Team USA Takes First Loss at Worlds to Italy

Candice Kasischke
Intern, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: candice.kasischke@usav.org

Unofficial DataVolley Stats * Official Match Statistics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 27, 2011)- The U.S. Women’s Junior National Team fell to Italy in a four-set match 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, on Wednesday evening to take its first loss at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Junior World Championships Peru 2011 held in Lima at the Eduardo Dibos Gymnasium.

The U.S. team, now playing in Pool E, went undefeated in Pool C in the first round and is currently 1-1 in the second round with three points. On Tuesday, Team USA defeated the Dominican Republic in its first match of the second round and now holds an overall 4-1 tournament record. The U.S. team is set to play Peru at 6:15 p.m. PT on Thursday. Italy finished the first round with a 2-1 record and is now 2-0 in the second round.

U.S. captain Kelly Reeves (San Diego) led the U.S. Women’s Junior Team with 17 points on 15 kills, a block and an ace. Carly Wopat (Goleta, Calif.) added 13 points, contributing six kills and seven blocks. Haleigh Hampton (Huntington Beach, Calif.) racked up 12 points by adding nine kills, two aces and a block.

Team USA and Italy tied with 12 blocks and 3 aces apiece; however Italy scored on 54 kills while the U.S. finished with 49. Italy also led in digs, 77-68. Italy scored on 27 U.S. team errors while committing 22.

Haley Eckerman (Waterloo, Iowa) scored 11 kills. Stephanie Holthus (Elgin, Ill.) added five points with four kills and a block. Lauren Plum (Poway, Calif.) scored two attacks and two aces. Madelyn Hutson (Brentwood, Tenn.) scored two kills for Team USA.

Natalie Hagglund (Encinitas, Calif.) contributed 26 digs and 10 receptions. Reeves added 11 digs and 16 receptions. Holthus added seven digs and seven receptions. McHugh made four digs. Plum contributed 21 assists out of 114 total set attempts and had 6 digs. Allison added three assists out of 15 attempts.

U.S. Women's Junior National Team Head Coach Rob Browning congratulated Italy and saw how the U.S. team can improve in tomorrow’s match.

“Congratulations to Italy’s team, the players are very talented,” Browning said “We have to play better to get the victory - we made too many mistakes on serving today.”

Reeves felt that her team communicated well on the court, but recognized that the team did not play its best against Italy.

“We had good communication in this match, but it was not enough,” Reeves said. “We will have to play better tomorrow.”

Browning started Reeves and Eckerman at outside hitter, Hampton and Wopat at middle blocker, Plum at setter and Hutson as opposite in the first and second set. Hagglund was the designated libero. Holthus started in the third and fourth set and played in all four sets. McHugh subbed in early on in all four sets for Eckerman. Allison contributed court action in the first and second sets.

Italy’s Valentina Diouf was the leading scorer for her team with 24 points.

Italy Head Coach Marco Mencarelli commented that the match was full of unforced errors.

“It was not a beautiful match in the technical aspect because both teams made a lot of mistakes,” Mencarelli said. “Italy was fortunate to win.”

In Pool E’s other match on Wednesday, the Dominican Republic is set to play Peru at 6:15 p.m. PT. On Thursday, Italy will play the Dominican Republic at 4:15 p.m. PT to wrap up the second round of pool play.

On Wednesday in Pool F, China defeated Belgium, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 and Slovakia will play Brazil at 6:15 p.m. PT. on Wednesday. On Thursday, Brazil will face China at 4:15 p.m. PT and Belgium will play Slovakia at 6:15 p.m. PT to conclude the second round.

In Pool G on Wednesday, Japan defeated Korea, 25-20, 25-13, 25-9 and Cuba defeated Tunisia, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12. To wrap up the second round of pool play, Cuba will face Japan at 7:30 a.m. PT and Korea is set to play Tunisia at 9:30 a.m. PT on Thursday.

In Pool H, Russia defeated Poland, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 and Serbia defeated Egypt, 25-16, 25-5, 29-27 on Wednesday. On Thursday, Serbia will play Russia at 7:30 a.m. PT and Poland will face Egypt at 9:30 a.m. PT, which will conclude the second round of pool play.

