Augst 9. 2023.- The United States came back from a set down to turn the tables against longtime rivals Brazil and advanced to the semifinals with a 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11) victory at the FIVB Girls’ U19 Volleyball World Championship in Osijek, Croatia.
United States will meet Italy in Thursday’s semifinals, while Japan will play Türkiye in the other semifinal.
The U.S. dominated in kills, 74-40, but Brazil rallied in a pair of sets and sent the match to a deciding fifth set. The top three scorers in the match were all from the U.S., highlighted by a huge performance from outside hitter Teraya Sigler, who totaled 29 points with match-bests of 23 kills and four aces to go along with two blocks and contributed 11 digs. She led all players with four points on three kills and an ace in the fifth set.
Outside hitter Abby Vander Wal finished with 23 points, on 18 kills, one block, and equaled Sigler with four aces as the U.S. served for 12 aces compared to nine for Brazil.
Eight more matches were played across Osijek and Szeged on Wednesday in order to determine the final positions from 9th to 24th place. In the playoffs from 9th-16th, China defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20) and Argentina beat the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20).
In the playoffs from 17th-20th, Mexico prevailed over Canada 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-23).