Aug. 10, 2011

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Three Stanford players helped the United States to its' best-ever finish at the FIVB Volleyball Men's Junior World Championships.

Brian Cook had nine kills, Steven Irvin had four and Eric Mochalski had three in a 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13 loss to Serbia in the third-place match to conclude the tournament.

The U.S., No. 9 in the world rankings entering the event, exceeded expectations by advancing to the semifinals. In five previous tries, the team finished seventh three times and eighth twice.

The U.S. advanced through the 16-team tournament by winning its first-round four-team group with a 2-1 record, beating Bulgaria and Japan, but losing to Brazil.

The U.S. then finished second in its second-round four-team group with the same mark, beating Iran and Spain, and losing to eventual champion Russia by a heartbreaking 19-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-17, 15-13 score.

A 27-29, 28-26, 25-19, 25-20 loss to Argentina in the semifinals Tuesday ended the Americans' title hopes despite Mochalski's seven kills, two digs, and a block. In all, the U.S. went 4-4 in all matches.

Mochalski was among the leaders in several statistical categories. He was 13th among best servers, 23rd in blocks, 34th in scoring, and 34th in scoring. The rising sophomore middle blocker finished with 37 kills, 12 stuff blocks, 18 digs, and six aces.

Cook totaled 13 kills and Irvin had four.