OTTAWA, Canada, June 4, 2024.- Canada’s men’s team opened its second week of the 2024 edition of Volleyball Nations League with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-20, 28-26) win in front of a supportive home crowd at the Arena at TD Place in Ottawa.
Canada’s Eric Loeppky led scoring with 22 points, followed by Stephen Maar with 20 points and all contributed to a solid defense against the powerful Cuban attack. Lucas Van Berkel, Arthur Szwarc and Fynn McCarthy produced game-changing blocks throughout the match, including a triple effort by Van Berkel, Szwarc and Maar at the net to seal the victory.
Cuba led in attack points (60-56), but Canada dominated in blocking (18-6), while serves were even at four. Errors were similar.
“This is the most organized Cuban team I’ve played in a long time. They have incredible spikers. … For us, it’s super important to stay together. This is an example of when team organization generally beats gifted spikers. I am really happy how we came out against a strong team. They played extremely well during the first week. With each match, we are starting to play better and better. It’s a good sign,” said Maar.
Tuomas Sammelvuo, the Canadian team coach, highlighted the “18 blocks against a very physical team and the guys executed well. Another key factor was the attack against a big block. We were very efficient, with a few mistakes. … This is a great victory, and we want to improve for the next game.”
After a day off, Canada returns to TD Place on Thursday to play 2020 Olympic Games bronze medalist Argentina. Earlier today in Ottawa Argentina lost to USA in three sets. Cuba also returns to action on Thursday against the Netherlands.
OTTAWA, Canada, June 4, 2024.- Using the players selected by head coach John Speraw to represent the country at the Paris Olympics for the first time in the Volleyball Nations League 2024, the United States began the second week of the tournament’s Preliminary Phase with a sweep of Argentina on Tuesday, in Ottawa, Canada.
The Americans, who sent a different group of players to play in Antalya, Türkiye, two weeks ago, getting just a win in four matches, were dominant against the South Americans at the TD Place, triumphing 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 26-24) in the opening match of Pool 4.
Outside hitters Aaron Russell and Torey Defalco, with 13 points each, and opposite Matt Anderson, with 12, led the American offense to their second victory in the VNL 2024.
“We struggled a little bit with our service, but always relied on our system and the way we play,” Anderson commented. “We ended up taking the first week off because we wanted to give some of the guys who finished their club seasons late a few more days to rest. It’s a really important summer and a long one and we need to be ready. We expected some hiccups along the way today and we definitely had them, but we’ll watch the game film and make the adjustments that we can. We need a few more wins this week as we try to qualify for the VNL Finals.”
The top scorer of the Tokyo Olympics, Argentinean opposite Bruno Lima was the most productive player on the court, tallying 15 points, with 13 kills, one block and one ace.
The victory made the Americans move one spot up in the VNL standings, getting to six points (two wins) and going from 12th to 11th place. They also added 7.57 FIVB World Ranking points with the sweep and remained in second place, but are now much closer to second-placed Italy (360.02 to 361.86).
The United States will be on the court on Thursday facing world champions Italy at 16:30 local time (20:30 GMT).
PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 3, 2024.- The 2024 NORCECA Women’s Final Four will take center stage at Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico from June 7-9.
Host Puerto Rico will be joined by Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica in a three-day round robin competition that starts on Saturday June 7.
Puerto Rico won the past edition of the event qualifying to the last edition of the Volleyball Women Challenger Cup (VCC) to take place this year in Manila, the Philippines from July 4-7.
The FIVB Volleyball Nations League will expand to 18 teams in 2025, therefore no team will be relegated at the end of the VNL 2024 season, while the winners of the 2024 Volleyball Challenger Cup and the highest-placed teams in the FIVB Men’s and Women’s Volleyball World Ranking not yet qualified will join the VNL 2025 action.
As of the 2025 edition, the core and challenger team statuses will be abolished and the bottom-placed team in the competition’s final standings in each gender will be relegated, to be replaced by the respective highest-ranked team in the world for the following VNL season.
Consequently, the 2024 NORCECA Women’s Final Four will grant FIVB World Ranking Points to the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, June 3, 2024.- The U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team for Paris 2024 will make its competitive debut at the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) preliminary round matches on June 4-8 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The U.S. Men finished the first round of VNL at 1-3 with a less-experienced group of athletes. They are ranked No. 3 in the world and have won the silver medal at the last two VNLs (2022 and 2023).
The U.S. setters in Ottawa are Micah Christenson and Micah Ma’a. The liberos are Kyle Dagostino and Erik Shoji.
The outside hitters are T.J. DeFalco, Thomas Jaeschke, Garrett Muagututia and Aaron Russell. The opposites are Matt Anderson and Kyle Ensing. The middle blockers are Taylor Averill, Max Holt, Jeff Jendryk and David Smith.
Only 12 players are allowed on the Olympic roster. Ensing is the official alternate athlete for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Men’s Team and Dagostino is not on the roster.
The U.S. Men’s head coach is John Speraw, who was named head coach in 2013 and helped the team to the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Speraw’s top assistants are former indoor and beach player Matt Fuerbringer, who has coached college and club teams, and Javier Weber, a three-time Olympian for Argentina who also coached the national team and continues to coach for professional club teams. Olympian Erik Sullivan, who coaches with the Texas women’s volleyball team, will also assist Speraw in Ottawa.
U.S. Men’s Schedule for Week Two 2024 VNL All times PDT Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv
Week 2 in Ottawa, Canada June 4 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Argentina June 6 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Italy June 7 at 5 p.m. USA vs Serbia June 8 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Canada
U.S. Men’s National Team Roster for 2024 Volleyball Nations League – Week 2
No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region) 1 Matt Anderson (Opp, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire) 2 Aaron Russell (OH, 6-9, Ellicott City, Md., Penn State, Chesapeake) 4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes) 5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California) 8 T.J. DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California) 10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida) 11 Micah Christenson (S, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Southern California, Aloha) 12 Max Holt (MB, 6-10, Cincinnati, Ohio, Penn State, Ohio Valley) 14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha) 17 Thomas Jaeschke (OH, 6-6, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes) 18 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California) 19 Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California) 20 David Smith (MB, 6-7, Saugus, Calif., Univ. of California Irvine, Southern California) 22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
Head Coach: John Speraw Assistant Coaches: Matt Fuerbringer Second Assistants: Javier Weber and Erik Sullivan Performance Analyst and Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo Athletic Trainer: Aaron Brock Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot Team Manager: David Dantes Sports Psychologists: Andrea Becker, Peter Naschak Doctors: Andrew Gregory
June 3, 2024.- The much-anticipated week two of men’s Volleyball Nations League action is taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, this week.
Head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo has confirmed the week two Canadian men’s roster (listed below) and the team is ready to take on Cuba, Argentina, USA and Serbia.
Also, in Ottawa this week are national teams from Italy, France and Netherlands.
VNL carries extra importance this year as teams who have qualified for Paris 2024 are preparing for that tournament and other teams are still competing for a berth via rankings.
Canada’s matches in Ottawa Tue., June 4 – 8:00 pm EDT CAN vs. CUB Thu., June 6 – 8:00 pm EDT CAN vs. ARG Sat., June 8 – 4:30 pm EDT CAN vs. USA Sun., June 9 – 6:00 pm EDT CAN vs. SRB
VNL Week 2 (Ottawa) Luke Herr – Winnipeg, MB Brett Walsh – Calgary, AB Ryley Barnes – Edmonton, AB Nicholas Hoag – Sherbrooke, QC Eric Loeppky – Steinbach, MB Stephen Maar – Aurora, ON Brodie Hofer – Langley, BC Pearson Eshenko – Banff, AB Fynn McCarthy – Lake Country, BC Danny Demyanenko – Toronto, ON Lucas Van Berkel – Edmonton, AB Xander Ketrzynski – Toronto, ON Arthur Szwarc – Toronto, ON Justin Lui – Pickering, ON Reserves: Jordan Schnitzer – Surrey, BC Landon Currie – Coldstream, BC
Staff: Head coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo Assistant coach: Joao Paolo Bravo Assistant coach: Michael Hawkins Strength and conditioning: Michael Cook Performance analyst: Damian Musiak Athletic therapist: Schad Richea Chiropractor: Abe Avender Team manager: Cassandra Nicol Director, high performance: Julien Boucher
ARLINGTON, Texas, June 2, 2024.- United States gave itself chances to win, but in the end, it suffered a five-set loss (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 12-25, 15-12) to the world’s top-ranked team Türkiye in a Volleyball Nations League preliminary match on Sunday at College Park Center.
United States (4-4) split their first eight matches in VNL action and is in eighth place. Eight teams, including host Thailand, will advance to the Final Round. The U.S. will return to play on June 10 at 11:30 p.m. PT against France (1-7) to begin the third and final week of preliminary play in Fukuoka, Japan. Türkiye (6-2) finished the first two rounds in fifth place.
Seven players scored at least five points for the U.S., whose depth was the key in a dominating fourth set and taking the lead late in the fifth.
Opposite Jordan Thompson recorded team-highs of 13 kills and 16 points, while recording three blocks and seven digs. Jordan Larson finished with 14 points on the outside with 12 kills and two service aces, shared match-high honors with seven successful receptions, and added nine digs.
Libero Justine Wong-Orantes finished with a team-high 14 digs and setter Jordyn Poulter added 11.
“We run really deep. We have people who can come off the bench and change games for us,” Poulter said. “This entire VNL, we are looking to get better, and I think tonight we got better. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but we got better. We are going to use the next five days before we leave for Japan to see how much better we can get in our gym.”
Middle blocker Dana Rettke was the other U.S. player who scored in double digits with 13 points on 10 kills and three blocks. Outside Kathryn Plummer totaled eight points and middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu led all players with five blocks, adding a pair of kills.
In a remarkably close match, both on the court and statistically, the teams tied with 61 kills. The U.S. held a 14-11 advantage in blocks, while Türkiye had one more ace (4-3). The U.S. scored on 25 of Türkiye’s errors and committed 22.
“Our team battled incredible fiercely,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “That was a real positive to take from this. Even when it was rough, we figured out how to push and get to a generally better spot until right at the end of the match.”
Melissa Vargas of Türkiye showed why she is one of the best players in the world with 27 points on 23 kills, two blocks, and two aces. She also totaled double digits in digs with 10.
STARE JABLONKI, Poland June 2, 2024.- Cubans Jorge Alayo and Noslen Díaz won the silver medal on Sunday, at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Stare Jablonki Challenge in Poland, which put them in Olympic Qualification Zone.
World champions Czech Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner beat Cuban sensations Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-11) to secure the title.
Alayo and Diaz also went to three sets but won 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-10) to Caprogosso siblings of Argentina.
The results of the Stare Jablonki Challenge caused significant changes in the FIVB Olympic Rankings with just one tournament left in the qualification period, involving teams that were just outside the qualification zone and also ones who are battling other duos from their own countries for a spot in the Paris Games.
Selfie
Men’s silver medalists Alayo and Diaz started the event outside the qualification zone but are now well inside it with the 760 points they collected, getting to 7,800. With that, Chilean cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt, who have 7,260, were pushed down the list and are now looking from the outside.
The same movement happened among the women, in which Canadians Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain, who fell in semifinals to 0-2 (11-21, 18-21) to Latvia’s Tina/Anastasija, were the last team inside the zone, also added points, but got only to 6,660 and are now outside.
The Olympic qualification period comes to an end next week, after the conclusion of the Ostrava Elite16, which will go from Wednesday to Sunday in Czechia.
June 02, 2024.- Canada’s decisive effort earned the team a 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-18) win over Korea today in Volleyball Nations League play in Arlington, Texas.
Attackers Kiera Van Ryk and Alexa Gray led scoring with 13 points apiece, followed by middle blocker Emily Maglio with nine points and setter Brie O’Reilly with five aces and seven total points.
“There are no easy games in VNL”, said Canada head coach Shannon Winzer. “Coming out against Korea we wanted to put a lot of pressure on them with serve, work to be clean on block and have our attackers vary their attack in angles and shots. Most importantly we wanted to remind ourselves to enjoy playing the game! I think we did a pretty good job and can find confidence going into an important round three”.
Today, Canada dominated in attack points (44-21), blocks (8-5) and aces (9-4). Errors favored Korea by one (15-14).
It was a marked difference from Friday’s loss to Serbia: “It felt like we played with a ton of pressure against Serbia, and we made mistakes that are uncharacteristic of us. We need to find a way to continue to play free and enjoy the moment, regardless of what is on the line. Pressure is only going to increase and that game gave us good information about ourselves and we can now come up with a plan to handle it better for next time”.
