Boys’ Youth Edged by Argentina at Worlds

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

FIVB Offical Stats * Photos

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 21) -The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team (BYNT) was edged by host Argentina 25-20, 25-19, 28-26 in its final match of first-round Pool A action at the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ Youth World Championship Argentina 2011 in Buenos Aires.

The U.S. moves into second round 9-16 classification bracket as either Pool A’s third or fourth-place team (depends on outcome of Sunday’s Bulgaria versus Egypt match). Only the top two teams in each of the four-team first-round pools advance to the top eight second round with the gold-medal still a possibility.

In the first set the U.S. lost a 19-17 lead to a five-point run by Argentina, which capitalized on the momentum and secured the set at 25-20. Despite a three-point run posted by the U.S. in an attempt to catch Argentina’s 18-13 lead in the second set, Argentina maintained a steady pace, posting a 25-19 second-set victory. The third set was an offensive brawl with the teams tying the score 16 times with the U.S. unable to capitalize on three set-point opportunities before Argentina took the set and match at 28-26 on its first set-match point.

Matthew Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif.) led the U.S. in points charting 14 kills on team-high 41 swings, while Cody Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif.) charted 11 points off of 11 kills and 25 swings. Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) contributed five kills and three blocks for eight points, while Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn.) connected on five kills in addition to a block, good for six points.

Nikola Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) posted two kills and a block for three points and Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill.) gave the U.S. two kills. Josh Kirschner (Sussex, Wis.) connected on a kill.

Argentina took the block advantage at 7-5 and led in passing with 38 digs to the U.S. 30, in addition to a 29-24 excellent reception advantage and 2-0 margin in aces. The hosts connected for 43.4 percent of its attacks with a .330 hitting efficiency (46-11-106). Meanwhile, the U.S. scored on just 38.6 percent of its attacks with a .217 hitting efficiency (41-18-106). Argentina posted 25 assists to the U.S. 15.

Shibuya started Caldwell, Rhein and Tarantino , Kirchner and Russell. Matthew West (Seattle, Wash.) started as the setter and Andrew Sato (Calabasas, Calif.) was the libero for the match. Petty started as outside hitter in the second set and saw playing time in both the first and the third sets. Antonikevic started the third set, while Patch entered the second set and Shaw clocked time in the second and third sets.

It was an offensive battle between the two teams with Argentina posting a 46-41 kill advantage over the U.S. The Americans delivered a tough three sets, but couldn’t silence Argentinian captain Gonzalo Quiroga, who tallied 59 percent of Argentina’s attack points with 27 kills and 38 percent of the team’s total points with a match-high 30 points.

Earlier today in Pool D Iran defeated Puerto Rico 25-12, 25-15, 25-19 and Serbia outplayed Spain 21-25, 28-26, 25-22, 25-21. In Pool A Argentina beat Egypt 25-22, 25-19, 25-22, while Russia downed Tunisia 25-12, 25-19, 25-14 in Pool B. In Pool C Cuba rallied past Korea 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13 and France defeated Brazil in a comeback win, 14-25, 25-20, 9-25, 25-22, 15-12.

For more information about the tournament, visit the FIVB website by clicking here.

In the first set Argentina took the first point with a block, but Tarantino responded back with a kill. Argentina shook up the U.S. taking the next three consecutive points off of two kills and an ace. At 5-2 Argentina West fired a kill. Argentina scored two consecutive points and Kirchner struck a kill for the U.S. to result in a 7-4 score. Argentina forced a side out, but the U.S. made a five-point run off of kills from Kingi, Rhein and Tarantino and the U.S. took a 9-8 lead. Argentina tied the score at 9-all, only to be responded by consecutive kills from Russell and Tarantino. The U.S. climbed to a 13-10 advantage and Argentina stepped up its game. Russell scored a kill to give the U.S. a 19-17 lead, but Argentina went on a five-point run to gain control of the set. Team USA scored its last point at 22-20 before won the set with a 25-20 victory.

In the second set the U.S. and Argentina both posted two consecutive points. At two-all Caldwell and Tarantino connected on kills, followed by an Argentina block and errors from each team to tie it up at 5-all. Argentina took a three-point lead at 9-6. Down by three the U.S. battled back to tie the set at 9-all with help from Russell who posted. Argentina took the lead at 11-9. Tarantino delivered his eighth kill at 15-11 answered by two Argentinian points bringing the set to 15-13. Argentina posted three uncontested points at 18-13 before the U.S. gave its all to catch the five-point lead. The Americans posted a 3-0 run to come within three at 21-18 but couldn’t hold on as Argentina took the second set 25-19.

