USA 🇺🇸 vs. Bulgaria 🇧🇬 - Highlights | Week 3 | Men's VNL 2026

We go the ball in the hands of Ilya Petkov. Rob Snook alongside Matt Prosser with Emily Eamon and it is game on in Illinois. The up from Shoji, the attack from DeFalco, the point for USA. Area knows they need to be strong at serving. Here's one of their strongest servers, Aspadu Aspaduwa. Takes something off of that McHenry. He goes right, Christensen goes right back to McHenry. Gotta love to see the middle step in and pass. Start the play, then get a right back from a setter. Alex Krosdanoff, who stars in the Polish Plus League at Lublin. That's Shoji. Here's DeFalco, the factor. He had a little something extra on it. Just uncorking on this one. Yeah, it was too bad. That was a good looking rally. That'll wake up the fans here. How about this from the youngster out of the middle? Hammering that Nikolov serving. Spartan number two. He plays at Verona. Alex plays at Lube Chivitinova. Oh, good pickup. What a set from Micah Christensen, though. Absolute magic right there from Micah. Bulgaria putting pressure on the United States. Alex Nikolov from the right side. Score from every side, though. Well, that's the unique thing about Alex Nikolov's talents. He can attack from the first set. 27-25. But aces coming late and that a perfectly placed serve into the seed between Anderson and DeFalco. That's precision right there. Both players stepping away, thinking the other one was going to take it. And it's a walk-off ace for Bulgaria. Alex Nikolov, who ended the set, is on the bench. We're underway. Second set. Good take on this serve and good swing from Grozdanov. The captain's got Bulgaria rocking. Asparuov. Good take from McHenry. McHenry, a total sell job. DeFalco pummels it down the cross court. From our angle, it looks like that ball's getting still. Jay Cain serving. His team now leading by a point. It's a solid pass from Kolab. And another monster block. USA Anderson, I think, got all of it. He sure did. And this is a veteran move right here from Matt Anderson. Good up from Shoji. Really good. Here's DeFalco, but he's shut Asparuov. But more Petkov. The tip from Dillett was coming eventually. One point game here in the second. Attacks the serve. Up from DeFalco. He gets back on his feet. Triple block. Up from Alex. Tip from Alex. Don't underestimate the power of a Bulgarian. Don't underestimate the power of an American. To be a free ball. USA a chance to win the set. This is how it finished. Bulgaria scrambling after another great serve. And then the back quick from Jendrik. Back-to-back points through the middle for USA. And they take the second set. Rumsnuk alongside Matt Prosser with Emily Eamon. And we're all tied up at one set apiece. Petkov's serve taken by DeFalco. He's going to swing. T.J. does. T.J. can't quite score. What a dig by Alex Nikolov. Another dig from DeFalco. Or sorry, from Haynes. And that's going to score from DeFalco on the other side. Serving. Asparuov. Monik Nikolov. Alex Nikolov. Point Bulgaria. 21 on the day. 251 on the season. I mean to already have 21 points in a match. And we're only 12 points into the third set. Goes down. Ready to serve. He kind of has a running hybrid here. Taken by Anderson. And he is shut down. It's a solo block in China in the finals. Christensen sets up DeFalco, who clobbers it. That swing from T.J. Sending a little message back to area. All right. T.J. DeFalco, what have you got? Tony again has to stray a little bit. Nevermind. Asparuov converts. What a swing from Asparuov. All right. Here he comes. Four aces on the year. That's a good serve, but it's up from Bulgaria. And it's down from Alex Nikolov. And it's set point again, Bulgaria. Their second. Marderov in a lengthy discussion with his coach as he runs back in position. Here's the middle attack. It's set. Two sets to one lead in this dynamite battle in Chicago. Here we go. Set number four. USA in blue. Chasing the match right now. Mone's got to chase this ball down. Up ahead to his brother. Triple block. And he scores anyway. Now he gets the chance to serve. Up from Shoji. Really good to Christensen. And then McHenry with a hammer through the middle. That's a great adjustment too for the offense, for the United States running. Five-three. Bulgaria here early in the fourth set. And just collected by Shoji. Free ball USA. A chance for Bulgaria to make it a three-point lead. Good read by the middle's Jendrik. Here's Anderson. That's going to score. Great point for the U.S. The horns are blaring for TJ DeFalco. It's going to come all the way over on the overpass. Lots of USA fans and chants. Okay. And we got fans behind us too, Matt. All right, here's Christensen. Hold that up. Asperuov's going to set this all the way up for Alex. Triple block. And he's got off the block of McHenry to score the point. Number 29. Twelve block points to five Bulgaria in the match. That was a good serve. Handled well by USA. And that's a rocket that Haynes wanted and his team needed. I think he had a broken bone in one of his in his hand and he played the whole season like that. There's Haynes with a hammer. The Haynes hammer from the right side. They need more of that. They need it right now. Alex Nikolov goes down off. Christensen not done yet. Champlin scores. Really smart play over the block under the defender. That's the definition of a pancake right there. Still facing match point. Toss. It's over. USA's house but with lots of their own fans on hand wins it in four sets.