The 2018 FIVB Men's World Championship

Still Undefeated, U.S. Men Advance To Final Round

Still Undefeated, U.S. Men Advance To Final Round

The U.S. men have been so flawless during the FIVB World Championship that they punched their ticket to the Final Six with a match left in the second round.

Sep 24, 2018 by Megan Kaplon
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The U.S. men played so flawlessly in the second round of pool play at the FIVB Men’s World Championship that they earned a spot in the Final Six with a match left to play. Then, utilizing a second-string lineup, Team USA swept Iran, maintaining an unblemished record. 

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The Americans’ second-round pool included Canada, host Bulgaria, and Iran. 

Against Canada, Matt Anderson blasted 22 points on 20 kills and 2 blocks to lead the charge in a dominant victory. USA errors in the third set helped Canada push the match to four, but the Americans ultimately won with an impressive 25-17, 25-14, 21-25, 25-17 scoreline.

A sweep of Bulgaria in which the Europeans never scored more than 20 points in a set earned Team USA a spot in the Final Six. Strong serving helped keep Bulgaria out-of-system and the U.S. also led in kills (42-23), digs (31-23), and blocks (6-3).

The starters got a rest versus Iran, with Kawika Shoji setting, Dustin Watten in the libero jersey, Taylor Averill and Jeff Jendryk in the middle, and Jake Langlois, Ben Patch, and Dan McDonnell swinging from the pins. Patch’s 17 points led the match, while middle blocker McDonnell scored eight playing as an outside for the first time since high school.

Both teams made 25 errors and Iran out-hit the USA 36 to 35, but the Americans out-blocked Iran 12 to five. 

“I’ve always felt that in terms of skill set, ball control, precision Iran is one of the top teams in the world,” USA head coach John Speraw said. “We played a lot in the last five years and I feel that always we have a really good battles. Today’s was surprisingly easy, because we came out with our second squad. I’m very pleased with the guys for the way they competed.”

Already having surpassed their performance from the 2014 World Championship, in which they failed to make the final round and finished seventh, the U.S. men enter the Final Six as the only undefeated team, joining Brazil, Poland, Italy, Serbia, and Russia in Torino, Italy, with competition resuming on September 26.