U.S. Men Sweep Suriname to Open NORCECA Champs

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Sept. 5, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s National Team opened its campaign at the 2023 NORCECA Men’s Senior Continental Championship with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-10) pool play victory over Suriname on Tuesday at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.

The U.S. Men used the contest against an overmatched team as an opportunity to give bench players some extra playing time and to test the skills they had been practicing.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

“We’ve been working on a lot of aspects of our game over the past month,” U.S. Head Coach John Speraw said. “We were able to execute some of those things.”

The U.S. led Suriname in attacks (45-19), blocks (4-0) and aces (7-0). The U.S. also scored 19 points on Suriname errors while giving up 14.

Four U.S. players scored in double figures led by opposite Jake Hanes who totaled 14 points on 13 attacks (.706 hitting efficiency) and one ace.

“It’s always fun, especially at home with a U.S. crowd,” Hanes said. “You only get a couple opportunities like this every few years, so you have to take advantage of it.”

A play in the third set brought the U.S. bench to its feet when outside hitter Garrett Muagututia tooled the Suriname block three times and his teammates covered before setter Micah Ma’a back set to Hanes for the kill.

“We’ve been working on our coverage off the block,” Hanes said. “Everyone gets really excited when we can execute something we’ve been working on for a few weeks.”

U.S. middle blocker Jeff Jendryk added 11 points on eight kills (.889) and a match-high three blocks.

Outside hitter Garrett Muagututia scored 11 points on nine kills (.571) and two aces and outside Thomas Jaeschke had 10 points on eight kills (.889), one block and one ace. Middle Taylor Averill scored seven points on six kills and one ace.

Libero Timothy McIntosh made his competitive debut with the Men’s Senior National Team and was credited with three digs and one excellent reception. Jaeschke led in excellent receptions with six and in digs with four.

“I started out a little nervous,” McIntosh said. “As the match went on, I started to get into a rhythm and then I started to play my game. After that, it was just a good match from everybody.”

Ma’a set the team to an amazing .754 hitting efficiency and scored three points on a kill and two aces.

Tickets for the 2023 Continental Championship are still available online. For those who can’t make it to Charleston, matches will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@VolleyballSource.

U.S. Men’s Roster for the 2023 NORCECA Continental Championship

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
6 Timothy McIntosh (L, 6-0, Miami, Fla., Sacred Heart, Florida)
8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
9 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Hawaii)
12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Hawaii)

Head Coach: John Speraw
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Fuerbringer and Javier Weber
Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock
Team Leader: Nate Ngo
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Mental Performance Coach: Peter Naschak
Team Doctor: Daniel Green

U.S. Referee: Devonie McLarty

NORCECA Continental Championship Schedule
All times ET

Sept. 5
Canada def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-11, 25-8, 25-12)
Cuba def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-15)
USA def. Suriname, 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-10)

Sept. 6
3 p.m. Suriname vs. Cuba
5 p.m. Canada vs. Mexico
7:30 p.m. USA vs. Puerto Rico

Sept. 7
3 p.m.: Suriname vs. Puerto Rico
5 p.m. Dominican Republic v. Mexico
7:30 p.m.: USA vs. Cuba

Sept. 8 Quarterfinals
5 p.m. Second place Group B vs. Third place Group A
7:30 p.m. Second place Group A vs. Third place Group B

Sept. 9 Semifinals and Classifications
3 p.m. Classification 5/7
5 p.m. 1st Group A vs. TBA
7:30 p.m.: 1st Group B vs. TBA

Sept. 10 Medal Matches and Classifications
3 p.m.: Classification 6/7
5 p.m.: Bronze Medal Match
7:30 p.m.: Gold Medal Match