Tag: 2025 – U19 NORCECA Girls Panamerican Cup

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 28, 2025.- A young squad from USA won gold and 14-year-old Kari Knotts stood out at MVP today in Kingston, Ontario, as the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup concluded.

USA also picked up “best spiker” and “best setter” awards.

Valeria Gutierrez won two awards – libero and digger for her defensive action with the Costa Rican team. Dominican Republic’s Julie Arias also won two individual awards. 

Host Canada was awarded 2^nd best blocker.

Here’s a full list award winners:

Best Spiker :  Kari Knotts  USA

2^nd Best Spiker :  Ireland Real USA

Best Digger : Valeria Gutierrez  CRC

Best Setter : Taimane Ainu’u USA

Best Receiver : Pamela Agosto PUR

Best Server : Julie Arias DOM

Best Libero :  Valeria Gutierrez  CRC

Best Scorer : Naomi Alejandra Cruz MEX

Best Opposite : Julie Arias DOM

Best Blocker : Brenda Sofia Esquivel MEX

2^nd Best Blocker:  Maya Bukovcan CAN

MVP Kari Knotts USA

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 28, 2025.-  USA swept Mexico to claim gold at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Despite the determination of the Mexican side, the powerful young U.S. squad won the final 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21).

Head coach of USA, Jamie Morrison, said: “It’s a young team and we set the goal of getting better every single day that we are here and I thought we did that. All 12 players contributed to us getting into this match. I’m proud that it’s their first gold medal in a USA uniform and the rest of the country should be proud of them too.”

The USA came out swinging and earned 48 points off attack, compared with 24 from Mexico. USA also had more blocking points (11-8). Mexico led in aces 9-5 and made fewer errors (11-23).

Top scorer of the match was 14-year-old outside hitter Kari Knotts with 24 points (19 kills, 2 blocks, 3 aces).

Naomi Alejandra Cruz led Mexico with 8 points.

Host Canada won the bronze match over Dominican Republic. 

Next up for this age-class, the FIVB U19 Girls’ World Championship in Serbia and Croatia in July.

2025 U19 Pan Am Cup Ranking

1.           USA

2.           Mexico

3.           Canada

4.           Dominican Republic

5.           Venezuela

6.           Puerto Rico

7.           Costa Rica

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 28, 2025.- Canada was able to manage the young, talented Dominican Republic team to win in the tie-break today at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The home crowd cheered Canada on to the 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 19-25, 15-10) win and the bronze medal.

Canada led in attack points 58-50, blocking 10-4, while Dominican had one more ace (11-10). Canada also made more errors 35-24.

Sydney Bell (16) and Sol Henson (14) led in points for Canada. Ambar Hernández (16) and Julie Millaray Arias (13) were top scorers for Team Dominican Republic.

“It was a great team effort for us,” explained Canada’s head coach Gina Schmidt. “Dominican served tougher than they did in the previous match we played against them. We were in system a lot in our first match, and they added some service pressure today, which got us out of our rhythm with our offense. Once we kind of settled that down and put on more pressure from service from our side, we were able to work our way back into the match. I loved the way our team reacted in that fifth set.  Everyone found a way to contribute, so that’s important as we head into the next tournament.”

Most teams at the Pan Am Cup are using this tournament to prepare for the FIVB Girls’ U19 World Championship 2025, which will be held in Serbia and Croatia in early July.

The gold-medal match is next to determine place 1-2.

Dominican Republic is fourth. Venezuela finished fifth. Puerto Rico is sixth and Costa Rica is seventh.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 28, 2025.-  Puerto Rico beat Costa Rica to finish sixth overall at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada today.

Puerto Rico won in straight sets 3-0 (25-20, 31-29, 25-19).

Eduardo Galarza, Head Coach, Puerto Rico, said post-match: “I tried rotating my team in preparation for the U19 World Championship, which is coming up. The level of our team is a bit higher than Costa Rica, so I tried different things to get a rhythm before the next tournament. But it was a great win. A win is always good.”

