U.S. Girls' Youth Fall to Serbia at FIVB Worlds

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

Official FIVB Stats * Photo Gallery

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 12, 2011) - The U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team took a tough 25-21, 25-13, 26-24 loss to Serbia on Saturday during Pool C action of the FIVB Volleyball Girls' Youth World Championship Turkey 2011 in Ankara.

The U.S., ranked second in the FIVB world rankings, now stands with a 1-1 record in this year's tournament among the 16 teams competing. The U.S. will head into its third and final day of first-round pool-play on Sunday against undefeated China.

Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb.) and Molly McCage (Spring, Texas) led the U.S. offense, both charting nine points. McCage, who recorded her first start in the tournament, connected for eight kills on 18 attacks with a service ace. Amber Rolfzen pocketed seven kills on 13 swings and two blocks. Jordan Burgess (Tampa, Fla.) continued her offensive dominance for the team, connecting on seven kills in addition to a service ace. Nicole Dalton (Parker, Colo.) also raked in eight points with six kills on 20 attacks and two blocks.

Setter Lauren Carlini (Aurora, Ill.) totaled four points off of double kills and blocks. Andie Malloy (Allen, Texas), who subbed in during the second and third set, tallied four points with three kills and a solo block. Kadie Rolfzen (Papillion, Neb.) added two points to her 14-point tournament total off of a block and a service ace. Outside hitter Paulina Prieto-Cerame (Miami, Fla.), who subbed in the third-set, connected on two kills for two points.

Dalton totaled a team-high 14 digs, while Burgess recorded 17 excellent receptions on 27 attempts. Carlini produced 29 assists on 85 total set attempts. Allison Palmer (Laguna Beach, Calif.) contributed six digs and six excellent reception attempts.

U.S. Girls' Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone started Amber Rolfzen and McCage at middle blocker, Dalton and Burgess at outside hitter, Kadie Rolfzen at opposite and Carlini at setter. Palmer was the designated libero for the match. Malloy and Prieto-Cerame subbed into the match in both the second and third sets. Chloe Collins (Cypress, Texas) was a sub in the second set, while Nicole Edelman (Boulder, Colo.) came off the bench in the third set.

"Serbia played consistently, but we played inconsistently," Stone said. "We made a lot of mistakes. Too many mistakes led to our loss. We have to win tomorrow, but China is a very good team. Our team has to overcome today’s disappointment of loss for tomorrow match."

Serbia, which converted 36 of 108 attacks as part of a .204 hitting efficiency, held advantages of 11-8 in blocks and 5-3 in aces. The Americans converted 35 of 116 attacks part of of a .103 hitting efficiency. The winners also limted their errors to 12 for the matches, half of the United States' 24 errors. Serbia held a 61-48 dig advantage and recorded 29 excellent service receptions on 54 attempts for a 46.30 percent. The U.S. received serve at a 36.62 percent (32 of 71).

"Serbia played really well, my congratulations to them," McCage said. "I think that China is beatable. We have some videos and if we watch the video, we will be able to prepare and beat China."

Serbia was led by Natasa Cikiriz and Bianka Busa, who each tallied 15 points in the victory.

The U.S. took an early 2-0 lead in the first set off of an attack from McCage and a Serbia error. Serbia charted three consecutive points to reach 3-2 where McCage delivered a bullet to the left side for a 3-all score. Dalton recorded back-to-back points off of a block and a kill before Serbia hit a long ball for an error and a 6-3 deficit. The U.S. maintained the lead with kills coming from Amber Rolfzen and Burgess through 9-8 before an attack from Serbia got through the American block to reach 9-all. The momentum shifted for the U.S. and they began to fall, taking its first deficit at 10-9. The U.S. fell back by four, its largest of the match, before blocks from Carlini and Amber Rolfzen helped the Americans back into the set. The match tied up from 17s through 21s. Serbia went on a four-point run and took the first set 25-21.

The U.S. couldn’t find its momentum in the second set. McCage and Amber Rolfzen recorded early kills for the team to keep the set close early on at 5-4. Serbia stayed in control through the set despite incredible efforts by the Americans. Malloy and Prieto-Cerame subbed in, both charting kills for the U.S. McCage continued to lead the team with kills, tallying numbers five, six and seven to give the team hope at 13-8. Prieto-Cerame delivered a kill that Serbia couldn’t handle to bring the score to 21-10. It was a hard-fought battle from there as the U.S. stayed static at 12 with back-to-back blocks from Amber Rolfzen. Serbia closed out the second set at 25-12.

