Tag: 2024 U-21 Women NORCECA

TORONTO, Canada, June 30, 2024 – USA’s outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NORCECA Women’s U21 Continental Championship, which concluded this Sunday at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario. 

In addition to winning the MVP award, Brooklyn was also recognized as the Best Spiker of the event. Also from the United States, Ramsey Gary was named the Best Receiver. 

From Canada, Verónica Dickson received the award for Second Best Blocker. The Best Setter award went to Ella McVittie, and Delaney Watson was honored as the Best Libero and Best Defense.  

Chareika Carrion of Puerto Rico was awarded as the Second Best Spiker and the Best Scorer. 

Mexican Aylin Ravell received the award for Best Opposite, and the recognition for Best Server went to Dominican Ariana Rodríguez. 

The award for Best Blocker went to Krystal Eddy of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  The United States won the gold medal of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The USA swept the final 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-16) over Puerto Rico today.

USA dominated in attacking points 46-24, blocks 9-2, aces 7-3, but USA made two more errors 15-13 than its opponent.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson scored a match-high 14 points; Brookly DeLeye, who was also tournament MVP, contributed 11 points.

Outside hitter Chareika Carrión contributed 13 points for Puerto Rico.

This win is also significant as it gives USA a NORCECA berth to the 2025 U21 World Championships (Women).

Team USA’s head coach, Heather Olmstead, said: “I think our team has done a great job; everyone has been ready to play at any time. Our offense was great all the tournament. It was exciting to see us play well against Puerto Rico. Also, congrats to Puerto Rico, I thought they played a great tournament.

“I’m happy for the USA U21 team to win the gold and get the bid for the World Championships. All these players are eligible for next year’s U21 and they set a great tone. They worked hard and did everything that we asked them to – they were all-in for the team all the time.”

Andi Jackson, USA player, said: “We just did an amazing job coming together and working with our differences … . Our week of training before the tournament was very rigorous but I think everyone handled it really well.  I think the relationships that we built at the training before this really helped lead us to victory. We were one on the court. The relationships that we have and how we support each other as teammates are our foundations.”

Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024: Dominican Republic won the third-place match today over host Canada at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

After two very close set battles, Dominican Republic took control of the third set, sweeping Canada 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-16).

Dominican Republic led in attack points, 38-30, blocking was even at 7, serving favored the winning side 11-4, but Dominican Republic made a couple more errors 21-19.

Ariana Rodriguez Fung led all scoring with 17 points, five of those coming from ace serves.

Sophia Hansen, Claire Carter, Ella Piskorz, and Maëli Cormier added 8 points each to Canada’s effort.

Head coach of Dominican Republic’s team, Cristian Cruz, was satisfied with the outcome today: “I’m very happy with the medal, but we could have done even better. We lost to Puerto Rico and in the semifinals, we had to play the United States. But I am happy with third place, and I am proud of this team’s performance today.”

Dominican opposite Ariana Rodriguez Fung said after the match: “I felt we really concentrated on our serve receive and our efficiency on attack. We knew they were a tall team and we wanted to aim high. They blocked us a few times but what mattered is how we recuperated from the point. We stayed concentrated throughout the whole game and came out with the victory. This win means a lot because we’re a small country and we used all our volleyball skills get the job done and represent our country.”

Canada head coach, Olivier Faucher, said: “Dominican Republic team’s profile is one that we haven’t faced in this tournament so far. They are more physical than Puerto Rico and Mexico, so it was a different match-up for us. It was a good battle in the first two sets – we came to play. Block defense was good, but we just couldn’t convert some opportunities. It’s something we have to learn – finding ways to put the ball away when we have the chance.  .. We gave them too many opportunities…. It’s part of the learning process for these athletes in their pathway to competing at a higher level.”

Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  Mexico finishes fifth overall at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

It was a straight set win for Mexico 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-16) today over Costa Rica.

Mexico was more aggressive in their offense leading to 51 versus 19 attack points for Costa Rica. Mexico also dominated in its service points: 7 to 1. Blocks were tied at 4 apiece. Mexico made more errors 18-13.

