U.S. Girls U18 Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 26, 2021) – The U.S. Girls U18 National Team faced its toughest test so far at the FIVB World Championship and came away with a hard-fought victory over Argentina, 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7) on Sunday in Durango, Mexico.

The U.S. (5-0) advances to the quarterfinals to face Turkey (4-1) at 6 p.m. PT on Monday.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS * FIVB TOURNAMENT PAGE 

The U.S. led Argentina in kills (61-48) and aces (11-5) while Argentina at times stymied the U.S. hitters with its blocking, leading 20-12.

U.S. backup setter Bergen Reilly entered the match in the third set and helped steady the ship. She and starting setter Alexis Stucky set the team to a .301 hitting efficiency. Argentina hit .241.

Middle blocker Eloise Brandewie also took over for starter Bekka Allick and Julia Blyashov played the fifth set at opposite for Devin Kahahawai.

Libero Laney Choboy was credited with an amazing 28 digs and 24 successful receptions.

U.S. Head Coach Jamie Morrison knew his team would be tested on Sunday. Although Argentina entered the match with a 1-3 record, it shared a difficult preliminary pool with Russia, Brazil, Slovakia and Bulgaria.

“Argentina has a really good volleyball team,” Morrison said. “I couldn’t believe they finished fourth in their pool. Congratulations to them for pushing us, but I’m glad we showed up and got back to being ourselves at the end.”

Outside hitter Mckenna Wutherer led all scorers with 25 points on a match-high 19 kills, a match-high four aces and two blocks.

“It was such a crazy match,” Wutherer said. “We just want to go out there and take gold and we’re going to do everything we can to get that.”

Among other U.S. scorers, Maggie Mendelson totaled 13 points on 10 kills, one block and two aces. Allick finished with 10 points on four kills, a team-high four blocks and two aces.

Kahahawai scored eight points on six kills and two blocks. Stucky scored six points on five kills and one block. Brandewie finished with four points on two kills and two blocks and Reilly scored a point with an ace.

Other quarterfinal matches on Monday will see Russia play Poland, Brazil take on Serbia and Italy versus Romania.

2021 U.S. Girls U18 National Team
Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, Region, Club)
1 Laney Choboy (L, 5-3, Raleigh, N.C., Carolina, NC Volleyball Academy)
4 Chloe Chicoine (OH/L, 5-10, Lafayette, Ind., Hoosier, Circle City)
6 Bergen Reilly (S, 6-1, Sioux Falls, S.D., North Country, Kairos Elite Volleyball)
7 Mckenna Wucherer (OH, 6-1, Brookfield , Wis., Badger, Milwaukee Sting)
10 Caroline Jurevicius (OPP, 6-2, Gates Mills, Ohio, Ohio Valley, Academy Volleyball Cleveland)
13 Harper Murray (OH, 6-2, Ann Arbor, Mich., Lakeshore, Legacy Volleyball Club)
14 Alexis Stucky (S, 6-2, Laramie, Wyo., Rocky Mountain, Northern Colorado Juniors)
16 Devin Kahahawai (OH, 6-3, Kailua, Hawaii, Aloha, Spike and Serve)
18 Eloise Brandewie (MB, 6-3, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Valley, Mintonette)
19 Julia Blyashov (OH, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., Southern California, Wave Volleyball Club)
21 Bekka Allick (MB, 6-4, Waverly, Neb., Great Plains, VC Nebraska)
24 Maggie Mendelson (MB, 6-5, North Ogden, Utah, Intermountain, Hive Volleyball)

Head Coach: Jamie Morrison
Assistant Coach: Michelle Chatman-Smith
Assistant Coach: Alisha Glass Childress
Technical Coordinator: Mike Gee
Team Leader: Meredith Lee
Athletic Trainer: Wyatt Blue

U.S. Schedule for the FIVB U18 World Championship
(All times PT)
Live streams available at youtube.com

Sept. 21: USA def Thailand, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23)
Sept. 22: USA def Romania, 3-1 (25-21, 25-11, 18-25, 25-16)
Sept. 23: USA def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-9)
Sept. 24: USA def Nigeria, 3-0 (forfeit)
Sept. 25 Rest Day
Sept. 26: USA def Argentina, 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7)
Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. USA vs Turkey