With seven victories in eight matches at the conclusion of the second week of the VNL 2023, the Americans head back home with 21 points and are within striking distance of Japan, the only undefeated side in the tournament, with eight victories and 22 points – the Asians topped Argentina 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 31-33, 21-25, 15-12) in Orléans, France, on Saturday.
Outside hitter Torey Defalco played a big role in the American victory, leaving the court as the match’s top scorer with 17 points – 14 kills, two aces, one block. Fellow outside hitter Aaron Russell also reached double digits, with 11 points (eight kills, one ace, two blocks).
Two other USA standouts were opposite Matt Anderson, who delivered nine points (seven kills, two aces), and setter Micah Christenson, who besides running the team’s offense, also produced six points himself, with one kill, one ace and a match-high four blocks.
“I think they started serving us really tough and we had to count on our pin hitters to put balls away,” Anderson commented. “But we never really gave up. We were running balls downs, getting on to tips and overall just playing very good defense. Our counterattacks worked very well for us too. In the second and third sets, I felt that we started serving better and putting more pressure on them and also being better in our execution.”