Aylin Ravell Iglesias contributed 16 points to the Mexican side, and teammate Michelle Lizarraga added 15 points.  Amanda Campos Monge of Costa Rica scored 9 points (including a block and ace her total).

Head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez, said post-match:  “We played well as a team today. We played Costa Rica already in this tournament, so we had some information on them and that helped us today. …  We had hoped to be in the semifinals and make it further in this tournament, but with an injury and other issues we were not able to achieve this goal.”

Outside hitter (Mexico) Michelle Lizarraga said: “I was feeling good the entire tournament and the team was very united. We enjoyed the game played as a team the whole time to win. We trusted in ourselves and stuck together.”

Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  The US Virgin Islands finishes seventh after a victory over Suriname today the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The final score was 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-16) between these two young teams in the match for places 7 and 8. 

US Virgin Islands came out on top in attack points 39-16, blocks 4-5, and ace serves 13-3, but also made more errors 25-18.

US Virgin Islands team captain and outside hitter Anna Gillens topped the scoresheet with 25 points (21 attacks, 2 blocks, 2 aces).

Chontelle Lisse was Suriname’s top scorer with 8 points.

Head coach US Virgin Islands, Isaac Raphael: “I thought we performed well, we have a young team. Of the 12 girls, eight of them qualify for the U19 category…  so it was a good experience for them and I’m excited for them, and for the future. I’m glad they had a fun final match.

“The competition is high and every game we got a little better… we played Mexico twice and played a lot better the second time. I like to see the development of the team as a whole.”

Anna Gillens #9 US Virgin Islands player: “I think the game went really well. We did very well on offense and we tried to hone in on serve receive. The key to our victory was our teamwork. Throughout the whole tournament we were coming together, trying to figure things out and after figuring things out we were able to get the win.”

Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024:  Puerto Rico will play in the gold-medal final after beating the host country today the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

After a tight first couple of sets, Puerto Rico managed to sweep Canada 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-16). Puerto Rico led in attack points 42-29, and aces 5-2. Canada led in blocking points 6-2. Canada also made more errors 27-24.

Outside hitter Chareika Carrión had a match-high 19 points and teammate Camila Soto contributed 12 to the winning side.

Opposite Maëli Cormier was Canada’s top scorer with 8 points.

Puerto Rico’s Captain, Chareika Carrión said: “We played united as a team, our passes were always there and we were mentally ready. This team is all about players that are younger than the norm. I’m very happy because we’re going to the finals with such a young and great team. We’re ready for the next game because we’ve already played against the USA and we’re ready to play them again.”

Head coach Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera: “We are really happy we won. Our goal when we came to this tournament was to finish in the top four. This is the first time we have been in the U21 Norceca championship final, so we’re happy and proud we are in the final against USA. They are a really strong, tall team with a lot of discipline.”

Head coach of Canada, Olivier Faucher : “I think tonight we had a lot of missed opportunities. We were right there in the first two sets, we had our chances and we just couldn’t convert. The message I told the players is that they have to learn from this and get ready for the bronze medal match tomorrow.  We need to deliver our best performance tomorrow.

The medal finals will be held on Sunday June 30.

Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024: The United States U21 team defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-12) in the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

USA led in attack points 42-21, blocks 7-4, ace serves 11-3, but made more errors 17-15 than its opponent.

Dominican player Ariana Rodríguez was the match top scorer with 13 points.

Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, who led her team in scoring with 12 points (10 attack points and 2 aces), said: “We knew they were going to come in strong since we played them once before this tournament. We were expecting their best and I think we just really had to fine tune some things and then work together as a team to come out on top. I’m really excited for the finals. It will be a great game and I think we’re ready for it.”

Coach Heather Olmstead of team USA said: “We’re just trying to play our best style of volleyball.  We’re still working on rotations and fighting hard together. I like that we got a lot of players in the match and we just keep working on our system, as it’s a new group. I thought we did some really good things – we served well, got them in some tough spots and our offense was good, and Bergen (Reilly) set a good match.

“We’re really excited about advancing and we feel grateful for the opportunity to play tomorrow.”

The final will be held on Sunday June 30.

Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024: Mexico will have the chance to play for fifth place in the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

On Saturday, the Mexican team defeated the US Virgin Islands 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17) in their classification match.

