U.S. Men's Junior Team Wins Pool C in Quebec

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

Unofficial DataVolley Statistics * Official Match Statistics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 18, 2010) – The U.S. Men's Junior National Team won Pool C at the 2010 NORCECA Men’s Junior (U21) Continental Championship on Wednesday with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 sweep of Mexico at the Centre-Sportif de Gatineau in Quebec.

The United States improved its record to 3-0 and will advance straight to Friday's semifinal round where it will play Puerto Rico at 6 p.m. ET. Cuba will face Canada in the 8 p.m. ET semifinal. Both matches will be show live online at ssncanada.ca.

Wednesday’s match was the toughest one yet for the U.S. Men’s Junior Team, which out-blocked Mexico 11-4 and scored on 40 kills (0.33 hitting percentage) while Mexico had 28. The teams tied on aces with two apiece.

"We didn’t start out each set very well," U.S. Men's Junior Head Coach John Hawks (Huntington Beach, Calif.) said. "But I’ve got to give our guys a lot of credit. We made the necessary plays to get us going. Still, we knew we were going to play a very strong opponent in Mexico. It was a big test for us."

Outside hitter Taylor Crabb (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the United States with 13 points on 12 kills (0.65 hitting percentage) and one block. Opposite Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) added 12 points on 12 kills (0.17 hitting percentage). Outside hitter Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) had 11 points on 10 kills (0.47 hitting percentage) and one block.

"We were really surprised with how much fire they came out with," said U.S. team captain and middle blocker Dylan Davis (Newport Beach, Calif.), who scored six points on two kills and four blocks.. "We were not expecting that and it caught off us guard. But we came back and fought through it."

Setter Micah Christenson (Honolulu, Hawaii) contributed six points on four blocks and two aces. Opposite Josh Taylor (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored one point on a kill.

Christenson was credited with 26 running sets and no faults on 67 attempts. Libero Evan Mottram (Leona Valley, Calif.) led the team in digs with five and three faults. Mottram also was credited with 14 excellent service receptions and one fault on 26 attempts. Crab was credited with 10 excellent receptions and no faults on 18 attempts.

Juan Revualta was Mexico's top scorer with a match-high 14 points.

"The team did their best and they were really trying," said Mexico’s Head Coach Francisco Javier Jimenez Espitia. "But things didn’t work out. The U.S. were very well prepared and they are a very strong team."

Hawks started Sander and Crabb at outside hitter, Davis and Mochalski at middle blocker, Torres at opposite, Christenson at setter and Mottram at libero. Scott Kevorken (Westlake Village, Calif.) entered the match as a substitute middle blocker in the second set and started the third. Outside hitter Jeremy Dejno (New Berlin, Wis.) and Taylor both played as substitutes.

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) and Results
Monday, Aug. 16
Pool A: Dominican Republic def. Guatemala, 25-22, 25-23, 25- 23
Pool B: Puerto Rico def. St. Lucia, 25-10, 25-13, 25-10
Pool B: Cuba vs. Honduras, 25-12, 25-19, 25-15
Pool C: Mexico def. Martinique, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16
Pool C: USA def. Trinidad & Tobago, 25-9, 25-7, 25-10

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Pool A: Canada vs. Guatemala, 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 26-24
Pool B: Cuba def. St. Lucia, 25-10, 25-10, 25-14
Pool B: Puerto Rico def. Honduras, 25-19, 25-13, 25-11
Pool C: Mexico def. Trinidad & Tobago, 25-15, 25-13, 25-9
Pool C: USA def. Martinique, 25-14, 25-11, 25-11

Wednesday, Aug. 18
Pool A: Canada def. Dominican Republic, 25-20 25-14 25-21
Pool B: Honduras def. St. Lucia, 25-20, 25-14, 25-15
Pool B: Cuba def. Puerto Rico, 23-25 27-25 25-21 25-14
Pool C: Martinique def. Trinidad & Tobago, 25-12, 25-8, 25-20
Pool C: USA def. Mexico, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19

Final Pool Standings
Pool A
Canada 2-0
Dominican Republic 1-1
Guatemala 0-2

Pool B
Cuba 3-0
Puerto Rico 2-1
Honduras 1-2
St. Lucia 0-3

Pool C
USA 3-0
Mexico 2-1
Martinique 1-2
Trinidad & Tobago 0-3

Thursday, Aug. 19
Consolation Quarterfinal: Guatemala def. St. Lucia, 25-12, 25-9, 25-10
Consolation Quarterfinal: Honduras def. Martinique, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21
Quarterfinal: Puerto Rico def. Mexico, 23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-7
Quarterfinal: Canada def. Dominican Republic, 25-19, 25-15, 25-19

Friday, Aug. 20
13:00 9th-place match: St. Lucia vs. Martinique
15:00 7th-place match: Guatemala vs. Honduras 
18:00 Semifinal: USA vs. Puerto Rico
20:00 Semifinal: Cuba vs. Canada

Saturday, August 21
13:00 10th-place match: Trinidad & Tobago vs. TBD
15:00 5th-place match: Mexico vs. Dominican Republic
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 Continental Championship, NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship, Scott Kevorken, Taylor Crabb, Taylor Sander