HARD HITTER. American opposite Matthew Anderson (No. 1) scores against German Reichert Moritz (No. 5) in the Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on June 22, 2024. USA won the match, 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23. (Photo courtesy of VNL)
MANILA – Canada extended its winning run to four while the United States defeated Germany in the Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday night.
Stephen Timothy Maar led the Canadians with 18 points. Eric Loeppky had 14 points, 12 on attacks, while Lucas Van Berkel and Xander Wassenaar Ketrzynski added nine points apiece.
Canada earlier defeated Brazil (26-24, 25-19, 26-24), Japan (25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10) and Germany (25-19, 25-18, 25-21).
The Netherlands was paced by skipper Abdel-Aziz Nimir, who came up with 37 points, including six service aces.
Earlier, opposite Matthew Anderson and Torey Defalco joined hands in the fourth quarter as the US survived Germany, 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23.
Trailing 22-23 in the fourth set, the Americans fought back to claim victory after two hours and 10 minutes and improved their record to 5-6 in the weeklong event hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) headed by President Ramon "Tats" Suzara.
Anderson produced 20 kills and three service aces, Defalco chipped in 20 points, including 18 attacks, while middle blocker Jeffrey Jenryk scored 10 points on six attacks and four blocks.
Gyorgy Grozer made 16 points on 14 kills and two service aces for Germany, which slid to 4-7.
“Great, great. I think we hang on. We cooled out a couple of close sets. It’s a good feeling to be able to win and still learn,” USA team captain Micah Christenson said.
“That’s right it’s easy to learn when you lose but I think we’re gonna go back from this game with the smile on our faces that we’re able to get it done even it was a little bit ugly," he added.
USA will face crowd-favorite Japan on Sunday at 7 p.m. after the match between France and Brazil at 3 p.m.
Germany, ranked No. 12, will be up against Iran at 11 a.m. (PNA)