Mexico held the advantage in attack points 42-20 and serves 10-3, while USVI had a slight advance in blocking 4-3. Errors were 20-19 in favor of Mexico.

Mexican outside hitter Michelle Lizárraga had a match-high 15 points, followed by opposite Aylin Ravell Iglesias with 13 points. Anna Gillens reached 10 points for the US Virgin Islands.

Head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez, commented after the match: “This was an important match and the players came ready to play and in the moment. Tomorrow we’re going to try and win and just play our game like we’re supposed to.”

Isabella Annie Ocampo, Mexican player, said: “Today when they started to push back a little, we came together as a team and talked about what was open on the court and how to help each other with receiving. They are a good blocking team, so we also tried to help each other when it came to hitting and covering and we talked about who to go to. What worked for us was coming together as a team and talking and making sure we kept our energy high.

Tomorrow our mindset is to come out with everything, play our hardest, and to play together as a team.”

Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024:   Costa Rica defeated Suriname in the first classification match of the day at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Costa Rica will get the opportunity to play for positions 5 and 6 on Sunday.

The score was 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-15) with Costa Rica leading in attack points 38-22, block points 5-3 and ace serves 9-2.  Costa Rica also made the most of Suriname’s errors by 23-17 points.

Amanda Campos of Costa Rica led scoring with 9 attacks, 3 blocks and an ace. Mariela Navarro and Amelie Jenkins Cruz each had 10 points for the winning side.

Avaira Sengwai of Suriname was that team’s lead scorer with 9 total points.

Costa Rican player Manuela Alcalá Martinez said: “We stuck together as a team and tried to follow our coaches’ instructions. We tried to keep our movement up and not let ourselves down. … We came together really well as a team, we managed to communicate well. We’re really happy with how we played and we’re really excited for the game tomorrow.”

Head coach of Costa Rica, Kareem Richards, said: “Suriname came out strong. We told the girls we needed to reduce the unforced errors that we were committing. The girls were very tactical with their serves and that’s what gave us a little advantage over the game. As I said last time, these are awesome girls, once they’re on the court they give their everything.”

Toronto, Canada. June 28, 2024:   Dominican Republic secured its spot in the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The Dominican team defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-23) in Friday’s quarterfinal match.

The winning side led in attack points (38-32), blocks 4-2 and ace serves 11-1. Mexico also made more errors 22-13.

Dominican player Ariana Rodriguez contributed 18 points, which included 3 aces; and teammate Selanny Puente scored 14 (also including 3 aces).

Middle blocker Arleth Marquez Ceja was the Mexican team’s top scorer with 12 points.

This U21 Dominican team now faces the challenge the United States in tomorrow’s semifinal at 4:30 pm ET.

Head coach of the Dominican Republic, Cristian Cruz, was pleased his team fought off Mexico’s late comeback attempt:  “In the last set we were a little bit confused, but I trusted in the girls,  and I knew they would adjust. Our attitude played the biggest role in the game.”

Toronto, Canada. June 28, 2024:  Puerto Rico advances to the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario, after a decisive win over Costa Rica today.

Puerto Rico dominated the scoresheet 3-0 (25-6, 25-10, 25-11).

The winning team led in attack points 39-10, blocks 9-3, and serves 10-0. Costa Rica also lost more points to errors 17-14.

Puerto Rico’s Chareika Carrión again led her team’s offense with 18 points, including 3 aces.

Puerto Rico will face host Canada in the semifinal on Saturday.

Head coach of Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera, said post-match: “In this game we were focused on passing and serving. That was our strategy in practice. For the next game against Canada, we’re focused on doing the same things and the little things so we can move on to the final and play for a medal.”

Opposite player Mariajose Vazquez said: “We played united. The key to this game was to play a happy game with a lot of communication and to do the little things: passing, setting, spiking, and good serving with a lot of enthusiasm. … I’m feeling good (about the semifinal) I bet the girls are feeling great, too. The next game is going to be harder; it’s going to be a better game. I hope we get the win and go to the finals.”

