COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 5, 2018) – The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team begins play in the NORCECA Under-19 Continental Championship against Guatemala at 2 p.m. PT on Wednesday in San José, Costa Rica.
The event is a qualifier for the 2019 FIVB U19 World Championship and will be live streamed by FloVolleyball.tv, which is a subscription service.
U.S. Head Coach Brad Keller wants his group to be known as “a serving and passing team.
“I know that’s so generic for everybody,” he said. “But in reality, this team does pass well. Hopefully we can put some service pressure on other teams.
“This team really cares about each other and they have the ability to grind. I think they can grind better than some other teams.”
Team Captain Joe Karlous said his team’s greatest strength is chemistry.
“We’ve been through so much together, like this entire thing,” Karlous said. “Another strength is Brad and the coaching staff. If we listen to our coaches, we should be all right.”
In 2017, the boys youth team finished 15th at the FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship in Bahrain. In 2016, it finished second at the NORCECA U19 Championship in Havana, Cuba.
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
2 p.m. Guatemala vs United States
4 p.m. Cuba vs Honduras
6 p.m. Puerto Rico vs Nicaragua
June 7
2 p.m. Cuba vs Guatemala
4 p.m. Honduras vs United States
6 p.m. Costa Rica vs Puerto Rico
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