U.S. Boys’ Youth Advance to U-19 Pan Am Cup Semis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 14, 2011) - The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team dominated Costa Rica on Thursday, 25-19, 25-4, 25-12 in the quarterfinal round at the Boys’ Youth (Under-19) Pan American Cup in Mexicali, Mexico.

The Americans  (2-1) held Costa Rica (0-3) to just 35-total points in three sets, securing the victory and the advancement to the semifinals. The U.S. will face Pool A winner Brazil (2-0) Friday at 5 p.m. PT.

Puerto Rico (2-1) defeated Trinidad and Tobago (0-3), 25-17, 25-14, 25-19 in a quarterfinal battle, advancing them to the semifinals were they will play Mexico (2-0).

Trinidad and Tobago will play Costa Rica Friday to determine the fifth-place team.

The U.S. Boys’ Youth Team led Costa Rica in kills, 33-12, in blocks, 9-1 and in aces, 7-1.

Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill.) played his best game of the tournament, leading the U.S. in points, kills, blocks and aces. Petty recorded 16 points off a match-high nine kills, four blocks and three service aces.

Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn.) tallied 10 points off seven attacks, two service aces and a block. Ben Patch (Provo, Utah) charted seven kills and two service aces totaling nine points. 

Nikola Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Joshua Kirchner (Sussex, Wis.) booked five kills each. Antonijevic added a block for six points while Kirchner posted two blocks for seven points. Matt West (Seattle Washington) also scored for the U.S., recording a block in the first set.

U.S. Boys’ Youth Head Coach Ken Shibuya did not use a sub for the match, choosing instead to switch up the starters from the two previous matches. West and Kirchner remained starters at setter and middle blocker respectively, with the additions of Antonijevic starting as middle blocker, Patch as opposite and Petty and Rhein as the outside hitters.

Andrew Sato (Calabasas, Calif.) continued as the U.S. libero.

The first set started out neck-and-neck with both teams alternating points to reach seven-all. The U.S. capitalized on opposing errors earning six of its nine initial points from Costa Rican miss hits. The U.S. took a four-point lead on back-to-back blocks from Rhein at 14-10.  Costa Rica dropped back five points on unforced errors and called a timeout. Petty delivered a solid kill to a middle gap, and then responded with a solo block to bring the game to 18-12. Consecutive kills from Patch in addition to another block off the arms of Petty pushed the U.S. to a 24-18 set point. Antonijevic connected on a perfect set from West to seal the victory at 25-19.

The United States found its rhythm in the second set, dominating with nine unanswered points before Costa Rica got on the board at 10-1. The U.S. didn’t let up from there, adding back-to-back blocks from Kirchner and two kills off a Petty connection at 15-2. Costa Rica called a timeout but couldn’t regain composure as the U.S. ran away with the set. Petty led the set in points, recording two service aces, a block and a kill capitalized by Patch’s fifth kill and the set point at 24-4. Costa Rica couldn’t keep its errors at bay and handed over a 21-point gap victory to the U.S. at 25-4. The finish is the greatest winner/loser gap so far in the tournament.

The U.S. came out with a purpose in the third set, tallying a 6-1 lead off two Kirchner attacks, and kills by both Patch and Petty. Kirchner connected on his third kill of the set followed by a bullet by Rhein to go into the first technical timeout with an 8-3 lead. Five consecutive U.S. kills - three from Petty, and one coming from Kirchner, Patch and Antonijevic catapulted the Americans to 18-7. Three Costa Rican errors brought the score to 21-8 before the team called a timeout. The U.S. dropped two points coming out of the timeout, but maintained control at 22-12 with three consecutive points including Antonijevic’s fifth kill and Rhein’s first block of the match leading the U.S. to a victory at 25-12. 

For live scoring of the matches, visit the NORCECA web site by clicking here.

2011 Pan American Cup
July 11-16 in Mexicali, Mexico

U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team Roster
No Name (Position, City, State, Club, Region)
1 Nikola Antonijevic (MB, Buffalo Grove, Ill., Adversity, Great Lakes)

2 Cody Caldwell  (OH, Newport Beach, Calif., Balboa Bay, Southern California)

6 Josh Kirchner (MB, Sussex, Wis., West Allis Lightning, Badger)

10 Ben Patch (OPP, Provo, Utah, Vegas VC, Intermountain)

11 Greg Petty (OH, Downers Grove, Ill., Sports Performance, Great Lakes)

12 Scott Rhein  (OH, Pleasant View, Tenn., Impact, Southern)

13 Aaron Russell  (MB, Ellicott City, Md., MVP, Chesapeake)

15 Andrew Sato (L, Calabasas, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)

16 James Shaw (S, Woodside, Calif., Mountain View, Northern California)

17 Matthew Tarantino (OH, Van Nuys, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)

18 Matthew West (S, Seattle, Wash., Space Needle, Puget Sound)

19 DJ White (OH, Hermosa Beach, Calif., MB Surf, Southern California)

Staff
Head Coach: Ken Shibuya, Stanford University

Asst. Coach: Dan Friend, Lewis University

Asst. Coach: Rob Neilson, Brigham Young University

2011 Pan American Cup Schedule and Results (All times PT)
Group A

July 11 at 5 p.m.: Brazil def. Costa Rica 25-6, 25-8, 25-10

July 12 at 5 p.m.: Puerto Rico def. Costa Rica 25-9, 25-10, 25-15

July 13 at 5 p.m.: Brazil def. Puerto Rico 25-17, 25-9, 25-18

Group B

July 11 at 7 p.m.: Mexico def. Trinidad and Tobago 25-19, 25-18, 25-11

July 12 at 7 p.m.: USA def. Trinidad and Tobago 25-12, 25-10, 25-13

July 13 at 7 p.m.: Mexico def. USA 25-21, 19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 15-13

July 14 at 5 p.m.: Puerto Rico def. Trinidad and Tobago
25-17, 25-14, 25-18
July 14 at 6 p.m.: USA def. Costa Rica 25-19, 25-4, 25-12

July 15 at 3 p.m.: Trinidad and Tobago vs. Costa Rica (5th-place match)

July 15 at 5 p.m.: Brazil vs. USA (semifinals)
July 15 at 7 p.m.: Mexico vs. Puerto Rico (semifinals)

July 16 at 5 p.m.: Finals Bronze Medal Match

July 16 at 7 p.m.: Finals Gold Medal Match

Tags: Andrew Sato, Ben Patch, Greg Petty, Josh Kirchner, Ken Shibuya, NORCECA, Scott Rhein, U.S. Boys' Youth National Team