The defending champions came back from a set down to defeat USA in four, but in all fairness, both teams had already advanced to the next round and the Americans rested their main setter and captain Micah Christenson. He made his return in the Round of 16, however, making a strong contribution to his team's victory against Türkiye. Libero Erik Shoji once again demonstrated how efficient he can be in defence, and his nine digs on Sunday evening propelled him to the top of the best diggers chart of the tournament. USA’s VNL 2022 captain David Smith also had a fantastic performance during the five sets against the Turks and, in a relatively rare occurrence for a middle blocker, was the team’s leading scorer. So in all likelihood, the hosts will have to pay extra attention to his first-tempo attacks and monster blocks.