Outside attacker Sean Kelly quickly eliminated any possibility of an upset.
Kelly finished with a match-high 11 kills on a .526 attack percentage as the United States swept Bulgaria 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 in the Round of 16 at the FIVB U21 World Championship on Wednesday in China.
The UCLA sophomore did not commit an attack error until late in the third game. Kelly also led all players with five kills in the final game to help the United States remain undefeated and advance to the quarterfinals.
Hawai’i setter Tread Rosenthal guided the U.S. offense to out-hit Bulgaria .435 to .123. The United States had more than a .500 attack percentage in each of the first two games, including hitting a match-best .579 in the second game.
Kelly was one of three U.S. players to have more than five kills and hit at least .500.
Long Beach State pin-hitter Jackson Cryst contributed seven kills and zero errors on a team-best .778. In addition, USC pin-hitter Sterling Foley had six kills on a .500 attack percentage.
Along with the offensive performance, Rosenthal had a match-high four blocks.
The United States limited Bulgaria to less than a .100 attack percentage in both the second and third games and finished with 11 blocks – nine more than Bulgaria.
CSUN pin-hitter Stilian Delibosov and Long Beach State pin-hitter Alex Kandev in the loss each led Bulgaria with seven kills.
The United States with this victory will advance to play France in the quarterfinals.
Hawai’i outside attacker Adrien Roure finished with eight kills as France swept Kazakhstan in the Round of 16. France reached the Round of 16 after finishing its pool in second place in pool-play.