COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (December 13, 2021) – Just a few days after the U.S. Beach U19 National Team claimed gold at the World Championships, the athletes of the U.S. Beach U21 National Team will get their chance to win a world title.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships run December 14-19 in Phuket, Thailand. Qualification takes place Tuesday, Dec. 14 and the main draw starts Wednesday, Dec. 15 (dates local to site).
Three American U21 pairs will begin in the 32-team main draw: Nicole Nourse/Maddie Anderson, Raelyn White/Caitlin Godwin and Matt Gentry/Phillip Catanzaro. One more – Ayden Keeter/Carson Barnes – must advance through the qualifier.
Keeter/Barnes face Brazilians Johann Ferdinand Dohmann/Lucas Coelho Fagundes Sampaio at midnight Pacific Tuesday morning. Should they win that match, they’ll advance to the main draw directly. A loss would put Keeter/Barnes in a drawing of lots for a main draw berth.
Anderson, Godwin and White all play collegiately at Florida State, and Nourse represents USC. Gentry plays indoor at Lincoln Memorial University, while Keeter and Barnes are high school students and play club volleyball in the Old Dominion and Chesapeake Regions, respectively. Catanzaro attends Georgetown University but does not compete for the school.
This is the first international tournament for all but one U.S. athlete – Nourse played in five events on the FIVB World Tour in 2019 with her sister Audrey, collecting a pair of fifth-place finishes. Over the summer, Keeter/Barnes found national success by winning the 18 Open Division at the USA Volleyball National Beach Tour Junior Championship.
The U.S. last medaled at the 2017 U21 World Championships when Kathryn Plummer/Mima Mirkovic won bronze. In all, the U.S. has won three medals in the tournament’s 20-year history, all coming from women’s pairs.
Every match held on center court through the quarterfinals will be streamed live on Thailand Volleyball Association’s YouTube channel, while Beach Volleyball World will stream every semifinal and medal round contest.
U.S. Beach U21 National Team Travel Roster
Women
Name (Hometown, USAV Region, School)
Maddie Anderson (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Florida Region; Florida State)
Caitlin Godwin (St. Petersburg, Florida; Florida Region; Florida State)
Nicole Nourse (Newport Beach, Florida; Southern California Region; USC)
Raelyn White (Austin, Texas; Lone Star Region; Florida State)
Men
Name (Hometown, USAV Region, school (if applicable))
Carson Barnes (Chesapeake, Va.; Chesapeake Region; Indian River HS)
Phillip Catanzaro (Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Ohio Valley Region)
Matt Gentry (Hudson, Ohio; Ohio Valley Region; Lincoln Memorial)
Ayden Keeter (Yorktown, Va.; Old Dominion Region; Tabb HS)