The next round is in Fukuoka, Japan, where Canada plays Italy on June 11, and then Japan, Netherlands and France.
The team sits at five wins and three losses.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
June 1, 2024.- Involving the teams ranked third and fourth in the FIVB World Rankings, the match between Americans and Polish was among the most anticipated of the week in Texas.
The Europeans prevailed over the home side with a 3-1 (29-27, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23) victory, in a rematch of last year’s VNL bronze medal match, which was also held in Arlington.
Tokyo Olympics MVP outside hitter Jordan Larson carried the American offense, with 21 points (20 kills, one block), followed by opposite Jordan Thompson, with 18 (16 kills, one block, one ace).
United States (4-3) will finish their first round of VNL on Sunday against world No. 1-ranked Türkiye (5-2) on Sunday. Poland finished its first round on Saturday at 8-0.
Dominican Republic ends Week 2
Dominican Republic fell in a hard-fought 1-3 (20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25) to Japan.
Dominican opposite Gaila Gonzalez-Lopez hammered out the match high of 25 points, supported by outsides Madeline Guillen and Yonkaira Pena Isabel with 16 points apiece.
Koga led Japan win 19 points, all on offense. Hayashi and Ishikawa finished with 15 points each, while middle blocker Nichika Yamada added another 10, four of which in stuff blocks.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 1, 2024.- Puerto Rico’s Outside hitter Decilise Champion was elected the Most Valuable Player MVP of the inaugural edition of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Guatemala City.
Champion was handed the award during the closing ceremony after Puerto Rico won the gold medal match to Peru and was crowned undefeated champion. She also was named the first Best Spiker.
Individual awards
Other awards were handed out recognizing individual performance based on the statistical data during the event.
Ariana Vasquez of Peru received the award for second Best Spiker and Guatemalan Natalia Girón was granted the award for first Best Blocker.
Recognitions for Costa Rica were given to Amelie Jenkins as second Best Blocker, Amanda Campos the Best Opposite and Nadia Granados the Best Server.
Venezuelans Yilen Gutierres and Fiorellys Utrera were named the Best Setter and Best Scorer respectively.
Kenia Martínez of Mexico left were her hands full, as Best Libero, Receiver and Libero.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 1, 2024.- Puerto Rico defeated Peru 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 31-29) to take the Gold Medal of the inaugural edition of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup, which concluded on Saturday at Guatemala’s City Dome.
Puerto Rico won the gold medal undefeated, with a 5-0 record and 5-1 mark in sets. Peru, the silver medalist, finished with a 4-1 record and a 12-6 record in sets.
In a dramatic finish where Peru denied five match points, Puerto Rico led in attack (53-40), blocking (6-2), and serving (5-2) but conceded 26 points on errors against 17.
Peru Silver Medal
Outside hitter Decilise Annalee Champion led her team to win the gold medal with a match-high of 24 points on 23 attacks and one block. Sara Lozano contributed 18 points on15 attacks and a match-high of 3 blocks. Team captain Kalia Alvarado registered 13 points on 11 attacks and two aces.
Middle blocker Camila Monge was Peru’s leading scorer with 9 points, all from kills, followed by outside hitters Brenda Quiroz and Ariana Vásquez with 7 points each.
Camila Monje PER
Juan Carlos Núñez, coach of Puerto Rico, said they were able to apply pressure with their serving and had significant strength from the outside hitters. He also explained, “It was a game of long rallies because both teams controlled the ball well”. The team worked hard for the victory, “We had to earn our points because Peru didn’t give away many errors”. Elaborating on the match, he said, “We had two good sets, and in the third, we had many opportunities, but it came down to a dramatic finish, which was a good experience for the players. They felt the pressure, anxiety, and we couldn’t make the double substitution. These circumstances arose due to lack of experience; they are 15-year-old girls”.
Brazilian Antonio Rizola, coach of Peru, said he was proud of his team. He explained that Puerto Rico’s experience was evident, “They are a more mature team, despite being the same age, they live and know more about the game than our team, and we felt that weight”. Regarding the last set, he said, “Everyone expected Peru to give up, but that wasn’t the case. We made three serving errors because of anxiety, but this helps them grow and mature”. He concluded by saying, “I am very happy”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 1, 2024.- Venezuela defeated the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-17) in the bronze medal match of the inaugural Girls U17 Pan American Cup on Saturday at Guatemala’s City Dome.
Venezuela claimed the bronze medal with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, with a total of 14 sets won and 8 lost.
The Dominican Republic, finishing in fourth place, closed with a 3-3 win-loss record and a 9-9 record in sets.
Venezuela dominated in attack points (40-36) and points from serves (5-3). The Dominican Republic had the advantage in blocks (6-4). Venezuela scored 27 points on Dominican errors and committed 18 of their own.
Fiorellys Utrera VEN
Once again, outside hitter Fiorellys Utrera led Venezuela with a match-high of 19 points, on 15 attacks, two blocks, and two service points. Gabriela Noguera and Nohely Placido (who came in as a substitute in the second set) each finished with 8 points.
The first two sets were very close, and it wasn’t until the third set that Venezuela managed to pull away when Fiorellys Utrera went to serve with the score at 12-11, extending the lead to seven points (18-11) and celebrating the bronze medal with a comfortable 25-17 set win.
Venezuela Bronce
Gabriela Noguera, Venezuela’s captain, said that the team learned a lot and is very motivated to keep working. Regarding the match, she expressed, “with emotion and enthusiasm, we managed to get the result, and Fiorellys brought stability to the team in the third set when she served; we had calmer”.
“We studied the Dominican Republic well, we knew where to position ourselves and where to adjust in blocking”, said Willian Ruiz, Venezuela’s coach. He explained that the team had difficulty pulling ahead until the third set due to the players’ age, “it’s natural for them to have many ups and downs, but we trust the work we are doing; Dominican Republic failed at key points, and we succeeded, and the teams were evenly matched in all aspects”. He concluded, “regardless of the result, it’s a tremendous tournament; we faced six different teams and it had been more than 14 years since we competed internationally”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 1, 2024.- Mexico defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-12) for fifth place in the inaugural Girls U17 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Guatemala City.
Mexico finished the Pan American Cup with a 3-3 record in wins. Mexico also defeated Cuba in pool-play in straight sets. Cuba concluded with a 1-4 record.
Mexico
Mexico overpowered Cuba with a sizeable advantage in attack points, 32-13; they also led in blocks (8-4) and service points (6-2). Mexico benefited from 29 Cuban errors while committing 14 of their own.
Mexico’s team captain, Aitana Rettke, was the only player with double digits scoring 13 points on 10 attacks, one block, and two points on serves. Outside hitters Brenda Esquivel and Karen González contributed 9 and 8 points respectively. Esquivel had a match-high of 5 blocks.
Aitana Rettke MEX,
Salet Castillo was Cuba’s top scorer with 9 points.
Mexico’s coach, Ignacio Sánchez Palmeros, honestly expressed that his team arrived at the competition overconfident, stating, “it is difficult to talk about a tournament with these results”. He added that this tournament grounds them to prepare physically and mentally for the World Championship in August, “this is a lesson for the team and for us as coaching staff”. Regarding today’s match, he said, “we have great respect for Cuba, and, like my players, it was mentally challenging to face the position we had to play for”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 1, 2024.- Costa Rica finished seventh place at the Girls U17 Pan American Cup after defeating Guatemala 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22) at the Multi-sports Dome in Guatemala City.
Costa Rica concluded with a 2-4 win-loss record and Guatemala 0-5.
Costa Rica and Guatemala had also faced in pool-play where Costa Rica also won in four sets.
Amanda Campos CRC
The 13-4 advantage in service points was crucial for Costa Rica’s victory; they also outperformed in attack points 48-39. Guatemala held an 8-6 advantage in blocks and committed fewer errors 29-35.
Three players led Costa Rica’s victory, outside hitter Michelle Arias with 18 points (17 attacks, one service), middle blocker Amelie Jenkins with 11 points (5 attacks, a match-high of 4 blocks, two services), and opposite Amanda Campos with 10 points (8 attacks, one block, one serve).
Natalia Perez GUA
On Guatemala’s side, opposite Melissa Guerra scored 16 points on 11 attacks, 3 blocks, and 2 direct service points. She was joined by outside hitter Andrea Garces with 11 attack points.
Argentine Christian López, coach of Costa Rica, began by saying, “playing these matches is very difficult because you come with objectives and only have one win”. Regarding how he motivated his team, he said, “I told them this was a final, it’s not easy because they are young girls, there’s fatigue because they are not used to playing at this pace, there are ups and downs”. He considered that Guatemala played a much better match than their first clash.
Celeste Cifuentes, Guatemala’s coach, said her team played with more order, but unfortunately the refereeing decisions “killed” their rhythm. She added that there are aspects to improve, but “leaving aside the result, the players found their level of play and showed what they can do”.
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 31, 2024. – After two days off from competition, the U.S. Women’s National Team returned to the court and won its third consecutive match in Volleyball Nations League preliminary play with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) triumph over Bulgaria on Friday night.
The U.S. Women (4-2), ranked fourth in the latest FIVB world rankings, come back tomorrow to face first-place (7-0) and world’s third-ranked Poland at 2:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. CT. Poland has dropped just one set in this year’s VNL and defeated the U.S. in last year’s VNL bronze medal match. Bulgaria, which broke a four-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over Korea on Wednesday, fell to 1-5.
Outside hitter and Texas native Avery Skinner had a tremendous match in her home state, leading all players with 17 kills and 19 points, adding 10 digs and a team-high four successful receptions.
Outside hitter Ali Frantti, who was one of three U.S. players to total 10 points, is embracing her veteran status. “I want to help the new women out. It feels weird to be older, but I am trying to take on more of a leadership role and I am excited for it,” said Frantti, who was playing with former Penn State teammates Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington. “In the second set, I was looking at the lineup and thinking this was six, seven, eight years ago we were doing this. It has been great to play with Micah and Haleigh for all these years. It’s really a special moment for us.”
Middle blocker Washington finished with 10 points, hitting .615 with nine kills and one error in 13 total attacks, while setter Hancock led the team with three blocks, scored seven points, totaled 10 digs, and ran the offense that hit .453 with a 20-kill advantage, 51-31.
Though she usually plays outside hitter, Khalia Lanier made her debut at opposite for the U.S. Women and finished with 10 points on 10 kills while scoring the winning point in each of the final two sets.
“Khalia did a really nice job in a position she doesn’t play very much,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “Credit to (setter) Micha Hancock for having confidence in Khalia to get that kill to finish out the second set and the third.”
“I’m happy to get an opportunity, wherever it is,” Lanier said. “I think I started with two errors. I definitely had to work out some kinks. But it feels good to be on the court, no matter what position, in a USA jersey.”
Libero Morgan Hentz was one of three U.S. players with double-digit digs, leading all players with 11. Middle Asjia O’Neal finished with seven points on five kills and joining Skinner and Frantti with two blocks.
With the U.S. using its sixth different lineup in as many matches, Kiraly was encouraged by what he saw through two sets. “We haven’t been together that long and it’s not that easy. It’s the same for all the teams in VNL. You have to get it together quickly and see if we can run a really smooth offense. So far, we’ve seen some really nice glimpses,” he said.
Asked what he would deem a success apart from winning, Kiraly stated, “One thing is always that we look the same no matter whether we won the point or lost the point. No matter how great or how poor we were, we flush that and bring a really good version of ourselves to the next point.”
Though Canada led in attacking, 63-55, the team fell short in blocking (10-9), ace serves (6-2), and had more errors 26-17. Scoring was led by Kiera Van Ryk of Canada (20 points) and her teammate middle blocker Emily Maglio (18 points). Aleksandra Uzelac led the winning side with 19 points.
Captain Alexa Gray told VBTV: “We weren’t scoring as easy as we normally do, and we made a few too many errors in all four sets. I think we’re still trying to find our rhythm this week. But we’re still fighting with some of the best teams in the world and we must bounce back for the next match.”
After a nice 3-0 win over Germany yesterday, today’s loss puts Canada in a tight position in the battle for a Paris berth, now almost neck and neck with the Netherlands, who beat Dominican Republic earlier today, in the ranking points.
Canada has four wins and three losses so far in VNL 2024.
Canada plays an important match against Korea on Sunday, June 02, also in Arlington.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
Seven women’s teams are already qualified for the Games. The remaining five places are filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB World Ranking as of the end of the preliminary phase of Volleyball Nations League.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, May 31, 2024.- NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz led the NORCECA Confederation Executive committee in the FIVB Board of Administration meeting held at the FIVB headquarters on Thursday.
