The 2018 FIVB Men's World Championship

USA Opens Second Round vs. Canada, Eyes Gold

USA Opens Second Round vs. Canada, Eyes Gold

With a 5-0 record and 13 points, the USA Men’s National Team advanced to the second round of pool play as the third-ranked team overall.

Sep 20, 2018 by Megan Kaplon
Men's FIVB World Championship Hype Video

With a 5-0 record and 13 points, the USA Men’s National Team not only advanced to the second round of pool play at the 2018 FIVB Men’s World Championship, but did so as the third-ranked team overall.

Heading into the second round, the World Champs field has narrowed from 24 teams to 16, with the top four teams from each of the four first-round pools of six advancing and reforming into four pools of four. However, the points and record from the first round will carry over and be combined with results of the second round. 

At the end of the second round matches, the top teams in each of the four pools, along with the two best second-placed teams advance to Round Three. Team USA lags behind the other two undefeated teams in the tournament (Italy and Poland) because of two five-set victories which granted the Americans only two points, instead of the three points they would have received for a three- or four-set win.

Those five setters, however, were the first two matches of the event, and the U.S. men looked more efficient in their latter outings. 

A four-set victory over VNL champ Russia served as a highlight in the first round, and many USA players currently rank near the top of various stats categories, including Taylor Sander clocking in as the best receiver and Micah Christenson’s 10.55 assists per set ranking second overall.

Iran, Bulgaria, and Canada join USA in Pool G. Here’s what to expect from Team USA’s upcoming second-round matches.

Canada | Sept. 21, 9 AM CT

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USA’s neighbor to the north went 3-2 in the first round, losing to Brazil and France, both in four sets, but a straight-set victory over the Netherlands to open the tournament marked a huge achievement for the North American squad. 

Canada had never before beaten the Netherlands at the World Championships, and the Dutch squad went on to beat Brazil and France.

In Volleyball Nation’s League earlier this summer, Canada finished seventh with an 8-7 record, and the USA emerged victorious in four sets in the teams’ head-to-head meeting during VNL, with Ben Patch leading the U.S. men with 18 points.

Hitters John Gordon Perrin and Nicholas Hoag have led the Canadian offense so far at World Champs, with 81 and 73 points, respectively. Perrin ranks sixth overall on the list of best scorers in the tournament. 

Bulgaria | Sept. 22, 12:40 PM CT

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Bulgaria is chasing its first World Champs medal since 2006 when the European squad earned a spot on the podium with a bronze-medal victory over Serbia and Montenegro. 

Earlier in the season at VNL, Bulgaria struggled, finishing 11th with a 6-9 record. So far in World Champs, things are going only slightly better, with the tournament co-host earning victories over Finland and now-eliminated Puerto Rico and Cuba, but losing to Iran and Poland, both in four sets. 

Just as he did at VNL, opposite Nikolay Uchikov leads the stats sheet for Bulgaria with 59 total points, but middle blocker Viktor Yosifov has proven to be one of the toughest servers in the tournament with eight aces already, averaging 0.47 per set. With those statlines in mind, serve receive and blocking will be key for the USA in its matchup with Bulgaria.

Iran | Sept. 23, 9 AM CT

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Iran posted a 7-8 record at VNL, finishing 10th, but scored smaller victories throughout the tournament, including a win over Poland in pool play and a match with Brazil that went to five sets. 

With a 4-1 showing and 11 points so far at World Champs, Iran’s victories in the first round included a four-setter over Bulgaria, which Iran will face a second time in Pool G. Finland pushed the Iranians to the brink in the final match of Pool D, with the Asian Games champions barely escaping in five sets. 

The last time the USA and Iran met, the Americans won in straight sets, but Iran was competing without Amir Ghafour, who currently leads the team in points and kills so far at World Champs.

Additional key players for Iran include Milad Ebadipour Gharahassanlou, the team’s leading scorer throughout VNL, and setter Mir Saeid Marouflakrani.