Team USA won the first four points of the first set. The U.S. team’s attacking was proving to be successful until the Italy team’s blocking and attacking ignited. The teams tied at 13-all, but Italy broke away to gain a 16-13 advantage. The U.S. team kept playing tough defense and began to have success in its blocking which led to a 21-20 score, still Italy’s lead. At this point, Italy scored the next four out of seven points to win the set, 25-23.

In the second set, the two teams battled to a 7-all tie. Italy broke away to gain a 17-12 advantage over the U.S. team, mainly off of blocks and U.S. errors. Both teams put forth tremendous effort, but the U.S. team couldn’t mount a big enough comeback. Italy climbed to a 23-16 lead and propelled its momentum to take a 25-17 victory.

In the third set, Holthus made her way into the starting lineup. Team USA won the first two points and the teams battled back and forth 8-all score. The U.S. team cleaned up its play and broke away to gain an 11-8 lead. Both teams put forth consistent play, but the U.S. remained ahead, 14-11. The Americans’ attacking was more precise this set and it allowed them to keep an advantage on Italy, 21-18. Team USA kept the match alive by propelling to a 25-21 third set victory.

Italy responded to its third set loss by taking the first three points of the fourth set and by gaining a 6-1 advantage over the U.S. team. Team USA put the pressure on Italy and lessened its deficit to 10-8. Italy struck back and stretched its lead to 17-12. The Americans battled back within two points of Italy, but Italy re-claimed a large point spread lead at 21-16. Team USA got fired up and won the next four of five points, 22-20. Italy put a stop to the run and won the fourth set, 25-20.

2011 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, H.S. Grad Year, Club/School, Region)
1 - Hannah Allison (S, 5-11, Siloam Springs, Ark., 2010, Ozark Juniors/University of Texas, Delta)
2 - Stephanie Holthus (OH, 6-0, Elgin, Ill., 2010, Fusion/Northwestern University, Great Lakes)
3 - Natalie Hagglund (L, 5-9, Encinitas, Calif., 2010, Encinitas WAVE/University of Southern California, SCVA)
4 - Lauren Plum (S, 5-9, Poway, Calif., 2010, Coast VBC/University of Oregon, SCVA)
6 - Haleigh Hampton (MB, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., 2010, Cal Juniors/Long Beach State University, SCVA)
7 - Haley Eckerman (OH, 6-3, Waterloo, Iowa, 2011, Iowa Rockets/University of Texas, Iowa)
9 - Kelly Reeves (OH, 6-0, San Diego, Calif., 2010, Encinitas WAVE/UCLA, SCVA)
10 - Sallie McLaurin (MB, 6-2, Midwest City, Okla., 2010, Oklahoma Charge/University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma)
11 - Moneshia Simmons (OH, 6-0, Buford, Ga., 2010, NFC Volleyball /Clemson University, Southern)
15 - Madelyn Hutson (MB, 6-6, Brentwood, Tenn., 2011, Impact/University of Texas, Southern)
16 - Andrea McHugh (OH, 5-10, Yorba Linda, Calif., 2010, Laguna Beach/Notre Dame, SCVA)
17 - Carly Wopat (MB, 6-2, Goleta, Calif,. 2010, Santa Barbara VBC/Stanford University, SCVA)

2011 U.S. Women’s Junior National Team Alternates
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, H.S. Grad Year, Club/School, Region)
Jennifer Bonilla (L, 5-10, Reseda, Calif., 2010, Sports Shack/University of Illinois, SCVA)
Samantha Cash (MB, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., 2011, Coast/Pepperdine, SCVA)
Mackenzie Dagostino (S, 5-10, Tampa Bay, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors/University of Maryland, Florida)
Madison Kingdon (OH, 6-0, Phoenix, Ariz., 2011, Arizona Storm/University of Arizona, Arizona)
Molly Kreklow (S, 6-0, Delano, Minn., 2010, Mizuno Northern Lights/ University of Missouri, North Country)
Liz McMahon (OH, 6-6, Liberty Township, Ohio, 2011, Team Z/University of Illinois, Ohio Valley)
Alyssa Warren (L, 5-9, Joliet, Ill., 2010, Sports Performance/Seton Hall University, Great Lakes)

2011 U.S. Women's Junior National Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Rob Browning, Saint Mary’s College (Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Erik Sullivan, University of Texas
Assistant Coach: Jill Kramer, West Virginia University
Team Leader/Assistant Coach: Denise Corlett, Stanford University

