Championship to Challenge Boys' Youth Team

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 5, 2010) – The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Volleyball Team will have its work cut out for it when it begins competition on Tuesday at the NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship (under-19) in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The NORCECA Championship is being held far earlier in the season than usual because it is a qualifier for the first Youth Olympic Games on Aug. 14-26 in Singapore. Only the winning team at NORCECA will qualify for the Youth Olympics.

The NORCECA Championship is also a qualifier for the 2011 FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship at a site and date to be determined. The top two or three finishers will qualify for Worlds.

Because the NORCECA Championship is being held while school is still in session and high school boys’ volleyball teams are competing, the team did not train together prior to heading to Guadalajara.

U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team Head Coach Gary Sato (Los Angeles), who also serves as assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, is looking forward to the challenge.

“Because we haven’t had time to train and don’t have information on the other teams, we will be really focused on what’s happening on our side of the net,” Sato said. “We have a great group of players that are ready to compete without a chance to train.

“We also have a fantastic staff. I think Jeff Stork, a three-time Olympian, and Walt Ker, a former college women’s and men’s head coach, will bring a lot of volleyball knowledge and history.”

Besides the coaching staff, the team will also look to setter Micah Christenson for leadership. He is the only returning player from the 2009 U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team that finished 10th at the FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship and was named USA Volleyball’s 2009 Indoor Team of the Year.

The United States is the top-ranked NORCECA team based on its first-place finish at the 2008 NORCECA Boys’ Youth Championship and 10th-place finish at the 2009 FIVB World Championship. It shares Pool A with Canada and Cuba. Neither Canada nor Cuba is ranked since neither team competed at the 2008 NORCECA Championship or the 2009 FIVB World Championship.

Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Curacao will compete in Pool B while hosts Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica will play in Pool C.

The United States won the last NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship in 2008 in Miami. It finished second in 2002 and 2006.

2010 U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team
NORCECA Continental Championships
April 6-11 in Guadalajara, Mexico

No. Name (Position; Height; Hometown; Club; Region)
3 Nikola Antonijevic (MB; 6-8; Buffalo Grove, Ill.; Adversity; Great Lakes)
4 Micah Christenson (S; 6-5; Honolulu, Hawaii; Outrigger Canoe Club; Aloha)
7 Austin Kingi (OH; 6-4; Thousand Oaks, Calif.; SCVC; Southern California)
9 John La Rusch (OH; 6-6; Long Beach; Calif.; MB Surf; Southern California)
10 Owen McAndrews (MB; 6-4; Avon Lake, Ohio; Matchpoint; Ohio Valley)
12 Christopher Orenic (OH; 6-3; Manhattan Beach, Calif.; SCVC; Southern California)
13 Scott Rhein (OH; 6-5; Pleasant View, Tenn.; Impact; Southern)
14 Aaron Russell (MB; 6-7.5; Ellicott City, Md.; MVP; Chesapeake)
16 Andrew Sato (L; 5-9; Calabasas, Calif.; SMBC; Southern California)
17 Matt Tarantino (OH; 6-8; Van Nuys, Calif.; SMBC; Southern California)
18 Matt West (S; 6-5.5; Seattle, Wash.; Space Needle Volleyball Foundation; Puget Sound)
19 D.J. White (OH; 6-5; Hermosa Beach, Calif.; MB Surf; Southern California)

Head Coach: Gary Sato (Los Angeles)
Team Leader: Tom Tait
Assistant Coach: Jeff Stork (Topanga, Calif.)
Trainer: Walt Ker (Valencia, Calif.)
Physician: Julie Chuan

Tournament Schedule (All times PDT)

Pool Play

April 6
Pool C: Costa Rica vs. Guatemala, 2 p.m.
Pool B: Puerto Rico vs. Curazao, 4 p.m.
Pool A: USA vs. Canada, 6 p.m.

April 7
Pool B: Curazao vs. Dominican Republic, 2 p.m.
Pool A: Canada vs. Cuba, 4 p.m.
Pool C: Guatemala vs. Mexico, 6 p.m.

April 8
Pool B: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico, 2 p.m.
Pool A: Cuba vs. USA, 4 p.m.
Pool C: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, 6 p.m.

April 9
2 p.m.: Classification 9
4 and 6 p.m.: Quarterfinals

April 10
2 p.m.: Classification 7/8
4 and 6 p.m.: Semifinals

April 11
Noon: Classification 5/6
2 p.m.: Third-place match
4 p.m.: Championship

Past NORCECA Boys’ Youth Continental Championship Results

1998 Held in Dominican Republic:  Dominican Republic (gold), Mexico (silver), Puerto Rico (bronze)
2000 Held in Mexico:  Mexico (gold), Puerto Rico (silver), Canada (bronze)
2002 Held in Dominican Republic: Puerto Rico (gold), United States (silver), Mexico (bronze)
2004 Held in Mexico: Cuba (gold), Canada (silver), Mexico (bronze)
2006 Held in Dominican Republic: Puerto Rico (gold), United States (silver), Cuba (bronze)
2008 Held in Miami: United States (gold), Puerto Rico (silver), Mexico (bronze)

Tags: 2010 U.S. Boys' Youth National Team, Aaron Russell, Andrew Sato, Austin Kingi, Christopher Orenic, D.J. White, Gary Sato, John La Rusch, Matt Tarantino, Matt West, Micah Christenson, Nikola Antonijevic, NORCECA Boys' Youth Continental Championship, NORCECA Continental Championship, Owen McAndrews, Scott Rhein, U.S. Boys' Youth National Team