U.S. Boys' Youth Team Sweeps Egypt at Worlds

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 2, 2009) – The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team scored its first sweep of the FIVB Boys’ Youth (U-19) World Championship on Wednesday as it defeated Egypt, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) in Bassano del Grappa, Italy.

Team USA now leads Group H with a 2-0 record and is 4-1 overall. It will play Brazil (2-0, 3-2) in its final second-round pool play match at 10 a.m. local (1 a.m. PT) on Thursday. The victory also means that the U.S. Boys' Youth National Team will play in the semifinals of the nine-16 bracket. The only question is whether it will advance as the first- or second-place team.

Egypt (0-5, 0-2) will face Algeria (0-5, 0-2) on Thursday.

U.S. team captain Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) led the U.S. assault on Wednesday with 20 points on 16 kills, one block and three aces. Jeremy Dejno (New Berlin, Wis.) added 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and one ace. Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawai’i) totaled nine points on seven kills and two blocks.

“We just had to pick it up to play against a very good team,” Sander said “I think we got out into the match by serving good and touching a lot of balls. I just needed to improve my leadership by making 20 points. I think this helps me to play better.”

Moustafa Idris led Egypt with nine points on seven kills and two aces.

The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team completed 46 of 88 kill attempts (52 percent) with 15 faults for a hitting percentage of 0.35. Sander and Dejno each had a hitting percentage of 0.44.

Egypt completed 23 of 71 kill attempts (32 percent) with 12 faults for a hitting percentage of 0.15.

The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team out-blocked Egypt 6-5 and had nine aces as opposed to three for Egypt.

Among other U.S. scorers, Spencer Rowe (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) totaled seven points on six kills and one ace. Dylan Davis (Corona del Mar, Calif.) added five points on three kills and two aces. Micah Christenson (Honolulu, Hawai’i) scored two points on one block and one ace. Tanner Clayton (San Diego, Calif.), Nick Gibson (Shorewood, Wis.), Connor Olbright (Orange, Calif.) and Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) each scored one point. Every U.S. player saw playing time in the match.

“I think that the Egyptian team is good and they are strong players,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “Maybe they did not play their best game today. Winning the first set was the key to win the match.”

Olbright, who started at setter, was credited with 21 running sets and one fault on 38 attempts. Christenson, who substituted in the first and second sets and started the third, had 16 running sets and no faults on 39 attempts.

Libero Evan Mottram (Leona Valley, Calif.) was credited with 11 digs and one fault on 13 attempts. Sander had nine digs and one fault on 11 attempts. Sander had 10 excellent service receptions with one fault on 17 attempts. Dejno had nine excellent and on fault on 21 attempts.

Read started Sander and Dejno at outside hitter, Rowe and Davis at middle blocker, Taylor at opposite, Olbright at setter and Mottram at libero. Christenson started the third set. Clayton, Taylor Crabb (Honolulu, Hawai’i), Gibson and Torres all played as substitutes.

Read Ken Preston’s “Blogging from the Boot.”

View Ken Preston’s photo gallery.

The event web site is at www.fivb.org/EN/Volleyball/Competitions/Youth/men/2009/.

FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship
Aug. 28-Sept. 6 in Jesolo and Bassano del Grappa, Italy

No Name (Position, Hometown, Region, Club)
2 Micah Christenson (S, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Aloha, Outrigger Canoe VC)
3 Tanner Clayton (MB, San Diego, Calif., Southern California, Epic VC)
4 Taylor Crabb (OH, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Aloha, Outrigger Canoe VC)
6 Dylan Davis (MB, Corona del Mar, Calif., So Cal, Balboa Bay VC)
7 Jeremy Dejno (OH, New Berlin, Wis., Badger, Lightning VC)
10 Nick Gibson (OH, Shorewood, Wis., Badger, North Shore Milwaukee VC)
12 Evan Mottram (L, Leona Valley, Calif., So Cal, Pacific Palisades VC)
14 Connor Olbright (S, Orange, Calif., So Cal, Balboa Bay VC)
15 Spencer Rowe (MB, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., So Cal, OCVC)
16 C Taylor Sander (OH, Norco, Calif., So Cal, Orange Coast VC)
18 Joshua Taylor (Opp/OH, Honolulu, Hawai’i, Aloha, Ku’ikahi VC)
19 Maurice Torres (Opp/OH, Riverside, Calif., So Cal, OC Riptides)

Head Coach: Andy Read (Long Beach State University)
Assistant Coach: Sean Byron (Ohio State University)
Team Leader/Manager: Ken Preston (former head coach at UC Santa Barbara)
Doctor: David Dyck Jr.
Therapist/Trainer: Daniel Friend (Lewis University)
Technical Coordinator: Chris Birch (Penn State University)

Pool H Standings
Country Record (Point Ratio)
USA 2-0 (1.255)
Brazil 2-0 (1.237)
Algeria 0-2 (0.819)
Egypt 0-2 (0.780)

Pool H Schedule (All times local) and Results
All matches in Bassano del Grappa
Sept. 1
USA def. Algeria, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-6
Brazil def. Egypt, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22
Sept. 2
Brazil def. Algeria, 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14
USA def. Egypt, 25-21, 25-16, 25-18
Sept. 3
Brazil vs. USA, 10 a.m.
Egypt vs. Algeria, 12:30 p.m.

Pool B Final Standings:
Country Record (Point Ratio)
Iran 2-1 (1.151)
Serbia 2-1 (1.039)
USA 2-1 (0.941)
Japan 0-3 (0.906)

Pool B Match Schedule and Results
All matches in Jesolo
Aug. 28
Serbia def. Japan, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13
USA def. Iran, 25-20, 13-25, 25-22, 25-23
Aug. 29
Iran def. Japan, 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18
Serbia def. USA, 17-25, 18-25, 18-25
Aug. 30
USA def. Japan, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22
Iran def. Serbia, 25-22, 25-11, 25-23

Tags: 2009 U.S. Boys' Youth National Team, FIVB World Championship, Italy, U.S. Boys' Youth National Team