Men's Junior Team Fighting for Fifth Place

Maura Gladys
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6886
E-Mail: maura.gladys@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 7, 2009) - The U.S. Men's Junior National team hopes to end its four-game losing streak and finish strong in the final round of the 2009 FIVB Men's Junior World Championship this weekend in Pune, India.

Thanks to a strong first round, the United States is still in contention to finish in fifth place and will take on Russia on Saturday (Aug. 8) at 2 p.m. local time (4:30 a.m. EST) in the first of two 5-8 classification matches. Iran takes on Belgium on Aug. 8 at noon local time (2:30 a.m. EST) in the other classification match. The winners of both matches will play each other for fifth place while the losers will battle for seventh place.

The U.S. Men's Junior Team finished fourth in Pool F with an 0-3 record after losses to Brazil, Cuba and Iran. Russia finished third in Pool E, their only victory coming over Belgium.

The United States advanced to Pool F after garnering a 2-1 record in Pool A. It defeated Belarus and Tunisia and lost to host India. Russia finished second in Pool D with wins over Poland and Canada and a loss to Brazil.

Through the first two rounds, Tony Ciarelli (Huntington Beach, Calif.) is Team USA's leading scorer with 82 points for eighth overall. He has racked up 65 kills, 10 blocks and seven aces. Tyler Jaynes (Granite Bay, Calif.)  has added 59 points off of 50 kills, three blocks and six aces, good for 17^th overall.  Nick Vogel (El Cajon, Calif.) is tied for 30^th overall with 45 points off of 28 kills, 13 blocks and four aces.

Ciarelli is also ranked fourth among servers with seven aces and a .30 average by set. Murphy Troy (St. Louis, Mo.) is close behind, ranked sixth with six aces and a .26 average by set.  Libero Erik Shoji (Honolulu, Hawai'i) is ranked as the second best digger with 48 digs, 50 receptions and a 2.09 average by set. He is also ranked 10^th among receivers with 72 excellents and an efficiency percentage of 52.80.

2009 FIVB Men's Junior World Championships
July 31-Aug. 9 in Pune, India

U.S. Men's Junior National Team Roster

Name (Position, Height, City, State, School, Region)
1. Thomas Amberg (OH, 6-7, El Cajon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
4. Tyler Jaynes (MB, 6-9, Granite Bay, Calif., Pepperdine, No Cal)
5. Joseph Kauliakamoa (Setter, 6-5, Las Vegas, Nev., BYU, No Cal)
6. Brad Lawson (OH, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawai'i, Stanford, Aloha)
7. Erik Shoji (Libero, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawai'i, Stanford, Aloha)
8. C Murphy Troy (OH, 6-8, St. Louis, Mo., USC, Gateway)
9. Tri Bourne (OH, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USC, Aloha)
10. Tony Ciarelli (OH, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., USC, So Cal)
13. Rusty Lavaja (MB, 6-7, St. Charles, Ill., BYU, Great Lakes)
17. Joseph Sunder (Opp., 6-7, Greensburg, Pa., Penn State, Keystone)
18. Nick Vogel (MB, 6-9, El Cajon, Calif., UCLA, So Cal)

Head Coach: Shawn Patchell (BYU men's head coach)
Assistant Coach: JT Wenger (UCLA men's assistant coach)
Team Manager: Tom Tait (former Penn State men's head coach)
Therapist / trainer: Giuseppe Vinci (BYU technical coordinator)
Team Doctor: Julie Chuan

Final Pool F Standings
Brazil 3-0 6 points
Cuba 2-1 5 points
Iran 1-2 4 points
USA 0-3 3 points

Pool F Results
Aug. 4
Brazil def. USA, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17
Cuba def. Iran, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22
Aug. 5
Cuba def. USA, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23
Brazil def. Iran, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18
Aug. 6
Iran def. USA, 23-25 25-21 25-18 20-25 15-10
Brazil def. Cuba, 25-22, 25-14, 25-22

Final Pool A Standings
India 2-1 5 points
USA 2-1 5 points
Belarus 2-1 5 points
Tunisia 0-3 3 points

Pool A Results
July 30
USA def. Belarus, 32-30, 21-25, 25-18, 30-28
July 31
India def. Tunisia, 25-11, 25-15, 25-13
Aug. 1
USA def. Tunisia, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-21
Belarus def. India, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11 
Aug. 2
Belarus def. Tunisia, 24-26, 26-24, 25-17, 25-17
India def. USA, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18

Tags: Brad Lawson, Erik Shoji, FIVB, FIVB World Championship, Joe Kauliakamoa, Joe Sunder, Murphy Troy, Nick Vogel, Rusty Lavaja, Shawn Patchell, Tom Amberg, Tony Ciarelli, Tri Bourne, Tyler Jaynes, U.S. Men's Junior National Team, World Championships