U.S. Women Move to 3-0 at 2024 Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 20, 2024) –The U.S. Women’s National Team remained undefeated in pool play at the 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-10) win over Cuba on Tuesday in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.

The U.S. Women (3-0) look to continue their winning ways against winless Costa Rica at 1 p.m. PT  on Wednesday (Aug. 21).

Four U.S. players scored in double digits and the team hit at a .351 efficiency percentage for the match with leads in kills (53-39), blocks (7-5) and service aces (11-4).

“As always, Cuba brought the firepower and really came out in the first set and maximized that firepower and put some pressure on us from the inline,” U.S. Head Coach Brad Rostratter said. “Thankfully, we were able to right the ship, get back on track, and really grind it out through sets two, three and four to gather the victory.”

Outside hitter Roni Jones-Perry recorded a triple-double with team-highs of 15 points and 15 successful receptions to go with 12 digs. Libero Zoe Fleck led all players with 19 digs and added 12 successful receptions. Outside Logan Eggleston nearly registered a triple double with nine kills, 13 successful receptions, and 11 digs.

“I thought that match was a good challenge for us and we did a good job staying steady and getting better as the match went on against a good Cuba team,” Jones-Perry said.

Middle blocker Serena Gray scored 13 points with eight kills and a match-high three blocks and was one of four U.S. players with two aces. Opposite Kendall Kipp totaled 11 points on 10 kills and a block, and middle Tia Jimmerson finished with 10 points on seven kills, two blocks and an ace.

Setters Ella Powell and Jenna Gray combined to run the efficient offense while each contributed three points on a kill and a pair of aces. Powell finished with six digs and Gray added three digs. Opposite Stephanie Samedy scored four points on three kills and an ace, outside Claire Hoffman scored twice on a kill and an ace, and outside Jaali Winters recorded a kill.

After the U.S. matched its biggest lead of the first set, 10-7, Cuba went on an 11-5 run to take the lead for good. Jones-Perry’s second ace of the set cut the deficit to one, 18-17, but the U.S. was never able to even the set, dropping its first set of the tournament. Serena Gray scored four points on three kills and a block.

A block and two kills from Kipp keyed the U.S. to a 4-0 lead to start the second set and force Cuba into an early timeout. Cuba never got closer than three points with a 9-0 run giving the U.S. a 22-9 lead. The U.S. hit .522 in the set, recorded the only two blocks and all three aces. Kipp scored four points on three kills and an ace, while Eggleston and Jones-Perry each recorded three kills.

Cuba started the third set strong, opening a 5-2 lead and leading most of the set until a Jones-Perry killed tied the set at 17. An ace by Hoffman gave the U.S. its first lead since scoring the opening point of the set. Clinging to a 21-20 lead, the U.S. went up by three on back-to-back Jimerson kills, the second on a rally started by a spectacular dig from Fleck. An Eggleston kill ended the set and gave the U.S. a 2-1 advantage. Jones-Perry led the way with five kills followed by Serena Gray with four.

The U.S. kept its momentum going by scoring seven of the first 10 points of the fourth set. A Serena Gray ace stretched the lead to six points, 13-7. After a Cuba point, the U.S. ran off six consecutive points to make it 19-8. Jones-Perry led the team with four kills in a set in which the U.S. hit .480 and finished with a 4-1 advantage in blocks and 4-0 in aces.

U.S. Women’s Roster for the 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup
4 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
5 Kendall Kipp (Opp, 6-6, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
6 Serena Gray (MB, 6-3, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
7 Claire Hoffman (OH, 6-2, Pleasant Hill, Ore., Univ. of Washington, Columbia Empire)
8 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Delta)
9 Tia Jimerson (MB, 6-3, Sugar Hill, Ga., Ohio University, Southern)
12 Breland Morrissette (MB, 6-1, Birmingham, Ala., Georgia Tech, Southern)
13 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Ark., Univ. of Washington, Delta)
14 Sarah Sponcil (L, 5-10, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
15 Jaali Winters (OH, 6-3, Ankeny, Iowa, Creighton, Iowa)
17 Zoe Fleck (L, 5-6, Grenada Hills, Calif., Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
31C Roni Jones-Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
34 Stephanie Samedy (Opp, 6-2, Clermont, Fla., Univ. of Minnesota, Florida)

Head Coach: Brad Rostratter
Assistant Coach: Jonathan Charette
2nd Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Team Manager: James Lundgren
Physiotherapist: Cherryl-Marie Bueno
Statistician: Peter Wong

U.S. Women’s Schedule for the Pan American Cup
(All times PT)
Matches will be livestreamed on Federación Mexicana de Voleibol Facebook page.

Aug. 18: USA def. Chile, 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-18)
Aug. 19: USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-15)
Aug. 20: USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-10)
Aug. 21: USA vs. Costa Rica, 1 p.m.
Aug. 22: USA vs. Argentina, 4 p.m.
Aug. 23: Quarterfinals and classification
Aug. 24: Semifinals and classification
Aug. 25: Medal matches