U.S. Girls' Youth Sweeps Into NORCECA Semis

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

Unofficial DataVolley Match Stats

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 29, 2010) – The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team went undefeated in Pool C of the 2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth (U-18) Continental Championship after sweeping Canada 25-14, 25-12, 25-14 Thursday evening at the Guatemala Dome in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The U.S., ranked second in the girls’ youth age division of NORCECA and the four-time defending champion of the biennial event, earned a bye into the semifinals as one of the top two Pool winners. The top two first place teams of the three pools advance directly to the semifinals on May 1, while the lowest ranked pool winner joins the three pool second-place finishers in the quarterfinals on April 30. The championship match is set for May 2.

The U.S. finished with a 2.250 point ratio (points scored divided by points against), while NORCECA’s top-ranked Mexico had a leading 2.344 point ratio after winning Pool A. Puerto Rico won Pool B, but had a 1.948 point ratio.

Molly McCage (Spring, Texas) led the Americans with 11 points with six kills on nine swings, match-high four blocks and an ace. Brittany Howard (Los Altos, Calif.) added eight points via five kills on 17 errorless attacks and three blocks. Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas) chipped in six kills on 14 attempts to go with a block for seven points. Jordan Burgess (Tampa) tacked on five kills on 12 errorless attacks, while Shelby Sullivan (Richardson, Texas) contributed two kills, two aces and a block for five points. Angela Lowak (New Braunfels, Texas) charted four points off the bench with three kills and a block. Rounding out the U.S. scoring was Madison Bugg (Apex, N.C.) with two points and Lauren Sieckmann (Omaha, Neb.) with one point.

"Tonight we played our more inconsistent match," U.S. Girls' Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone said. "I am glad we are moving on, but we need to play better in the upcoming matches. We need to raise the level of play."

Bugg directed the offense with 17 excellent sets leading the U.S. to a .253 hitting efficiency and 36 kill percent. Haley Pouliezos (Imperial, Mo.) handled a match-high 15 digs and had six excellent service receptions. Malloy added three digs, while Burgess had four excellent reception attempts.

The U.S. held an 11-0 block advantage and 5-2 margin in aces over Canada. Further, the Americans played excellent defense in the back row with a 22-9 dig margin and had 14 excellent receptions on 35 attempts. The Americans held the Canadians to a .059 hitting efficiency and 23.5 kill percent.

Stone started Bugg at setter, McCage and Sullivan at middle blocker, Burgess and Howard at outside hitter and Malloy at opposite. Lowak started the second set for Howard, who returned to start the third set. Sieckmann and Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.) were subs in the third set.

Canada was led in scoring by Megan Festival, who had six points. Alexa Gray added five points in the loss.

“Team USA is very strong,” Canadian Head Coach Jesse Knight said. “I am really amazed how fast they have come together. For us this is a learning experience. The bottom line is one team could maintain the level of consistency and the other no.”

The U.S. has won five of the first six NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championships, including the past four events. The top three finishing teams in this year’s NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship receive berths into the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship, while the winner earns a spot into the first-ever IOC Youth Olympics to be held in August of 2010 in Singapore.

Earlier today, Dominican Republic (2-1) topped Jamaica (0-3) 25-4, 25-4, 25-2 to finish in second place in Pool C. Mexico (2-0) swept Costa Rica (1-1) 25-9, 25-10, 25-11 to finish atop Pool A. Puerto Rico (2-0) downed host Guatemala (1-1) 25-19, 25-16, 25-11 to place first in Pool B.

After an early 3-all tie in the opening set, the U.S. scored four unanswered points with Howard scoring a kill and block around a McCage kill to put the score at 7-3. Canada battled back to tie the set at 8-all on a 5-1 scoring spurt. The Americans broke a 10-all with a 4-0 scoring run with kills from Burgess and Sullivan around a Canadian error and a Malloy block to put the score at 13-10. After Canada broke the scoring run, the U.S. erupted for six unanswered points at 20-11 as McCage gained two blocks in the run and Lowak added another. The U.S. finished out the set with four straight points at 25-14, which included a block and kill from McCage and a kill from Burgess.

Team USA jumped out to a 5-1 advantage in the second set as Malloy and Sullivan picked up kills. Lowak scored back-to-back kills leading the U.S. into an 8-2 advantage at the first technical timeout. The U.S. extended its margin to nine points at 16-7 by the second technical timeout as McCage collected two kills, a block and ace between the first and second technical timeouts. The Americans continued to roll in the last segment of the second set with a 9-5 run, including two kills from Malloy, for a 25-12 victory.

The Americans built an early 6-0 lead over Canada in the third set with two Bugg aces and kills from Sullivan and Burgess. After Canada broke the scoring run, Team USA resumed another streak of three points behind kills from Burgess and Sullivan for a 9-1 advantage that quickly pushed to 13-2 around several Canadian errors. Canada battled back to within six at 17-11 before Malloy stopped the comeback with a kill, which started three consecutive points for the U.S. capped by a Howard kill at 20-11. Sullivan and McCage turned in consecutive kills at 22-12, then the U.S. capped off the match with kills by Howard and McCage at 25-14.

For additional information on the tournament, visit the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team page at usavolleyball.org/events/3748.