Cristobal Marte along with NORCECA Executive Vice Presidents, Mireya Luis (Gender in Minority) Mark Eckert (NCVA President), Glenn Quinlan (ECVA President), Felix Sabio (AFECAVOL President) and Mushtaque Mohammed (CAZOVA President), took part in the one-day meeting where significant matters were discussed.
A comprehensive overview of the 2023 financial performance was presented and various strategies and proposals of the Finance Commission were discussed, which aim at ensuring sustainable growth and financial stability.
The proposed budget for 2025-2026 was presented and discussed in detail. Key allocations were made towards development programs, major events, and strategic initiatives to foster the growth of volleyball globally.
An ambitious long-term business plan extending to 2032 was unveiled. This plan focuses on expanding the sport’s global footprint, enhancing commercial opportunities, and leveraging new technologies to engage fans.
Reports from the FIVB Empowerment and Development Commissions were presented, as well as the several proposals form the Legal Commission, which included updates to the FIVB Constitution, General Regulations, Sport Regulations, and Event Regulations.
Reports from the continental confederations (AVC, CAVB, CEV, CSV, NORCECA) highlighted regional developments, challenges, and strategic initiatives, fostering a collaborative approach to the sport’s global growth.
Proposals from various FIVB councils and commissions, including the Technical & Coaching Commission, Athletes’ Commission, Rules & Refereeing Commission, Volleyball Council, Beach Volleyball Commission, Snow Volleyball Commission, and Medical Commission, were also discussed.
The members were updated on major upcoming events, including the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), Beach ProTour, Age Groups World Championships, 2025 M & W World Championships (Volleyball and Beach Volleyball), and preparations for the Paris Olympic Games.
An update on the 39th FIVB World Congress was also discussed, ensuring the event will be a significant milestone in the sport’s calendar.
NORCECA’s involvement in the Board of Administration meeting in Lausanne was a significant step for the region, laying the groundwork for the Confederation’s future growth and success.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 31, 2024. – Peru secured its ticket to the gold medal match of the first edition of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup against Puerto Rico after defeating Venezuela 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-23 and 25-16) on Friday night in Guatemala City.
Peru advances to the gold medal match with an undefeated record of 4-0, with 12 sets won and 3 lost.
Venezuela will compete for the bronze medal against the Dominican Republic.
Brenda Quiroz PER
In an exciting semifinal match, Peru recovered from losing the first set to claim the win, leading 58 to 40 in attack points, 11 to 10 in blocks, and 8 to 3 in service points. Peru gave away 36 points from errors and scored 24 points on Venezuela’s errors.
Peruvian middle blocker Camila Monge scored a match-high of 23 points on 17 attacks, 4 blocks, and 3 aces. Outside hitter Brenda Quiroz, who came off the bench in the first set, contributed 15 points, all on kills. Outside hitter Paola Moreano, who entered as a substitution in the first set, added 14 points on 8 attacks, 4 blocks, and 2 aces.
Venezuelan outside hitter and team captain Gabriela Noguera was her team’s top scorer with 17 points on15 attacks and 2 blocks. Fiorellys Utrera scored 14 points on 13 attacks and one ace.
Gabriela Noguera VEN
Venezuela took two set points from Peru in the first set and then lost one before winning the set in a dramatic finish with a block by opposite hitter Valeria Ochoa. Peru recovered, winning the second set, which was tied at 20 points, ending with an attack point from Paola Moreano. Camila Monge with a block and Brenda Quiroz with a kill closed out the third set for Peru. In the fourth set, Peru managed to get Venezuela off their system of play, jumping to a huge lead (11-5) from the beginning.
Brazilian Antonio Rizola, coach of Peru, said that the first set was very contested and very important because it showed that his team has a great capacity for comeback, “I took the two main attackers (the captain and the other outside hitter) out of the game, and those who came off the bench responded, and with them, we won the next three sets”. He also added, “it’s a great joy because the group is still developing, and reaching the final of a Cup like this is wonderful”.
Willian Ruiz, head coach of Venezuela, stated, “Peru adjusted in the second set, and we loosened up technically, in simple things”. Regarding what happened next, he said that Peru strengthened their defense, “I think part of Peru’s victory is that they never missed the opportunity to save a ball, which gave them an edge. They have very good reception”. He also explained that he is achieving a significant goal of returning to international competition by being among the top four teams.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 31, 2024.- Puerto Rico advanced to the gold medal match of the first Girls U17 Pan American Cup after defeating Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-22) on Friday at Guatemala’s City Dome.
Puerto Rico reaches the championship game with a perfect 4-0 record and a 12-1 record in sets. The Puerto Ricans await their opponent, the winner between Peru and Venezuela.
Puerto Rico led in attack points (38-24) and committed fewer unforced errors (23-28). The Dominicans led in blocks (8-7) and service points (3-2).
Outside hitter Annalee Champion led her team to the semifinal with a match-high of 20 points on18 attacks and two blocks. She was joined by outside hitter Sara Lozano with 15 points on 11 attacks, two blocks, and two service points.
Annaelee Champion PUR
Dominican captain Estel Santos, with 12 points, was the only player on her team to score in double digits.
Puerto Rico quickly jumped to a huge 13-3 lead in the first set with points from Annalee Champion and Sara Lozano, combined with a considerable number of errors from the Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico was always ahead in the second set, despite strong serving pressure from the Dominican Republic. In the third set, Puerto Rico recovered from a five-point deficit (15-20) thanks to three consecutive errors by the Dominican Republic, an attack by Champion, and another opponent error to tie at 20. The last two points were also on Dominican errors.
Rayni Mondesi DOM
Puerto Rican coach Juan Carlos Núñez explained that his team was able to play more steadily in this match. He said it was important that they could pressure with their serve and that his team was patient in the closing stages. “The team held on, and after many consecutive errors from the Dominican Republic, they were able to close the gap on the scoreboard, reacting with their serve”.
Puerto Rican captain Kalia Alvarado expressed that during technical timeouts, they reminded themselves to trust their game, “we did it and maintained a good spirit”. She added that teamwork will be key for the final.
Marcelo Cezarano, coach of the Dominican Republic, said that Puerto Rico knew how to apply pressure, but mentally his team needs to mature, “it’s natural at this age, it’s a process, and things worked when they followed the game plan we had prepared”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 31, 2024. – Cuba defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-18) in a classification match for positions 5 to 8 in the Girls U17 Pan American Cup being played at Guatemala’s City Dome.
Cuba will face Mexico on Saturday for fifth place in the tournament. This is the second time they clash; Mexico beat Cuba in pool-play in straight sets.
On the other hand, Costa Rica will play for seventh place against the host team, Guatemala. These two teams also faced each other in pool-play, with Costa Rica winning in four sets.
Cuba outperformed Costa Rica with a powerful attack (43-25) and a 5-2 margin in blocks. Both teams scored five points from direct serves. Cuba conceded more points on unforced errors (24-22).
Salet Castillo CUB
Cuban outside hitter Salet Castillo was the top scorer of the match with 21 points on 18 attacks, two blocks, and one ace. Team captain Yesica Brito added 15 points on14 attacks and one ace.
In the second set, Costa Rica scored five service points that put Cuba in a tough spot, managing to tie the score at 22 points after Lilliam Vargas blocked Yesica Brito with a monster block.
Yesica Brito CUB,
“We lost our momentum in the second set and Costa Rica made things difficult for us”, said Yesica Brito. She added that Cuba showed their attacking power and will do the same against Mexico. “We’ve faced them before, but we’re aiming for a different outcome because we’ve progressed with each match to reach our level of play” Brito added.
Luciana Vargas of Costa Rica, who scored three direct serve points, spoke about the second set, saying, “Costa Rica fought hard until the end, there were some very good points from Cuba, both teams made mistakes, but we never stopped chasing the balls, and in the end, they always kept their heads up”.
Regarding Costa Rica’s final match, middle blocker Heli Moreno said, “I hope we have a good tournament overall (both personally and as a team); I think we can beat Guatemala tomorrow, we already know each other”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 31, 2024. – Mexico defeated Guatemala 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-17) and will compete for the fifth place in the Girls U17 Pan American Cup in Guatemala City.
Following a decisive victory against the host country, Mexico will face the winner between Cuba and Costa Rica on Saturday for fifth place.
Mexico used its strength to secure the win with a significant advantage of 41-12 in attack points, 6-1 in blocks, and 9-3 in points from serves. Both teams were similar in errors, with Mexico committing 18 and Guatemala 19.
Aitana Rettke MEX
Mexico’s team captain, Aitana Rettke, scored a match-high of 15 points on 11 attacks, two blocks, and two aces. Middle blocker Cyntia Palomo added 11 points on 8 attacks, two blocks, and one ace. Outside hitter Karen González finished with 10 points on 8 attacks and two aces.
Mexico
Mexican outside hitter Karen González commented that what she liked the most was her team’s spiking “we played united and gave it our all, plus we had a great attitude”. Regarding tomorrow’s match, she added, “we hope to win and dominate”.
Guatemalan setter Katherine Vaughn expressed that her team started at a low level but improved in the last set, “unfortunately, we didn’t play well, but we are satisfied with what we did in the third set”. She hopes her team will have a better attitude and end the tournament with a win in tomorrow’s match.
MACAU, China, May 31, 2024. – Dominican Republic lost 1-3 (17-25, 25-23, 21-25, 17-25) to the Netherlands in what was the Caribbean team’s penultimate match in the second week of the Volleyball Nations League.
The Europeans dominated in all areas of the match with 59-52 in attacks, 11-8 in blocks, and 7-3 in serves, and they were helped by 21 points on unforced errors by the Caribbean team.
Dominican Republic was more effective with 89 positive digs compared to 71 for the Netherlands.
Yonkaira Peña DOM
For the Dominican Republic, Yonkaira Peña was the top scorer with 16 points, 15 on kills and one block. Gaila González contributed 15 points, including 3 blocks and an ace. Vielka Peralta and Geraldine González also reached double digits with 10 points each.
Nova Marring of the Netherlands led all scorers with 21 points, 18 on kills, one block, and two service points. Elles Dambrink contributed 16 points in the European team’s victory.
On June 1st, the Dominican Republic will conclude their week two of the Women’s VNL facing Japan.
Volleyball Foundation ready to serve the world following incredible launch event at the FIVB Headquarters in Lausanne
The Volleyball Foundation’s mission to connect, serve and inspire commenced with a vibrant launch event at the FIVB Headquarters
The IOC President and Olympic Movement representatives joined members of the volleyball community and other esteemed guests for the celebration
A total of CHF 559,000 was raised through donations and an exciting auction, with funds set to support impactful projects across the world
The FIVB Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland yesterday welcomed guests from the international sports community and beyond for the launch event of the Volleyball Foundation, raising over CHF 559,000 through donations and a special charity auction to support impactful volleyball projects worldwide.
Key figures from the international sports community, including leaders from the volleyball community, the Olympic Movement, local authorities, sponsors, partners and distinguished sports leaders gathered for this milestone event.
Successful Fundraising Efforts
The event featured a special charity auction conducted by Piguet Auction House, with unique volleyball memorabilia generously donated by the FIVB and legends of the game. Featuring both online and live bidding, the auction raised an incredible CHF 59,000 for the Volleyball Foundation.
Reunion. Photo FIVB
This amount, along with CHF 300,000 from the FIVB, GBP 100,000 from the CVC Foundation, and generous contributions from IOC Member KhunyingPatama Leeswadtrakul and FIVB Board of Administration Member and Volleyball Australia President Craig Carracher, brought the total funds raised to CHF 559,000.
As announced by FIVB and Volleyball Foundation President Dr Ary S. Graça F°, the FIVB plans to allocate an annual budget of CHF 1 million for the Volleyball Foundation in 2025 and 2026, pending the approval of the FIVB World Congress later this year.
FIVB and IOC Presidents welcome guests
The night began with a powerful speech from FIVB and Volleyball Foundation President Dr Ary S. Graça, welcoming guests and explaining how the Foundation will better connect and expand the global volleyball community of 800 million people across 222 countries.
“The Volleyball Foundation will play a vital role in promoting positive social values, helping to create a more collaborative and harmonious world,” stated the Volleyball Foundation President. “The Foundation is dedicated to creating a world where everyone has access to sport, no matter their gender, age, background or position. Where they have the opportunity to be healthy and active. To experience the joys of volleyball. And to learn important skills that will serve them throughout their lives.”
IOC President Thomas Bach. Photo FIVB
Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach praised the initiative and thanked Dr Graça for his vision in launching the project. “Through this project, volleyball can really contribute to delivering the Olympic values and make the world a better place through sport,” he said. “The IOC already works closely with the FIVB with Olympafrica and the Olympic Refuge Foundation, and with this Foundation this excellent cooperation can be strengthened.”
