Women's U21 Swept by Strong Brazil Team at 2023 Worlds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 22, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s U21 Team was swept, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22) by Brazil on Tuesday at the 2023 FIVB U21 World Championship in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

The U.S. (2-3) plays Türkiye (3-2) at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday. The teams met in the first round of pool play with Türkiye taking the match in four sets.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

Brazil finished the match with a 42-28 advantage in kills in addition to leading in blocks (10-8) and aces (7-4).

Five U.S. players scored between six and eight points with middle blocker Lizzy Andrew leading the balanced attack with eight points on seven kills and a block.

Outside hitters Emerson Sellman and Abby Vander Wal each scored seven points. Sellman totaled four kills, two blocks, and one ace, while also registering a match-best 22 successful receptions. Vander Wal recorded six kills and a block.

Outside hitter Skyler Pierce finished with five kills and one block, and opposite Abigail Mullen added two kills, a team-high three blocks, and one ace. Libero Ava Falduto led the team with 12 digs and contributed 13 successful receptions. Setter Campbell Flynn also reached double digits in digs with 10.

The U.S. scored the first five points of the match, but Brazil returned from a timeout scoring six of the next seven points. After trailing 15-12, the U.S. Women’s U21 Team went on a 4-1 run to close the game to one, 17-16, but Brazil responded with four consecutive points to take control of the set.

It was Brazil who jumped out to an early lead in the second set (5-1) with the U.S. battling back to keep it close early on. Back-to-back U.S. points cut the lead to three, 16-13, midway through the set, but they could get no closer.

With the U.S. leading 12-11 in the third set, Brazil scored the next five points and 10 of the next 12 points to take a 21-14 lead. The U.S. Women’s U21 squad showed great resolve with a 7-1 run of their own to pull within one point, but Brazil was able to close out the match after the U.S. again cut the lead to one at 23-22.

U.S. Women’s U21 Roster for the 2023 FIVB World Championship

No. Name (Position, Height, Birth Year, Hometown, School, USAV Region)
1 Lizzy Andrew (MB, 6-5, 2005, Ridgefield, Wash., Ridgefield HS, Columbia Empire)
6 Campbell Flynn (S, 6-3, 2006, Rochester Hills, Mich., Mercy HS, Lakeshore)
8 Kaci Demaria (OH, 6-4, 2007, San Pedro, Calif., Palos Verdes HS, Southern California)
9 Ava Falduto (L, 5-7, 2006, Elmhurst, Ill., IC Catholic Prep, Great Lakes)
11 Kelly Kinney (OH, 6-2, 2007, West Palm Beach, Fla., The King’s Academy, Florida)
13C Emerson Sellman (OH, 6-4, 2005, Burtonsville, Md., The Academy of the Holy Cross, Chesapeake)
14 Skyler Pierce (OH, 6-2, 2005, Lenexa, Kan., Olathe Northwest HS, Heart of America)
15 Abigail Mullen (OPP, 6-3, 2006, Kansas City, Mo., Liberty HS, Heart of America)
17 Taylor Harvey (MB, 6-3, 2006, Bountiful, Utah, Bountiful HS, Intermountain)
18 Izzy Starck (S, 6-1, 2006, Melbourne, Fla., Viera HS, Rocky Mountain)
19 Abby Vander Wal (OH, 6-3, 2006, Elmhurst, Ill., Timothy Christian HS, Great Lakes)
20 Alec Rothe (MB, 6-3, 2006, Dublin, Ohio, Dublin Scioto HS, Ohio Valley)

Head Coach: Tom Hogan
Assistant Coach: Stacy Sykora
Second Assistant: Lauren Plum
Team Manager: Courtney Smith
Performance Analyst: Evan Metzger
Athletic Trainer: Cherryl-Marie Bueno

U.S. Schedule for the 2023 FIVB Women’s U21 World Championship
Matches will be livestreamed on the Volleyball World YouTube channel
All times PDT
Aug. 17 USA def. Cuba, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-21)
Aug. 18 Türkiye def. USA, 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14)
Aug. 19 USA def. Netherlands, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-17)
Aug. 21 Italy def. USA, 3-1 (25-19, 25-10, 32-34, 25-17)
Aug. 22 Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)
Aug. 23 USA vs. Türkiye, 7 p.m.
Aug. 25 Semifinals and classification playoffs
Aug. 26 Finals