U.S. Men's Junior Team to Begin Quest in Quebec

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

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 15, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team is in Gatineau, Quebec this week for the NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship, which begins Monday.

Eleven teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean are scheduled to compete at the newly opened Centre Sportif de Gatineau.

The event will not only determine the newest continental champion and offer valuable world ranking points, but will also offer three berths to the 2011 FIVB World Junior Championships scheduled to take place in Brazil.

After two weeks of training at the GaREAT sports facility in Geneva, Ohio, the U.S. Men’s Junior Team is more than ready to face some new competition, U.S. Men’s Junior Head Coach John Hawks (Huntington Beach, Calif.) said.

“It seems like forever ago that we selected 19 players to train and now that game day is almost here, our guys are jumping out of their skin to play someone else,” Hawks said via e-mail. “You all would be proud of this team. I know I am.”

The U.S. Men’s Junior Team is scheduled to begin pool play at 3 p.m. ET on Monday against Trinidad & Tobago. Tuesday, it is scheduled to play Martinique at 6 p.m. ET. The United States will complete pool play on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET against Mexico.

The United State is playing in Pool C. Pool A includes Canada, Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Pool B consists of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras and St. Lucia.

The quarterfinals will take place on Thursday (Aug. 19), the semifinals on Friday (Aug. 20) and final medal and placement matches on Saturday (Aug. 21).

The United States has medaled in every NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship since the bi-annual event began in 1998, but has never won gold. Its best finishes were seconds in 2004 and 2006. Cuba has won the event four times.

Ten players on the team have played on the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team.

Dylan Davis (Corona del Mar, Calif.), Evan Mottram (Leona Valley, Calif.), Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) and Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) all played with the Boys’ Youth National Team in 2008 and 2009. The 2008 Boys’ Youth National Team won the NORCECA Boys’ Youth Championship in Miami.

Davis will serve as the U.S. team captain in Quebec.

Setters Micah Christenson (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Matt West (Seattle, Wash.) competed for the 2010 Boys’ Youth National Team that finished second to Cuba at the NORCECA Boys’ Youth Championship on April 6-11 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Christenson also played on the 2009 Boys’ Youth Team that finished 10th at the FIVB Boys’ Youth World Championship in Italy. At that tournament, he became the youngest starting setter to ever compete for the United States on a national team.

Taylor Crabb (Honolulu, Hawaii), Jeremy Dejno (New Berlin, Wis.) and Joshua Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii) all played with the 2009 Boys’ Youth National Team. Scott Kevorken (Westlake Village, Calif.) was a member of the 2008 Boys’ Youth National Team.

Other players selected to the team are Brian Cook (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Eric Mochalski (Manhattan Beach, Calif.).

The decision of what seven players to cut from the 19-man training team was difficult, Hawks said.

“We sent home seven boys that were all playing very good volleyball. Each of those boys has a real nice future,” Hawks said. “All of that being said, we are sending a group that is probably the most talented from top to bottom as any I’ve seen in the last decade.”

USA Volleyball Men’s Junior National Team:
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown, High School/Grad. Year, Club, Region)
2 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kamehameha Kapalama/2011, Outrigger Canoe Club, Aloha)
4 Brian Cook (OH, 6-6, Santa Cruz, Calif., Soquel/2010, Bay to Bay, Northern California)
5 Taylor Crabb (OH, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou/2010, Outrigger Canoe Club, Aloha)
6 C Dylan Davis (MB, 6-9, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona Del Mar/2009, UC Santa Barbara, Southern California)
7 Jeremy Dejno (OH, 6-4, New Berlin, Wis., New Berlin Eisenhower/2010, West Allis Lightning, Badger)
9 Scott Kevorken (MB, 6-9, Westlake Village, Calif., Westlake/2009, UC Irvine, Southern California)
11 Eric Mochalski (MB, 6-6, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa/2010, SCVC, Southern California)
12 Evan Mottram (L, 6-4, Leona Valley, Calif., Quartz Hill/2009, UC Santa Barbara, Southern California)
13 Matt West (S, 6-5.5, Seattle, Wash., Shorewood/2011, Space Needle VF, Puget Sound)
15 Taylor Sander (OH, 6-4, Norco, Calif., Norco/2010, Orange Coast VC, Southern California)
17 Josh Taylor (OPP, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou/2011, Kuikahi VC, Aloha)
18 Maurice Torres (OPP, 6-7, Riverside, Calif., Lutheran/2009, Pepperdine, Southern California)

Head Coach: John Hawks (Long Beach State University)
Assistant Coaches: Colin McMillan (Penn State University) and Brad Keller (USC)

Event Schedule (All times ET)

Monday, Aug. 16
11:00 Puerto Rico vs. St. Lucia
13:00 Mexico vs. Martinique
15:00 USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago
18:00 Dominican Rep. vs. Guatemala
19:15 Opening ceremonies
20:00 Cuba vs. Honduras

Tuesday, Aug. 17
11:00 Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago
13:00 Cuba vs. St. Lucia
15:00 Puerto Rico vs. Honduras
18:00 USA vs. Martinique
20:00 Canada vs. Guatemala

Wednesday, Aug. 18
11:00 Honduras vs. St. Lucia
13:00 Trinidad & Tobago vs. Martinique
15:00 USA vs. Mexico
18:00 Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
20:00 Canada vs. Dominican Rep.

Thursday, Aug. 19
13:00 Consolation Quarterfinal
15:00 Consolation Quarterfinal
18:00 Quarterfinal
20:00 Quarterfinal

Friday, Aug. 20
13:00 9th-place match
15:00 7th-place match
18:00 Semifinal
20:00 Semifinal

Saturday, August 21
13:00 10th-place match
15:00 5th-place match
18:00 Bronze medal match
20:00 Gold medal match

Tags: 2010 U.S. Men's Junior National Team, Brian Cook, Dylan Davis, Eric Mochalski, Evan Mottram, Jeremy Dejno, John Hawks, Josh Taylor, Matt West, Maurice Torres, Men's Junior National Team, Micah Christenson, NORCECA, NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship, Scott Kevorken, Taylor Sander