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The United States will make its seventh consecutive appearance in the FIVB U21 World Championship as it vies for the nation’s first medal-finish at the international event.
Check out this breakdown of how the United States has fared and the top individual performances from U.S. players in every World Championship since 2005. The 2017 World Championship will begin Friday in the Czech Republic.
2015 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: Mexico
Record: 4-4
Finish: 11th place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Jeff Jendryk (Loyola)
Other notable players on U.S. roster: Matt Walsh (Ball State); JT Hatch (UCLA); Chris Nugent (Penn State); Jennings Franciskovic (Hawai’i); Andy Benesh (USC)
Head coach: Dan Friend
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: At-large bid because of FIVB World Ranking
World Championship recap: The United States being seeded into what was called “the pool of death” opened the tournament with three consecutive losses to be eliminate from medal contention. The team recovered to win four of its final five matches, including a five-game victory against Iran in the 11th-place match UCLA Freshman All-American outside attacker JT Hatch had match-high 12 kills in that tournament-finale victory. It was also the fifth time in the World Championship that Hatch finished with double-digit kills. Along with Hatch, USC all-conference middle attacker Andy Benesh had 17 kills in both the team’s tournament-opening loss to Argentina and in a second-round pool-play victory versus Iran.
2013 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: Turkey
Record: 4-4
Finish: 11th place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Ben Patch (BYU); Thomas Jaeschke (Loyola); James Shaw (Stanford); Aaron Russell (Penn State)
Other notable players on U.S. roster: Taylor Gregory (Long Beach State); Nicholas Olson (Loyola); Matt West (Peppedine)
Head coach: Pete Hanson (Ohio State)
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: Won the 2012 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
World Championship recap: The United States defeated Rwanda and Canada in the opening round to finish pool-play in second place and qualify for the Round of 16. The team, though, suffered a four-game loss to Brazil in the Round of 16 and was eliminated from medal contention. Despite the loss, BYU All-American Ben Patch had both a team-high 17 kills and six digs. Patch playing in his final competitive volleyball competition before leaving for a two-year church mission finished in the tournament’s top five with 119 kills. The United States closed out its tournament with a sweep against Canada to finish in 11th place. Future U.S. Olympian Thomas Jaechke in that victory had a match-high two aces.
2011 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: Brazil
Record: 4-4
Finish: Fourth place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Micah Christenson (USC); Taylor Sander (BYU)
Other notable players on U.S. roster: Taylor Crabb (Long Beach State); Maurice Torress (Pepperdine)
Head coach: John Hawks (Long Beach State)
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: Won the 2010 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
World Championship recap: The United States had its best finish at the World Championship as it reached the semifinals. Future U.S. Olympian Taylor Sander following the team’s opening-round loss against Brazil had a match-high 19 kills in a victory versus Japan to help the United States qualify for the second round. The BYU All-American in the second round also had a tournament-high 25 kills in a five-game win against Spain that clinched a semifinal berth. The United States lost to Argentina in the semifinals and Serbia in the bronze-medal match to end in fourth place. Sander finished the tournament second among all players with 131 kills and in the tournament’s top 10 with a 43.96 percent offensive efficiency. Along with Sander, future U.S. Olympian Micah Christenson competing as an 18 year old was third in the tournament with 694 assists.
2009 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: India
Record: 2-6
Finish: Eighth place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Erik Shoji (Stanford); Murphy Troy (USC)
Other notable players on U.S. roster: Tri Bourne (USC); Tony Ciarelli (USC)
Head coach: Shawn Patchell (BYU)
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: Third-place finish at the 2008 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
World Championship recap: The United States opened the tournament with two victories to advance out of the opening pool-play round. However, the team lost its final six matches to conclude the World Championship, including a four-game loss to Iran in the seventh-place match. Future USC All-American outside attacker Tony Ciarelli had double-digit kills in five of the United States’ eight matches and had a tournament-high 18 kills in the team’s opening-round victory against Belarus. In addition, future U.S. Olympian Erik Shoji led the United States in digs in every match and finished the tournament with a combined 56 digs.
2007 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: Morocco
Record: 4-3
Finish: Seventh place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Matt Anderson (Penn State); Max Holt (Penn State); Max Lipsitz (Penn State); Kawika Shoji (Stanford)
Other notable players on roster: Matt Werle (Juniata); Will Price (Penn State)
Head coach: Andy Read (Long Beach State)
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: Third-place finish at the 2006 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
World Championship recap: The United States went 3-1 in its first four pool-play matches, including an upset victory against the defending World Championship gold medalist Russia. Future U.S. Olympian opposite Matt Anderson in the upset sweep had 12 kills on a 54.6 percent hitting efficiency. In addition, future U.S. Olympians Max Holt had a match-high two aces and Kawika Shoji led the United States with 11 digs. Despite the early-tournament upset, the United States was swept in its pool-play finale to miss a semifinals berth. The United States in a consolation match beat Cuba in four games to finish in seventh place. In that tournament-finale, future Penn State All-American outside attacker and George Mason transfer Will Price led the United States with 22 kills. This was the third World Championship match that Price had at least 20 kills and ended the tournament with double-digit kills in all but one match
2005 U21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Host nation: India
Record: 2-5
Finish: Eighth place
Future U.S. Men’s National Team players on roster: Paul Lotman (Long Beach State); David Smith (UC Irvine); Jayson Joablonsky (UC Irvine); Jonathan Winder (Pepperdine)
Other notable players on U.S. roster: Matt McCarthy (Ball State)
Head coach: John Speraw (UC Irvine)
How U.S. qualified for World Championship: Third-place finish at the 2004 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
World Championship recap: The United States making its first appearance in the U21 World Championship since 1981 went 2-3 in pool-play with victories against Tunisia and Germany. The fourth-place finish in the six-team pool resulted in the United States dropping into the consolation bracket. In addition, the United States lost to both South Korea and Serbia & Montenegro to conclude the tournament. Future U.S. Olympian Paul Lotman had a match-high 12 kills in the loss to Serbia & Montenegro — his third match during the tournament with double-digit kills. UC Irvine All-American outside attacker Jayson Jablonsky led the United States with double-digit kills in four matches, while future U.S. Olympian middle attacker David Smith had at least seven kills in four World Championship matches.