Puerto Rico’s strong offense led to 55 attack points, compared with 33 by Costa Rica. Blocks were 7-4 in favor of Costa Rica and aces were even at four. Costa Rica earned more points from errors 24-18.

Opposite Diangelie Gonzalez led the Puerto Rican team in points with 21.

Maria del Sol Venegas of Costa Rica equaled that tally, also with 21 points.

Puerto Rico is sixth and Costa Rica is seventh in this year’s standings. 

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 27, 2025.-  Mexico outlasted Canada today to win their semifinal at the Girls’ U19 Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

It was a thrilling, back-and-forth five sets 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-16, 15-10).

Mexico led in attack points 55-52, and dominated from the service line 13-5. Canada had the blocking advantage (14-13).

Ignacio Ramirez, Head Coach, Mexico, said; “It was a very tough match from the beginning. We were able to take advantage of the opportunities that the Canadian team gave us. We had a bad set that we practically had won, but the girls recovered in the fourth and fifth sets to achieve this much-desired victory.”

Mexico’s Naomi Cruz led her team in scoring with 23 points (which included 3 blocks and two aces).

Canada’s Emerson Matthews led the home team with 19 points.

Canada’s Head Coach Gina Schmidt sums up her team’s effort: “We did a good job of executing our game plan early in the match. They made some adjustments, and I give credit to Mexico for doing that. Then it took us too long to adapt to what they adjusted to.  They fought hard. We needed to execute better on our side, offensively and in serve receive. They were serving some tough, deep serves and that got us out of our rhythm a bit as well.”

Mexico plays for gold vs. USA and Canada plays for bronze vs. Dominican Republic.

Action continues and medal matches will be held on Saturday, June 28 at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 27, 2025.-  Team USA won its semifinal today at the Girls’ U19 Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The final score was 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) over the Dominican Republic.

USA’s powerful attack was a difference maker and scored 41 points, compared with the Dominican Republic’s 26 attack points. USA also led in blocks (6-5) and ace (5-4). Errors were 23-21 favoring the USA on the scoresheet.

Despite Dominican Republic’s efforts early on in the match, USA’s size and power eventually led to the win.

USA head coach Jamie Morrison: “I talked to the team and I thought that midway through the second set we started competing. We didn’t think about the circumstances, other than the scouting report. We let that show to the world. That’s what I’m fired up about!”

Megan Hodges led the U.S. side with 14 points (including a block and an ace); Taylor Harrington and Olivia Henry followed scoring 11 apiece.

Yalyn Filpo and Julie Millaray Arias led the Dominican team with 8 points each.

Action continues and medal matches will be held on Saturday, June 28 at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 27, 2025.-  Venezuela put together a solid performance at the Girls’ U19 Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, today.

They beat Costa Rica in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) to finish fifth out of seven teams overall in the tournament.

Ihosvanny Chambers, head coach of Venezuela said he was happy with today’s accomplishment: “We fully achieved our goal; we came with the hope that the players would develop. Winning matches is an added bonus. We know we have a future working with this group of girls who are participating for the first time in an international event of this high level. We are satisfied with the girls’ performance in this competition.”

Outside hitter Leidymar Colina led all scorers with 17 points for the winning team. Her team led in all skills, attack points were 36-33, blocks 8-3, aces 8-6 and Venezuela earned more points from Costa Rica’s errors (23-18).

Maria del Sol Venegas led the Costa Rican side with 14 points.

Action continues and medal matches will be held on Saturday, June 28 at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 25, 2025.-  Dominican Republic earned its first win at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada today.

They won decisively 3-0 (25-14, 25-8, 25-14) putting consistent pressure, especially from the service line, against Costa Rica today.

The Dominican team was dominant in the attack points 33-16, blocking 6-3 and service aces 17-4 and made fewer errors.

Alexandre Ceccato, Head Coach, Dominican Republic, was pleased with today’s effort: “We played a good match against Costa Rica and we will try to play a good semifinal tomorrow against the United States. The team improved a bit today.”

