2017 NORCECA XII Men's Pan-American Cup

U.S. Men Finish Fourth In World League

U.S. Men Finish Fourth In World League

In the bronze medal match of the 2017 FIVB World League Finals, the U.S. Men's National Team lost to Canada 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21) to finish fourth.

Jul 9, 2017 by Megan Kaplon
U.S. Men Finish Fourth In World League
In the bronze medal match of the 2017 FIVB World League Finals, the U.S. Men's National Team lost to Canada 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21) to finish fourth.

The USA team rallied back from a very slow start to the tournament in which it went winless in its first pool. Overall, the team finished with a 5-8 record, losing 3-1 to Brazil in the semifinals before facing Canada in the bronze-medal match.

"I'm really proud of the fact that we were able to get this far and have an opportunity here," U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. "I am disappointed at how we played the last couple matches. We passed the ball really well and usually when you win that serve-pass battle you should be in a better position to win.

"We need to kill the ball better. We need to set the ball better. We need to be smarter offensively. It's such an important part of the game."

Taylor Sander and David Smith tied with a match-high 14 points each, while Thomas Jaeschke and Ben Patch each added 12 points.

France won the gold medal, defeating Brazil

The bronze-medal finish marked Canada's best World League performance to date.

Next up for the U.S. Men's National Team is the NORCECA Pan-American Cup in Ottawa, Canada, July 25-30.