COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 7, 2018) – The U.S. Boys Youth National Team improved to 2-0 in pool play on Thursday with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-14 victory over Honduras at the NORCECA U19 Championship in San José, Costa Rica.
The victory set up a showdown with Cuba, which is also undefeated, in the final pool play match on Friday at 4 p.m. PT. FloVolleyball.tv is live streaming the matches.
“The two countries have a lot of pride, we both are really good at volleyball,” U.S. Head Coach Brad Keller said. “We’ll see good technical play and big swings, just more exciting moments.”
The United States led Honduras in kills (39-7), blocks (6-2) and aces (5-0). Honduras scored 36 points on U.S. errors while committing 25.
Every U.S. player started at least one set.
Setters Joe Karlous and Aidan Knipe combined to set the U.S. to a .412 hitting efficiency.
Outside hitter Alex Knight, who only started the first two sets, led all scorers with 13 points on a match-high seven kills (.429), a match-high five aces and one block.
Middle blocker Ethan Hill, who started the first two sets, scored seven points on five kills and two blocks. Opposite Scott Solan, who started the final two sets, scored seven points on six kills and one block.
Libero Mason Briggs was credited with five digs and eight excellent receptions.
“For us, the key was to stay focused,” Karlous said. “The first set was a little rocky again but we stayed together with chemistry and being strong.”
U.S. STARTERS VS HONDURAS
Outside Hitters: Alex Knight and James Hartley
Middle Blockers: Ethan Hill and Nathaniel Gates
Opposite: Clarke Godbold
Setter: Joe Karlous
Libero: Mason Gibbs
Substitutes: Aidan Knipe (S), Akhil Tangutur (OH), Joe Deluzio (OH), Ethan Smith (MB), Scott Solan (Opp)
U.S. SCORING VS HONDURAS
Kills: Knight 7, Solan 6, Hartley 6 Hill 5, Gates 5, Godbold 4, Tangutur 4, Smith 1, Knipe1
Blocks: Hill 2, Tangutur 1, Solan 1, Gates 1, Knight 1
Aces: Knight 5
NORCECA U19 Continental Championship
Boys Youth National Team
2. Joe Karlous (S, 6-0, Costa Mesa, Calif., So Cal)
3. Mason Briggs (L, 5-11, Valencia, Calif., So Cal)
4. Aidan Knipe (S, 6-2, Huntington Beach, Calif., So Cal)
5. Akhil Tangutur (OH, 6-4, Pacific Palisades, Calif., So Cal)
10. Ethan Smith (MB, 6-7, Laguna Niguel, Calif., So Cal)
12. Joseph Deluzio (OH, 6-6, Windermere, Fla., Florida)
13. Alex Knight (OH, 6-6, Culver City, Calif., So Cal)
14. James Hartley (OH, 6-6, Waxhaw, N.C., Carolina)
15. Ethan Hill (MB, 6-7, San Clemente, Calif., So Cal)
16. Clarke Godbold (Opp, 6-5, San Pedro, Calif., So Cal)
18. Scott Solan (Opp, 6-8, Las Vegas, Nev., So Cal)
19. Nathaniel Gates (MB, 6-8, La Jolla, Calif., So Cal)
Head Coach: Brad Keller (UCLA men’s volleyball assistant coach)
Assistant Coach: Nick MacRae (Long Beach State men’s volleyball associate head coach)
Assistant Coach: Colin McMillan (Penn State men’s volleyball associate head coach)
Team Leader: Gabby Lutjen (USA Volleyball)
Technical Coordinator: Kevin Burch (The Ohio State University men’s volleyball assistant coach)
Schedule and Results (All times PT)
Pool Play
June 6
United States def Guatemala, 25-23, 25-14, 25-18
Cuba def Honduras, 25-9, 25-10, 25-10
Puerto Rico def Nicaragua, 25-12, 25-11, 25-20
June 7
Cuba def Guatemala, 25-13, 25-12, 25-18
United States def Honduras, 25-16, 25-15, 25-14
Costa Rica def Nicaragua, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 27-25
June 8
2 p.m. Honduras vs Guatemala
4 p.m. United States vs Cuba
6 p.m. Costa Rica vs Puerto Rico
June 9
8 a.m. Quarterfinal
10 a.m. Quarterfinal
4 p.m. Semifinal
6 p.m. Semifinal
June 10
1 p.m. Fifth-place match
3 p.m. Third-place match
5 p.m. First-place match