September 13, 2025.- Back with the U.S. men’s national team after missing the Volleyball Nations League, captain Micah Christenson (Olympic medalist setter) guided the Americans to a solid victory in their first match of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship on Saturday in the Philippines.
Led by their star setter, the Americans started their campaign in the tournament with a strong 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14) triumph over Colombia at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay City.
The victory gave the Americans their first three points in Pool D, while the Colombians left empty-handed in their historic World Championship debut. Each team will play two more group-stage matches, and the top two from each pool will advance to the Round of 16.
Ethan Champlin and Gabriel Garcia were key pieces in the offense run by the veteran 32-year-old setter. The outside hitter led the U.S. team with 17 points (12 kills, three aces, two blocks), while the opposite registered 12 (eight kills, four aces). Fellow outside hitter Jordan Ewert added 11 points (ten kills, one block).
“I think it was a good start,” Christenson said. “It was the first time for a lot of our guys in a World Championship match, and I think we didn’t have many ups and downs. Colombia had some good moments during the game, and we showed maturity in dealing with them.”
The Americans were superior in every aspect: they outscored Colombia in kills (40 to 31), blocks (6 to 4), and aces (8 to 3). They also made fewer errors (17 to 21) to secure their first tournament victory.
USA’s next match will be on September 15 against Portugal at 9:00 PM (local time).
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