Women's U21 Team Coasts Past Costa Rica at Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 7, 2022) – The United States overpowered Costa Rica 3-0 (25-8, 25-4, 25-8) on Tuesday in their first match at the sixth edition of the Women’s U21 Pan American Cup at the Arena La Paz in Baja California Sur.

The top two finishing teams at the Pan Am Cup will qualify for the 2023 FIVB World Championship. On Wednesday, the United States (1-0) will play Canada (0-1) at 5 p.m. PT. Watch live at facebook.com/babisuritv.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

The U.S. Women dominated from the service line and led in aces 14-0. They also led in kills (39-10) and blocks (7-0) and scored 75 points on opponent errors while committing 20. Every player on the U.S. roster saw time on the court.

“We kept our service pressure strong the whole match,” U.S. Head Coach Dan Fisher said. “It was a good opportunity for us to play a lot of players. We are a new team together. The hitters and setters are still learning from each other. We’ve only trained for a week, so it was a nice beginning for us.”

Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine led the United States with 13 points on a match-high 10 kills (.769 hitting efficiency) and three aces; opposite Merritt Beason scored eight points on six kills (.556), one block and one ace.

Libero and team captain Lexi Rodriguez was credited with 18 digs and three excellent receptions.

The U.S. Women had a .712 hitting efficiency behind starting setter Rachel Fairbanks and Alexis Stucky, who started the third set.

Middle blockers Bekka Allick, Bre Kelley and Raven Colvin and opposite Devin Kahahawai each scored six points. Allick scored on six kills. Kelley had three aces to go with three kills. Colvin had two blocks and one ace with three kills. Kahahawai finished with five kills and one block.

Fairbanks scored five points on a match-high four aces and one block. Outside hitter Norah Sis scored three points on three kills. Outside hitter Elia Rubin had two points on two kills.

Fisher started Fairbanks at setter, Chicoine and Sis at the outsides, Allick and Kelley in the middle, Beason at opposite and Rodriguez at libero.

U.S. Women’s U21 National Team
No. Name (position, height, hometown, HS grad year, USAV region, college or college commitment)

1 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., 2020, Great Lakes, Nebraska)
3 Chloe Chicoine (OH, 5-10, Lafayette, Ind., 2023, Hoosier, Purdue)
4 Rachel Fairbanks (S, 6-0, Santa Ana, Calif., 2021, Southern California, Pitt)
6 Elia Rubin (OH, 6-1, Brentwood, Calif., 2022, Southern California, Stanford)
7 Mckenna Wucherer (OH, 6-1, Brookfield, Wis., 2022, Badger, Minnesota)
8 Raven Colvin (MB, 6-1, Indianapolis, Ind., 2021, Hoosier, Purdue)
9 Norah Sis (OH, 6-2, Papillion, Neb., 2021, Great Plains, Creighton)
11 Alexis Stucky (S, 6-2, Laramie, Wyo., 2022,  Rocky Mountain, Florida)
15 Merritt Beason (OPP, 6-3, Gardendale, Ala., 2020, Southern, Florida)
16 Bekka Allick (MB, 6-3, Waverly, Neb., 2022, Great Plains, Nebraska)
18 Bre Kelley (MB, 6-4, Rockwall, Texas, 2020, North Texas, Florida)
19 Devin Kahahawai (OH, 6-4, Kailua, Hawaii, 2022, Aloha, Texas)

Head Coach: Dan Fisher (Head Coach, University of Pittsburgh)
Assistant Coach: Jon Newman-Gonchar (Head Coach, University of New Mexico)
Assistant Coach: Heather Olmstead (Head Coach, BYU)
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham (Technical Coordinator, USC)
Athletic Trainer: Wyatt Blue (Game Time Sports Medicine)
Team Leader: Kyle Thompson (Director of Volleyball Operations, Maryland)

Women’s U21 Pan American Cup Schedule
(All times PDT)

Pool Play
June 7
Puerto Rico def Dominican Republic, 3-2 (25-23, 27-29, 25-22, 24-26, 16-14)
Argentina def Canada, 3-0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-22)
United States def Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-8, 25-4, 25-8)
Mexico def Honduras, 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-8)

June 8
1 p.m. Cuba v Puerto Rico
3 p.m. Argentina v Costa Rica
5 p.m. United States v Canada
7 p.m. Mexico v Chile

June 9
1 p.m. Costa Rica v Canada
3 p.m. Dominican Republic v Cuba
5 p.m. Chile v Honduras
7 p.m. Argentina v United States

June 10
Classification and Quarterfinals

June 11
Classification and semifinals

June 12
Classification and medal matches