COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 26, 2018) – The U.S. Girls Youth National Team begins the NORCECA Girls U18 Continental Championship on Monday in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with a revamped schedule as Mexico elected not to attend after the original schedule was approved.
The biennial tournament initially had three pools of three countries in the preliminary round, including the U.S. facing Canada and Mexico in Pool C. With the departure of Mexico, the tournament shifts to two pools of four teams each with the Americans now facing Nicaragua, Barbados and host Honduras.
USA Preliminary Schedule for Pool B
- Aug. 27: USA vs. Nicaragua, 4 p.m. ET
- Aug. 28: USA vs. Barbados, 4 p.m. ET
- Aug. 29: USA vs. Honduras, 10 p.m. ET
Pool A has Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba challenging defending event champion Dominican Republic. The winners of Pool A and Pool B advance directly to the semifinals set for Aug. 31. The final classification matches take place on Sept. 1 with the top two finishers earning berths to the 2019 FIVB Girls U18 World Championship.
The U.S. Girls Youth National Team has won the NORCECA Girls U18 Continental Championship seven of the 10 times of the biennial event. The Americans have finished second to Dominican Republic in the last two editions in 2014 and 2016. Team USA has won the event’s silver medal three times.
The NORCECA Girls U18 Continental Championship can be viewed online in the United States with a subscription to FloVolleyball.tv.
2018 U.S. Girls Youth National Team
# – Name (Position, Height, Hometown, High School Grad Year, Youth Club/Region, College Status)
1 – Allison Jacobs (OH, 5-11, Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 2020, Legacy/Southern California, verballed to UCLA)
2 – Hattie Monson (L, 5-5, Morris, Ill., 2020, Sports Performance/Great Lakes, verballed to Notre Dame)
3 – Sydney Taylor (L, 5-8, Grove City, Ohio, 2021, Mintonette/Ohio Valley, Uncommitted)
4 – Kami Miner (S, 6-0, Redondo Beach, Calif., 2021, Mizuno Long Beach/Southern California, Uncommitted)
5 – Kennedi Orr (S, 6-0, Eagan, Minn., 2021, Northern Lights/North Country, verballed to University of Nebraska)
10 – Jess Mruzik (OH, 6-1, Livonia, Mich., 2020, Legacy VBC, Lakeshore, verballed to University of Michigan)
11 – Devyn Robinson (M, 6-1, Ankeny, Iowa, 2020, Iowa Power Plex/Iowa, verballed to University of Wisconsin)
12 – CC Crawford (M, 6-2, Kansas City, Mo., 2020, MAVS/Heart of America, verballed to University of Kansas)
14 – Emily Londot (M, 6-2, Utica, Ohio, 2020, Mintonette/Ohio Valley, verballed to Ohio State University)
16 – Bre Kelley (M, 6-3, Rockwall, Texas, 2021, Excel VBC/North Texas, Uncommitted)
17 – Lindsay Krause (OH, 6-3, Papillion, Neb., 2021, Nebraska Premier/Great Plains, verballed to University of Nebraska)
19 – Ally Batenhorst (OH, 6-4, Katy, Texas, 2021, Houston Juniors Volleyball/Lone Star, Uncommitted)
Head Coach: Jim Stone (USA Volleyball)
Assistant Coaches: Nicki Holmes (women’s associate head coach at George Washington University), Kelly Surrency (USA Volleyball)
Technical Coordinator: Fabian Ardila (assistant coach at Babson College)
Doctor: Dr. Jarod Keller
Team Leader: Katie Mitchell (USA Volleyball)