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Following four challenging preliminary round matches, the United States is now in position to secure spot in the World Championship quarterfinals but will have to defeat one of the top volleyball nations in the world to earn the berth.
The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team will play Brazil in the Round of 16 at the FIVB U21 Men’s Junior World Championship on Tuesday and try to move one step closer to capturing the nation’s first medal at this international tournament.
Check out what to know about this elimination postseason match and how to follow it live.
United States (2-2) vs. Brazil (2-2)
Match vitals: 11 a.m. (4 a.m. EST) in Imzir, Turkey
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match Tweets
FIVB World Ranking: USA (No. 6); Brazil (No. 5)
Last medal finish at World Championship: USA (never); Brazil (2009 gold)
Current NCAA players on roster: USA (12); Brazil (zero)
What to know: Two of the top offensive threats at the World Championship will go up against each other with a quarterfinals berth on the line as the United States plays Brazil in the Round of the 16. BYU opposite Ben Patch led the United States and is in the tournament’s top five with 54 kills during the preliminary round. In addition, the All-American and 2013 AVCA Newcomer of the year led the United States in kills the last three matches and had a tournament-best 19 kills in a sweep against Canada on Monday. Brazil outside attacker Alan Souza is also in the tournament’s top five with 52 kills, including a team-high 16 kills in a five-game loss to the defending champions Russia during the preliminary round. The United States enters the Round 16 after winning its preliminary round finale against Canada to clinch the No. 2 seed in Pool C. Brazil finished Pool D in third place with both of its losses coming in five-game matches. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2011 World Championship preliminary round, which Brazil won in four games. The winner of this Round of 16 match will advance to play the winner of the Turkey-Mexico match in the quarterfinals on Thursday.