U.S. Men’s Jr. National Team to Contend for Bronze

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. 9, 2011) – The U.S. Men's Junior National Team lost its battle against top-ranked Argentina 27-29, 28-26, 25-29, 25-20 on Tuesday morning in its semifinal match of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Junior World Championship Brazil 2011 held at Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro.

Team USA will battle for the bronze medal on Wednesday against the loser of the Russia vs. Serbia gold semifinal match, which is set for Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Argentina advances to its first-ever gold-medal match on Wednesday. The team earned the bronze medal at the 2009 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship, while the U.S. finished eighth in the same tournament.

The Americans are assured of their highest finish ever in the tournament by reaching the semifinal round and entering the bronze-medal match, as they have three seventh-place finishes and two eighth-place finishes in their five previous entries.

Taylor Sander (Norco, Calif.) led the U.S. Men’s Junior Team in scoring with 25 points with 22 kills on 54 attacks, two blocks and an ace. Josh Taylor (Honolulu) added nine points on six kills, two blocks and an ace. U.S. team captain Taylor Crabb (Honolulu), Maurice Torres (Riverside, Calif.) and Eric Mochalski (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) all racked up eight points apiece. Crabb and Torres scored their eight points on eight kills each, while Mochalski scored his points off of seven kills and a block.

Dylan Davis (Corona del Mar, Calif.) contributed seven points on five kills and two blocks. Micah Christenson (Honolulu) added six points on four kills and two blocks for Team USA.

“It is difficult to win a match when you make 37 mistakes, but I am proud of my guys” U.S. Men’s Junior National Team Head Coach John Hawks said. “We got together only three weeks before the tournament and became the first team in our country to play in a gold-medal semifinal match of the FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship.”

Crabb added that Argentina’s defense put pressure on the U.S. team.

“Argentina played a great match,” Crabb said. “They dug a lot of balls and forced us to make several mistakes, which decided the outcome of the match. We weren’t ready.” Argentina’s Agustin Ramonda scored a team-high 20 points. Martin Ramos added 15 points in Argentina’s victory.

Henry Cassiday (Honolulu) contributed 16 digs on 22 attempts three excellente receptions for the U.S. team. Crabb added seven digs and six excellent receptions on 27 attempts, while Sander had six digs and 19 excellent receptions on 51 attempts. Christenson contributed 24 assists out of 125 total set attempts and had 15 digs.

Team USA racked up 58 kills on 161 attempts for 36.0 kill percent and .168 hitting efficiency. Argentina converted 54 of 145 attacks for points for a 37.2 kill percent and .235 hitting efficiency with 20 attack errors. Argentina held a 14-11 margin in blocks, while the U.S. held a 2-0 edge in aces. Argentina out-dug the U.S. 76-57.

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. Brian Cook (Santa Cruz, Calif) and Steven Irvin (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) contributed court action in all four sets. Taylor started the third set and subbed into every other set.

In the first set, Christenson’s block gave Team USA momentum with a four-point run for a 9-5 advantage. The U.S.’s scrappy defense and imposing offense propelled the team to a 14-8 advantage. Argentina lessened the margin to 17-13, but Taylor fired a kill to side out. Sander followed up with an ace to give Team USA a 19-13 lead. Argentina turned up the pressure and made a comeback to tie the U.S. at 24-all. The teams took turns taking points up through 27-27. Christenson drilled a kill to give the U.S. a 28-27 advantage and the Americans sealed the first set victory at 29-27.

In the second set, Argentina took an early 8-3 lead and carried through to 16-8 at the second technical timeout. Team USA came back to score the next five of six points to trail Argentina 17-13. At 20-16, Taylor’s kill gave the U.S. momentum for a three-point run. The teams tied at 20-all then at 23-all through 27-all, but Argentina ended with a block to take a 28-26 victory.

The U.S. and Argentina battled for every point of the third set. The teams tied at 7-all and again at 10-all, but Argentina broke away to take an 18-14 lead. Even though Team USA closed the gap to 19-17, Argentina was able to keep its point spread and momentum, winning the third set 25-19.

In the fourth set the teams tied at 5-all and at 7-all. Argentina gained a 15-10 edge and carried it through to 20-15. Team USA kept firing and attacking, but couldn’t keep up with Argentina. At 23-17, Argentina served the ball out and then followed up with a hitting error. The U.S. gained the serve, but Argentina sided out with a kill. Sander responded with a kill, but Argentina scored its last point to win the fourth set and match, 25-20.

In the classification 5-8 semifinals, Iran defeated India 25-11, 25-22, 25-21. Brazil will face Spain at 6:30 p.m. PT.

