Meanwhile Volleyball world stashing up another japan post. Power volleyball be like "The day that 'some bullshit' happens"

Rob St. Claire is based in Chicago. He played volleyball in college at Purdue. He knows the game inside and out and does a great job on-air. Their content does include a focus on USA.

Es algo cultural en U.S.A como les cuesta las transición en Basketball en SOCCERS y vóleibol ..teniendo los mejores semilleros del mundo

TJ DeFalco is a world class outside hitter. 27 years old. Joined Team USA in 2015.

Bangers and mash! 😝

Because Speraw did a bang up job the last Olympics.

@@MrEndocytosis Oh, and you can do better? Then tell me why he's the coach of UCLA and the National Team--and you aren't?

@@mylesgarcia4625 there are a lot of other coaches who can do a better job he’s a good talent aggregator. When the playing field is even his strategy falls flat. I’ve been watching him since he had hair.

@@MrEndocytosis As I said, easy for you to be an armchair analyst. But USA Volleyball still trusts him and there's NOTHING you can do about it, is there??

@@MrEndocytosis Team USA did beat France in the opener of pool play. When they lost to Russia 3-1, each set loss was by two points. They missed a ton of serves, but to me, it just seemed like they wanted it too much, that they tried too hard. Speraw has led the USA to podium finishes many times.

They still have the talent. 3 champions league champions, 2 champions league finalists, and players on all the top clubs in the world. They have better depth than every team in the world. But having depth doesn’t immediately translate to wins. And no, they don’t have one true superstar attacker to rely on.

@@paulisawesome3fr usa won on 2021 bc they had the most complete players for each position doing exactly what they had to do… now they have mediocre players achieving half of what they have to do

It's not a myth. There is a ton of depth. Quality depth. But that doesn't guarantee a top of the podium finish. Sometimes it just isn't your day and you have to give credit to the other team, as much as that pains me as a diehard USA V supporter. The 4th place VNL was last year, and since then all the USA players have gained valuable experience with their pro clubs overseas. For the record, the US Women have also won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21). Team USA also managed to win their first Olympic Gold Medal, in Tokyo 2021. Conegliano, which features four Americans, just won CEV Champions League. Outside hitters Kelsey Robinson-Cook and 6-foot-6 Kathryn Plummer, both starters, led the Italian side to the title. Reserves, setter Madison Bugg and outside hitter Khalia Lanier, got invaluable experience playing for Conegliano against top level competition on the road to that championship. Conegliano beat Allianz Vero Volley MILANO in the final. Milano features two Americans who have seen significant playing time for USA: 6-foot-8 middle blocker Dana Rettke and outside hitter Kara Bajema. Karch Kiraly's pool of talent includes three experienced setters: Jordyn Poulter, Micah Hancock and Lauren Carlini. Hancock has been one of the top servers in Italy pro volleyball as well. And though world rankings are not always completely accurate or reflective of how well a team is playing at a given moment, the USA Women are ranked #2 worldwide.

Have you noticed that USA women roster for vnl has been rotating every week? That is, different set of girls are playing every week (see 2022 and 2023 vnl). Some teams like China, Poland, Brazil and Turkey almost always play the same players over and over. These countries also have their own club leagues, which means their starting players get to play with other starters during club season, so these players have a yearlong playtime with each other. USA, meanwhile doesnt have their own club league, have to go overseas away from their home comfort to play during club season, they are all over europe, asia and south america, come back during national season on a rotating roster and still ranked #2 world wide currently.

The DR Women are always talented and super competitive. And lots of fun to watch.

I agree. I think the only player I can think of who could've at least been a strong candidate was Ben Patch but obviously that's no longer a possibility anymore

@@123RememberReach Did Ben Patch retire from volleyball?

Hanes is a bum. (Check my avatar.)

​@@123RememberReach I think in terms of athleticism sure but Patch was never super strong technically. He could shine in Germany because he could overpower the teams there with his jump and power but he never developed much range or the ability to play off the block effectively. I still have strong hopes that Garcia is gonna become that player. Stats wise his season in the superlega was not that bad. I hope he can recover in Spain and come back strong.

@@123RememberReach Ben is very inconsistent. Kinda wild. Doesn’t have great contact at the peak of his swing. Hits alot of flat balls. But he makes up for that with his leaping ability so he can contact the ball more on top instead of a high snap like Anderson does. But boy is Anderson a huge part of the team. Without him the team is just not as efficient. Besides Clay Stanley, he is arguably the best OPP hitter in USA volleyball history. It’ll be interesting in the next few years. 😬🥴

DeFalco is a world class outside hitter. He and Aaron Russell will start at outside hitter for the USA. My guess is that DeFalco is basically the backup OPP. He's a smart player with Earvin N'Gapeth type shot-making and he can pound the ball.

They r probably going to qualify through the Europe ranking still

Since they are the highest positioned team on the FIVB world ranking (3rd) that did not yet qualify, they will almost certainly qualify. Only a disastrous VNL would put that in jeopardy

They will qualify based off of their world ranking

@@DutchTubeWizard Italy has such a storied volleyball history. Podium finishes and enough trophies to fill up an arena. Puzzling that they have never won Olympic Gold.

@@spasiba12345 They came close in Atlanta just to lose the 5th set 15-17 to The Netherlands.