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American men are looking forward to FIVB final round

The U.S. men’s national volleyball team started from the bottom, now they’re here.

“Here” is Curitiba, Brazil for the Final Round of the FIVB World League.

“Here” is where few thought the U.S. Men would end up after they lost the first three matches of World League pool play.

“Here” is the Arena da Baixada, a soccer stadium with a retractable roof that holds more than 42,000.

Final Round pool play begins Tuesday when the United States (4-5) takes on France (8-1) at 11 a.m. PT (live on Universal HD). They will play Serbia (6-3) on Wednesday at 11 a.m. (live on Universal HD).

Despite his team’s slow start, U.S. coach John Speraw does not think it should be counted out of the competition.

“I think for us to have gotten this far, especially starting off World League 0-3, I wouldn’t discount this team,” he said. “We are certainly underdogs going in. We’re playing two teams that beat us pretty easily during pool play. I think it’s a great challenge for us to reach semifinals.”

One thing that could work in USA's favor is the return of outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke to the roster. Jaeschke, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, didn’t play at all in pool play due to an injury. But Speraw said he is doing well now.

The first match against France is a matchup of two of the top scorers of pool play. French opposite Stephen Boyer led all scorers with 165 points (135 kills, 13 stuffs and 17 aces). U.S. outside hitter Ben Patch was third with 146 points (118 kills, 15 stuffs, 13 aces).

Other standouts for the U.S. during pool play were opposite Ben Patch, middle blocker David Smith, setter Micah Christenson and libero Erik Shoji, a Stanford grad.

“To be able to play in this stadium is an incredible experience,” Shoji said. “It’s a different environment with the size, but our team is embracing the challenges that come with that.”

Stanford grad Kawika Shoji serves as the team captain.