begins. That competition takes place Aug. 26-Sept. 11 in Poland.

U.S. Men’s National Team Roster for Final Round of
2022 Volleyball Nations League

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
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)
6 Mitch Stahl (MB, 6-8, Chambersburg, Pa., UCLA, Keystone)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Aloha)
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)
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)
23 Cody Kessel (OH, 6-5, Colorado Springs, Colo., Princeton Univ., Rocky Mountain)
27 Tyler Mitchem (MB, 6-11, Bolingbrook, Ill., Lewis Univ., Great Lakes)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer Morteza Shiari
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Team Doctor: Andrew Gregory

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2022 VNL (All times PDT)
All matches to be shown on VolleyballWorld.tv

Preliminary Round 1 – Brasilia, Brazil
June 7-11
USA def Slovenia, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
USA def Netherlands, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-16)
USA def Japan, 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-28, 15-9)
USA def Brazil, 3-1 (21-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-20)

Preliminary Round 2 – Sofia, Bulgaria
June 22-26
USA def Serbia, 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20)
Iran def USA, 3-0 (25-18, 29-27, 27-25)
USA def Bulgaria, 3-1 (25-12, 20-25, 26-24, 25-23)
Poland def USA, 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-22)

Preliminary Round 3 – Osaka, Japan
July 4-9
USA def Germany, 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18)
USA def France,  3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14, 15-8)
USA def Canada, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-19)
USA def Argentina, 3-2  (29-27, 22-25, 20-25, 25-13, 17-15)

Final Round – Bologna, Italy
Quarterfinals
USA def. Brazil, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17)
Noon Pacific: Italy def. Netherlands, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-13, 25-22)
9 a.m. Pacific: France def. Japan, 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-20)
Noon Pacific: Poland def. Iran, 3-2 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 16-25, 15-7)
Semifinals
USA def. Poland, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 15-13)
France def. Italy, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15)
Bronze Medal Match
Poland def. Italy, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-20)
Gold Medal Match
France def. USA, 3-2 (25-16, 25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 15-10)