MANILA, Philippines – Heading to the Manila leg of the 2024 Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the USA men’s volleyball team was arguably the most awaited and hyped squad arriving on Philippine soil – even more so than crowd darling Japan, which already played in the country in the last two years. Results for the world top 10-ranked Americans, however, have been mixed, as they lost in stunning fashion to once-winless Iran in five sets on Wednesday, June 19, before needing five more frames to take down fellow powerhouse Brazil less than 24 hours later on Thursday, June 20. Although already guaranteed a spot in the 2024 Olympics, USA stars like top scorer TJ Defalco and veteran captain setter Micah Christenson still hope to give more effort in their remaining preliminary games, all for the sake of their thousands of Filipino fans who invested in tickets to watch them win.
“Yeah, [the Iran game] was tough. We’re in an interesting part right now in USA volleyball. We just come out of every game trying to get better and just trying to play USA volleyball.
We’re not quite there yet, but we’re figuring it out and that was a big step for us,” Defalco said after a 21-point effort versus Brazil. “I hecking love this place. It’s amazing, the country and the fans.
Everybody speaks English and it’s very accommodating. It feels like home.” Play Video Christenson, who followed up a 35-excellent set outing against Iran with a massive 41-excellent set eruption ov.