Toronto, Canada. June 27, 2024: In the first five-set match of the tournament, Canada managed to close the tie-break and now advances directly to the semifinals of the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was Canada 3 Mexico 2 (25-21, 27-25, 15-25, 24-26, 15-10).

Canada led the attack 57-48 and won more blocking points 14-10, but Mexico had 12 aces, compared with Canada’s four. Canada also made more errors (37-31).

Ella Piskorz scored 17 points (including five blocks and two aces) for Canada as that team’s lead scorer, which was equaled by Mexico’s Isabella Ocampo, who had 17 points for her team.

Canadian player Veronica Dickson, who scored 13 points in this match, said: “There was definitely some adversity to overcome in the last couple sets but I believe in each and every single one of our team. I knew we could do it and we get a day off tomorrow so it’s nice to get some rest and be ready for the semifinals.”

Canada’s head coach Olivier Faucher was happy with his team’s performance: “It’s good to have this experience. After two sets, it was a hard battle and we were on top, but then Mexico started to play a lot better. A match like this is an opportunity for us to learn and battle to that fifth set.  A 3-0 would have been nice to get more rest. But with this win, we get the day off tomorrow. The important thing is that we got the win, and we will learn from this. There are two big matches coming up and so it was important for us to face this challenge.”

Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024: USA remained in control of Group A with another win at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15) today over Puerto Rico.

USA has not dropped a set so far in the tournament and advances directly to the semifinals. Puerto Rico’s record is 2-1. 

Against Puerto Rico today, it was 42-14 in attack points; 6-1 in block points and USA shut out Puerto Rico in service aces 7-0.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson had a match-high 13 points for USA.

Setter and captain Bergen Reilly said post-match: “Puerto Rico’s a good team and they proved it yesterday against Dominican, they had a really good game. We came in ready for them to be firing on all cylinders and we just executed our side but they played a really good match.”

Head coach USA, Heather Olmstead said: “I love the energy and focus we came out with at the beginning of the match. I thought we stuck to the game plan. I thought we had a lot of fun. I think we put pressure on Puerto Rico. Our offense was fantastic, and our defense did a good job at holding them to a low number.”

Toronto, Canada. June 27, 2024: Dominican Republic overwhelmed Suriname today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

It was the final group A match for both teams – and the score was 3-0 (25-9, 25-3, 25-5).

Attack points were 40-3, blocking at 2 each and serving at 17-2. Errors were 16-10 in favor of the winning team.

Opposite Julie Arias led all scoring with 13 points for the Dominican team.

Teammate Crismeily Paniagua Hinojosa, who served during a 20-0 run for her team in the second set, said: “I felt really good about my serve. We were practicing serves in our practice last night, that’s what we were concentrating on and that’s what I executed today.”

Suriname is winless, while the Dominican squad is 1-2 after pool play and awaits to see who they will play in the next round.

Head coach Dominican Republic Cristian Cruz said: “Today’s game was good. Our team also had a good game with the United States but a bad game with Puerto Rico so going into the playoffs could be a little difficult for us, but I believe in my team. We’re waiting for Canada and Mexico’s game to know who we will face but I know we can get a medal.”

Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024:  Canada swept its second Pool B match in a row at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship on home ground in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-7) over the US Virgin Islands.

Attacking favored Canada 40-11, as well as blocks 3-2, and aces 18-3. Canada, however, did make more errors 20-14.

Mary Healy of Canada had a match-high 17 points; followed in scoring by teammates Veronica Dickson (10) and Claire Carter (8).

US Virgin Islands opposite Mya Brown led her team with 7 points (4 attacks, 2 blocks and an ace)

“The main thing is that all the players have had a chance to be involved in these two first games, so obviously the rust is gone. Since everyone has had a chance to see the court it gives us more options moving forward, and that’s very important in preparing us for the next round,” said Canada’s head coach, Olivier Faucher.

Pool action continues on Thursday, with playoffs on the weekend.

Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024:  USA earned its second group phase win today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship with a 3-0  (25-10, 25-5, 25-9) victory over Suriname.

USA led in attack points 36-7, blocks 11-2 and blanked its opponent with 19-0 points from the service line. Errors were 15-14 in favor of Suriname. Middle blocker Favor Anyanwu led all scoring with 18 points for USA. 

