U.S. Men’s Jr. Team Falls in Battle to Brazil

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. (Aug. 2, 2011) -The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team fell to Brazil 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19 on Tuesday afternoon in its second match at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Junior World Championship Brazil 2011 held at Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Team USA, part of the four-team Pool A in the 16-team tournament, holds a 1-1 record after today’s match and defeating Bulgaria on Monday. The U.S. concludes first-round group action on Aug. 3 versus Japan at noon PT.

Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) led the U.S. Men’s Junior Team with 20 points on 17 kills via 38 attacks and three blocks. Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) added 19 points with 18 kills on 34 swings and an ace. Dylan Davis (Corona del Mar., Calif.) racked up 12 points on nine kills and three blocks.

U.S. team captain Taylor Crabb (Honolulu) contributed nine points on eight kills and a block. Eric Mochalski (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) added seven points with six kills on 12 attacks and an ace. Micah Christenson (Honolulu) contributed a block for Team USA.

“Brazil showed a lot of character,” U.S. Men’s Junior National Team Head Coach John Hawks said. “It is not easy to recover from a defeat as the one the team had against Japan. Our receiving was off (today) and that killed us. I believe that 80 percent of our game depends on receiving.”

Crabb felt that the U.S. team did not play consistently during every point of the match.

“Brazil was consistent during the whole match and we did not have the same regularity,” Crabb said. “We had trouble receiving Brazil’s floating serve.”

Brazil’s Souza Ricardo Lucarelli scored 19 points and was the leading scorer for his team. Luan Jose Weber added 17 points.

Henry Cassiday (Honolulu) contributed 16 digs and seven excellent receptions for the U.S. team. Crabb added seven digs and six excellent receptions on 19 attempts, while Sander had seven digs and four excellent receptions. Torres had 10 digs on 15 attempts. Christenson contributed 37 assists out of 109 total set attempts and had six digs.

Hawks started Crabb and Sander at outside hitter, Davis and Mochalski at middle blocker, Christenson at setter and Torres as opposite. Cassiday was the designated libero. Connor Olbright (Orange, Calif.) contributed court action later on in the first and second sets. Brian Cook (Santa Cruz, Calif.) subbed into the second set and Josh Taylor (Honolulu) played in the fourth.

Team USA racked up 58 kills on 134 attempts for 43.3 kill percentage. The U.S. team out-blocked Brazil 8-7. However, Brazil held a 65-52 advantage in digs and 4-2 margin in aces.

“We played for our survival in the tournament and put a lot of emotion into this match,” Brazil’s Head Coach Leonardo Carvalho said. “We played as if each point was the last. We played better today, but each match has its own history and tomorrow against Bulgaria, it will be a new battle.”

In the first set, the U.S. and Brazil battled to an 11-all tie. Brazil took a three-point run to gain the advantage and the U.S. team called a timeout. Brazil had a kill on the next point, but the U.S. hung in there and kept fighting. Brazil led 21-16 and carried out the first set victory 25-18.

In the second set, the U.S. took the first three points of the set. Brazil called a time out and sided out, but the U.S. team took the next two points to lead 5-1. Team USA and Brazil both played aggressively and took turns winning points off of kills and blocks, but the U.S. kept an edge over Brazil. Team USA’s consistent play and scrappy play kept them in the lead. Brazil made a bit of a comeback and fought until the end, but the U.S. took the second set victory 25-21.

The U.S. took an 8-5 lead early on in the third set, but Brazil had a three-point run to tie. When Brazil led 13-11, Team USA took the following two points off of a block and a ball hit out of bounds. The teams took turns taking points. At 21-all, Brazil broke away on consecutive kills to gain a 23-21 lead. The U.S. called a time out and sided out, but Brazil took the third set 25-23.

The fourth set was very much like the first - both teams made it hard on the other to earn an advantage. At 6-all, Brazil took a three-point run to take a brief lead. Team USA played strong all around and came back to tie at 16-all. At this point, Brazil put the pressure on scoring eight unanswered points to reach set and match point at 24-16. Team USA saved the first three match points, but Brazil sealed the match and set, 25-19.

In Pool A’s other match on Tuesday, Japan defeated Bulgaria 20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18, 15-11.

In other pool action on Tuesday, Spain defeated Puerto Rico 25-7, 15-25, 25-18 and Argentina defeated Tunisia 25-17, 25-23, 25-22 in Pool B. In Pool C, Egypt defeated Germany 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23 and Russia swept India 25-23, 25-17, 25-18. Belgium defeated Canada, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17 and Serbia defeated Iran, 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13 in Pool D.