In the classification semifinals for 9-12 places, Germany defeated Canada 16-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18, while Belgium swept Japan 25-19, 25-22, 25-18.

In the classification finals for 13-16 places, Puerto Rico will play Egypt at noon p.m. PT for 15th place and Tunisia and Bulgaria will battle for 13th place at 2:30 p.m PT.

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 def. Japan, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19
Aug. 3: Brazil def. Bulgaria, 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8

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: Argentina def. Spain, 25-20, 22-25, 25-14, 25-8
Aug. 3: Puerto Rico def. Tunisia, 20-25, 25-13, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11

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 def. Egypt, 25-17, 25-19, 25-18
Aug. 3: Russia def. Germany, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23

Pool D (at Niteroi, Brazil)
Aug. 1: Iran def. Canada, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20
Aug. 2: Serbia def. Iran, 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13
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: Iran def. Belgium, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 17-14
Aug. 3: Serbia def. Canada, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-4

Second Round (Aug. 5-7)
Pool E (at Rio de Janeiro)
Aug. 5: Russia def. Spain, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20
Aug. 5: USA def. Iran, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-17
Aug. 6: Russia def. Iran, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22
Aug. 6: USA def. Spain, 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 28-30, 15-11
Aug. 7: Iran def. Spain, 26-24, 25-20, 25-23
Aug. 7: Russia def. USA, 19-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-17, 15-13

Pool F (at Rio de Janeiro)
Aug. 5: Argentina def. India, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-19
Aug. 5: Brazil def. Serbia, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21
Aug. 6: Serbia def. India, 25-13, 19-25, 25-22, 27-25
Aug. 6: Argentina def. Brazil, 14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17
Aug. 7: Serbia def. Argentina, 24-26, 25-18, 20-25, 25-10, 15-9
Aug. 7: India def. Brazil 36-34, 22-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14

Pool G (at Niteroi)
Aug. 5: Canada def. Japan, 25-12, 25-17, 25-14
Aug. 5: Tunisia def. Egypt, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-13
Aug. 6: Canada def. Egypt, 19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11
Aug. 6: Japan def. Tunisia, 25-19, 25-20, 25-18
Aug. 7: Canada def. Tunisia, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23
Aug. 7: Japan def. Egypt 25-18, 15-25, 20-25, 25-21, 16-14

Pool H (at Niteroi)
Aug. 5: Germany def. Puerto Rico, 25-14, 25-22, 32-34, 25-12
Aug. 5: Belgium def. Bulgaria, 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23
Aug. 6: Belgium def. Germany, 23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 21-25, 15-10
Aug. 6: Bulgaria def. Puerto Rico, 25-15, 25-12, 25-18
Aug. 7: Belgium def. Puerto Rico, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21
Aug. 7: Germany def. Bulgaria, 25-23, 29-27, 25-24

Semifinals (at Rio De Janeiro)
Aug. 9: Argentina def. USA 27-29, 28-26, 25-19, 25-20 (1-4 classification)
Aug. 9: Russia vs. Serbia, 4 p.m. (1-4 classification)
Aug. 9: Iran defeated India 25-11, 25-22, 25-21 (5-8 classification)
Aug. 9: Brazil vs. Spain, 6:30 p.m. (5-8 classification)

Semifinals (at Niteroi)
Aug. 8: Tunisia def. Puerto Rico 27-29, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12 (13-16 classification)
Aug. 8: Bulgaria def. Egypt, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 (13-16 classification)
Aug. 9: Germany def. Canada, 16-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18 (9-12 classification)
Aug. 9: Belgium def. Japan, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 (9-12 classification)

Final Round
Aug. 10: Argentina vs. Winner of Russia/Serbia, time TBA (Gold Medal)
Aug. 10: USA vs. Loser of Russia/Serbia, time TBA (Bronze Medal)
Aug. 10: Iran vs. Winner of Brazil/Spain, time TBA (5th Place)
Aug. 10: India vs. Loser of Brazil/Spain, time TBA (7th Place)
Aug. 10: Germany vs. Belgium, time TBA (9th Place)
Aug. 10: Canada vs. Japan, time TBA (11th Place)
Aug. 9: Tunisia vs. Bulgaria, 2:30 p.m. PT (13th Place)
Aug. 9: Puerto Rico vs. Egypt, noon p.m. PT (15th Place)

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, Joshua Taylor, Maurice Torres, Micah Christenson, mobile, Scott Kevorken, Steven Irvin, Taylor Crabb, Taylor Sander