Julie Millaray Arias led scoring with 15 points – six of those aces. She was followed by teammate Harleny Linette De los Santos who scored 13 attack points.

Dominican Republic will face USA in tomorrow’s semifinal, while Canada will face Mexico in the other semi.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 26, 2025.- USA remains undefeated at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Canada after a win over Puerto Rico 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-14, 27-25).

Puerto Rico came out determined to show their grit and won the first set. The young United States squad regrouped to take the second and third sets. But Puerto Rico was not giving up and almost forced the tie-break only to lose in four.

USA Head Coach Jamie Morrison: “I talked to the team in the locker room and told them I hope we do get pushed at some point because that matters. I’m happy with the way the team responded in the face of adversity. (Before the semifinal) I will tell them to be a team, work hard and play good volleyball.”

Outside hitters 14-year-old Kari Knotts along with team captain Ireland Real led scoring with 19 points each for USA.

Johnnyeshka Carrasquillo led the Puerto Rican side with 18 points (including 3 aces).

The United States led in attack points 57-46, blocking points 8-6, but Puerto Rico had the advantage in aces 12-9 but made more errors 23-20.

USA will play in the semifinals on Friday at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 26, 2025.- Mexico defeated Venezuela today 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-20) at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre.

Mexico recovered from a first-set loss to win this important match and advance to the semifinals.

Mexico’s team captain Isabella Ocampo said in a post-match interview: “Even in the tough times in this match, we were able to work as a team. We were also being very smart with where we were putting the ball and talking to each other about what’s open and how to help each other. I think that’s why we got the win today.  It will help our momentum into the next match.”

Mexico led in attack points (61-45) and dominated from the service line – 10 aces compared with one from the losing side. However, Venezuela led in blocking points 9-4 and Mexico also made more errors (26-17).

Mexico’s Naomi Cruz Toledo led all scorers with 22 points; her teammate Angélica Torres was next on the scoresheet with 19 points.

Venezuela’s Leidymar Colina led her team’s efforts with 15 points.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 25, 2025.- Canada now has a 2-0 record after beating Dominican Republic at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday evening.

Canada was challenged early on but managed to control the Dominican offense at crucial moments leading to a 3-0 win (25-22,25-23, 25-17).

Canada led in attack points (37-31), blocking points (8-6) and serves (7-4). They also made fewer errors (21-23).

Canada’s head coach, Gina Schmidt: “We talked about some things after last night’s game, and some of the things we talked about worked through (in practice) this morning, showed up in this game. I’m pleased with how we executed the game plan and adjusted to anything they brought during the game. I felt it was a good team effort to stay focused throughout the match.”

Canadians Sofia Zabjek (12 points) and Maya Bukovcan (11) led scoring for the host team.

Julie Millaray Arias led the Dominican side with 11 points.

Canada has Thursday off, while Dominican Republic faces Costa Rica in Group B action tomorrow.

The U19 Pan Am Cup is the final tournament before the teams head to Croatia and Serbia next month to face off in the FIVB Girls’ U19 World Championship 2025.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 25, 2025.- USA earned its second consecutive win at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Canada, beating Mexico 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23).

Despite many challenges from their North American neighbors, USA kept the pressure on Mexico today.

USA dominated in attack points (52-38) and also led in block points (5-3) and aces (6-4). USA, however, made more errors (20-12).

United States captain Ireland Real led all scoring with 19 points (17 attack points, 1 block and 1 ace).

Outside hitter Naomi Cruz Toledo was top scorer for Mexico with 16 points.

“Mexico is a good team that has been training for a long time and their coach has done a really great job,” said USA head coach Jamie Morrison. “I’m proud of our girls – we’re going to throw out a bunch of combinations and give everyone an experience representing USA Volleyball.  I think we’re learning within matches and I’m proud of that. It sets the tone that we need to get better throughout this tournament.”

The USA faces Puerto Rico tomorrow in their final Group A matchup.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 25, 2025.- Venezuela took five sets to beat Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-15, 25-20, 28-30, 22-25, 16-14) at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada to earn their first win at the tournament.