The U.S. gave its best start of the match excelling past a two-all start with a 5-2 lead guided by a pair of kills struck-down by Caldwell to take the score to 7-4. Argentina snuck up on the U.S. at 7-6 after a three-point run, which was answered by a block from Antonijevic and kills from Tarantino and Russell to regain a three-point U.S. lead at 10-7. Argentina continued to battle, coming within one point of the U.S. at 7-6, 10-9 and 11-10 before tying the set for the third time at 11-all. From there both teams climbed up the scoreboard one point at a time with kills from Rhein and Tarantino keeping the score at 13-all where Tarantino charted his 10th. Argentina posted a point at 14-all, but Tarantino again retaliated with a kill, maintaining the momentum on the U.S. side of the court. Argentina took its first lead over the U.S. at 17-16 after eight ties. After an exchange of unforced errors, Rhein posted a block to tie the set at 19-all. Rhein connected on a kill to give the U.S. a 21-20 advantage. The final points of the set were nerve racking as both teams continued to tie each other (a total of 16 times in the set) reaching 23-23 and the first set point at 24-23 off of consecutive kills from Antonijevic and Caldwell. Argentina responded and at 24-24 the U.S. set up Tarantino for its second set point at 25-24. Again Argentina had an answer for the U.S. at 25-25. Antonijevic gave the U.S. its third set point at 26-25, but Argentina rallied with two points taking the set and match at 28-26.

 

2011 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)
5- Austin Kingi (OH, Tousand Oaks, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
6- Josh Kirchner (MB, Sussex, Wis., West Allis Lightning, Badger)
10- Ben Patch (Opposite, 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 (Libero, Calabasas, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
16- James Shaw (Setter, Woodside, Calif., Mountain View, Northern California)
17- Matthew Tarantino (OH, Van Nuys, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
18- Matthew West (Setter, Seattle, Wash., Spaceneedle, Puget Sound)
*DJ White (OH, Hermosa Beach, Calif., MB Surf, Southern California)

*White will not be making the trip to Argentina due to scheduling conflict with Harvard University.

Staff
Head Coach – Ken Shibuya, Stanford University
Asst. Coach – Dan Friend, Lewis University
Asst. Coach – Rob Neilson, Bringham Young University
Team Manager: Tom Tait
Team Doctor: Julie Chuan
Technical Coordinator: Jonah Carson

First Round (Aug. 19-21)
Times are in Pacific Time

Pool A (Almirante Brown)
Aug. 19: USA def. Egypt 25-16, 25-21, 27-29, 24-26, 17-15
Aug. 19: Bulgaria def. Argentina 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 15-8
Aug. 20: Bulgaria def. USA 25-22, 27-29, 25-26, 25-20
Aug. 20: Argentina def. Egypt 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 
Aug. 22: Bulgaria vs. Egypt, 2 p.m.
Aug. 21: Argentina def. USA 25-20, 25-19, 28-26 

Pool B (Bahia Blanca)
Aug. 19: Greece def. Russia 25-12, 25-23, 32-30
Aug. 19: China def. Tunisia 26-24, 21-25, 25-27, 25-21, 15-6 
Aug. 20: Greece def. China 25-14, 25-22, 25-12
Aug. 20: Russia def. Tunisia 25-12, 25-19, 25-14
Aug. 21: Greece def. Tunisia 25-22, 25-10, 25-20
Aug. 22: China vs. Russia, 5 p.m.

Pool C (Almirante Brown)
Aug. 19: Brazil def. Korea 25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 20-25, 15-9
Aug. 19: Cuba def. France 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21
Aug. 20: France def. Korea 29-27, 25-20, 25-22
Aug. 20: Cuba def. Brazil 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-13
Aug. 21: France def. Brazil 14-25, 25-20, 9-25, 25-22, 15-12 6 
Aug. 21: Cuba def. Korea 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13

Pool D (Bahia Blanca)
Aug. 19: Serbia def. Puerto Rico 25-16, 25-22, 25-20
Aug. 19: Spain def. Iran 25-22, 27-25, 25-21
Aug. 20: Spain def. Puerto 25-21, 25-17, 25-15
Aug. 20: Iran def. Serbia 25-22, 13-25, 30-28, 25-18
Aug. 21: Serbia def. Spain 21-25, 28-26, 25-22, 25-21
Aug. 21: Iran def. Puerto Rico 25-12, 25-15, 25-19

Round Two (Aug. 23-25)

The 1st and 2nd ranked teams of Pool E and F will qualify for the semifinals.
The 3rd and 4th ranked teams of Pool E and F will qualify for the play-off 5-8.
The 1st and 2nd ranked teams of Pool G and H will qualify for the play-off 9-12.
The 3rd and 4th ranked teams of Pool G and H will qualify for the play-off 13-16.

Semifinals (Aug. 27)

The semifinals and play-offs consist of a total of eight matches: two semifinal matches for the rankings 1-4, two matches for the classification 5-8, two matches for the qualification 9-12 and two matches for the classification 13-16.

Finals (Aug. 28)

The finals and play-offs consist of a total of eight matches:
- 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 Boys' Youth National Team, Aaron Russell, Andrew Sato, Austin Kingi, Ben Patch, Cody Caldwell, FIVB Volleyball Boys' Youth World Championship Argentina 2011, James Shaw, Josh Kirchner, Ken Shibuya, Matt Tarantino, Matt West, mobile, Nikola Antonijevic, Scott Rhein, U.S. Boys' Youth National Team