Inspirational pilot projects take centre stage
During the evening, the Volleyball Foundation introduced two pilot projects: the Brahmaputra Volleyball League, a grassroots community league in Assam, India, involving over 10,000 children; and the Githurai Kimbo Volleyball Academy, which offers youth in one of Nairobi, Kenya’s most challenging slums a sanctuary through volleyball.
Diverse Volleyball Foundation Board and the Executive Director announced
The Volleyball Foundation’s independent Board was also introduced, featuring a diverse group of individuals dedicated to the Volleyball Foundation’s vision of a greater world through volleyball.
The Board members include:
Dr Ary S. Graça F°, President of the FIVB and Volleyball Foundation
Fabio Azevedo, General Director of the FIVB
Alejandrina Mireya Luis, FIVB Executive Vice-President, and a three-time Olympic and two-time World champion
Yuji Saeki, President & CEO of Mikasa, FIVB Board of Administration Member
Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation
Her Royal Highness Princess Ayah bint Faisal of Jordan, President of the Jordan Volleyball Federation and Jordan Olympic Committee Board Member
Nick Clarry, CVC Managing Partner
And Charles Joye serving as the Secretary of the Board.
Elizaveta Bracht, a two-time Olympic volleyball silver medalist, has been named as the Executive Director of the Volleyball Foundation.
Supporters & Ambassadors celebrated
Key supporters of the Volleyball Foundation were also announced, including renowned organisations KITT & KISS, Mikasa, Decathlon, the Qatar Foundation, Generations for Peace and the Jordan Olympic Committee.
The Volleyball Foundation President Ary Graça with (from left to right) Her Royal Highness Princess Ayah bint Faisal of Jordan, Cecilia Tait, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan. Photo FIVB
In recognition of its support, IOC Executive Board Member, Jordan Olympic Committee President and Generations For Peace Founder and Chair, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, took to the stage and said:
“In 2004, I went to the Olympic Games in Athens with a mantra: ‘peace is greater than gold.’ In 2007, to put this into practice, we founded Generations For Peace to use the power of sport to change divided communities for the better. What the Volleyball Foundation is doing is a continuation of this work, and that is why it is an honour and a pleasure to align ourselves with the Volleyball Foundation.
“The values of respect, friendship and cooperation are all lessons from sport. Volleyball is so well positioned because it has these values, alongside communication and coordination. These are key in transforming societies and communities that are suffering. As President Ary S. Graça said, together we can make a difference. And this Foundation will make a difference.”
Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Francesco Ricci Bitti was also present at the event, and stated:
“As the President of ASOIF, I have had the privilege to work with the FIVB and Dr Ary S. Graça for five years. What he has done tonight through the Volleyball Foundation, is to create an organisation for the grassroots, social and community benefit, and this is very important. The Volleyball Foundation sets a model for others, and I wish it every success.”
The event also introduced ambassadors for the Volleyball Foundation, all of whom are true legends of the sport. These include Mireya Luis from Cuba, a three-time Olympic champion and two-time World Champion; Vlad Grbic from Serbia, an Olympic champion; and Giba from Brazil, an Olympic champion and three-time World Champion.
The FIVB Volleyball Foundation is also proud to announce that the official notary signing ceremony took place this week in Lausanne, Switzerland, marking the formal establishment of the organisation that will serve the world through volleyball.
For more information about the FIVB Volleyball Foundation and how to get involved, please visit https://volleyballfoundation.com/ and follow us on Instagram at @volleyball.foundation.
May 30, 2024.- The FIVB Executive Committee this week praised the incredible successes of the sport’s governing body during its meeting at the FIVB Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Executive Committee congratulated FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° and the professional team he has built on their outstanding contributions and for creating an exciting and lasting legacy for the sport during his mandate.
During the meeting, the FIVB President said:
“During my Presidency, all our actions have been guided by two key principles: Innovation and Opportunity! The FIVB has strived to innovate both on and off the court, while providing even more opportunities for our 222 National Federations, alongside our players, coaches, fans and valuable stakeholders.”
The members met to study the FIVB financial reports and the legal presentation, as well several other topics to make recommendations to the Board of Administration.
The FIVB Board of Administration meeting will get underway the same afternoon before continuing the next day.
May 30, 2024.- Canada’s women’s team made a statement today with a 3-0 sweep of Germany in Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in Arlington, Texas.
The set scores were 25-20, 25-15, 25-22. Canada led in attacking (54-40), blocking (8-3), serving (7-3), but had five more errors than Germany.
“We took care of business today,” said head coach Shannon Winzer. “Our game plan was to take out the German middle attack and it starts with service pressure and then finishes with our executing our blocking assignments. The team did a great job of following the game plan and everyone did their jobs today.”
Canada vs Germany
Canada’s Alexa Gray led scoring with 19 points; followed by teammates Kiera Van Ryk with 15, including three aces, and Emily Maglio also with 15 points. Lena Stigrot led Germany in scoring with 11 points.
Canada has four wins and two losses so far in this VNL season.
Setter Brie O’Reilly told VBTV post-match: “I was expecting us to fight really hard; we know how important this week is. I felt like we approached this game focused, point by point and like we were on a mission!”
Concluded Winzer: “It was a very good game and hopefully something we can continue to build on to take on Serbia tomorrow.”
Canada plays 7th-ranked Serbia on Friday, also in Texas, at 4:30 local; 5:30 pm ET.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 30, 2024. – Dominican Republic defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-19, 25-20 and 25-22) in quarterfinals and will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals of the inaugural U17 Girls Pan American Cup being held in Guatemala City.
Dominican Republic will meet Puerto Rico on Friday in the first semifinal of the day at 6:00 pm (local time). In the other semifinal, Peru will face Venezuela at 8:00 pm (local time).
Costa Rica will compete in the classification matches for positions 5 to 8, starting with Cuba.
Estel Santos DOM, spikes
Dominican Republic capitalized their victory with advantages in attacks (39-32), blocks (8-4), and aces (5-3). The Dominicans committed one less error than Costa Rica (22-23).
Dominican team captain, Estel Santos, led all scorers with 15 points, all from attacks. Opposite hitter Rayni Mondesi added 11 points on 10 attacks, a match-high of 5 blocks, and one ace.
Costa Rica’s opposite hitter Amanda Campos led her team with 12 points from 10 attacks and two blocks.
Amanda Campos CRC
Opposite Isabella Cerda scored the last point of the match with a direct attack. Costa Rica did not allow the Dominican Republic to advance easily, but the Dominicans secured the victory with greater power and reach.
Brazilian Christian López, coach of Dominican Republic, said that Costa Rica surprised them; their serves didn’t have the power they had today, “we studied Costa Rica very well, and today their serves complicated our performance. I had planned to play more with the middles, but that threw us off balance”. Regarding his team, he explained, “we have a lot to improve on, for example, my team must play with strength regardless of the opponent. Today they didn’t do that, and I want them to play the same way they did against Mexico”. He added that it is a process, the players are young, and they will improve.
Costa Rica’s libero, Jimena Alfaro, said that her team has all the talent to face teams more powerful than them, “we have trained a lot, we didn’t get the results we expected, and overall the match was good, but the power and height of the Dominican Republic put us at a disadvantage”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 30, . – Venezuela defeated Mexico 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 27-25) in quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the inaugural U17 Girls Pan American Cup at the Dome in Guatemala City.
Venezuela awaits its semifinal opponent, depending on the result between Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Mexico will compete in the classification round for positions 5 to 8.
Venezuela dominated only in aces (9-5) but scored 33 points on Mexico’s errors while conceding just 17. Mexico held advantages in attacks (56-47) and blocks (13-9).
Forellys Utrera VEN, attacks
Fiorellys Utrera once again led Venezuela’s attack, leading all scorers with 25 points on 22 attacks, 2 blocks, and one ace. Team captain Gabriel Noguera contributed 14 points on 12 attacks, one block, and one ace.
Mexico’s captain, Aitana Rettke, led her team with 20 points on 19 attacks and one block. Outside hitter Karen Gonzalez and middle blocker Brenda Esquivel scored 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Aitana Rettke MEX
Venezuela was dominant in the first set, quickly jumping to a five-point lead and maintaining it until the end, despite losing a set point to Aitana Rettke at the net. They closed the second set with two consecutive opponent errors and a powerful kill by Fiorellys Utrera. Mexico stayed alive forcing a fourth set, dominating the third in attacks (16-10). Venezuela won the match in a dramatic finish after losing four match points and finally ending with an ace by opposite hitter Isabel Ochoa.
“Heart” was the key to Venezuela’s victory, said coach Ignacio Sánchez. He added that they had studied Mexico thoroughly and worked with the future in mind, “our expectation was to gain experience, and now we find ourselves among the top four in the tournament. The girls played with attitude, demonstrating their capability, ” he added.
MACAO, China, May 30, 2024 – Dominican Republic lost 0-3 (12-25, 19-25, 21-25) to Italy in their second match of the second week of the 2024 Women’s Volleyball Nations League.
The Italian team outperformed the Queens of the Caribbean in all aspects of the game, leading 40-25 in attacks, 8-1 in blocks, and 6-3 in serves. They also capitalized on the 23 unforced errors by the Caribbean team to secure the victory.
Vielka Peralta and Gaila González were the top scorers for the Dominican Republic with 7 points each, while Italian Paola Ogechi Egonu stood out with 20 points.
Dominican Republic has now recorded 4 losses and 2 wins in the 2024 VNL. On May 31, they will face the Netherlands, and they will conclude the second week on June 1 against Japan.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 29, 2024.- Puerto Rico defeated Guatemala 3-0 (25-16, 25-13 y 25-20) and secured a direct ticket to the semifinals of the first Girls U17 Pan American Cup being held in Guatemala City.
Puerto Rico finished first in Pool B with an undefeated record (3-0) and advanced directly to Friday’s semifinals. Guatemala (0-3) will compete in the matches for positions 5 to 8.
Venezuela (2-1) finished second and Costa Rica (1-2) finished third in the group. Both teams will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals, with Venezuela facing Mexico and Costa Rica playing against the Dominican Republic.
Puerto Rico celebrates
Puerto Rico was dominant in attacks (28-19) and in direct service points (14-8). Both teams scored 5 blocking points. Puerto Rico committed 17 errors while Guatemala totaled 18.
Three Puerto Rican players scored double digits, Kalia Alvarado with 13 points, including a match-high of 6 aces, Annalee Champion with 12 points, and Sara Lozano tallied 10 points.
Opposite hitter Melissa Guerra was the only Guatemalan player to score double digits, with 11 points on 7 attacks and a team-high of 4 aces.
Guatemala surprised Puerto Rico in the third set, tying the score at points 15, 16, 19, and 20; but their efforts fell short as the winners scored five consecutive points to secure the victory.
Annalee Champion PUR, attacks
Puerto Rico’s coach, Juan Carlos Núñez, spoke about the team’s performance in the preliminary round, “this is a group that is getting to know each other, there are eight players who weren’t at the NORCECA in Honduras, and they all had the opportunity to be on the court”. He stated that in this game, there was a chance to use all twelve players, “I am evaluating them in this setting; it’s preparation for the World Championship, and now we need to raise our level of play for the semifinals”.
Guatemala’s opposite hitter, Melissa Guerra, explained that the team has started very cold in all the games, and today was no exception, “it’s possible we have the mentality that we can’t face the opponent and today we got into our system very late”. For the upcoming games, she said, “we need to give our best from the beginning, improve our reception, and have more confidence”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 29, 2024. – Venezuela beat Costa Rica 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-12) on Wednesday at the Girls U17 Pan American Cup at the Multi-sports Dome in Guatemala City.
Venezuela finished Group B with a 2-1 record, and Costa Rica with a 1-2 record. Both teams await the result between Puerto Rico, which is undefeated, and Guatemala (0-2).
Venezuela led in attack points 59 to 38 and in blocks 7 to 4. Costa Rica controlled the serves 4-2 but gave away 28 points on errors compared to 21 by Venezuela.
Isabela Sibada VEN, celebrates
Venezuela’s outside hitter Fiorellys Utrera led all scorers with 17 points on15 attacks, one block, and one ace. Also contributing to Venezuela’s victory were middle blocker Isabela Sibada with 15 points on 14 attacks and one block, and team captain Gabriela Noguera with 13 points, all on kills.
Costa Rica’s opposite Amanda Campos, was the team’s leading scorer with 13 points on 12 attacks and one block. Outside hitter Michelle Arias added 11 points on 10 attacks and one block.
