The U.S. men’s volleyball team will be...

The U.S. men’s volleyball team will be trying for its third straight championship in the NORCECA zone championships, beginning Wednesday in Havana, Cuba. But the United States, the defending world champion, will be without middle blocker Craig Buck, who had knee surgery last week and will be sidelined until the Pan American Games this summer in Indianapolis.

The U.S. women’s team also will compete in Havana, needing either to win the tournament or finish second to Cuba to qualify for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The U.S. men qualified automatically as the 1984 Summer Olympic champions.