2010 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Roster
Player (Pos., Ht, Hometown, Club, Region)
2 - Madison Bugg (S, 6-0, Apex, N.C., 2012, Triangle, Carolina)
3 - Jordan Burgess (OH, 6-0, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors, Florida)
5 - Mylan “Mimi” Eugene (OH, 5-11, Houston, Texas, 2014, Texas Tornados, Lone Star)
6 - Brittany Howard (OH, 6-3, Los Altos, Calif., 2012, Vision, Northern California)
8 - Angela Lowak (OH, 6-0, New Braunfels, Texas, 2012, Austin Juniors, Lone Star)
9 - Andie Malloy (S/OH, 6-2, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors, North Texas)
11 - Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, 2012, Texas Team, Lone Star)
12 - Allison Palmer (S, 5-9, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach Volleyball Club, Southern California)
13 – Regan Peltier (MB, 6-2, Nixa, Mo., 2012, Midwest Xplosion, Heart of America)
14 - Haley Pouliezos (L, 5-7, Imperial, Mo., 2012, High Performance, Gateway)
15 - ^ Chloe Reinig (MB, 6-4, Detroit, Mich., 2013, Michigan Elite, Lakeshore)
17 - Lauren Sieckmann (S, 5-11, Omaha, Neb., 2012, Nebraska Elite, Great Plains)
18 - Shelby Sullivan (MB, 6-2, Richardson, Texas, 2012, TAV, North Texas)
^ Chloe Reinig originally selected to team, but withdrew due to illness

Head Coach: Jim Stone (USA Volleyball High Performance Coach)
Assistant Coach: Melissa Wolter (University of West Florida)
Assistant Coach: Charlene Johnson-Tagaloa (USA Volleyball High Performance Coach)
Team Leader: Diane French (USA Volleyball High Performance)

2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship
Pool A: Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago
Pool B: El Salvador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico
Pool C: Canada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, United States

2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship Final Pool Standings

Pool A (Record / Point Ratio)
Mexico 2-0 / 2.344
Costa Rica 1-1 / 0.863
Trinidad & Tobago 1-1 / 0.652

Pool B (Record / Point Ratio)
Puerto Rico 2-0 / 1.948
Guatemala 1-1 / 0.910
El Salvador 0-2 / 0.593

Pool C (Record / Point Ratio)
USA 3-0 / 2.250
Dominican Republic 2-1 / 1.317
Canada 1-2 / 0.946
Jamaica 0-3 / 0.262

2010 NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship Schedule

April 27
Pool C: Canada def. Jamaica 25-10, 25-9, 25-15
Pool B: Puerto Rico def. El Salvador 25-8, 25-11, 25-12
Pool A: Mexico def. Trinidad & Tobago 25-16, 25-7, 25-11
Pool C: USA def. Dominican Republic 25-12, 25-18, 25-15

April 28
Pool A: Costa Rica def. Trinidad & Tobago 25-12, 22-25, 25-13, 22-25, 15-11
Pool C: USA def. Jamaica 25-4, 25-7, 25-4
Pool B: Guatemala def. El Salvador 25-21, 25-18, 25-19
Pool C: Dominican Republic def. Canada 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19

April 29
Pool C: Dominican Republic def. Jamaica 25-4, 25-4, 25-2
Pool A: Mexico def. Costa Rica 25-9, 25-10, 25-11
Pool B: Puerto Rico def. Guatemala 25-19, 25-16, 25-11, 6 p.m.
Pool C: USA def. Canada 25-14, 25-12, 25-14

April 30
Match 13: Classification 7/10: Trinidad & Tobago (3A) vs. Jamaica (4C), 9 a.m.
Match 14: Classification 7/10: El Salvador (3B) vs. Canada (3C), 11 a.m.
Match 15: Quarterfinal 1: Puerto Rico (1B) vs. Costa Rica (2A), 5 p.m.
Match 16: Quarterfinal 2: Guatemala (2B) vs. Dominican Republic (2C), 7 p.m.

May 1
Match 17: Classification 9-10 (Loser Match 13 vs. Loser Match 14), 9 a.m.
Match 18: Classification 7-8 (Winner Match 13 vs. Winner Match 14), 11 a.m.
Match 19: Semifinal: Mexico vs. Match 15 or Match 16 Winner, 5 p.m.
Match 20: Semifinal: USA vs. Match 15 or Match 16 Winner, 7 p.m.

May 2
Match 21: Classification 5-6 (Loser Match 15 vs. Loser Match 16), Noon
Match 22: Bronze Medal (Loser Match 19 vs. Loser Match 20), 2 p.m.
Match 23: Gold Medal (Winner Match 19 vs. Winner Match 20), 4 p.m.

Past NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship Results
Year Gold Silver Bronze
1998 USA PUR CAN
2000 PUR USA DOM
2002 USA DOM PUR
2004 USA PUR MEX
2006 USA DOM PUR
2008 USA MEX DOM

Tags: 2010 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team, Allison Palmer, Andie Malloy, Angela Lowak, Brittany Howard, Chloe Reinig, Haley Pouliezos, Jim Stone, Jordan Burgess, Lauren Sieckmann, Madison Bugg, Molly McCage, Mylan Eugene, NORCECA, NORCECA Girls' Youth Continental Championship, Regan Peltier, Shelby Sullivan, U.S. Girls' Youth National Team