A strong U.S. men's volleyball squad squad ran into a speed bump in the third set, but managed to defeat Japan, winning 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20) in the teams' FIVB Men's Grand Champions Cup opener on Tuesday.
Leading the victorious USA in scoring was player of the match Matthew Anderson with 21 points. He was supported by middle blocker Maxwell Holt, whose 18 points including a remarkable eight blocks. The USA outblocked Japan 17-7 in the match. For the home team, it was Tatsuya Fukuzawa leading the way with 12 points.
"We're very excited to get the win tonight," USA coach John Speraw said at Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium. "We had the opportunity to compete twice against Japan before the tournament started, and they beat us both times, playing great volleyball.