Boys U19 Team Reaches Top 8 at 2023 Worlds

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 8, 2023) – The U.S. Boys U19 Team will play in the quarterfinals of the FIVB U19 World Championship for the third time ever after sweeping Puerto Rico (28-26, 25-17, 25-17) on Tuesday in Argentina.

The U.S. Team (4-1) has a very quick turnaround and will play Bulgaria (4-1) at 7 a.m. PT in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The turnaround will also be tight for Bulgaria, which won a 3-2 match over Brazil in the Round of 16 on Tuesday afternoon.

MATCH STATISTICS

“Kudos to the guys,” U.S. Head Coach Charlie Sullivan said. “They attended all the trainings and were dedicated to them and dedicated to this journey from day 1. They’re doing a phenomenal job.

“Bulgaria is a solid team. It will be a great test for us. I think our guys will be up for the challenge.”

The best U.S. finish at the FIVB Boys U19 World Championship is seventh, achieved in 1995 and 2015. The 2015 team included current Men’s National Team players T.J. DeFalco, Kyle Ensing, Micah Ma’a, Josh Tuaniga and Jordan Ewert.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Boys led Puerto Rico in kills (34-27) and blocks (13-6). They scored 26 points on Puerto Rico’s errors while committing 21. Puerto Rico led in aces (6-5).

U.S. opposite Finn Keaney led all scorers with 13 points on seven kills (.333 hitting efficiency), a team-high three blocks and a team-high three aces. Outside hitter Sean Kelly added 10 points on nine kills (.467) and one block.

Outside hitter Sterling Foley totaled nine points on nine kills.

Setter Tread Rosenthal scored five points on two kills, two blocks and an ace. He and backup Trent Taliaferro set the U.S. Boys to a .305 hitting efficiency. Libero Kellen Larson led the team with six digs and eight successful receptions.

Middle blocker Tristen Whitfield scored five points on three blocks, one kill and one ace. Middle Josh Aruya added four points on two kills and two blocks.

Outside hitter Victor Loiola played as a substitute and scored two points on a kill and a block. Middle Kaumana Carreira also played as a substitute and scored two points with a kill and a block.

Opposite Marek Turner and outside hitter Sebastiano Sani each scored on a kill.

The U.S. led for much of the first set and took set points at 24-22. Puerto Rico came back to score three straight points to take set point at 25-24. The U.S. fought that off, but Puerto Rico took set point again at 26-25.

The U.S. scored on blocks by Carreira and Kearney and a final Puerto Rico hitting error to win the set. The U.S. took early leads in sets 2 and 3 and sailed to the win.

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. 9 Round of 16: USA def Puerto Rico 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-17)
Aug. 9 Quarterfinals, Round of 16, classification playoffs and
Aug. 10 Semifinals and classification playoffs
Aug. 11 Finals and classification matches