The U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team held off match-point and pulled out a five-set victory (25-18, 23-25, 27-25, 18-25, 16-14) over Poland in the FIVB World League Final Round yesterday in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. Men will take today off while Poland faces Serbia in the final pool play match. If Serbia defeats Poland, Team USA will advance to the World League semifinals as the second-place team in Pool F. If Poland wins, it will be tied with the U.S. at 1-1 and it will come down to the tie-breaker, which is the points ratio. The third-place team will not advance.

Reid Priddy and Hawai'i's Clay Stanley, a University of Hawai'i and Kaiser High alum, each scored 21 points to lead the Americans.

TENNIS

JANKOVIC BANKING ON WINS IN CLIMB TO NO. 1

Jelena Jankovic rode her improved serve to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Melinda Czink of Hungary in the East West Bank Classic on yesterday at Carson, Calif., keeping the top-seeded Serb on course to take over the No. 1 ranking.

Jankovic served seven aces in knocking out Czink, who lost in the second round of qualifying but got into the main draw when Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew with an injured right knee.

Jankovic can dislodge countrywoman Ana Ivanovic from the top ranking by winning the tournament, her first since injuring her right knee at Wimbledon.

"There's no pain and I'm really happy about that," she said. "My legs are a little bit hurting. I'm not used to playing matches every day and playing after not doing anything for two weeks. Now it's time to get in shape."

Third-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia was upset by 14th-seeded Sybille Bammer, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, while No. 5 Vera Zvonareva lost 6-4, 7-5 to Nadia Petrova, last year's runner-up.

RODDICK FALLS IN CUP

Andy Roddick followed Roger Federer out of the Rogers Cup.

The sixth-seeded Roddick was upset by 44th-ranked Marin Cilic, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, yesterday in Toronto.

"His aggressiveness is what won him that match," Roddick said. "He took it to me a lot more than I took it to him."

Defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Robin Soderling, and No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal moved on by beating Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

SOCCER

MLS STARS WINS, 3-2

Just making it to the Major League Soccer All-Star game was a "nightmare" for Dwayne DeRosario. Once he arrived, it turned into a night he'll never forget.

The Houston midfielder scored a tiebreaking penalty, Chicago midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco had one goal and helped set up another, and the MLS All-Stars posted a 3-2 victory over English Premier League team West Ham United last night in Toronto.

"A game like this in my hometown, I can't ask for anything more, especially to have an opportunity to have an impact in the game," said DeRosario, who grew up in suburban Toronto. "For me, it's a dream come true."

DeRosario and Houston teammate and fellow Canadian Pat Onstad didn't arrive in Toronto until early yesterday morning. The Dynamo had to play a makeup game in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, and rain forced a 3-hour delay and a finish after midnight. The pair caught an early morning flight to Toronto, but were delayed another 90 minutes at the airport.