Nov 23

U.S. Men Get Groove Back with Sweep of Egypt

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B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

Unofficial DataVolley Statistics * Official Statistics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 24, 2011) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team got its groove back on Thursday in Kumamoto, Japan, sweeping Egypt, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 in the FIVB World Cup.

The U.S. Men gained three points in the World Cup standings and improved their record to 4-4. Team USA went into Thursday’s match in eighth place while Egypt was ninth. On Friday (Nov. 25 at 1:20 a.m. PT), the United States will face Italy (2-1 prior to its Thursday night match).

The FIVB World Cup uses a round-robin format resulting in 11 matches over a 15-day period. The three teams reaching the World Cup medal podium on Dec. 4 will earn berths into the 2012 Olympic Games. For the full FIVB World Cup schedule and tournament details, visit the U.S. Men’s tournament event page at http://usavolleyball.org/events/5557.

The U.S. Men, ranked No. 4 in the world, had suffered two straight losses prior to their match against No. 12 Egypt. But the U.S. opened the match with two straight aces from opposite and team captain Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) and never looked back.

"We had better distribution with more players involved today," U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) said. "There was good passing, and [Brian] Thornton did a good job getting others involved. When Clay [Stanley] serves well it gives a big advantage on blocking and defense."

After winning the first two sets fairly easily, the U.S. Men and Egypt battled to a 12-12 tie in the third set. However middle blocker Russell Holmes (Fountain Valley, Calif.) scored with a kill, then took the serve and got and ace to spark a 4-0 U.S. scoring run. Egypt came back with an attack, but Priddy used a block and kill to lead 18-13 and put the set and match out of reach.

The U.S. Men served the African zone champion out of the arena with an 8-3 lead in aces. It also out-attacked Egypt, 38-36 and out-blocked it 7-4. The U.S. also took advantage of 22 Egyptian team errors, including 19 service errors, while committing only 16.

Stanley was named the match’s most important player with 14 points on his match-high four aces and 10 attacks (hitting efficiency of 0.438). Outside hitter Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) led the U.S. in scoring with 15 points on 14 kills (hitting efficiency of 0.684) and one block.

"We put pressure on them with our serve, and got their passing in some trouble," Stanley said. "We took advantage of their missed serving, and offensively we were more balanced. We got good numbers from all our hitters."

Among other U.S. scorers, middle blocker David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) contributed eight points on five kills and three blocks. Holmes finished with seven points on three kills, two blocks and two aces. Outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) added six points on five attacks and two blocks.

Setter Brian Thornton (San Clemente, Calif.) scored one point on a block. He was also credited with 14 assists and set the U.S. team to a kill percent of 54.4 and a hitting efficiency of 0.456 (37-6-68). Egypt's kill percent was 50.0 and its hitting efficiency was 0.361 (36-10-72).

Outside hitter Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) added one point with a spike and opposite Evan Patak (Pleasanton, Calif.) had one point on an ace.

Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) led the team with seven digs and also had four excellent receptions. Anderson finished with six excellent receptions.
 
Knipe started Anderson and Priddy at outside hitter, Holmes and Lee at middle blocker, Stanley at opposite, Thornton at setter and Lambourne at libero.

Lotman started the third set for Anderson. Middle blocker Ryan Millar (Alpine, Utah), outside hitter Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Patak played as substitutes.

Egypt’s Ahmed Abdelhay led all scorers with 21 points on 20 attacks and one ace.

Egypt's Head Coach Sherif El-Shemerly referenced the turmoil his country has been experiencing in his post-match remarks.

"Our team is nervous and in a bad situation, with the critical situation in Egypt," he said. "Many players are thinking about their families and are not in a good mood and very nervous. We lost many serves."

Earlier this season, the U.S. defeated Egypt at the 2011 London International Invitational and went 4-0 against the Africans in pool play during the 2010 FIVB World League. The U.S. is now 13-0 against Egypt since 1981.

The U.S. followed its match with a team Thanksgiving dinner in Kumamoto.

"This team feels they have a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving," Knipe said.

The U.S. Men opened up a 6-2 lead in the first set, getting its first two points off two aces from Stanley followed by kills from Anderson, Priddy and Lee. Egypt called timeout and came back to score, but the U.S. maintained an 8-4 lead at the first technical timeout (TTO), getting the final point on a second quick kill down the middle from Lee. The U.S. extended its lead to 13-7 when Egypt used a 2-0 scoring run to pull back to within four. With the U.S. leading 14-10, it got a kill from Stanley and a Thornton ace to lead 16-10 at the second TTO. Egypt never mounted another real challenge and the U.S. cruised to the 25-19 victory, getting the final point on a right-side attack from Priddy. Stanley led the U.S. in scoring with six points. Egypt out-attacked the U.S., 13-12, but the U.S. Men led in aces (4-0) and blocks (3-2) and also took advantage of six Egypt errors.

