COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 26, 2017) – The U.S. Boys Youth National Team lost to Puerto Rico today in Bahrain at the FIVB Boys U19 World Championship, 25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 25-23.
The Americans (3-4) will play Cuba (1-6) tomorrow in the 15th-16h place final.
“I have to give credit to Puerto Rico,” said head coach Sam Shweisky. “They played inspired. Gabriel Garcia is a fantastic player. To have this much stamina on the seventh day of an eight-day tournament, to receive that many sets and be that efficient out of the front row and the back row was really impressive.”
Garcia led all scorers with 28 points, registering 26 kills on 48 attempts.
“Unfortunately we didn’t have a balanced enough attack to combat their efficiency, really his efficiency.”
Team USA Starters
Libero: Brandon Browning
Setter: Chase Johnson
Middles: Daniel Matheney, Kyler Presho
Opposites: Jonny Bowles
Outside Hitters: Jerod Nelsen, Joel Schneidmiller
Team USA Stat Leaders
Points: Joel Schneidmiller, 21; Jerod Nelsen, 20; Jaylen Jasper, 11; Daniel Matheney, 7
Kills: Joel Schneidmiller, 18; Jerod Nelsen, 18; Jaylen Jasper, 9; Kyler Presho, 4
Blocks: Daniel Matheney, 5; Jaylen Jasper, 2; Joel Schneidmiller, 1; Kyler Presho, 1
Aces: Joel Schneidmiller, 2; Jerod Nelsen, 2; Chris Hall 1
Digs: Brandon Browning, 6; Chris Hall 6; Jerod Nelsen, 4; Joel Schneidmiller, 3
Sets: Chris Hall, 15 running sets, 58 still sets on 73 att.
Excellent Receptions: Jerod Nelsen, 10; Brandon Browning, 7; Joel Schneidmiller, 5
This was a rematch of a pool play match that the U.S. won 3-1.
This morning’s match was extremely close with the two teams trading sets one and two. The third set was an epic battle with Puerto Rico coming out on top 30-28. Then Puerto Rico closed on the match in the fourth 25-23.
The U.S. offense, led by outside hitters Joel Schneidmiller and Jerod Nelsen, had more successful attacks than Puerto Rico (55-45), but the team needs more variety in their attacks. The U.S. also tallied more errors than their opponents (35-27).
Schneidmiller led the U.S. scorers with 21 points with 18 kills on 31 attempts. Nelsen scored 20 with 20 kills on 38 attempts. Meanwhile, the two U.S. starting middles had 15 attempts between them.
“When you look at the nuts and bolts of volleyball, serving and passing always needs to improve,” said Shweisky. “We need more diversity in our offense. But in general we want to enjoy the moment and compete at a high level. We want to play hard and keep our heads high.”
Team USA Matches
Aug. 19 … USA v. Bahrain … W … 28-26, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23
Aug. 20 … USA v. Puerto Rico … W … 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22
Aug. 21 … USA v. Tunisia … W … 28-30, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-9
Aug. 22 … USA v. Egypt … L … 18-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21
Aug. 24 … USA v. France … L … 25-21, 25-13, 25-20
Aug. 25 … USA v. China … L … 24-26, 25-20, 29-27, 25-20
Aug. 26 … USA v. Puerto Rico … L … 25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 21-25
Aug. 27 … USA v. Cuba
The U.S. team earned a silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA Boys Youth Continental Championship in Cuba and finished seventh at the last U19 World Championship in 2015, equally the team’s best finish at Worlds.
2017 U.S. Boys Youth National Team
# — Name (Position, Ht., Hometown, Club, Region)
1 – Jonny Bowles – OP, 6-7, Chandler, Ariz., Aspire Volleyball, Arizona
2 – Brandon Browning – OH, 6-4, Newport Beach, Calif., 949 Volleyball, Southern California
3 – Joel Schneidmiller – OH, 6-6, Saratoga, Calif., Bay to Bay, Northern California
4 – Chris Hall – S, 6-2, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Manhattan Beach Surf, Southern California
5 – Jaylen Jasper – OP, 6-8, Arnold, Md., Annapolis Volleyball, Chesapeake
6 – Chase Johnson – S, 6-6, Moyock, N.C., Coastal Virginia Volleyball, Old Dominion
7 – Devin Joslyn – OH, 6-6, Angola, N.Y., Eden Volleyball, Western Empire
11 – Samuel Lewis – MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Team Rockstar, Southern California
13 – Daniel Matheney – MB, 6-6, Lawndale, Calif., Team Rockstar, Southern California
15 – Parker Mikesch – L, 5-11, Xenia, Ohio, Vanguard Volleyball, Ohio Valley
17 – Jerod Nelsen – OH, 6-7, Monte Sereno, Calif., Mountain View Volleyball, Northern California
20 – Kyler Presho – MB, 6-8, Rancho Mission Viejo, Calif., 949 Volleyball, Southern California
Team USA Staff
Head Coach: Sam Shweisky
Associate Head Coach: Brad Keller
Asst. Coach: Theo Edwards
Team Manager: Joel Walton
Doctor: Priscilla Tu
Technical Coordinator: Galen Dodd