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Check out all FIVB U21 World Championship opening-round pool-play matches to follow today and how to follow the matches live.
United States (0-1, 0 points Pool B) vs. Cuba (0-1, 0 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
World Rankings: United States (No. 9); Cuba (No. 13)
NCAA players on U.S. roster: Kyle Ensing (Long Beach State); Jordan Ewert (Stanford); Patrick Gasman (Hawai’i); George Huhmann (Princeton); Micah Ma’a (UCLA); Austin Matautia (Hawai’i); Dylan Missry (UCLA); Brett Rosenmeier (Hawai’i); Scott Stadick (UC Irvine); Matt Szews (Ball State); Josh Tuaniga (Long Beach State); Gage Worsley (Hawai’i)
NCAA players on Cuba roster: None
World Championship appearances: United States (9); Cuba (12)
Best World Championship finish: United States (fourth place in 2011); Cuba (silver medal in 1987 and 2009)
What to know: It’s only the second day of the FIVB U21 World Championship, but the United States is entering a must-win match in order to remain in contention for the nation’s first medal in the tournament’s history. The United States a day after suffering a three-game loss to Turkey will continue pool-play with a match against its NORCECA rival Cuba. Both the United States and Cuba are tied for third place in the four-team Pool B with two remaining matches in the opening round. The top-two teams in each pool at the conclusion of the three-match opening round will advance to the second round and remain in medal contention. Long Beach State All-American opposite Kyle Ensing finished with a match-high 17 kills in the tournament-opener against Turkey. This was the third-most kills for any player during the first day of the World Championship. Besides Ensing, though, no U.S. player had more than four kills versus Turkey. In addition, three of the U.S. five pin-hitters in the match had a zero or negative attack percentage. The United States used both All-American setters in the loss. Long Beach State setter Josh Tunaiga started the match but was pulled for UCLA setter Micah Ma’a at the start of the third game. Ma’a guided the offense to a six-point lead in the third game before Turkey rallied to win in overtime. The setter also contributed four digs and an ace in the third game. Cuba lost to the defending World Champion gold medalists Russia in three games on Friday, including a 14-point overtime loss in the first game. Opposite Miguel David Gutierrez Suarez in the loss had both a team-high 10 kills on a 43.48 percent offensive efficiency and four digs. In addition, outside attacker Miguel Angel Lopez Castro led all players with four aces and added five kills. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the United States defeated Cuba in four games to win the gold medal at the 2016 NORCECA U21 Continental Championship.
Canada (1-0, 2 points Pool A) vs. Morocco (0-1, 0 points Pool A)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Canada (No. 8); Morocco (No. 15)
NCAA players on Canada roster: Daenan Gyimah (UCLA)
NCAA players on Morocco roster: None
World Championship appearances: Canada (10); Morocco (5)
Best World Championship finish: Canada (fifth place in 1999); Morocco (ninth place in 2005)
Iran (1-0, 3 points Pool C) vs. Ukraine (0-1, 0 points Pool C)
Match vitals: 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Iran (No. 11); Ukraine (No. 15)
NCAA players on Iran roster: None
NCAA players on Ukraine roster: None
World Championship appearances: Iran (11); Ukraine (3)
Best World Championship finish: Iran (bronze medal in 2007); Ukraine (ninth place in 1999)
Egypt (0-1, 0 points Pool D) vs. Japan (0-1, 0 points Pool D)
Match vitals: 3 p.m. (8 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Egypt (No. 11); Japan (No. 14)
NCAA players on Egypt roster: None
NCAA players on Japan roster: None
World Championship appearances: Egypt (11); Japan (13)
Best World Championship finish: Egypt (ninth place in 2003); Japan (silver medal in 1989)
Poland (1-0, 3 points Pool A) vs. Czech Republic (0-1, 1 point Pool A)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Poland (No. 7); Czech Republic (No. 35)
NCAA players on Poland roster: None
NCAA players on Czech Republic roster: None
World Championship appearances: Poland (9); Czech Republic (1)
Best World Championship finish: Poland (gold medal in 1997 and 2003); Czech Republic (First appearance)
Argentina (1-0, 3 points Pool C) vs. Italy (0-1, 0 points Pool C)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Argentina (No. 2); Italy (No. 5)
NCAA players on Argentina roster: None
NCAA players on Italy roster: None
World Championship appearances: Argentina (14); Italy (13)
Best World Championship finish: Argentina (silver medal in 2013 and 2015); Italy (silver medal in 1985, 1991 and 1993)
Russia (1-0, 3 points Pool B) vs. Turkey (1-0, 3 points Pool B)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Brno, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: Russia (No. 1); Turkey (No. 6)
NCAA players on Russia roster: None
NCAA players on Turkey roster: None
World Championship appearances: Russia (19); Turkey (3)
Best World Championship finish: Russia (gold medal in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2013 and 2015); Turkey (sixth place in 2013 and 2015)
China (1-0, 3 points Pool D) vs. Brazil (1-0, 3 points Pool D)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CST) in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Follow live: Live stats
World Rankings: China (No. 3); Brazil (No. 4)
NCAA players on China roster: None
NCAA players on Brazil roster: None
World Championship appearances: China (15); Brazil (19)
Best World Championship finish: China (silver medal in 1977); Brazil (gold medal in 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2009)