In the first set, Costa Rica scored five consecutive points (6-12) and then tied at 19 with two consecutive aces from Nadia Granados. At 21 points even, Costa Rica maintained their attack to win the first set. Venezuela responded strongly, taking the next three sets, and securing their second victory in the event.
Gabriela Noguera VEN, defense
Venezuelan outside hitter Fiorellys Utrera explained that they lacked communication in the first set, but despite that, they won the following sets, “we came out strong, connected as a team, and supported each other to limit our errors”. She added that the team had a positive attitude, which was key to their victory.
Argentinian Christian López, coach of Costa Rica, expressed that his team finished pool-play well, “we could have done better things, but the team is in a learning process”. He also said that they paid a high price for their mistakes, “It’s not possible to maintain the level of play all the time because they’re not used to it, but I think they are trying to do things very well”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 29, 2024.- The Dominican Republic dominated Cuba 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-11) in the final match of pool-play at the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup held at Guatemala City’s Dome.
Dominican Republic finished second in Pool A with a 2-1 record and will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The first place of the pool went to Peru (3-0), and third place to Mexico (1-2).
Cuba, with a 0-3 record, will play in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.
Both teams were equal in attacks (28 points) and blocks (8 points). Dominican Republic led in aces (8-2) and scored 31 points on Cuba’s errors, while conceding 18.
Estel Santos DOM, attacks
Team captain Estel Santos and opposite Rayni Mondesi were the top scorers for Dominican Republic with 11 points each. Middle blocker Cristal Mercedes collected 9 points, including a match-high of 4 blocks.
The top scorer of the match was Cuba’s Salet Castillo, with 13 points on 11 attacks and two blocks.
Rayni Mondesi DOM, attacks
In the second set, Cuba failed to maintain a four-point lead (13-17) and despite avoiding two set points for the Dominicans (21-24) thanks to two errors, they couldn’t close the set. Dominican Republic dominated the third set without complications.
“There was greater harmony among us in the third set”, said Dominican libero Nashly Lithgow. Speaking about Cuba, she said that Cuba managed to pressure them with attacks and blocks in the first two sets. “I think yesterday’s victory against Mexico gave us more confidence”, she added.
The top scorer of the match, Salet Castillo of Cuba, indicated that Dominican Republic played strongly and about the first two sets she highlighted, “our reception worked well, allowing us to attack with strength, combined with the team’s good spirits”. Speaking about how they dropped in the third set, she said, “definitely, if the team’s spirits had remained high, the outcome could have been better. We need to work on that”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 29, 2024,- Peru won Pool A undefeated after defeating Mexico 3-1 (25-22, 29-27, 21-25, 25-22) at the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup on Wednesday in Guatemala City.
Peru ended pool-play with a 2-0 record and advanced to Friday’s semifinals. Mexico, with a 1-2 record, awaits the result between the Dominican Republic and Cuba to determine their final position in Pool A.
Despite Mexico leading in attacks (56-54) and blocks (12-9), Peru secured the victory by committing fewer errors (25-32) and an advantage in aces (5-3).
Perú defense
Peru’s team captain, Ariana Vásquez, led all scorers with 19 points (17 attacks, two serves). Outside hitter Gianella Chanca contributed 15 points (13 attacks, one block, one serve), and middle blocker Camila Monge scored 13 points (12 attacks, one block).
Outside hitter Karen González led Mexico with 17 points (14 attacks, two blocks, one serve). Middle blocker Kiara Ramírez recorded a match-high of six blocks of her 16 points. Captain Aitana Rettke added 15 points (14 attacks, one serve).
Mexico trailed the entire first set, unable to stop Peru’s offense. The Peruvians, coming from behind, won a dramatic second set after both teams lost two set points. Mexico managed to extend the match, jumping to an early five-point lead in the third set. Despite sharing the lead in the fourth set, Peru clinched the victory with fewer errors.
Karen Gonzalez MEX
Gianella Chanca, Peru’s outside hitter, said it was a very demanding match, “Mexico pressured us in every set”. She indicated that it was a beautiful game despite the pressure and anxiety on the court for both teams, “we made a great effort as a team; the second set was very tough, but we are following Professor Rizola’s instructions, who talks to us about responsibility both on and off the court. We are doing it to the letter and doing our job well”.
Mexico’s coach, Ignacio Sánchez Palmeros, expressed, “after yesterday’s loss, we aimed to regain the players’ confidence. We used different players and had a good match”. Regarding the loss, he indicated, “I believe the team lacks maturity, but we will give it our all in the rest of the competition; we are aiming for more matches and more experience”.
MACAO, China, May 28, 2024. – The Dominican Republic ended up losing 1 set to 3 (22-25, 25-20, 17-25, and 24-26) against Thailand, at the start of the second week of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League.
Dominican Republic has a record of 2-3 and their next opponent will be Italy on Thursday, May 30 (12:30 Eastern Time).
Thailand was superior to the Caribbean Queens in almost all areas of play, with a 64-61 advantage in attacks and a 5-4 advantage in blocks. They also capitalized on the 23 Dominican unforced errors. The Caribbean team performed better in serving, with 5 aces compared to 4 from the Asians.
Dominican Gaila González was the top scorer of the match with 20 points, 18 on kills and two on blocks. Yonkaira Peña contributed 18 points, and Jineiry Martínez was the third with double digits, scoring 10 points.
The top scorer for Thailand was Hattaya Bamrungsuk with 17 points, consisting of 13 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 serves. Wipawee Srithong added 16 points to Thailand’s victory.
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 28, 2024.- Playing in front of the home fans in Arlington, United States opened the second round of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20) victory over Canada on Tuesday night.
The United States (3-2) will return to the court to face Bulgaria (0-4) on Friday, May 31, at 6 p.m. PT/8 p.m. CT.
Canada, which is fighting for a berth at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris based on its world ranking, fell to 3-2. The next match for Canada is Germany on May 30 at 17:00 Eastern time (16:00 local time in Arlington, Texas).
Outside hitter Kathryn Plummer made her 2024 VNL debut and scored a team-high 16 points on 14 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Jordan Larson (12 points, two blocks, one ace) and opposite Jordan Thompson (13 kills, one block, one ace) each contributed 15 points.
USA
Middle blockers Dana Rettke and Asjia O’Neal, who were both making their 2024 VNL debuts, had a combined 17 points and five blocks, each finishing with six kills. Rettke posted a team-high three blocks.
“We had our hands full tonight (with Canada),” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “This was only really day 4 for us together because we had a lot of people finish late in the pro season in Europe… It’s going to be rough and it’s not always going to look pretty, but that’s OK.”
Canada finished with a 59-52 advantage in kills, but the U.S. made only 11 errors in the match, while Canada totaled 33.
Outside hitter Alexa Gray led all scorers with 20 kills and 23 points, while teammate Kiera Van Ryk totaled 17 kills and 20 points. Emily Maglio was also solid for Canada in the middle with eight attack points and three blocks.
“It’s tough to beat a top team in the world when you make 33 errors,” explains Canada’s head coach, Shannon Winzer. “We have a few things we need to clean up, but we also continue to do a lot right, and we are still in a good position for a strong round. Going into our next game against Germany we want to go back to controlling the ‘controllables’ and being patient in attack. Our subs continue to do a great job for us and our whole team is willing to do whatever is needed to get the job done.”
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 28, 2024 – Venezuela stormed past 3-0 (25-17, 25-15 y 25-8) over host Guatemala at the first edition of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup on Tuesday night at the Multi-sports Dome in Guatemala City.
This was Venezuela’s first win in Pool B, and with a 1-1 record, they will conclude the pool-play against Costa Rica (1-1). Guatemala (0-2) will finish against Puerto Rico (2-0).
The pool winner will advance directly to the semifinals; the second and third places will compete in quarterfinals.
Forellys Utrera VEN, Defense
Venezuela held a huge 10 to 2 advantage in service points and a convincing 34 to 22 margin in attack points; they also scored 27 points from Guatemalan errors and conceded 12. The teams tied in blocking at 4-4.
Venezuelan outside hitter Fiorellys Utrera led all scorers with 13 points (8 attacks, 2 blocks, one ace). She was accompanied by team captain Gabriela Noguera with 11 points (9 attacks, one block, one ace).
Natalia Perez GUA, attacks
Opposite hitter Melissa Guerra scored 11 points (10 attacks, 1 ace) as Guatemala’s top scorer.
William Ruiz, coach of Venezuela, said he was pleased that they could compete internationally again after a break in all categories. Ruiz explained that his team made their debut yesterday against the group favorite, and it was not easy, “the team is young, and we are building for the future, and today they showed more confidence compared to yesterday”. Regarding the match against Guatemala, he said, “they challenged us in the first set and the second set was tricky. We appreciate the effort of our Federation for allowing us to be here”.
Guatemala’s coach, Celeste Cifuentes, said that today the team came with more confidence after the first match, “playing at home took a toll on us, but as the match progressed, the girls realized they could give more. We knew today that Venezuela is a taller team with international experience”. She added that the team’s development process continues and that this is their first international experience.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 28, 2024.- Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) for their second win at the Girls U17 Pan American Cup being held in Guatemala City.
Puerto Rico remains undefeated with a 2-0 record in Pool B, while Costa Rica has a 1-1 record. On Wednesday, Puerto Rico will conclude pool-play against Guatemala, and Costa Rica will face Venezuela.
Puerto Rico recovered from a four-point deficit (11-15) in the second set, and then the lead went to both sides; they won the set with an opponent error. In the third set, with Puerto Rico leading 21-14, Costa Rica scored four consecutive points from attacks by Amanda Campos and opponent errors, reaching 21-18. Puerto Rico closed the set with a Costa Rican error and two points from Diangelie Gonzalez, who only played the third set.
Sara Lozano PUR, attacks
Puerto Rico controlled all the game statistically, 38-30 in attacks, 9-3 in blocks, and 4-3 in aces. Additionally, Puerto Rico committed fewer unforced errors (21-24).
Outside hitters Sara Lozano and Annalee Champion scored 13 points each for Puerto Rico. Lozano on 11 attacks, one block, and one ace; Champion on 10 attacks, two blocks, and one service point.
Opposite hitter Amanda Campos and outside hitter Nicole Leiva led Costa Rica with 8 points each.
Nicole Leiva CRC, defense
“Costa Rica attacked us a lot with serves in the second set,” said Puerto Rico’s Sara Lozano. “We were able to save the set with communication and teamwork,” she added. Lozano believes that the team’s unity and trust in their coach are Puerto Rico’s greatest strengths. Regarding the last match of pool-play, she said, “we will do our best and go all out from the beginning”.
Amanda Campos from Costa Rica said, “we were able to control most of the second set, but I think we don’t know how to stay calm in moments of crisis. Today’s game was faster and more demanding than yesterday’s”. Regarding the end of the preliminary round, she said, “we don’t see it impossible; Venezuela is taller than us, but we are motivated because last year at the NORCECA we defeated Cuba, so we believe in ourselves”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 28, 2024.- Peru defeated Cuba 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17) to remain undefeated in the first Girls U17 Pan American Cup being held at the Mult-sports Dome in Guatemala City.
Peru has a 2-0 record in Pool A and will end the preliminary round against Mexico (1-1); Cuba, with a 0-2 record, will face Dominican Republic (1-1). The pool winner will advance directly to the semifinals.
Peruvian middle Camila Monge ended the match blocking Cuban Yesica Brito’s powerful kill.
Ariana Vasquez PER, serves
Peru’s advantage in serves (11-2) was crucial for securing the victory. Peru also had a 9-3 advantage in blocks and committed fewer errors (20-34). Cuba led in attacks 50 to 40.
The top scorer of the match was Peru’s team captain, Ariana Vásquez, with 20 points on 14 attacks, one block, and a match-high of 5 aces. Outside hitters Gianella Chanca and Brenda Quiroz also contributed to win, Chanca scored 14 points on 13 attacks and one block, while Quiroz had 11 points on 9 attacks, one block, and one ace.
Opposite hitter Salet Castillo led Cuba with 19 points, all from kills, and Yesica Brito contributed 18 points, also all from kills.
Salet Castillo CUB, attacks
Brazilian coach Antonio Rizola, recently hired to lead Peru, expressed great joy because his team has two wins in two matches, “the team is learning to have courage and to overcome difficult moments”. Reflecting on yesterday’s second set against the Dominican Republic, the team managed to recover, “it was a moment when the result could have been different, and today we lost a set to Cuba, but overcame to win the match”. Rizola added that he remains grounded “there is a lot to do to learn to play volleyball”.