2011 FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship

First Round (July 22-24)
Pool A (at Trujillo, Peru)
July 22: Slovakia def. Tunisia, 25-15, 25-10, 25-14
July 22: Peru def. Egypt, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16
July 23: Slovakia def. Egypt, 25-20, 25-10, 25-10
July 23: Peru def. Tunisia, 25-7, 25-11, 25-10
July 24: Tunisia def. Egypt, 26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 17-15
July 24: Peru def. Slovakia, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20

Pool B (at Lima, Peru)
July 22: Brazil def. Italy, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-16
July 22: Serbia def. Cuba, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-10
July 23: Italy def. Cuba, 25-16, 25-12, 26-24
July 23: Brazil def. Serbia, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-18
July 24: Italy def. Serbia, 25-14, 25-15, 25-20
July 24: Brazil def. Cuba, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21

Pool C (at Trujillo, Peru)
July 22: Korea def. Poland, 22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 15-10
July 22: USA def. Belgium, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16
July 23: Belgium def. Korea, 25-19, 25-16, 18-25, 25-20
July 23: USA def. Poland, 25-19, 16-25, 29-27, 25-14
July 24: Belgium def. Poland, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-16
July 24: USA def. Korea, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23

Pool D (at Lima, Peru)
July 22: Dominican Republic def. Japan, 25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22
July 22: China def. Russia, 25-19, 25-19, 27-25
July 23: Dominican Republic def. Russia, 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-20
July 23: China def. Japan, 25-18, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19
July 24: China def. Dominican Republic, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23
July 24: Russia def. Japan, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19

Second Round (July 26-28)

Pool E (at Lima)
July 26: USA def. Dominican Republic, 25-11, 25-15, 25-23
July 26: Italy def. Peru, 25-23, 25-20, 25-14
July 27: Italy def. USA, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20
July 27: Dominican Republic vs. Peru, 6:15 p.m. PT
July 28: Italy vs. Dominican Republic, 4:15 p.m. PT
July 28: USA vs. Peru, 6:15 p.m. PT

Pool F (at Trujillo)
July 26: Brazil def. Belgium, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21
July 26: China def. Slovakia, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21
July 27: China def. Belgium, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19
July 27: Slovakia vs. Brazil, 6:15 p.m. PT
July 28: Brazil vs. China, 4:15 p.m. PT
July 28: Belgium vs. Slovakia, 6:15 p.m. PT

Pool G (at Lima)
July 26: Cuba def. Korea, 25-23, 18-25, 26-24, 25-17
July 26: Japan def. Tunisia, 25-9, 25-15, 25-14
July 27: Japan def. Korea, 25-20, 25-13, 25-9
July 27: Cuba def. Tunisia, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12
July 28: Cuba vs. Japan, 7:30 a.m. PT
July 28: Korea vs. Tunisia, 9:30 a.m. PT

Pool H (at Trujillo)
July 26: Russia def. Egypt, 25-10, 25-20, 25-11
July 26: Poland def. Serbia, 25-21, 25-17, 14-25, 18-25, 15-11
July 27: Russia def. Poland, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18
July 27: Serbia def. Egypt, 25-16, 25-5, 29-27
July 28: Serbia vs. Russia, 7:30 a.m. PT
July 28: Poland vs. Egypt, 9:30 a.m. PT

Medal Rounds and Playoffs (July 31)
- the winners of the semifinals will play the final for the 1st and 2nd position.
- the losers of the semifinals will play for the 3rd and 4th position.
- the winners of the play-off 5-8 will play for the 5th-6th position.
- the losers of the play-off 5-8 will play for the 7th-8th position.
- the winners of the play-off 9-12 will play for the 9th-10th position.
- the losers of the play-off 9-12 will play for the 11th-12th position.
- the winners of the play-off 13-16 will play for the 13th-14th position.
- the losers of the play-off 13-16 will play for the 15th-16th position.

Tags: 2011 U.S. Women's Junior National Team, Andrea McHugh, Carly Wopat, FIVB Women's Junior World Championship Peru 2011, Haleigh Hampton, Haley Eckerman, Hannah Allison, Kelly Reeves, Lauren Plum, Madelyn Hutson, mobile, mobile, Moneshia Simmons, Natalie Hagglund, Rob Browning, Sallie McLaurin, Stephanie Holthus