In-depth look at the USA men’s first-round roster for Volleyball Nations League

The men begin Volleyball Nations League play Tuesday with four matches as Bulgaria plays China and Japan plays Iran in Nagoya, Japan, and Italy plays Argentina and Canada plays Cuba in Ottawa, Canada.

The USA gets into action Wednesday.

Things get going in Japan when Slovenia plays Serbia and Poland faces France. In Canada, the USA plays the Netherlands and Brazil takes on Germany.

USA coach John Speraw previously announced the 30-player pool from which he will select 14 players for each leg. That complete list is below. After four matches in Ottawa, the USA plays four times in Rotterdam, Netherlands, starting June 20, and then four times in Anaheim, California, starting July 4. For each round, there will likely be a different roster.

In 2022, the USA lost in five to France in the VNL final.

“It’s great to reconvene and get the team back in the gym,” Speraw said. “While many of us have spent a lot of time together, there’s always a process to get all of us reconnected in terms of how we play on the court. 

“This week will be all about moving our connection forward and ensuring that we get better in every match. All the while knowing that all of these matches have implications towards world rankings and Olympic qualification. So already there’s a sense of urgency with this group and they’re excited to get onto the floor.”

This is a look at the 14 players playing the first round.

SETTERS: Two-time Olympian Micah Christenson and Micah Ma’a. You don’t have to be a Micah to play on the USA national team, but it helps, considering one of the the USA women’s setters is Micha Hancock. 

Christenson, the Hawai’ian who played at USC, has been with Zenit Kazan in Russia the past two years. Ma’a, also from Hawai’i, played for Speraw at UCLA. This past season he played for Halkbank Ankara in Türkiye.

OUTSIDE HITTERS: Three of the four, TJ DeFalco, Aaron Russell, and Garrett Muagututia, are Olympians. 

DeFalco, the product of Huntington Beach who was all-everything at Long Beach State, was 18 when he joined the USA national team in 2015. He played for Asseco Resovia Rzeszów in Poland last season. 

Russell, the former Penn State standout, has been with the national team since 2014. The 2016 Olympian played for JT Thunders in Hiroshima, Japan, this season.

Muagututia, who played at UCLA, was with…