Team USA Starts Daniel McDonnel Over Jeff Jendryk in Bronze Medal Game

  0 Braden Keith | July 08th, 2017 | Canadian Volleyball, FIVB World League, International Volleyball, News, NORCECA volleyball, U.S. Men's National Team

2017 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WORLD LEAUGE – GROUP 1

  • Group 1 Third-Place Match
  • July 9th, 2017
  • Curitiba, Brazil
  • FIVB World League Third-Place Match
  • Schedule/Results
  • TV: YouTube, UniHD (U.S.), CBC TV (Canada)
  • Start Time: 7:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

The bronze medal match for the 2017 FIVB World League (watch live here) is about to begin, and starting lineups have been announced.

The Americans early were a story of tinkering with their lineups. Ben Patch, who has wound up being one of the team’s offensive forces, didn’t even play the first game of the tournament – and is now crucial to the team’s success.

But over the last several matches, the roster has stabilized (though even Thomas Jaeschke, one of the most-pedigreed Americans on the roster, didn’t start the last two sets of the semi-finals).

The big change for the United States in the bronze medal match is that Daniel McDonnel is starting in place of Jeff Jendryk at middle blocker. Jendryk has been a breath of fresh air for the U.S. here, but he was subbed out for McDonnel in the 3rd set against Brazil, and McDonnel finished the day. USA Volleyball said they had no information about a Jendryk injury, but McDonnel is much more of an offensive force than is Jendryk. With Canada not being a big service team, McDonnel’s offensive abilities will be more crucial to side-out Canada’s serves as frequently as possible.

McDonnel also started in the teams’ first matchup this year and pllayed the first two sets, while Jendryk came in and played sets 3-5. Canada won 3-2, but the teams split 1-1 in the sets that McDonnel played in.

United States Semi-Final Bronze Medal Match
Outside Hitter/Receiver Taylor Sander Taylor Sander
Outside Hitter/Receiver Thomas Jaeschke Thomas Jaeschke
Opposite Ben Patch Ben Patch
Middle Blocker David Smith David Smith
Middle Blocker Jeff Jendryk Daniel McDonnel
Setter Micah Christenson Micah Christenson
Libero Erik Shoji Erik Shoji

A look at Canada’s roster shows the stability that has carried him this far – it’s identical to the one they used in the semi-finals.

Canada Semi-Final Bronze Medal Match
Outside Hitter/Receiver John Gordon Perrin John Gordon Perrin
Outside Hitter/Receiver Stephen Maar Stephen Maar
Opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans Sharone Vernon-Evans
Middle Blocker Graham Vigrass Graham Vigrass
Middle Blocker Daniel Vandoorn Daniel Vandoorn
Setter Tyler Sanders Tyler Sanders
Libero Blair Bann Blair Bann

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About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of VolleyMob.com. Braden's first foray into sports journalism came in 2010, when he launched a swimming website called The Swimmers' Circle. Two years later, he joined SwimSwam.com as a co-founder. Long huge fans of volleyball, when Braden and the SwimSwam partners sought an opportunity to …

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