Boys U19 Team Opens With a Win at Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 13, 2023) – The U.S. Boys U19National Team opened play at the 2023 NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup in Guatemala Monday with a three-set victory over Belize, 25-11, 25-21, 25-22.

Match Stats (PDF)

The U.S. breezed through the first set, 25-11, behind four points apiece from opposite Finn Kearney and middle blocker Isaiah Preuitt. But Belize did not let the U.S. off the hook the rest of the match.

Setter and team captain Tread Rosenthal talked about the change in pace after set one.

“The first set was good,” Rosenthal said. “Belize played great the next two sets, and we just folded in ourselves a little bit. We lost focus and maybe got too relaxed. We will get better; we have physical players and that will help us later.”

Kearney finished with a match-high 13 points on 11 kills, one block and one ace. Outside hitter Sean Kelly scored 10 points on seven kills, two blocks and one ace. Preuitt finished with five points on three kills, one block and one ace. Rosenthal had four points (one kill, one block, one ace), along with outside hitter Sterling Foley (four kills) and middle blocker Josh Aruya (four kills). Opposite Marek Turner and outside hitter Victor Loiola each scored three points, and outside hitter Sebastiano Sani and middle blocker Gaige Gabriel each scored one. Libero Kellen Larson had a match-high six digs

The U.S. led by a 33-10 margin in attacks and 10-3 in serves. Belize had six blocks to five for the U.S., and committed fewer errors (27-35).

“Belize did a great job in the last two sets, credit to them,” head coach Matt Fuerbringer said. “Our serving went down a little bit and even when we did serve well, they (Belize) did a much better job in getting used to the speed of our serves which kept them in play and made a good out of system in swings in plays against us. It was a different type of team to play against; we saw some things we must clean up on our end. But overall, I got everyone in the match today. [For] some of the guys it’s the first time wearing the U.S. jersey. I guess that when you win so easily in the first set it sets a mood, and when we weren’t beating them early in the second set guys got a bit anxious.”

The U.S. faces Mexico Tuesday at 3 p.m. Pacific. Mexico defeated Costa Rica today in three sets.

2023 U.S. Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship Roster

Player (Pos., Height, Birth Year, Hometown, School, USAV Region)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-10, 2005, Irvine, Calif., Woodbridge HS, Southern California)
5 Marek Turner (Opp, 6-5, 2006, Long Beach, Calif., Woodrow Wilson HS, Southern California)
6 Victor Loiola (OH, 6-4, 2005, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-4, 2005, San Clemente, Calif., JSerra Catholic HS, Southern California)
10 Isaiah Preuitt (MB, 6-8, 2005, Portland, Ore., Central Catholic HS, Columbia Empire)
11 Finn Kearney (Opp, 6-5, 2006, Phoenix, Ariz., Sandra Day O’Connor HS, Arizona)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, 2005, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona del Mar HS, Southern California)
13 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-6, 2005, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Loyola HS, Southern California)
14 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, 2005, Bethesda, Md., Walter Johnson HS, Chesapeake)
15 Josh Aruya (MB, 6-7, 2005, Mission Viejo, Calif., Mission Viejo HS, Southern California)
16C Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-7, 2006, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California)
18 Gaige Gabriel (MB, 6-8, 2005, Birdsboro, Pa., Exeter Township HS, Keystone)

Alternates
Roan Alviar (L, 5-11, 2006, Hayward, Calif., Bishop O’Dowd HS, Northern California)
Kahale Clini (OH, 6-3, 2005, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou School, Aloha)
Cole Hartke (OH, 6-10, 2006, Barrington, Ill., Barrington HS, Great Lakes)
Trevell Jordan (MB, 6-8, 2006, Mesa, Ariz., Desert Ridge HS, Arizona
Parker Tomkinson (MB, 6-10, 2006, Carlsbad, Calif., Carlsbad HS, Southern California)
Peter Zurawski (S, 6-6, 2005, Oak Park, Ill., Oak Park River Forest HS, Great Lakes)

Head Coach: Matt Fuerbringer
Assistant Coaches: Kevin Moore and Daniele Desiderio
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Athletic Trainer: Cheryl Bueno
Team Leader: Cody Liner

U.S. Schedule for the 2023 NORCECA Boys U19 Continental Championship
All times PT
Matches will be streamed on Facebook at Fnvg Voleibol Guate.
View the full schedule on the NORCECA website.
March 13: USA def. Belize, 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-22)
March 14 at 3 p.m.: USA vs Mexico
March 15 at 1 p.m.: USA vs Costa Rica
March 16 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.: Quarterfinals
March 17: Classification matches and semifinals
March 18: Final classification matches and medal matches