USA’s head coach Heather Olmstead said: “Suriname did a great job… We’re always just looking at how we can play USA volleyball, how we can play within our systems, and how we can communicate and get better playing with each other as the tournament goes on. That’s what we are looking forward to – how we can be our best.” 

Suriname’s head coach Miquel Misidjang was realistic about the match: “We knew upfront that it was going to be a difficult game and what we’ve learned is that we need to work on physicality and skills, as well as the mindset of the game. The girls are young and it’s a learning process for them. I am proud of them.”

Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024: Puerto Rico had a strong start and was able to maintain momentum to defeat Dominican Republic today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-23).

Puerto Rico was particularly strong from the service line, leading 7-1 in aces, they also led in attack points 43-30 and blocking points 7-4.

Chareika Carrion led all scoring with 16 points for Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico’s head coach Jose Ricardo Rivera was very pleased with his team’s performance: “For me it was a good and important game, to be able to meet the goals we have and fight for a medal with the aim of staying among the best four in the tournament. We previously had some matches against the Dominican team where we were not able to close the sets and lost the advantage, but today they came focused, and we were able to win the match in three sets.”

Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024.-  In the opening match of the Women’s U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Puerto Rico dominated Suriname 3-0 (25-10, 25-4, 25-11) in 46 minutes.

Captain and outside hitter Chareika Carrión was the match’s top scorer with 22 points for the winning side. Included in her total were eight aces. 

Puerto Rico dominated in attacking 38-8; and had an impressive 14-0 ace record. Blocking was 3-4 in favour of the losing side.

Suriname has a very young squad, looking to gain experience, with an average age of around 16 years old.

Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024: Canada impressed its home crowd in its opening match of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament beating Costa Rica 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-17).

Canada led in attack points (42-18), blocks (7-1) and aces (10-4). Megan Hawkins and Mary Healy tied as top scorers with 10 each for Canada.

“We’re still figuring out how we’re working together as a team. We have a lot of new faces and we’re really excited about that. And I think we did a good job of taking care of the little things and we’re just really excited to see how it plays out in the next few matches,” said Mary Healy, also Canada’s team captain.

Danna León Gamboa and Joselyn Fernanda Moraga Arroyo contributed five apiece for Costa Rica.

Canada next plays US Virgin Islands on Wednesday night at 7 pm ET in its next Group B match at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024:  Mexico saw early success at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship with a decisive 3-0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-15) win over US Virgin Islands.

Mexico dominated in attack (34-15) points, blocking (7-2) and aces 9-1. As well, Mexico made fewer errors (25-17).

Mexico’s Isabella Ocampo was the match top scorer with 12 points; Anna Gillens of Virgin Islands contributed nine points to the losing effort.

“I liked the match. It’s always good to start a competition with a victory and we did it today. We don’t have a lot of information on ISV, but we played well. We had a job to do for Mexico and I like the hard work from my players,” said head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez.

Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024: The United States had a solid start to the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament beating the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-11).

USA led in all skills: Attacking 44-24, blocking 12-7, and serving 6-1. Dominican Republic did make fewer errors 13-18.

USA’s Brooklyn DeLeye had a match-high 20 points (17 attacks, 2 blocks and an ace.)

“I just think it was a great match… first match of the tournament to play together, get some people in and I thought Dominican played well and pushed us and we really got challenged and that was good,” said Heather Olmstead, USA’s head coach.

“Bergen [Reilly] did a great job setting the right people at the right time. I thought our middles were great, I thought they took great swings. Brooklyn played fantastic; she really took big rips on the outside. I thought our passing was pretty settled after the first couple points. Ramsey [Gary] did a good job in the back row helping our passers set up early.”

Ariana Rodriguez Fung was the top scorer on the Dominican side with 13 points.

USA in in Group A and plays Suriname next on Wednesday.

