U.S. Girls' Youth Team Golden at NORCECA

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

Unofficial DataVolley Match Stats

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 2, 2010) – The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team defeated No. 1 seed Mexico 25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17 during the gold-medal match of the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship held Sunday afternoon in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The U.S., ranked second in the girls’ youth age division of NORCECA, won its fifth consecutive biennial NORCECA title in the age group and sixth overall. In the previous NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship held in 2008 in Puerto Rico, the U.S. swept Mexico in the gold-medal match.

By reaching the title match, the U.S. and Mexico had already qualified for the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship to be held in Turkey. As the NORCECA tournament winner, the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team also earns a spot into the first-ever IOC Youth Olympics to be held in August of 2010 in Singapore.

The U.S. built an early 8-5 lead in the opening set and inched its way to a 25-19 victory to start the match. The Americans trailed 10-6 and 16-13 in the second set before mounting a late charge to win 25-21, highlighted by winning the final five points of the frame. Mexico led 11-7 in the third set and did not allow the U.S. back into the set with a 25-15 victory. After its first set loss in the tournament, the U.S. rebounded by taking a commanding 12-2 lead in the fourth set and went on to win 25-17.

Brittany Howard (Los Altos, Calif.) and Mallory McCage (Spring, Texas) led USA with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Howard tallied her points on 16 kills, two blocks and an ace. McCage contributed 10 kills on 20 swings and a match-high eight blocks. Shelby Sullivan (Richardson, Texas) added five points, all on kills. Madison Bugg (Apex, N.C.) contributed three kills and a block for four points, while adding 31 excellent sets. Jordan Burgess (Tampa) and Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas) charted three points apiece, while Angela Lowak (New Braunfels, Texas) added two points off the bench.

Haley Pouliezos (Imperial, Mo.) had a match-high 12 digs and added 11 excellent service receptions on 26 attempts. Bugg added eight digs in the victory.

“I am very pleased with the way our team played,” U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone said. “I feel very good about our team performance. Mexico is a good team, the best defensive team we have ever played.”

On getting the chance to play in the Youth Olympics, Stone said “It will help tremendously this inexperienced group of players to play in a competition like that.”

At the conclusion of the tournament, McCage was named the Best Blocker and Bugg was selected as Best Setter.

The U.S. won all five of its NORCECA tournament matches dropping just the one set in the gold-medal match, despite only having two full practices as a team prior to the start of the tournament.

The U.S. held an 11-4 advantage in blocks, while Mexico had a 7-1 service ace margin. Team USA limited its errors to 15 hitting and three on the service line, while Mexico had 30 hitting errors and eight service errors. The Americans had a .191 hitting efficiency as part of a 29.8 kill percent. The U.S. defense limited Mexico to a .087 hitting efficiency and 27.3 kill percent.

Stone started Bugg at setter, McCage and Sullivan at middle blocker, Burgess and Howard at outside hitter and Malloy at opposite. Pouliezos is the team’s designated libero for the tournament. Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.) was a sub in all four sets, while Lauren Sieckmann (Omaha, Neb.) was a sub in the second and fourth sets. Lowak subbed into the match in the last three sets, while Regan Peltier (Nixa, Mo.) was a sub in the third set.

Mexican Samantha Bricio led all the scorers with a match-high 29 points.

“We made a big effort but in the fourth set we let them to build a wide margin and then we couldn’t catch,” Mexico Head Coach Jose Bernal said. “In general, we played a good game and I am pleased with our silver medal.”

After winning Pool C with a 3-0 record, the U.S. advanced to the semifinals in which it defeated Puerto Rico in three sets. Mexico, which won Pool A with an undefeated record, topped Dominican Republic in four sets during its semifinal match.

Earlier today, Puerto Rico defeated Dominican Republic 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 to earn the bronze medal and a spot in the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship, while Costa Rica defeated host Guatemala 25-18, 25-16, 25-11 to finish in fifth place.

With the score tied at 5-all, the U.S. reached the first technical timeout of the first set leading 8-5 as Howard had two kills and Bugg added another to break the tie. Leading by an 11-10 margin, the Americans extended their margin to five points, 16-11, at the second technical timeout as Howard put up a block and kill between McCage and Sullivan kills. Burgess started a 3-0 run with a kill followed by kills from Howard and Malloy putting the U.S. in front 21-14. Mexico scored three unanswered points to close to 23-19, but a McCage kill and Howard kill ended the set at 25-19.

Mexico took an 8-6 lead into the first technical timeout of the second set. Mexico widened its lead to six points at 12-6 as part of a 7-1 run. The U.S. trimmed the gap in half at 15-13 at Howard and McCage slammed kills on consecutive plays. The Americans closed the deficit to a single point at 18-17 following a Howard kill and tied the set at 18-all. Trailing 21-20, Team USA scored the final five points of the set – which McCage started with a block and ended with a kill and another block - to win 25-21.

Like the second set, Mexico held an 8-6 lead at the first technical timeout of the third set and moved its advantage at 11-6. Mexico increased its margin to five points with a 16-11 score at the second technical timeout. Out of the break, Mexico scored two points to establish an 18-11 advantage and rolled to a 22-13 lead. Mexico closed out the set with a 25-15 victory.

The U.S. answered Mexico’s third set victory by opening the fourth set with an 8-2 advantage at the first technical timeout. During the early spurt, Howard scored an ace, kill and block around two McCage blocks. The Americans pushed the margin to double-digits at 12-2 thanks to a McCage block and kills from Howard and McCage. By the second technical timeout, Team USA led 16-5 on consecutive kills from Howard and Malloy. Mexico gained a little momentum by closing the deficit to 17-10 on a 5-1 scoring run. Mexico cut the margin to just six points at 19-13. The U.S. reversed the momentum with three unanswered points to give the Americans a 22-13 advantage as McCage put up a block after a Howard kill and Mexico error. Mexico kept pressuring the U.S. late by getting back to within six at 22-16 with three straight points. The U.S. closed out the set at 25-17 with a McCage block and kills from Sullivan and Howard around a Mexico kill from Bricio.

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 Final Standings
Gold: USA; Silver: Mexico; Bronze: Puerto Rico; 4. Dominican Republic; 5. Costa Rica; 6. Guatemala; 7. Canada; 8. Trinidad & Tobago; 9. El Salvador; 10. Jamaica

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
Pool C: USA def. Canada 25-14, 25-12, 25-14

April 30
Match 13: Classification 7/10: Trinidad & Tobago (3A) def. Jamaica (4C) 25-16, 25-12, 25-10
Match 14: Classification 7/10: Canada (3C) def. El Salvador (3B) 25-11, 25-15, 25-18
Match 15: Quarterfinal 1: Puerto Rico (1B) def. Costa Rica (2A) 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16
Match 16: Quarterfinal 2: Dominican Republic (2C) def. Guatemala (2B) 25-11, 25-16, 25-13 

May 1
Match 17: Classification 9-10: El Salvador def. Jamaica 25-13, 25-9, 25-10
Match 18: Classification 7-8: Canada def. Trinidad & Tobago 25-16, 25-12, 25-22
Match 19: Semifinal: Mexico (1A) def. Dominican Republic 21-25, 25-15, 25-14, 25-20
Match 20: Semifinal: USA (1C) def. Puerto Rico 25-23, 25-16, 25-18

May 2
Match 21: Classification 5-6: Costa Rica def. Guatemala 25-18,25-16, 25-11
Match 22: Bronze Medal: Puerto Rico def. Dominican Republic 25-20, 25-16, 25-21
Match 23: Gold Medal: USA def. Mexico 25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17

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
2010 USA MEX PUR

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