In the 2-hour 20 min match, Puerto Rico had more successful attack points – 64-61, but the winning side led in blocks (14-11) and aces (8-6).  Puerto Rico also made more errors (33-23).

Venezuela looked as if they would take the match in three sets, but Puerto Rico showed a lot of fight to push the match into a tie-break situation.

Ihosvanny Chambers, head coach of Venezuela said post-match: “It was a very intense match. We are very happy. We would have been happy regardless of whether the result was in our favor or not, because this is about the experience for all these girls participating in an event at this level… and how they were able to come from behind after winning two sets, then playing three very close sets, losing the third and fourth, and still coming from behind in the fifth. I think this is very important for them, for their development, which is the goal we are pursuing here — for the players to experience the level of volleyball at the international stage.”

Venezuela’s Leidymar Colina led all scoring with 26 points, including 2 blocks.

Johnnyeshka Carrasquillo was top scorer for Puerto Rico with 22 points – 19 attack points combined with three blocks.

This was both teams’ second match in Group A play.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 24, 2025.-  Canada overcame some first-match jitters to defeat Costa Rica in straight sets today at the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The home team won 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-20).

“It was a good win in front of our home crowd,” said Canada’s head coach Gina Schmidt. “I think something we’ll talk about for tomorrow is about how we can reduce the amount of unforced errors on our side, but for a first game we got a lot of players into the game, so that was important. We got to try different people getting used to playing beside each other, so this was a great first game to get those first-game jitters out of the way and we are looking to keep building for the next game.”

Attack points favored Canada 52-22, and they had nine aces compared with Costa Rica’s six. Costa Rica led in blocking points 7-4 and scored more points from Canada’s errors 30-13.

Canadian outside hitter Sofia Zabjek led both teams in points with 16 including 14 off the attack. She was followed by Sydney Bell with 10, and Maya Bukovcan with eight. Bukovcan also led the team in blocks with two.

Maria del Sol Venegas Grant and Mariela Navarro scored eight points apiece as top scorers for the Costa Rican side.

Canada is back in Group B action tomorrow to face off against Dominican Republic at 6:30 pm ET.

The U19 Pan Am Cup is the final tournament before the team’s head to Croatia and Serbia next month to face off in the FIVB Girls’ U19 World Championship 2025.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 24, 2025.-Venezuela’s best efforts were not able to match USA’s size and power today at U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, ending with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-23, 25-21) score.

USA dominated the first set, but Venezuela was able to make it a closer game in the second and third sets, even leading by up to four points at one point. But the young USA squad battled back to win.

“For all these players, it’s their first time ever putting on a USA uniform and that causes emotions. I’m proud of their ability to get over the emotion and play good volleyball,” said USA head coach Jamie Morrison. “This is an amazing experience for these girls. We talked about staying true to who it is they are and who we want to be as competitors. You need to pressure test that as much as you can and hats off to Venezuela for putting the pressure on us.”

USA dominated in attack points (41-22), blocking (14-4) and had more aces (8-5). Venezuela gained more points from opponent errors 22-12.

Megan Hodges (8 attack points, 5 blocks) and Shayla Rautenberg (6 attack points, 3 blocks and 4 aces) led USA in scoring with 13 points apiece. Leidymar Colina led the Venezuelan team with 13 points.

The tournament is held at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre in Kingston and continues until June 28.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 24, 2025.- In the opening match of the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Mexico swept Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-18).

Mexico’s team captain Isabella Ocampo said she was proud of the way her team worked together for the win: “I thought we came out swinging – we came out hard and aggressive. I feel like our teamwork is really what helped us get this win. Whenever we were stuck, we would help each other back up, get the point back and go on a good run.”

Mexico led in attack points (40-35) and out blocked its opponent 10-2.  Service aces were equal at three each.  Puerto Rico also made more errors (22-18) to Mexico’s advantage on the score sheet.

Naomi Cruz of Mexico led all scoring with 19 points (17 attack points and two blocks). Angélica Jazmin Torres Galvan and Brenda Sofia Esquivel Valdez, also of the winning side, scored 10 points each.

