Issues couldn’t have began higher for the USA males within the Highway to Paris Volleyball Qualifier.
Tuesday in Tokyo, the Individuals got here away with a 25-17, 26-28, 32-30, 25-20 victory over Türkiye.
It left the USA 3-0 after beforehand sweeping sweeping Egypt and Finland and tied with Slovenia atop Pool B.
Subsequent up for the USA is on Wednesday is 0-3 Tunisia, which was swept by Slovena, Serbia and Japan.
“We’ve had a pleasant begin,” USA coach John Speraw mentioned.
In opposition to Türkiye, the USA, making an attempt to safe a Paris 2024 Olympics berth, held a 13-7 benefit in blocks and had 9 aces in comparison with three for Türkiye.
Aaron Russell went off for 20 kills, two blocks and three aces and TJ DeFalco had 15 kills, 5 blocks, an ace and a team-high 10 digs.
Max Holt had seven kills and three aces and Matt Andrerson had seven kills and two blocks.
Erik Shoji had eight digs and setter Micah Christenson had two kills, two blocks and 6 digs.
“We bought off to a pleasant begin and performed good volleyball. The second set was shut the entire approach and I believed we had some probabilities, however we didn’t execute,” Speraw mentioned.
“The third set we had been up large and gave that lead away late, which was actually disappointing. However we regrouped and received that set, which was actually essential.”
In that third set, the USA led 24-19 however couldn’t shut it out.
“We performed very, very effectively within the fourth set,” Speraw advised VolleyballMag.com. “We had some challenges inside the match in opposition to an excellent staff and I believed we responded very well to these challenges. Three-oh, we’re in a very good place.”
Bosnian-born brothers Adis and Mirza Lagumdzija led Türkiye. Adis had 17 kills, a block and two aces, and Mirza had 13 kills and a block.
Within the 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 win over Egypt, DeFalco had 11 kills and hit .536 to go together with 4 aces and two blocks. Anderson had 11 kills and two aces and Russell had 10 kills and a block.
“We performed arduous. They did too. It was sort of shocking how effectively they turned it round after the primary set,” Rusell advised Volleyball World.
“They appeared a bit of bit asleep after which they only began defending numerous balls. I used to be largely making an attempt to deal with passing and I didn’t notice I had that many factors, however I used to be simply on the market making an attempt to battle arduous with my boys… We are attempting to qualify, so we’re taking it one sport at a time. We’re ready for the large challenges forward and we stay up for taking part in.”
In opposition to Finland, DeFalco had seven kills, two blocks and 5 aces within the 25-17, 25-14, 25-17 victory. Anderson had 9 kills, two blocks and an ace, and Thomas Jaeschke, Taylor Averill and Jeff Jendryk had eight kills every.
“The primary match is difficult since you’re getting your bearings and getting used to the fitness center. We didn’t play nice volleyball however adequate to win,” Speraw mentioned.
“Then we turned our consideration to Finland and Finland had a very nice begin. They challenged Japan, took them to 5, and so we had a possibility to check them extra and that was good. After which we went out and did a very nice job of execution. I believed we did an important job of executing in opposition to Finland.
“We had a break day, which was good, as a result of we knew Türkiye was going to be an actual problem. They took us to 5 at World Champs final yr. They’ve some nice gamers and have actually improved. Our gamers had been prepared.”
After Tunisia, the Individuals have Thursday off after which run the gauntlet, ending with matches in opposition to Slovenia, Serbia and host Japan.
On this match, there are three swimming pools of eight and the highest two finishers in every pool qualify for subsequent summer time’s Paris Olympics. The USA ladies beforehand certified of their match:
Olympics bound! USA beats Germany to clinch spot in Paris 2024 Games
Additionally in Pool B, Serbia and Japan are 2-1, Türkiye and Egypt are 1-2, and Finland is tied with Tunisia at 0-3.
In Pool A in Rio de Janeiro, three groups are tied at 2-0 heading into Tuesday’s motion, Italy, Germany and Brazil and Brazil performs Germany.
In Pool C in Xi’an, China, solely Poland is unbeaten at 3-0 with Belgium Argentina and Canada tied at 2-1. Poland beat Canada in 5 on Tuesday, 17-15 within the fifth.
All matches will be seen on Volleyball World TV. Use “VOLLEYBALLMAG” for a reduction.