Cuban captain Yesica Brito said her team looked much better today, “we improved from yesterday’s match to today, corrected our mistakes, but today we lacked spirit and in difficult moments, we couldn’t finish”. Brito also highlighted that the team supported each other on the court, “it’s a loss that hurts, but we played as a team”.
BLACKROCK, Tobago, May 26, 2024.- Cayman Islands’ Joanna Robinson and Luna Ebanks emerged as champions of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA)/Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) FIVB World Championship Under-19 Beach Volleyball Qualifiers to qualify to the Worlds’ main draw with unbeaten 4-0 record at the end of their five-team round-robin series.
With only the winner of the round-robin series securing a direct ticket to the FIVB World Championship main draw and the second and third placed teams to the qualification draw.
Robinson/Ebanks and Trinidad and Tobago’s L’fe Roberts and Meeka Johnson began the final day of the qualifiers both with 2-0 win-loss records and the main contenders to the automatic main draw spot for the Worlds’ event in China from August 27 to September 1.
Roberts and Johnson then improved to 3-0 when they beat Jewel Austin and Marilyn Gill of Barbados 2-0 (21-12, 21-19) while Robinson and Ebanks did likewise courtesy their defeat of Celine Hankey and Makayla Mason of Grenada 2-0 (21-5, 21-8).
And in the penultimate match of the girl’s competition, Robinson and Ebanks overcame Roberts and Johnson in the winner-take-all clash 2-1 (21-9, 11-21, 15-9) to punch their tickets to the automatic main draw while T&T ended second with a 3-1 record to earn one of the two spots to the qualification draw in China.
Joining Cayman Islands and T&T on the trip to China will be Naya Whitfield and Davy-Ann Eduards of Aruba after they outplayed Hankey and Mason (GRN) 2-0 (21-11, 21-15) to finish with the same record as Barbados, but with a better points-won to points-loss ratio of 0.9178 to 0.8224 while Grenada ended winless from their four matches.
On Saturday, Robinson and Ebanks defeated Aruba 2-0 (21-9, 21-10) and Barbados 2-0 (21-9, 21-7) while the T&T duo, veterans of the Commonwealth Youths Games at the same venue last year beat Aruba 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) and Grenada 2-0 (21-10, 21-2).
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 28, 2024.- Dominican Republic defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) on the second day of action at the first Girls U17 Pan American Cup being held in Guatemala City.
Dominican Republic and Mexico both have a 1-1 record in Pool A. The Dominicans will finish the pool-play against Cuba, while Mexico will face Peru. Pool winners will advance directly to the semifinals, with the second and third place teams competing in the quarterfinals.
Dominican Republic was dominant throughout the match, to cancel out Mexico, which struggled to respond.
Estel Santos, DOM spikes
The Dominicans capitalized their victory with advantages in attacks (37-25), blocks (8-1), and aces (8-2), but committed more errors (26-22).
Two Dominican players finished with double-digits, Virelys Rivera with 14 points on 10 kills, two blocks, and two aces, and team captain Estel Santos with 12 points on 11 kills and one block. Opposite hitter Rayni Mondesi contributed 9 points.
Aitana Rettke with 9 points was the top scorer for Mexico.
Karen Gonzalez, MEX, defense
Compared to their loss yesterday against Peru, Dominican captain Estel Santos said, “today our spirit was much better, we also played as a team with a lot of communication”. Regarding the win, she expressed, “we studied Mexico and knew how to control them with directed serves, which helped us succeed”.
Brazilian Marceo Cezarano, coach of the Dominican Republic explained that things went well, saying, “today we saw what we have been training for, a strong level”. He also indicated that they studied Mexico very well, “we changed our system, nullified player number 13 (Aitama Rettke), even when they moved her from outside hitter to middle, and we knew how to control her”.
Mexico’s setter, Gabriela Garza, summarized the defeat by saying, “our reception failed, our attitude was off, and we let the Dominicans take control”.
Mexico’s coach Ignacio Sánchez Palmeros acknowledged that the team had a bad match and there was overconfidence from both the team and the technical staff, “this will serve to bring the players down to earth, and if we have the quality, we can recover and finish the competition well”.
BLACKROCK, TOBAGO, MAY 26, 2024.- Rio Jaden Victor and Peter Emmanuel of St Lucia earned the lone automatic spot to the upcoming FIVB World Championship Under-19 Beach Volleyball Tournament.
This after the duo beat host Trinidad and Tobago’s Jerome Morrison, and Darion Sparks 2-0 in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA)/Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) FIVB World Championship Boys’ Under-19 Beach Volleyball Qualifiers final at the Courland Beach Sports Facility 21-19, 21-12 in 43 minutes to stun the host duo.
Earlier in the semifinals, Victor and Emmanuel swept past Jedediah Pencheon, and Julian Bristol of St Kitts/Nevis 2-0 (21-15, 21-7) and Morrison/Sparks battled past Dylan Lynee and William Duty of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-18, 21-15).
When the two-day tournament resumed on Sunday morning following Saturday’s round-robin group stage and round-of-12 playoff matches, Victor and Emmanuel defeated Grenada’s Javon Charles and Kibose Hamilton 2-0 (21-9, 21-10) in their quarterfinal while Pencheon and Bristol rallied past Jamaal Key Jr and Raphael Kemp of Bahamas 2-1 (21-10, 20-22, 15-5); Lynee and Duty topped Kalen Applewhaite and Cael Greenidge of Barbados 2-0 (23-21, 21-14), and Ange Gaspard Volckaert and Lucas Berard of Martinique humbled Morrison and Sparks (2-1) 6-21, 21-17, 15-10.
However, due to Martinique being an affiliate on France they are not allowed to qualify for FIVB World Championship as a regional member country, which meant that T&T was then pitted against the next highest ranked team among the losing quarterfinalists, Bahamas for a second shot at making the semifinals, which T&T won 2-0 (21-6, 21-18).
Despite losing the final and the direct ticket to the FIVB World Championship main draw in China, T&T along with third placed finishers Pencheon and Bristol (who outlasted Lynee and Duty in their playoff 2-1 (17-21, 21-15,15-11) will still have a chance to qualify to the main draw after securing the two spots available to the qualification draw which also takes place in China from August 27 to September 1.
On Saturday, St Lucia, T&T, Cayman Islands, and St Kitts/Nevis all topped their respective round-robin pools to advance to the quarterfinals of the with perfect records.
Playing under overcast conditions which was to the players liking Morrison, who participated at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games at the same venue, and Sparks overcame British Virgins Islands’ Jason Dunkley Maduro and Alexander 2-0 (21-6, 21-7), and Grenada 2-0 (21-5, 21-15) to finish with a 2-0 record in Group A while Grenada defeated British Virgin Islands 21-16, 21-1 for the runner-up spot to qualify to the last-eight
In Group B, St Lucia (LCA) also ended with a 2-0 record in group play courtesy of victories against Martinique 2-0 (215, 21-14), and Antigua and Barbuda’s 2-0 (21-6, 21-5)
Volckaert and Berard took the second spot in the pool after beating Antigua and Barbuda 2-0 (21-12, 21-6).
Group C comprised only two teams with St Kitts/Nevis beating Barbados 2-0 (22-20, 21-15) to advance to the quarterfinals while Cayman Islands won Group D after beating Bahamas 2-0 (21-16, 211-6).
And in the round-of-12 Bahamas got the better of British Virgin Islands 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-12) and Barbados won 2-1 (13-21, 21-14, 17-15) against Antigua and Barbuda.
On the second day of the event, Costa Rica (1-0) in Group B will face Puerto Rico (1-0), while Guatemala (0-1) will play against Venezuela (0-1).
Costa Rica had no difficulties winning the first two sets comfortably. Guatemala forced a fourth set after a remarkable 8-point comeback (15-23) in the third. Costa Rica earned a dramatic win after losing two match points on a service error and a powerful attack by Guatemalan Andrea Garces, who later handed the victory to Costa Rica with an attack error.
Costa Rica led in attack points 51-33 and in service points 9-5. Guatemala outperformed in blocking 12-6. Costa Rica had fewer errors 26-35.
Costa Rica celebrate
Michelle Arias led the scores with 22 points on 16 attacks, 2 blocks, and a match-high of 4 direct serving points. Nicole Leiva added 16 points on 15 attacks and one ace. Opposite player Amanda Campos scored 12 points.
Opposite Melissa Guerra was the only one to score double digits for Guatemala with 12 points.
Lilliam Vargas, captain of Costa Rica, said, “we were determined, it was very intense and hard-fought.” Regarding the difference in the set results, she added, “I feel that losing the third set affected us mentally and gave Guatemala more confidence; tomorrow we will play well, with determination, and we will give our all on the court.”
“We improved as the match developed; we were quite nervous, and it was a slow start”, said Regina Porres, captain of Guatemala. She also expressed that they managed to demonstrate what they have practiced and that they are in good condition, “we fought hard, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the result.”
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 27, 2024.- Puerto Rico defeated Venezuela 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21) in their opening match of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup being held at the Multi-sport Dome in Guatemala City.
On the second day in Group B, Puerto Rico (1-0) will face Costa Rica and Venezuela (0-1) will play against the host country, Guatemala.
In a match that lasted a little over two hours (2:13), Puerto Rico managed to overcome Venezuela with a significant advantage in blocks (11-3) and attack points (57-47). Venezuela held an advantage in aces (5-3) and scored 32 points through Puerto Rico’s unforced errors while giving up 22 points on their own errors.
Puerto Rico’s outside hitter Annalee Champion led all scorers with 22 points on 20 attacks and 2 blocks. Outside hitter and team captain Kalia Alvarado contributed 20 points on 17 attacks, 2 blocks, and one ace. Additionally, Sara Lozano added 14 points on 11 attacks and 3 blocks.
Valeria Ochoa VEN
Opposite hitter Valeria Ochoa and outside hitter Gabriela Noguera led Venezuela with 12 points each.
Kalia Alvarado, captain of Puerto Rico, said that at the beginning of the match they were a bit tense, “as we gained confidence, we were able to perform well”. Regarding what she thought they did well, she said, “our focus and spirit were the best aspects for today’s victory, but we need to improve on reception and decision-making”.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s captain, Gabriela Noguera, expressed that they did a good job today. “Considering it was the first match, we did well”. She said that the set they won was because they had a better attitude, “our attitude must be consistent throughout the match, but we need to limit the number of errors”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 27, 2024.- Mexico opened their participation in the first U17 Girls Pan American Cup with a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) over Cuba at the Multi-Sport Dome in Guatemala City.
Mexico (1-0) will face Dominican Republic (0-1) in their second match of Pool A, while Cuba (0-1) will play against Peru (1-0).
In the third set, Mexico came from behind (6-10), scoring four consecutive points through Cuban errors to tie at 10 points. Mexico sealed the victory in straight sets with determined kills from Karen González and Aitana Rettke.
Mexico led in attacks 35 to 22 and in aces 7 to 3. Cuba led in blocks 5 to 4 and committed 29 unforced errors compared to Mexico’s 21.
Salet Castillo CUB, defense
Only two players scored double digits, Mexico’s captain Aitana Rettke with 17 points (16 kills, one block) and Cuba’s outside hitter Salet Castillo with 14 points (10 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces).
Aitana Rettke, Mexico’s captain, explained that they have a great responsibility being the current NORCECA champions, but they felt very confident in the first match, “we started very well, a strong three-set victory gives us greater confidence”. Regarding the coach’s substitutions, she said, “We all contribute to the team, each of us has different skills and sometimes a change is needed, and the result was accomplished”.
Mexico’s coach Ignacio Sánchez Palmeros expressed that part of the process is that the team does not maintain high intensity levels throughout the match, “we need to work on that; one way is through substitutions that risk the result but help them grow as a team, raising the level of volleyball in Mexico and showing that they must give their all”. He added that the team dreams big.
Cuba’s captain, Yesica Brito, said that her team did well in reception, but their performance was not as expected due to nerves, “this was the first match and it was against a strong team, the NORCECA champions; what went wrong today will not happen again”.
ARLINGTON, Texas, May 27, 2024.- Three players from Texas and seven Olympic gold medalists are on the roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the second round of the Volleyball Nations League, May 28-June 2 in Arlington, Texas.
Volleyball Nations League is the world’s premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament. The top 16 teams in the world play four matches a week for three weeks of preliminary competition. The top eight teams at the end of the preliminaries will go to the Final Round.
The U.S. Women went 2-2 in their first week of play in Rio de Janeiro. In Arlington, they will face Canada (3-1), Bulgaria (0-4), Poland (4-0) and Türkiye (2-2).
Middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Asjia O’Neal and outside hitter Avery Skinner, who all grew up in Texas, will be on the roster for Arlington.
