The USA men’s volleyball crew revved up the Paris Olympics Qualifiers in a spectacular showcase of power and finesse. Tokyo is witnessing a showdown among the planet’s top eight volleyball squads, and it is shaping up to be one epic battle. What’s even juicier is that America’s dream team boasts a whopping 10 former Olympians in its ranks, making them a true Volleyball juggernaut.
The evergreen Matt Anderson has been spiking balls and serving aces for the U.S. squad for over a decade. Anderson’s name is synonymous with dynamic gameplay. However, the maestro is entering the twilight phase of his stellar career at the age of 36. Did he bring the thunder? Let’s find out what went down in Round 1 of the Men’s Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Matt Anderson and T.J DeFalco: The Boys Who Stole the Show
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In a thrilling display of athleticism and precision, the U.S. Men’s National Team embarked on their journey down the FIVB Road to the Paris Olympic Qualifier with a resounding triumph over the Egyptian National Volleyball Team in Tokyo. The match, a testament to teamwork and skill, saw the American squad sweep the competition with scores of 25-20, 25-16, and 25-19. The results were posted on the team’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
One win in the books! 📘
The U.S. Men's National Team 🇺🇸 opened the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier with a sweep of Egypt 🇪🇬 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) on Saturday in Tokyo.
T.J. DeFalco led all scorers with 17 points. Matt Anderson added 13.
Story and stats to come pic.twitter.com/6kj9y8ISaP
— USA Volleyball (@usavolleyball) September 30, 2023
Leading the charge was the formidable T.J. DeFalco, who showcased his scoring prowess by amassing an impressive 17 points. Matt Anderson, a stalwart of the team, contributed significantly with 13 points of his own. Their stellar performance serves as a promising start to their pursuit of Olympic glory, igniting hopes and excitement among fans.
TJ Defalco Lives Up to the Hype
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Torey James “TJ” DeFalco is an outside hitter and specializes in highly accurate spikes that flash past his opponents. One of DeFalco’s teammates, Cody Kessel recently uploaded a video of an insanely fast DeFalco spike on his X (formerly Twitter) account. The tweet carried the caption, “TJ DeFalco with an absolute rocket.” The video showed that the ‘rocket’ spike of DeFalco traveled at a staggering speed of 78 miles per hour.
An opponent on the other end of the court tried to receive DeFalco’s fast and furious spike. However, despite being in the perfect position, the player couldn’t receive it. Instead, it violently bounced off his hands, earning TJ a perfect ace. TJ surely lived up to the hype and showed a spectacular offense in the game.
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The women’s team has already grabbed their ticket to Paris and it seems like the men would also make it, soon. This will probably be the last Olympics for Matt Anderson. The New York native spoke about his plan to retire from the sport in an NBC Sport interview, saying, “Paris 2024 would be a great end to my career.” Anderson has already represented the country in the Olympics three times in 2012, 2016, and 2020. Hopefully, this will be his fourth.
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