Pamela Agosto Serrano led scoring for the Puerto Rican team with 11 points.

The tournament is held at the Queen’s University Athletic and Recreation Centre in Kingston and continues to June 28.

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 23, 2025.- Seven teams are in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, for the U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup, which runs from June 14 to 28 at Queen’s Athletics & Recreation Centre.  

Jamie Morrison, Head Coach USA: “For the players on this team, it’s their first opportunity to put on a jersey with the American flag on it and I think that’s a very special thing. We’re looking forward to some great competition against some of the best teams in our zone.” 

Ihosvanny Chambers, Head Coach, Venezuela:  “Despite Venezuelan teams having been away from these age group categories competitions for many years, it is an honor to now participate in NORCECA. Our expectations are first and foremost for the girls to experience high-level competition for their development, as we are bringing a team between the U19 and U17 so they can gain experience and enhance their skills, which is the most important thing. Also, we aim for the girls to witness firsthand how the top-level international volleyball is played.”

Alexandre Ceccato, Head Coach, Dominican Republic, “We’re going to do everything we can to have a good tournament. Our group includes Canada and Costa Rica; we’re going to try to be the best in the group and do well in the tournament.”

Yuliana Gonzalez, Head Coach, Costa Rica: “I’m really excited about this new experience. We have a very young team; so I think we’re going to try out best and get a lot of experience, and to grow and better as a team. Also it’s important for us to have fun at this tournament!”

Gina Schmidt, Head Coach, Canada: “It’s a great warm-up to prepare us for the World Championship – we’re excited to see what we are capable of….We are using this to see how we can best prepare for what’s next, so there will be a lot of learning. We are familiar with some of the teams from last summer and we’re looking forward to a strong showing in front of a home crowd.”

Eduardo Galarza, Head Coach, Puerto Rico:  “We are using this as preparation for the World Championship in Serbia. It’s the same players that will be travelling to the Worlds, so it’s great preparation with some good teams.”

Ignacio Ramirez, Head Coach, Mexico:  “Our primary expectation is to utilize this competition as a platform for training and preparation for the World Championship in July, which is our main objective. Additionally, our secondary goal is to position ourselves among the top four teams. This will enable us to maintain our presence and continue developing the skills and objectives we have established in collaboration with the Mexican federation.”

LIVE Stream on Volleyball Canada’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVolleyballCanada/videos?view=2&sort=dd&live_view=502&shelf_id=2

KINGSTON, Ontario, June 18, 2025. – Volleyball excitement is building in Kingston as the city prepares to host the NORCECA U19 Girls’ Pan American Cup from June 24 to 28 at Queen’s University’s Athletics & Recreation Centre.

Seven national teams from the Americas will take the court in pursuit of the Pan American crown, following Chile’s withdrawal due to unforeseen travel issues.

Participating National Teams from NORCECA qualify for the 2026 NORCECA U19 Girls Continental Championship, which is part of the qualification process to the 2027 U19 FIVB Girls World Championship.

Team USA enters the tournament as the defending champion and one of the title favorites, aiming to retain their crown. The event was last held in Puerto Rico in 2023 and saw the U.S. win gold, followed by Mexico with silver, and host Puerto Rico winning bronze. 

The tournament will feature three days of preliminary round-robin play, culminating in high-stakes semifinals on Friday, June 27, and medal matches on Saturday, June 28.

The teams are divided into two groups: Group A includes Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela; Group B features host Canada, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

Preliminary Round Schedule

June 24
14:30    Puerto Rico vs Mexico
16:30    USA vs Venezuela
18:30    Canada vs Costa Rica

June 25
14:30    Puerto Rico vs Venezuela
16:30    USA vs Mexico
18:30    Canada vs Dominican Republic

June 26
14:30    Mexico vs Venezuela
16:30    USA vs Puerto Rico
18:30    Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic

Year by Year podiums (referred to as U18 until 2019)

Composite Medal Table