Ogbogu is a 2020 Olympic gold medalist who grew up in Coppell, Texas, and played for the University of Texas.
O’Neal grew up in Southlake, Texas, and has won two NCAA National Championships with the University of Texas.
Skinner grew up in Katy, Texas, and played at the University of Kentucky, where she won an NCAA National Championship, and later at Baylor.
Olympic gold medalists who are joining Ogbogu on the roster are setters Micha Hancock and Jordyn Poulter, libero Justine Wong-Orantes, outside hitter Jordan Larson, opposite Jordan Thompson and middle Haleigh Washington.
VNL veterans on the roster are libero Morgan Hentz, outside hitters Ali Frantti, Khalia Lanier and Kathryn Plummer, and middle Dana Rettke.
Head Coach Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist as a player who took over as head coach in 2013. He has led the U.S. Women to a World Championship in 2014 and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Kiraly’s first assistant is Tama Miyashiro, who won a silver medal as a libero with the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The second assistants will be Marv Dunphy, Alfee Reft and Erin Virtue.
The U.S. Women are the reigning Olympic champions and were ranked No. 2 in the world going into VNL. They have won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21) since its inception in 2018. In 2023, they finished fourth overall.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 27, 2024.- Peru won opening match of the first U17 Girls Pan American Cup defeating Dominican Republic in straight sets (25-16, 26-24, 25-19) at the Multi-sports Dome in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Peru and Dominican Republic are in Group A of the event. On Tuesday, Peru will face Cuba and Dominican Republic will go up against Mexico.
The South American team started the first two sets behind, and in the second set, they prevented the Dominican Republic from tying the match by saving three set points (21-24).
Perú celebrates
Peru was more effective in attack points (31-29) and blocks (6-3), while the Dominicans topped in service points (10-7). Peru benefited from 32 Dominican errors compared to 17 from their own.
The top scorer of the match was Peru’s team captain, Ariana Vásquez, with 16 points on 12 attacks, one block, and three service points. Outside hitter Gianella Chanca contributed to the victory with 11 points on 8 attacks, one block, and two service points.
Dominican captain Estel Santos led her team with 14 points on 12 attacks and two service points. Opposite hitter Rayni Mondesi finished with 9 points on 5 attacks, one block, and three service points.
With great joy, Peru’s captain, Ariana Vásquez, expressed, “It was an effort by all the girls, we fought for every ball.” Regarding the win, she said, “It’s very good because it helps us mentally; I think we had confidence in what we know how to do on the court, but we have to focus on tomorrow’s match now.”
“It’s natural to make mistakes at this age, but today there were too many, especially in that second set that we couldn’t close,” said Dominican Republic’s coach, Brazilian Marcelo Cezarano. “I understand that it’s the first game with me as coach, we changed the system of play a bit and it’s a learning process. It’s more complicated whenyou don’t play frequently. Tomorrow we’ll try to reduce the mistakes.”
ESPINHO, Portugal, May 26, 2024.- Medal contenders for the upcoming Paris Olympics, USA’s Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss secured an important victory just two months before the start of the event, taking gold at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Espinho Elite16 on Sunday.
The tournament held at the Praia da Baía was the fourth of seven Elite16 events set to happen before the start of the Games and had one of the strongest fields of the season, with almost all the top teams of international beach volleyball making the trip to Portugal.
USA Gold Medal
Kloth, 27, and Nuss, 26, got to celebrate their sixth gold on the Beach Pro Tour and their first in 2024 after taking silver earlier this month in Brasília with a dramatic 2-1 (17-21, 28-26, 15-10) victory over Swiss Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli in a match in which they had to avoid six match points from their opponents in the second set before triumphing in the tie-breaker.
“This is absolutely unreal,” Nuss told Volleyball World. “It was such a battle. I think we go to three every single time against that Swiss team, they’re phenomenal athletes. It was pretty fun to just battle in this wind. The stadium was packed for the finals and for us, athletes, it means a lot to play in this atmosphere.”
From Espinho, the Beach Pro Tour heads to the Polish city of Stare Jablonki, which will host the second-to-last event in the Olympic qualification period, from May 30-June 2. The Challenge event will mark the return of international beach volleyball to the city for the first time since 2014.
The last event of the Olympic qualification period will be held in Ostrava, Czechia, from June 5-9, and will be an Elite16 tournament.
May 26, 2024.- The U.S. Men’s National Team’s first win of the tournament came against Türkiye 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-21) in the week one finale of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Sunday in Antalya, Türkiye.
“It feels great, we put in a lot of work,” outside hitter Ethan Champlin told Volleyball World. “One thing we always talk about in the locker room is that, this team, these fourteen guys are only going to play together once. It’s probably not going to happen ever again. So we’re just enjoying the moments together, playing hard, playing for one another. That’s what’s most important.”
The U.S. Men finish week one with a 1-3 record. Week two of VNL will begin June 4 in Ottawa, Canada.
Opposite Jake Hanes could not be stopped, putting up an astounding 31 points on 29 kills and two aces.
Middle blocker Patrick Gasman had 13 points on nine kills, three blocks and one ace.
Outside hitter Jordan Ewert had seven points on six kills and one ace. Champlin added six points on four kills and two aces.
Aside from the massive stat line from Hanes, service pressure made the difference in the match with the U.S. scoring seven aces to Türkiye’s three. Türkiye did have the slight advantage on kills (51-50) and the teams were even on blocks (8-8). The U.S. scored on 32 opponent errors while committing 31.
After dropping the first set, the U.S. saw an energy shift when Hanes tied set two at 18-18 with an ace followed by a kill from the back row. Middle blocker Daniel Wetter made his VNL debut and contributed right away with a block to give the U.S. set point. Hanes took care of the rest once again from the back row to even the match 1-1.
The third set stayed close until the U.S. took the lead 15-14 after Champlin’s ace serve. A tough serve from Ewert led to a Türkiye attack error and gave the U.S. its first match lead (2-1) of the tournament.
Türkiye fought hard in the fourth set in front of their loud home crowd. However, the momentum was already well on the side of the U.S. Men and they didn’t give it back. Taking advantage of Türkiye’s errors and feeding the hot hand of Hanes, the U.S. Men secured its first VNL win.
Setter Quinn Isaacson added three points on two blocks and one ace.
Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with nine digs and seven successful receptions. Libero Mason Briggs started the fourth set and was credited with four digs.
Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez, outside hitter Brett Wildman and setter Josh Tuaniga all saw action as substitutes.
Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 26, 2024 – Coaches from current U17 NORCECA champion Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Peru agreed that the Girls U17 Pan American Cup is a great opportunity to prepare before they compete from August 17 to 24 in the FIVB World Championship in Peru.
The day before the competition begins at the Multi-Sports Dome in Guatemala City, the eight coaches of the participating teams shared their initial impressions.
The Girls U17 Pan American Cup, to be held from May 27 to June 1, is part of the qualification system for the 2025 NORCECA Continental Championship and the 2026 FIVB World Championship.
Christian López, Head Coach of Costa Rica: “We believe we are in good shape; we have trained a lot. At this age, it is mostly a learning process. We come to try to do our best, have a very good tournament, but above all, gain experience. There are new faces on the team, 5 or 6 are from the team that competed last year in Honduras”.
Costa Rica
Carina Menes Carrion, Head Coach of Cuba: “We come with good preparation. Last year, when we competed in the NORCECA U17, we didn’t win a medal and finished in sixth place. This year, we have prepared competitively; we are preparing this U17 team for the U19 tournament. We worked a lot on our reception, which was our weakness in the previous competition. We are here to fight for the championship”.
Cuba
Marcelo Cezarano, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “We are training hard to improve. I am the new coach, and the players are adapting very well to the change. The main goal is our preparation for the World Championship. We will go into every match to win. We are looking for good results”.
Dominican Republic
Celeste Cifuentes, Head Coach of Guatemala: “My team is very motivated and strengthened. They are a group of girls who have worked since they were in mini-volleyball at the national level. For most of the team, as well as for me as a coach, it is a new experience competing internationally. We know it is a tough competition, facing strong teams in the area. We have worked on the psychological aspect of the game, and we will try to exploit our strengths”.
Guatemala
Ignacio Sánchez Palmeros, Head Coach of Mexico: “This tournament is a good scale to see where we stand before we compete in the World Championship. It allows us to test other athletes; we have two injured players, and we will have the opportunity to see others play, so we can arrive with the best team at the World Championship. Coming as NORCECA champions gives us the chance to play good volleyball because all the teams will play at one hundred percent against us, and that’s what we want for our development”.
Mexico
Antonio Rizola, Head Coach of Peru: “I love the Pan American Cup; it is a fundamental competition for all the teams in the Americas because we don’t play against each other much. Especially this Peruvian team, it will be our first time together, and I need to use it as a laboratory because from the team that qualified last year for the World Championship, I changed players’ positions and added five new players, everything is unknown. The team is anxious, it’s necessary to remember that they are all girls, and we will seek our own objectives as a team, our growth in every aspect of its performance”.
Peru
Juan Carlos Núñez, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “We are preparing for the World Championship in August. After the NORCECA Championship in Honduras, we had a tryout for new players and nearly 300 girls participated, we selected 20 who trained for a month and a half to come here. Of the 12 players on the team, this championship will help me evaluate 8 girls who were not in Honduras. It is a good period to decide on the team we will take to Peru”.
Puerto Rico
William Ruiz, Head Coach of Venezuela: “First of all we want to thank NORCECA and its president Cristóbal Marte for the invitation, and our Federation for including us again in these events. We are starting a new cycle, with a new group of young girls in our country, aiming to reach the elite of South American and World volleyball”.
May 5, 2024. – Cuba finished the first week of Volleyball Nations League with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 14-25, 25-21, 25-21) over Iran in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At the conclusion of the first week of action, Cuba’s record stands at 3-1.
The victory earned Cuba 4.4 points, for a total of 261.17 points, placing them in 9th place in the rankings, within the qualification zone for the Olympic Games.
Cuba outperformed Iran in attack points (53-21), block points (9-4), and had a slight edge in aces (7-6). However, Cuba conceded more points on errors (26-20).
Middle blocker Robertlandy Simón and outside hitter Marlon Yanta were Cuba’s top scorers with 14 points each. Simón scored on 8 kills, 3 blocks, and 3 aces, while Yant scored all on kills.
The top scorer of the match was Iran’s Meisam Salehi with 15 points.
Cuba will compete in week two of VNL in Ottawa, Canada.
BLACKROCK, Tobago, May 25, 2024.- The duo of host Trinidad and Tobago and Cayman Islands both ended the opening day of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA)/Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) FIVB World Championship Under-19 Beach Volleyball Qualifiers with unbeaten 2-0 records in the five-team round-robin series.
With only the winner of the round-robin series securing a direct ticket to the FIVB World Championship main draw and the second and third placed teams to the qualification draw all participating teams knew the important of a positive start in the two-day qualifying event with the aim of qualify to the grand tournament in China from August 27 to September 1.
And at the end of the first day of competition which was briefly interrupted by rain due to the passing of a Tropical Wave, host Trinidad and Tobago duo L’fe Roberts and Meeka Johnson, veterans of the Commonwealth Youths Games at the same venue last year also made an impressive start beating Arubans Nayah Whitfield and Davy-Ann Eduards 2-0 (21-16, 21-15), followed by a similar 2-0 (21-10, 21-2) triumph against Grenada’s Celine Hankey and Makayla Mason.
Not to be overshadowed, Joanna Robinson and Luna Ebanks of Cayman Islands defeated Aruba 2-0 (21-9, 21-10) and Barbadians Jewel Austin and Marilyn Gill 2-0 (21-9, 21-7) to improve to a 2-0 mark as well from their first two matches.
Both Barbados and Aruba ended the day with 1-2 records after the latter won their duel 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) while Grenada is without a win.
On Sunday, Barbados has one match left to play against Trinidad and Tobago, while the latter also faces Cayman Islands who will meet Grenada in their other encounter as well. Grenada and Aruba also face off in the other match on the day, but with no chance of any team advancing.
Trinidad and Tobago
CAZOVA/ECVA FIVB World Championship Under-19 Beach Volleyball Qualifiers results:
May 25, 2024. – The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Bulgaria 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) in Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Friday in Antalya, Türkiye.
The U.S. Men (0-3) will play the host country Türkiye (0-3) on Sunday at 7 a.m. PT.
With the loss, the Americans gave up their second position in FIVB World Ranking to Italy and dropped to number three.
The squad showed improvement, taking one set from Bulgaria. Opposite Jake Hanes provided the spark that allowed the U.S. to get its first set win of the 2024 VNL. Hanes led all scorers with 24 points on 20 kills, three blocks and one ace.
