BEIJING — Honolulu's Clay Stanley, a Kaiser High and University of Hawai'i alum, had six kills, two blocks and an ace as the U.S. men's volleyball team swept Japan, 25-18, 25-12, 25-21, yesterday at the Capital Indoor Stadium to finish 5-0 in pool play.

The Americans, ranked third in the FIVB world ranking, will play in a quarterfinal match against Serbia on Wednesday.

Team USA, which has won seven matches in a row, is looking to reach the Olympic medal stand for the first time since 1992 when it earned the bronze medal in Barcelona after consecutive gold medals at Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988.

Ryan Millar paced the U.S. with 10 points with five kills on nine swings to go with four blocks. David Lee chipped in nine points via five kills on seven attacks, three blocks and an ace. Stanley also had nine points.

"Ryan is having a very good tournament," U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "He is hitting the ball with a lot range, being able to attack a lot of zones. I am very happy with his offensive output. I also think he is doing a nice job defensively with his blocking. He has been serving for a lot of points.

"I was quite happy with the way the team played tonight," McCutcheon added. "The guys were focused and were able to execute in all phases of the game. I thought it was a much better effort and performance than our match against China. We got a little better tonight, and that is always one of our goals to try and improve every time we step on the court."

Lloy Ball contributed 15 assists along with two blocks in the first two sets, while Kevin Hansen turned in eight assists in the final set. Rich Lambourne provided 17 excellent service receptions on 19 errorless attempts.

Team USA defeated Serbia during the 2008 FIVB World League title match. Serbia, currently ranked fifth in the FIVB world rankings, is the last team to defeat the Americans, a three-set loss to start the World League final round.