The U.S. was not going to go out quietly for Serbia and it proved that in the third set. Dalton tallied three points in the Americans' first seven points with two kills and a block at 7-5. The U.S. fought to keep the lead, but with unforced errors, Serbia began its climb back to the top once again. Serbia made a run 4-1 to reach 20-16, and again was stopped by pressure of U.S. attacks and blocks. Malloy charted three kills to keep the match within two at 20-18 and the hopes of pushing into a fourth and fifth set possible. With errors coming from both sides of the net, the score reached 23-all. The teams then found themselves in a draw that remained until 24-24. And only the block by Lukic decided Serbia's victory 26-24, the first for Serbia in this tournament.

2011 U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team
Name (Pos, Hometown, HS Grad Year, Club/Region or High School)
1 - Lauren Carlini (S, Aurora, Ill., 2013, West Aurora High School/Aurora, Ill.)
3 - Jordan Burgess (OH, Tampa, Fla., 2012, Tampa Bay Juniors/Florida)
4 - Nicole Dalton (OPP, Parker, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
5 - Nicole Edelman (S, Boulder, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
6 - Alexis Austin *  (MB, Houston, Texas, 2012, Thunder Volleyball/Lone Star)
9 - Andie Malloy (OPP, Allen, Texas, 2012, Skyline Juniors/North Texas)
10 - Chloe Collins (S/DS, Cypress, Texas, 2013, Texas Pride/Lone star)
11 - Molly McCage (MB, Spring, Texas, 2012, Woodlands Wave/Lone Star)
12 - Allison Palmer (L, Laguna Beach, Calif., 2012, Laguna Beach/Southern California)
13 - Janae Hall (MB, Centennial, Colo., 2012, Front Range/Rocky Mountain)
15 - Amber Rolfzen (MB, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)
16 - Kadie Rolfzen (OH, Papillion, Neb., 2013, Nebraska Juniors/Great Plains)
17 - Paulina Prieto-Cerame (OH, Miami, Fla., 2011, Boomers Volleyball Club/Florida)
* Alexis Austin was originally named to the roster but could not attend due to injury

2011 Girls' Youth National Team Staff
Head Coach: Jim Stone, USA Volleyball High Performance
Assistant Coach: Melissa Wolter, University of West Florida
Assistant Coach: Charlene Whitted, USA Volleyball High Performance
Team Manager: Heath Hoke
Team Doctor: Priscilla Tu
Technical Coordinator: Herb Summers

First Round (Aug. 12-14) (Ankara, Turkey)
Times are in Pacific Time

Pool A (Baskent Volleyball Hall)
Aug. 12: Poland def. Egypt 25-13, 25-16, 26-24
Aug. 12: Turkey def. Algeria 25-8, 25-13, 25-14
Aug. 13: Poland def. Algeria 25-7, 25-13, 25-13
Aug. 13: Turkey def. Egypt 25-9, 25-21, 25-20
Aug. 14: Egypt def. Algeria 25-19, 25-13, 20-25, 25-18
Aug. 14: Turkey def. Poland 25-23, 25-17, 25-15

Pool B (Ankara Sports Hall)
Aug. 12: Brazil def. Slovakia 25-13, 25-12, 25-21
Aug. 12: Argentina def. Mexico 25-21, 25-19, 25-22
Aug. 13: Argentina def. Slovakia 23-25, 25-18, 25-11
Aug. 13: Brazil def. Mexico 25-13, 23-25, 25-14, 25-22
Aug. 14: Mexico def. Slovakia 25-21, 25-18, 25-14
Aug. 14: Brazil def. Argentina 25-17, 25-20, 25-13

Pool C (Baskent Volleyball Hall)
Aug. 12: USA def. Puerto Rico 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 
Aug. 12: China def. Serbia 25-18, 25-20, 25-23
Aug. 13: China def. Puerto Rico 25-22, 25-18, 25-11
Aug. 13: Serbia def. USA 25-21, 25-13, 26-14
Aug. 14: Serbia def. Puerto Rico 25-13, 25-8, 25-21
Aug. 14: China def. USA 24-26, 25-15, 25-21, 25-20

Pool D (Ankara Sports Hall)
Aug. 12: Japan def. Italy 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 
Aug. 12: Germany def. Thailand 25-18, 25-16, 25-20
Aug. 13: Italy def. Thailand 25-20, 25-17, 27-25.
Aug. 13: Japan def. Germany 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-12
Aug. 14: Germany def. Italy 31-29, 16-25, 27-25, 25-20
Aug. 14: Japan def. Thailand 25-16, 25-23, 25-20

Tags: 2011 FIVB Girls' Youth World Championships, Alexis Austin, Allison Palmer, Amber Rolfzen, Andie Malloy, Chloe Collins, FIVB Volleyball Girls' Youth World Championship Turkey 2011, Janae Hall, Jordan Burgess, Kadie Rolfzen, Lauren Carlini, mobile, Molly McCage, Nicole Dalton, Nicole Edelman, Paulina Prieto-Cerame, U.S. Girls' Youth National Team