Bruins Dylan Missry and Micah Ma'a have been selected to the U.S. Men's Volleyball Junior National Team which will compete at the 2017 FIVB Men's U21 World Championship on June 23-July 2 in the Czech Republic. The U.S. will begin pool play on June 23 versus Turkey.
Missry returns to the U.S. squad after playing on last year's 2016 Men's Junior National Team that won the NORCECA Continental Championship and qualified for the World Championship event. He had nine kills in last year's Gold Medal match vs. Cuba. Last season for the Bruins, Missry played in 21 matches with 17 starts. He had at least 10 kills in nine matches and established a new career-high with 21 vs. CSUN. The native of Holbrook, N.Y. ranked 17th in the NCAA in service aces per set average (0.38). He totaled five matches with at least three service aces, including four each in wins at UCSD and at USC. His total of 28 aces ranked second on the team.
Ma'a, who has played on USA Youth teams before, joins the Junior National Team for the first time. He played in 22 matches last season for the Bruins, making 19 starts at the setter/opposite position. Ma'a climbed to sixth on the all-time school list for career aces after recording 27 during the season. The Kaneohe, Hawai'i native ranked 25th in the nation in service aces average per set (0.33). He was named AVCA National Player of the Week on Jan. 17 for his performance in wins over UC Irvine (8 kills, .800, 3 aces, 7 digs) and UCSD (3 aces, 6 digs, 2 blocks). Ma'a earned honorable mention 2017 All-MPSF honors.
The United States has never won a medal at the FIVB Men's Under-21 World Championship. The closest it has come was fourth place in 2011 when current U.S. Men's National Team players Micah Christenson and Taylor Sander were on the roster. The U.S. Men's Junior National Team finished 11th in both 2015 and 2013.
"At the youth level, the U.S. stacks up pretty well," U.S. MJNT Head Coach Jay Hosack said. "The under-21 team is a completely different story. This is a group of kids who have played one to two years of college volleyball in respective gyms. In the rest of the world, players are already playing professionally. We have great talent. I think a top eight finish would be a good goal to shoot for. If we can get into the top four, it would be an outstanding finish for USA Volleyball at this level."
U.S. Men's Junior National Team
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, Region)
2. Gage Worsley (L, 6-2, Moraga, Calif., signed with Hawaii, NCVA)
3. Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-2, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
4. Micah Ma'a (S, 6-4, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
5. Dylan Missry (OH, 6-4, Holbrook, N.Y., UCLA, Garden Empire)
7. Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, NCVA)
8. Austin Matautia (OH, 6-5, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Hawaii, Aloha)
9. Brett Rosenmeier (OH, 6-6, Virginia Beach, Va., Hawaii, Old Dominion)
14. Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
15. Matthew Szews (Opp, 6-8, Brookfield, Wis., Ball State, Badger)
16. Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-8, Clovis, Calif., Hawaii, NCVA)
19. Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine, Badger)
20. George Huhmann (MB, 6-10, High Ridge, Mo., Princeton, Gateway)
Head Coach: Jay Hosack, George Mason University
Pools for the FIVB Men's U21 World Championship
Pool A
Czech Republic
Poland
Canada
Morocco
Pool B
Russia
Turkey
USA
Cuba
Pool C
Argentina
Italy
Iran
Ukraine
Pool D
China
Brazil
Egypt
Japan
U.S. Schedule for the FIVB Men's U21 World Championship
June 23: USA v Turkey, 11 a.m. PT
June 24: USA v Cuba, 6 a.m. PT
June 25: USA v Russia, 11 a.m. PT
Missry returns to the U.S. squad after playing on last year's 2016 Men's Junior National Team that won the NORCECA Continental Championship and qualified for the World Championship event. He had nine kills in last year's Gold Medal match vs. Cuba. Last season for the Bruins, Missry played in 21 matches with 17 starts. He had at least 10 kills in nine matches and established a new career-high with 21 vs. CSUN. The native of Holbrook, N.Y. ranked 17th in the NCAA in service aces per set average (0.38). He totaled five matches with at least three service aces, including four each in wins at UCSD and at USC. His total of 28 aces ranked second on the team.
Ma'a, who has played on USA Youth teams before, joins the Junior National Team for the first time. He played in 22 matches last season for the Bruins, making 19 starts at the setter/opposite position. Ma'a climbed to sixth on the all-time school list for career aces after recording 27 during the season. The Kaneohe, Hawai'i native ranked 25th in the nation in service aces average per set (0.33). He was named AVCA National Player of the Week on Jan. 17 for his performance in wins over UC Irvine (8 kills, .800, 3 aces, 7 digs) and UCSD (3 aces, 6 digs, 2 blocks). Ma'a earned honorable mention 2017 All-MPSF honors.
The United States has never won a medal at the FIVB Men's Under-21 World Championship. The closest it has come was fourth place in 2011 when current U.S. Men's National Team players Micah Christenson and Taylor Sander were on the roster. The U.S. Men's Junior National Team finished 11th in both 2015 and 2013.
"At the youth level, the U.S. stacks up pretty well," U.S. MJNT Head Coach Jay Hosack said. "The under-21 team is a completely different story. This is a group of kids who have played one to two years of college volleyball in respective gyms. In the rest of the world, players are already playing professionally. We have great talent. I think a top eight finish would be a good goal to shoot for. If we can get into the top four, it would be an outstanding finish for USA Volleyball at this level."
U.S. Men's Junior National Team
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College, Region)
2. Gage Worsley (L, 6-2, Moraga, Calif., signed with Hawaii, NCVA)
3. Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-2, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
4. Micah Ma'a (S, 6-4, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
5. Dylan Missry (OH, 6-4, Holbrook, N.Y., UCLA, Garden Empire)
7. Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, NCVA)
8. Austin Matautia (OH, 6-5, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Hawaii, Aloha)
9. Brett Rosenmeier (OH, 6-6, Virginia Beach, Va., Hawaii, Old Dominion)
14. Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, SCVA)
15. Matthew Szews (Opp, 6-8, Brookfield, Wis., Ball State, Badger)
16. Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-8, Clovis, Calif., Hawaii, NCVA)
19. Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine, Badger)
20. George Huhmann (MB, 6-10, High Ridge, Mo., Princeton, Gateway)
Head Coach: Jay Hosack, George Mason University
Pools for the FIVB Men's U21 World Championship
Pool A
Czech Republic
Poland
Canada
Morocco
Pool B
Russia
Turkey
USA
Cuba
Pool C
Argentina
Italy
Iran
Ukraine
Pool D
China
Brazil
Egypt
Japan
U.S. Schedule for the FIVB Men's U21 World Championship
June 23: USA v Turkey, 11 a.m. PT
June 24: USA v Cuba, 6 a.m. PT
June 25: USA v Russia, 11 a.m. PT