LONDON -- Matt Anderson scored 18 points and the defending gold medal-winning U.S. men's volleyball team opened play at the London Games with a sweep of Serbia on Sunday.

Captain Clay Stanley added 13 points in the 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 victory at Earls Court.

"It was a good match. We fought hard and won in three straight, which is pretty much exactly what our game plan was to do," Anderson said. "We wanted to serve tough and put a lot of pressure on them, and I think we executed that pretty well."

The U.S. team was not considered among the favorites going into the Olympics, despite a silver-medal finish in the recent FIVB World League tournament. But they appeared strong and confident in the dominating performance over the Serbians.

The U.S. jumped out to an 18-7 lead in the first set and the public address announcer at Earls Court proclaimed it an "absolute mauling." David Lee helped the U.S. win the set with a block to give the Americans a 23-14 lead and later a clinching kill.

Serbia played more competitively in the final two sets, pushing the U.S. to the final points in each. In the second, the Americans went on a 7-1 run to take control and earn four set points. The Serbians saved a pair of those points before a service error clinched a two-set lead for the Americans.

The U.S. led the entire third set although Serbia closed its deficit to three several times late in the match. 2008 Olympic MVP Stanley's spike

"It was a well-played match, and it was probably more the mindset of the players that got them through," U.S. head coach Alan Knipe said. "We did a really good job to maintain our composure when we were down in the second set."

Anderson led the Americans with 16 kills while Stanley added nine kills and four blocks. Reid Priddy and Lee each contributed three blocks for the U.S., which converted on 16 of 52 blocks and had a .227 attack percentage.

Aleksandar Atanasijevic led Serbia with 11 kills.

Serbian wing spiker Milos Nikic gave credit to the United States for the victory.

"We didn't really get into it. We played well in parts, but we didn't keep our momentum," he said. "We can play better."

The Americans return to Group B action Tuesday against Germany, while Serbia takes on Tunisia earlier that day.

Four years ago, the United States won the gold medal in Beijing, going undefeated and upsetting favorite Brazil in four sets in a thrilling final. That team was coached by Hugh McCutcheon.

The U.S. run in Beijing was emotional after McCutcheon's father-in-law was stabbed to death at a popular Chinese tourist attraction just before the opening ceremony. The coach left the team for several matches to be with his family.

McCutcheon shifted over to the U.S. women's team following Beijing, and Knipe took a leave of absence as head coach of Long Beach State to coach the men for London.

The U.S. is ranked No. 5 by volleyball's international governing body. The team is in a difficult pool in London, joining top-ranked Brazil, perennial powerhouse Russia, Serbia, Germany and Tunisia. The other pool includes Italy, Poland, Argentina, Bulgaria, Australia and host Britain.

Serbia, which won the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Games, finished fifth in Beijing.