2011 U.S. Men's Junior National Team
Name (Position, Height, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/School, Region)
1. Henry Cassiday (L, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2010, USC, Southern California)
2. Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2011, Outrigger Canoe Club, Aloha)
4. Brian Cook (OH, 6-5, Santa Cruz, Calif., 2010, Stanford Univ., Southern California)
5. Taylor Crabb (OH, 6-1, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2009, Long Beach State Univ., Aloha)
6. Dylan Davis (MB, 6-9, Corona del Mar, Calif., 2009, UC Santa Barbara, Southern California)
8. Steven Irvin (OH, 6-5, Pacific Palisades, Calif., 2010, Stanford Univ., Southern California)
9. Scott Kevorken (MB, 6-8, Westlake Village, Calif., 2009, UC Irvine, Southern California)
10. Connor Olbright (S, 6-5, Orange, Calif., 2010, Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
11. Eric Mochalski (MB, 6-6, Manhattan Beach, Calif., 2010, Stanford Univ., Southern California)
15. Taylor Sander (OH, 6-5, Norco, Calif., 2010, BYU, Southern California)
17. Joshua Taylor (Opp, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2011, Outrigger Canoe Club, Aloha)
18. Maurice Torres (Opp, 6-7, Riverside, Calif., 2009, Pepperdine Univ., Southern California)

Staff
Head Coach - John Hawks (Long Beach State)
Assistant Coach - Colin McMillan (Penn State)
Assistant Coach - David Hunt (Pepperdine)
Head of Delegation - Shawn Patchell (San Diego, Calif.)
Technical Coordinator - Randy Nako (Honolulu, Hawaii)

First Round (August 1-3)
Pool A (at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Aug. 1: USA def. Bulgaria, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21
Aug. 1: Japan def. Brazil, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16
Aug. 2: Japan def. Bulgaria, 20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18, 15-11
Aug. 2: Brazil def. USA 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19
Aug. 3: USA vs. Japan, 12:00 p.m. PT
Aug. 3: Bulgaria vs. Brazil, 2:30 p.m. PT

Pool B (at Niteroi, Brazil)
Aug. 1: Argentina def. Puerto Rico, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17
Aug. 1: Spain def. Tunisia, 25-14, 25-18, 25-17
Aug. 2: Spain def. Puerto Rico, 25-7, 15-25, 25-18
Aug. 2: Argentina def. Tunisia, 25-17, 25-23, 25-22
Aug. 3: Spain vs. Argentina, 6:00 a.m. PT
Aug. 3: Tunisia vs. Puerto Rico, 8:30 a.m. PT

Pool C (at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Aug. 1: India def. Germany, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20
Aug. 1: Russia def. Egypt, 25-16, 25-16, 25-13
Aug. 2: Egypt def. Germany, 26-24, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23
Aug. 2: Russia def. India, 25-23, 25-17, 25-18
Aug. 3: India vs. Egypt, 6:00 a.m. PT
Aug. 3: Germany vs. Russia, 8:30 a.m. PT

Pool D (at Niteroi, Brazil)
Aug. 1: Iran def. Canada, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20
Aug. 1: Serbia def. Belgium, 25-21, 25-15, 25-16
Aug. 2: Belgium def. Canada, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17
Aug. 2: Serbia def. Iran, 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13
Aug. 3: Belgium vs. Iran, 12:00 p.m. PT
Aug. 3: Serbia vs. Canada, 2:30 p.m. PT

Second Round (Aug. 5-7)
Pool E: A1, B2, C1, D2
Pool F: B1, A2, D1, C2
Pool G: A3, B4, C3, D4
Pool H: B3, A4, D3, C4

Semifinals and Playoffs (Aug. 9)
E1 vs. F2 (gold semifinals)
F1 vs. E2 (gold semifinals)
E3 vs. F4
F3 vs. E4
G1 vs. H2
H1 vs. G2
G3 vs. H4
H3 vs. G4

Medal Rounds and Playoffs (Aug. 10)
- 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. Men's Junior National Team, Brian Cook, Connor Olbright, Dylan Davis, Eric Mochalski, FIVB Volleyball Men's Jr. World Championship Brazil 2011, Henry Cassiday, John Hawks, Josh Taylor, Maurice Torres, Micah Christenson, mobile, Scott Kevorken, Steven Irvin, Taylor Crabb, Taylor Sander