At the Palais Des Sports in Pau, France, the 22-year-old was the star man for the US as they completed a 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 win to earn their first success of the campaign.

In the early exchanges, Italy, who won silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, had taken a 7-4 lead as their opponents made a sluggish start.

However, the Americans, who bagged a bronze in Rio, worked their way to a level score at 11-11 and from here, they took control of the match.

The other tie in the group saw hosts France defeat Russia 25-12, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18.

Stephen Boyer was the top scorer for the home side with 20 points.

In Group D1, Serbia achieved a 25-18 25-22, 25-23 win against Argentina at the Azadi Sports Complex while Belgium and Iran played a thrilling five set encounter, which the host nation won 23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12.

Another match which went the full distance came in Group E1 as Bulgaria eventually saw off Poland 25-16, 20-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14 on home ground at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna.

The group’s other match saw reigning Olympic champions Brazil defeat Canada 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23.