Boys U19 Team Has Best Worlds Finish Ever at 4th

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 11, 2023) – The U.S. Boys U19 National Team finished the FIVB World Championship with its best placement ever, taking fourth on Friday in San Juan, Argentina.

In Friday’s bronze medal match, the U.S. Boys (5-3) lost to Korea 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23). The U.S. Boys came close to taking Korea to a fifth set, but a late fourth-set rally came up short.

MATCH STATISTICS

The two teams were statistically very close. Korea led in kills (53-52) and scored 34 points on U.S. errors while committing 19. The U.S. Boys led in blocks (11-8) and aces (3-1).

Outside hitter Sterling Foley led all scorers with 20 points on a match-high 19 kills and one block. Outside hitter Sean Kelly added 18 points on 17 kills and one block.

Opposite Finn Kearney totaled 15 points on 13 kills, one block and one ace.

Middle blocker Josh Aruya scored five points on thee blocks, one kill and one ace. Setter Tread Rosenthal scored three points on three blocks.

Libero Kellen Larson was credited with 11 digs and eight successful receptions.

Middle Tristan Whitfield scored two points on a kill and a block. Outside hitter Victor Loiola scored on a kill. Setter Trent Taliaferro scored with an ace. Middle Kauman Carreira scored on a block.

Korean libero Seungil Kang may have been the player of the match, finishing with nine digs and 17 successful receptions.

Boys U19 Roster for the World Championship

Name (Position, height, birth year, hometown, school, USAV Region)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-10, 2005, Irvine, Calif., Woodbridge High School, Southern California)
5 Marek Turner (Opp, 6-5, 2006, Long Beach, Calif., Woodrow Wilson High School, Southern California)
6 Victor Loiola (OH, 6-4, 2005, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa High School, Southern California)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-5, 2005, San Clemente, Calif., JSerra Catholic High School, Southern California)
11 Finn Kearney (OPP, 6-5, 2006, Phoenix, Ariz., Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Arizona)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, 2005, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona del Mar High School, Southern California)
13 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-6, 2005, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Loyola High School, Southern California)
14 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, 2005, Bethesda, Md., Walter Johnson High School, Chesapeake)
15 Josh Aruya (MB, 6-7, 2005, Mission Viejo, Calif., Mission Viejo High School, Southern California)
16 Tread Rosenthal  (S, 6-7, 2006, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa High School, Southern California)
17 Tristan Whitfield (MB, 6-7, 2005, Virginia Beach, Va., Cape Henry Collegiate, Old Dominion)
19 Kaumana Carreira (MB, 6-8, 2005, Mission Viejo, Calif., Tesoro High School, Southern California)

Head Coach: Charlie Sullivan (Head Coach, Springfield College)
Assistant Coach: Lindsay Brown (Assistant Coach, Loyola of Chicago)
Assistant Coach: Jonah Carson
Performance Analyst: Evan Metzger (Performance Analyst, Springfield College)
Athletic Trainer: Rachel Menze (CSUN)
Team Leader: Sam Shweisky (Head Coach, Princeton)

Alternates
2 Roan Alviar (L, 5-11, 2006, Hayward, Calif., Bishop O’Dowd High School, Northern California)
3 Cole Hartke (OH , 6-10, 2006, Barrington, Ill., Barrington High School, Great Lakes)
4 Caleb Sapp (Opp, 6-8, 2006, Upland, Calif., Claremont High School, Southern California)
8 Ryan Gant (S, 6-5, 2006, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona del Mar High School, Southern California)
9 Jack Mally (OH, 6-6, 2005, Geneva, Ill., Geneva High School, Great Lakes)
10 Isaiah Preuitt (MB, 6-8, 2005, Portland, Ore., Central Catholic High School, Columbia Empire)
18 Gaige Gabriel (MB, 6-8, 2005, Birdsboro, Pa., Exeter Township High School, Keystone)
20 Grant Lamoureux (OH, 6-9, 2007, Clemmons, N.C., West Forsyth High School, Carolina)

U.S. Schedule for the 2023 FIVB Boys U19 World Championship
Matches will be shown on the Volleyball World YouTube channel
All times PDT

Aug. 3 USA def. Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-15)
Aug. 4 USA def. Egypt, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 26-24
Aug. 5 USA def. Argentina, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20)
Aug. 6 Serbia def. USA, 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-21, 25-13)
Aug. 8 Round of 16: USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-17)
Aug. 9 Quarterfinals: USA def. Bulgaria, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 28-26)
Aug. 10 Semifinals: France def USA, 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-12)
Aug. 11 Bronze Medal: Korea def USA, 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23)