The U.S. Men took a 5-2 lead in the second set, including a third Stanley ace. With the U.S. leading 7-4, Egypt scored twice on kills before a Lee block gave the U.S. an 8-6 lead at the first TTO. The U.S. still led by two at 11-9 when Egypt used a kill and a U.S. hitting error to tie the score at 11-11. Team USA fought back with a block and a kill from Stanley. The U.S. led by two 15-13 when Egypt’s serving error gave it a 16-13 edge at the second TTO. Coming out of the break, Team USA scored on two straight kills and Egypt called timeout. Abdelhay responded with an attack and the teams traded points. The U.S. reached set point at 24-20 on Egypt’s service error and Holmes won the set with the United States’ sixth ace of the match. The U.S. got four points from Anderson and three each from Lee, Holmes and Stanley while also scoring on nine Egypt errors.

Egypt opened the third set with an ace of its own, but the U.S. came back to scored on a serving error, Stanley’s ace and a Lotman tip to lead 3-1. With the U.S. still leading by two at 5-3, Egypt scored with an attack and a pass over the net that fell in front of the U.S. back row to tie the score. The U.S. scored with a Lee block and Priddy kill; but Egypt responded with three straight points, including an ace and two kills, to lead 8-7 at the first TTO. The score stayed close until it was tied 12-12. Holmes scored on a kill and then took the serve and added an ace. Stanley scored with an attack and Egypt called timeout, but Priddy responded with a kill to give the U.S. a 16-12 lead at the second TTO. Egypt ended the run with an attack, but the U.S. scored two more points on a kill and block from Priddy to lead 18-13 and Egypt never recovered. The U.S. reached match point at 24-19 on an attack from Priddy. Egypt’s Abdelhay put down one more attack before Lee won the match with a strike.

FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup 2011
U.S. Men's Roster for Nov. 24
 
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State)
3 Evan Patak (Opp, 6-8, Pleasanton, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
4 David Lee (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Calif., Long Beach State)
5 Rich Lambourne (L, 6-3, Tustin, Calif., BYU)
6 Paul Lotman (OH, 6-7, Lakewood, Calif., Long Beach State)
8 Reid Priddy (OH, 6-5, Richmond, Va., Loyola Marymount)
9 Ryan Millar (MB, 6-8, Alpine, Utah, BYU)
10 Riley Salmon (L, 6-6, League City, Texas, Pierce College)
12 Russell Holmes (MB, 6-8, Fountain Valley, Calif., BYU)
13C Clay Stanley (OPP, 6-9, Honolulu, Hawai'i, Hawaii)
14 Kevin Hansen (S, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford)
15 Brian Thornton (S, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., UC Irvine)

Head Coach: Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Team Manager: Gary Sato (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.)
Trainer: Ron Larsen (Lafayette, Calif.)
Doctor: Scott Magness and William Stetson
Technical Coordinator: Chris Jackson (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Medical Support: Aaron Brock (Storm Lake, Iowa)
Massage Therapist: Eli Evette
Scout Coach: Frank Ciarelli
Scout Coach: Andy Read

Qualified Teams

Team (Qualification Method, World Ranking as of Jan 15, 2011, Current World Ranking)
Brazil (South America Champion, 1, 1)
Serbia (Europe Champion, 3, 5)
Cuba (NORCECA Champion, 4, 6)
Egypt (Africa Champion, 13, 12)
Iran (Asia Champion, 19, 14)
USA (NORCECA Runner Up, 5, 4)
Italy (Europe Runner Up, 6, 3)
Argentina (South America Runner Up, 8, 9)
China (Asia Runner Up, 11, 10)
Japan (Hosts, 14, 18)
Russia (Wild Card, 2, 2)
Poland (Wild Card, 10, 8)

Tournament Schedule (All times local except for U.S. matches in bold)

1st round
Nagoya (Site A)

Kagoshima (Site B)

2nd round

Osaka (Site A)

Kumamoto (Site B)

3rd round

Fukuoka (Site A)

Hamamatsu (Site B)

4th round

Tokyo (Site A)

Tokyo (Site B)