Czechs beat U.S. Men, 3-1, in Dallas tour finale

by Paul Soriano USA Volleyball Manager, Public Relations & Publications

The Czech Republic men's national volleyball team capped a successful season-opening tour in the Lone Star State with a 25-17, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19 win over the U.S. national team Friday night at the Dallas Convention Center Arena.

The win came in the finale of a five-match tour between the two teams, a series that saw the Czechs go 4-1 against a young, inexperienced United States team. Team USA's lone win came Wednesday night in five games.

For Hall of Fame head coach Doug Beal, this season-opening tour wasn't so much about wins and losses as it was about gaining some much-needed experience for a roster of players with very little international exposure.

"There are a lot of good things that have happened for us this trip," said Beal. "A lot of young guys got to cut their teeth against a good international team. With a young group like this team we have here, we'd rather play a team that's more experienced than us and learn a lot than play a weaker team."

Opposite Brook Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif./USC) led the Americans with 15 points, while outside hitter Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill./Pepperdine) recorded nine points. Billings had 12 kills, two blocks, one aces and seven digs, while Rooney added eight kills, six digs and one block.

Middle blocker Adam Naeve (Westchester, Calif./UCLA) and outside hitter Dave McKienzie (Littleton, Colo./Long Beach State) chipped in seven points apiece for the U.S., while setter Chris Gisslen (Red Wing, Minn./IPFW) added six points.

Libero Erik Sullivan (Encinitas, Calif./UCLA) added 12 digs.

On Saturday morning, Team USA departs for Italy to compete in a six-nation tournament (June 3-9) against five of the top six teams in the world: No. 1 Yugoslavia, No. 2 Italy, No. 3 Russia, No. 4 Brazil and No. 6 The Netherlands.

For more information, go to the USA Volleyball website.