Men's U21 Drops Four-Setter to Egypt at World Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 11, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team lost to Egypt, 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20), on Tuesday in the opening match of the second round of pool play at the 2023 U21 World Championship on Saturday in Manama, Bahrain.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

The U.S. plays Czechia in a rematch of a first-round matchup at 4 a.m. PT Wednesday. Czechia took the previous contest in a tight four-setter.

Outside hitter Dillon Klein led the U.S. with 22 points on 19 kills, two blocks, and one service ace. Three other players reached double digits, including opposite Shane Wetzel, who totaled 17 points on 13 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Klein hit at a .437 hitting efficiency percentage and Wetzel hit at a .428 clip.

Middle blockers Nyherowo Omene and Marc Smith contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Omene recorded 10 kills and two blocks, while Smith finished with seven kills, two blocks, and two aces, hitting at a .454 hitting efficiency. The U.S. finished with an 8-5 advantage in blocks. Libero Ryan Mark posted a match-high 12 digs.

Omene led the way with eight points in the third set, hitting .600 with seven kills in 10 total attacks, as the U.S. won the set to close the lead to 2-1. Smith scored on all three of his attacks and registered his two blocks in the set.

Opposite Mohamed Zyad of Egypt paced all scorers with 24 points and 21 kills.

U.S. Men’s U21 Roster for the 2023 FIVB World Championship
No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
5 Dillon Klein (OH, 6-4, 2003, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, 2003, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-11, 2004, Encinitas, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read (Long Beach State)
Assistant Coach: Chris Seiffert (Concordia-Irvine)
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager (Univ. of Southern California)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt
Team Doctor: Dr. Chris Cornell
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (USAV NTDP)

U.S. Men’s U21 Schedule for the 2023 FIVB World Championship
Live stream on VolleyballWorld.tv
(All times PT)
July 7 Argentina def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23)
July 8 Belgium def. USA, 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 25-20)
July 9 Czechia def. USA, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22)
July 11 Egypt def. USA, 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20)
July 12 at 4 a.m. PT vs. Czechia
July 13 at 1 a.m. PT vs. Mexico
July 15 Semifinals and consolation playoffs
July 16 Finals and consolation matches