TORONTO, Canada, June 24, 2024 – Eight teams are set to compete for the U21 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship title from June 25 to 30 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

The head coaches expressed their thoughts on their teams at this tournament today:

Head coach Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera

“The expectation for this tournament is to finish in one of the top four places. We have been preparing for 12 weeks for this event, training very hard and coming together as a team. “

Head coach Canada, Olivier Faucher

“We have high expectations. We have a good group of players who have had a decent amount of training, and we will play the best volleyball we can this week. Moving forward, we should expect good matches and results on our end.  For some of our players, it’s the first time representing Canada, so there will be some nerves, which is expected. … it’s an honour to represent Canada and having this opportunity at home in front of friends and family is extra special.” 

Head coach Costa Rica, Kareem Richards

“It’s an honour to be here; amongst the best teams in the region.  Our expectation is to gain a lot of experience. We have a young team that we are trying to develop, and the girls are very excited to continue their process of learning from the best…  including myself learning from the other coaches here. We are here to share, learn and grow.  We have some players as young as 15 and 16 and some older players. We see this tournament as a great opportunity and we’re looking forward to it.”

Head coach US Virgin Islands, Isaac Raphael

“We are excited to be here. We have a young team, and we are looking forward to seeing them perform at this level. It’s going to be a tough competition, but I believe that is the way you improve. We’re going to play some hard volleyball and have a good time.

We spent a couple of weeks at a training camp in Orlando and we are hoping that will be enough. It should show what we have done in the last couple of weeks.”

Head coach Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez

“Our first goal is to qualify for the next round and then the semifinals and finals.  Most of our players come from other national programs and we’ve been training together for three weeks for this tournament. We are looking forward to competing here.”

Head coach USA, Heather Olmstead

“We’re excited to be representing United States of America at this tournament – we’ve had a great week of training, and we have a good young group with us and we’re excited to play all the teams here. We are going to give it our all and compete … every match is a battle and we expect to play really well at this tournament.”

Head coach Suriname, Miquel Misidjang

“Our expectations are not too high because we have a team in development, a very young selection with an average age of around16. We are using this opportunity for the girls to have experience for the future. We are coming to compete, but we are realistic about the expectations. We’ve been training as a team for a couple of weeks now and worked with the team of Trinidad at a training camp there.”

Head coach Dominican Republic Cristian Cruz

“We know this will be a very strong competition with strong teams such as USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. We think this is a strong competition for us and we will fight very hard in each match. We start training earlier in the year, but we have also had some players in college in the United States as well as one player who was in VNL with the senior team, so we are just coming together as a team and we know this is a good team.”

TORONTO, Canada, June 23, 2024.- Eight teams are set to compete for the U21 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship title from June 25 to 30 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

This event is a part of the qualification system towards the FIVB U21 Women’s World Championship in 2025.

United States is the defending champion and the most successful team in the event’s history, having won seven NORCECA titles.

The competition will begin with a preliminary round of pool play. Pool A includes Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and the United States. Pool B features Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Group winners will advance directly to the semifinals, while the teams finishing second and third in their groups will compete in the quarterfinals. The medal matches are scheduled for June 30.

Preliminary Round Schedule

June 25

11:00 am  Puerto Rico vs Suriname

1:30 pm     United States vs Dominican Republic

4:30 pm     U.S. Virgin Islands vs Mexico

7:00 pm     Canada vs Costa Rica

June 26

11:00 am  United States vs Suriname

1:30 pm     Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic

4:30 pm     Mexico vs Costa Rica

7:00 pm     Canada vs U.S. Virgin Islands

 June 27

11:00 am  Dominican Republic vs Suriname

1:30 pm     United States vs Puerto Rico

4:30 pm     Costa Rica vs U.S. Virgin Islands

7:00 pm     Canada vs Mexico

 Year By Year Podiums

YEAR	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE
1998	USA	MEX	CAN
2000	CUB	USA	MEX
2002	PUR	USA	CUB
2004	USA	DOM	PUR
2006	USA	DOM	PUR
2008	USA	DOM	CUB
2010	USA	DOM	CUB
2012	DOM	MEX	USA
2014	USA	CUB	DOM
2016	DOM	USA	CUB
2018	USA	DOM	MEX

Composite Medal Table

COUNTRY	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
USA	7	3	1	11
DOM	2	5	1	8
CUB	1	1	4	6
PUR	1	0	2	3
MEX	0	2	2	4
CAN	0	0	1	1