COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (June 29, 2016) – The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team came up one set short in its quest to win the NORCECA Boys U19 Continental Championship as it fell to Cuba in the final, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11 on Wednesday in Havana.
Both the United States (4-1) and Cuba (5-0) still qualified for the 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship.
Middle blocker Sam Lewis led the U.S. Boys in scoring with 16 points on a match-high six blocks, eight kills and two aces. Opposite Jaylen Jasper added 15 points on 15 kills. Outside hitter Joel Schneidmiller totaled 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and one ace.
The teams were roughly equal in statistics and were tied in blocks (9-9) and aces (6-6). The U.S. kill percent behind setter Chris Hall was 37 (47 kills on 127 attempts) while Cuba’s was 39 (50 kills on 127 attempts).
The U.S. had more unforced errors than Cuba (45-39).
U.S. Head Coach Sam Shweisky started Brandon Browning and Schneidmiller at outside hitter, Kyler Presho and Lewis at middle blocker, Jasper at opposite, Hall at setter and Cole Paxson at libero.
Jasper finished the tournament as the United States’ leading scorer and eighth overall with 63 points on 49 kills, 12 blocks and two aces. He was also the team’s leading blocker and fourth overall with an average of .63 blocks per set.
Lewis was the team’s best server and third overall with 10 aces and an average of .53 per set.
Hall was second among setters with an average of 3.89 running sets per set.
Paxson finished third in excellent receptions (43.33 efficiency percentage) and sixth in digs (1.63 per set).
U.S. Boys Youth National Team
No. Name (Position, Height, Home City, Home State, Home Region)
1. Brandon Browning (OH, 6-4, Corona del Mar, Calif., Southern California)
3. Chris Hall (S, 6-2, Alhambra, Calif., SCVA)
5. Jaylen Jasper (OH, 6-7, Arnold, Md., Chesapeake)
6. Devin Joslyn (OH, 6-5, Angola, N.Y., Western Empire)
7. Sam Lewis (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., SCVA)
9. Jack Mathews (MB, 6-4, Tustin, Calif., SCVA)
11. Kyle Merchen (S, 6-4, Clovis, Calif., Northern California)
16. Cole Paxson (L, 5-11, Laguna Beach, Calif., SCVA)
18. Kyler Presho (MB, 6-8, San Clemente, Calif., SCVA)
19. J.P. Reilly (OH, 6-4, Manhattan Beach, Calif., SCVA)
20. Sean Ryan (OH, 6-3, Countryside, Ill., Great Lakes)
22. Joel Schneidmiller (OH, 6-6, Saratoga, Calif., NCVA)
Staff
Head Coach: Sam Schweisky (Princeton)
Associate Head Coach: Brad Keller (UCLA)
Assistant Coach: Theo Edwards (Cal State Northridge)
Technical Coordinator: Kevin Burch (Ohio State)
Team Manager: Collin Powers (USAV)
Team Doctor: Dr. Priscilla Tu
Results for the NORCECA Boys U19 Continental Championship
June 24: USA def. Nicaragua, 25-23, 25-12, 25-23
June 25: USA def Costa Rica, 25-9, 25-17, 25-16
June 26: USA def Dominican Republic, 25-16, 25-17, 25-21
June 28: Semifinal – USA def Mexico, 17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 17-15
June 29: Final – Cuba def USA, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11