The U.S. Men will look to build on that as they prepare for their final match of week one.
“We got to hold it down later in the sets,” setter Josh Tuaniga told Volleyball World. “Right now, we’re playing really well in the beginning and toward the end, that’s where we start to let go of some opportunities. So, I think that comes with experience and some chemistry. We’re a new group, we just started playing together not too long ago. Hopefully going into the next match, we can speed that process up and really handle those late points.”
Outside hitter Jordan Ewert scored 13 points on 11 kills and two blocks. Middle blocker Matthew Knigge added 11 points on eight kills and three aces.
Middle blocker Patrick Gasman had six points on five kills and one block. Outside hitter Ethan Champlin, who started the second set and on, also had six points on five kills and one ace.
Setter Quinn Isaacson started the third and fourth sets for Tuaniga and had two kills.
Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with 12 digs and five successful receptions.
Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez and outside hitter Brett Wildman saw action as substitutes.
May 25, 2024.- Canada’s men’s team wrapped up the first week of Volleyball Nations League 2024 in Antalya, Türkiye, on Saturday with a five-set loss to Slovenia.
Canada’s record is 2-2 after week one, and Slovenia is undefeated with one match to go in Antalya.
Though Slovenia led in most areas – attack (66-57), aces (11-3) and had fewer errors (22-27) – Canada was able to dominate in blocking (14-4) points.
Opposite Tonček Štern of Slovenia was the winning team top scorer with 23 points; while Stephen Maar of Canada topped the board with 27 points (which included three of Canada’s successful blocking points.)
Setter Luke Herr told VBTV: “It was really a battle out there, back and forth, and we didn’t come on top today. Any team we play in VNL is going to be a difficult game and we just come out every match and give it our all. It was a good match overall.”
Slovenia is ranked 7th in the World Rankings but is still in the hunt for an Olympic spot. Canada is ranked 12th and is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the team’s second-place performance in the Olympic Qualifier pool last year.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 25, 2024.- The Multi-Sports Dome in Guatemala City is ready for the inaugural edition of the Girls U17 Pan American Cup, which kicks off on Monday, May 27.
The control committee and the organizing committee of the event conducted inspections of all the facilities prepared for the competition, which runs from May 27 to June 1.
control committee
The technical delegates supervised each work area under the guidance of Ariel Sainz, president of the control committee, who stated, “The Dome is a facility we are familiar with; it has hosted numerous international competitions, and everything is ready for the event to start”.
Carlos Enrique Santis, president of the National Federation of Guatemala and competition director, explained the details regarding transportation, food, and the activity schedule planned to ensure the event runs smoothly.
The Girls U17 Pan American Cup will be streamed on Facebook Live Fnvg Voleibol Guate.
Ariel Sainz explained that since this is an underage category, all technical delegates must guide the athletes as they are being introduced to international competitions.
It was confirmed that before the match between Guatemala and Venezuela, an opening ceremony will take place.
The event is part of the qualification system for the 2025 NORCECA Continental Championship and the 2026 FIVB World Championship in this category.
May 24, 2024.- Japan and Cuba battled in one of the most exciting duels of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League so far on Friday, in Rio de Janeiro, and the Asians emerged on the winning side of it after more than two hours of action to remain undefeated.
Japan, who don’t have star outside hitters Yuki Ishikawa and Ran Takahashi available this week, started some other key against the Cubans, such as opposite Yuji Nishida, but showed resilience to top a red-hot Cuban team 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 22-20).
It was a rollercoaster of a match, which saw the Caribbean start ahead and the Asians take the next two sets before a Cuban triumph in the fourth set forced a tie-breaker. Cuba built a 14-11 lead and got close to the win, but saw Japan come back to deny nine match points before Nishida put the last ball down to claim the victory.
Cuba were dominant at the net, outscoring Japan in kills (69 to 56) and blocks (20 to eight), but paid a steep price for their 39 errors. The Caribbean had the four players with the most points scored in the match in outside hitters Miguel Ángel López (25) and Marlon Yant (17) and middle blockers Robertlandy Simón and Javier Concepcion, with 14 each.
“Japan are one of the top teams in the World Rankings and we tried to bring our best,” Concepcion said. “They’re very disciplined and very technical and are a difficult opponent to anyone. We tried to stick to our game plan no matter what and we had our chances to win the match a few times, but unfortunately, we lost our focus and didn’t take them. We’re not sad about how we played, but certainly not happy either with the result.”
The defeat made the Cubans drop just 0.08 FIVB World Rankings points and kept them in ninth place, still inside the qualification zone for the Paris Olympics, with 256.77.
Cuba will complete their match schedules in the opening week of the VNL 2024 on Saturday, against Iran at 21:00 local time (00:00 GMT, Sunday).
May 24, 2024.- The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to France 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) in Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Friday in Antalya, Türkiye.
The U.S. Men (0-2) will play Bulgaria (0-2) on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
The U.S. Men have run into two tough opponents in Poland (reigning VNL champions) and France (reigning Olympic champions) in the opening week of VNL. While France did have some new faces on the court, they were still led by some familiar ones from the Tokyo Olympic Games roster. Outside hitter Yacine Louati was the top scorer for France with 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Kevin Tillie added eight points on seven kills and one block.
U.S. outside hitter Jordan Ewert put together another strong performance with 13 kills. He had 10 points on nine kills and one ace in his VNL debut against Poland.
“This is only our second match together,” Ewert told Volleyball World. “Our goal is obviously to win, but our main goal is to keep improving throughout the week and see what this team can do. It’s also tough with the first two matches being against Poland and France. I think we made some big improvements today as a team and also as individuals, so back to the drawing board and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
France took advantage of errors and led most of the opening set until Ewert ended a long rally with a point of the block which tied the set at 22-22. However, France immediately took back the lead and never looked back.
Despite cleaning up their errors and leading at times in the final two sets, the U.S. Men couldn’t hold off France to avoid the sweep.
Middle blocker Matthew Knigge also had another good outing with 10 points on eight kills and two aces.
Outside hitter Cody Kessel had eight points on seven kills and one block.
Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez had seven points or six kills and one block.
Middle blocker Michael Marshman came off the bench and added four kills.
Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with nine digs and two successful receptions.
Setter Quinn Isaacson, outside hitter Brett Wildman and opposite Jake Hanes saw action as substitutes.
May 24, 2024.- Canada’s men’s team managed to control a young Bulgarian squad today for another win at Volleyball Nations League 2024 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Bulgaria put on a challenge each set, but Canada won 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 26-24)
Canada led in attacks (43-38), blocks (9-5), serves were even at five apiece, but Canada made slightly more errors 26-24. Eric Loeppky (14) and Stephen Maar (13) again led Canada’s scoring.
“It was a very tight game, and I’m proud of our team that in important moments we could close the sets in our favour”, said head coach, Tuomas Sammelvuo “To win 3-0 means a lot in rankings and for many other reasons. Of course, there are things that we need to do better and improve – for example, we missed too many serves today. But it’s been three early matches in three days, and we are handling that well. And now we will recover and get all our strength for tomorrow’s match against Slovenia”.
Team Canada’s Fynn McCarthy, making his VNL debut this year, told VBTV: “It’s been amazing…. It wasn’t an easy match for us, they gave us some pushback, but we worked through some difficult moments, which was great for the team. . .. It’s great to get this win”.
Bulgaria is currently ranked 20th in the world. Canada is ranked 12th and is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the team’s second-place performance in the Olympic Qualifier pool last year.
Canada’s men’s team is now 2-1 in VNL, and its next match is against Slovenia (6th).
May 24, 2024.- The Volleyball Foundation week-long charity auction is now live! Never-seen-before rare volleyball memorabilia up for grabs to support the Volleyball Foundation
Incredible memorabilia available, from signed and match worn shirts to unique art originals and much more!
The Volleyball Foundation is thrilled to announce that its special charity auction, in partnership with the renowned Piguet Auction House, is now live. Lots up for grabs range from unique art originals to authentic, match worn and signed memorabilia from legends of the game and much more.
Volleyball fans and collectors around the world can now place their bids to claim exclusive volleyball memorabilia here. Hurry, as the auction is set to close on Thursday 30 May at 9 PM CEST.
With 16 lots available, the auction features a variety of fascinating and never-seen-before pieces, each as valuable as the next. Included are original paintings by Peter Spens of the Olympic Games Rio 2016 beach volleyball venue, various Olympic Games torches and team-signed Olympic volleyballs generously donated by the FIVB.
Additionally, legends of the game have contributed an exciting lineup of items, including: a plate signed by the entire Chinese women’s national team commemorating their Rio 2016 gold with a personal message from the renowned Hui Ruoqi, Mireya Luis’ match-worn bodysuit from the Sydney 2000 gold medal match, signed jerseys from current and former Brazilian national women’s team stars Gabi and Sheilla, respectively, Elizaveta Bracht-Tishchenko’s match-worn Russian national team jersey from the Olympic Games Athens 2004 quarterfinal, Chinese volleyball player Feng Kun’s original uniform from the Olympic Games Athens 2004, where China won. and a pair of Giba’s unique trainers gifted to him after Brazil won three consecutive World Championship victories, among many other exclusive pieces.
All proceeds will go to the Volleyball Foundation to support pioneering volleyball projects that contribute to the social well-being of communities.
Volleyball Foundation President Dr Ary S. Graça F° said: “We are incredibly grateful for the generous contributions from the FIVB and our volleyball legends and look forward to the positive impact these proceeds will make. We invite everyone to bid on these incredible items and thereby support the Volleyball Foundation’s mission to connect, serve and inspire global communities through volleyball to improve society.”
For the latest news on the Volleyball Foundation, be sure to follow us on Instagram.
About the Volleyball Foundation
Launched in May 2024, the Volleyball Foundation uses the global reach and power of volleyball to support community projects worldwide that have a positive impact. By identifying pioneering projects from across the globe, the Foundation supports and provides funding and resources to advance certified projects that promote the social well-being of communities through volleyball.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 23, 2024.- Cuba entered the Volleyball Nations League 2024 intending to qualify for the Paris Olympics and, after just two matches in Rio de Janeiro, they’re already inside the qualification zone for the event. That was possible thanks to a combination of a Cuban victory over Germany and a Serbian setback against Japan, on Thursday.
Following up on a four-set victory over Brazil on Tuesday, the Caribbean had another strong performance at the Maracanãzinho stadium, topping Germany 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23) in the first match of the day.
The result gave the Cubans 7.18 points in the FIVB World Rankings, elevating their total to 256.85. That alone wasn’t enough for them to pass the Serbians, but that happened when the Europeans fell to Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-22) later, dropping 5.38 points to go down to 252.85.
Now, Cuba are the fourth-best national team not yet qualified for Paris to appear in the World Rankings, behind Italy, who are fourth with 347.58, Slovenia, who are sixth with 314.95, and Argentina, who are seventh with 308.29.
Star outside hitters Marlon Yant and Miguel Ángel López rose again for the Cubans, combining to produce 39 points against the Germans. Yant, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with a victory on the court, had a team-high 21 points, with 17 kills, three blocks and one ace, while the team captain added 18, with 17 kills and one block.
“We came into this match with a positive attitude because we knew this was going to be a critical match for us,” middle blocker Robertlandy Simón commented. “It was a great win today, but now it’s time for us to focus on the next one. I wished Yant a happy birthday this morning, but we’re not having a party for him because our goal here is to qualify for the Olympics. Japan are a very difficult matchup for us and we’ll need to be very focused.”
Cuba will face Japan at 14:00 local time (17:00 GMT) in Rio on Friday.
May 23, 2024.- Canada’s men’s team showed up with a strong start, but couldn’t hold off the world-ranked number-one team of Poland at Volleyball Nations League 2024 in Antalya, Türkiye, today.
Poland led in attack points 58-54, blocks 5-4, and services aces 8-5. Canada earned more points from Poland’s errors 26-22.
“We came out guns blazing, and then we were playing a little too safe,” Team Canada’s Stephen Maar told VBTV in a post-match interview. “We have everything we need to win and compete in these games, and at the end of the day we must take the opportunities that we have. … This team was able to make huge steps as a team last year (in qualifying for the Olympics), so we have the ability to learn what it is to play and win against these great teams.”
Polish outside hitter Bartosz Bednorz was match top scorer with 19 points; Eric Loeppky was Canada’s top scorer today with 15 points.
Canada, ranked 12th, is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the team’s second-place performance in the Olympic Qualifier pool last year.
Canada is now 1-1, and its next match is against Bulgaria on Friday.
BLACK ROCK, Tobago, May 23, 2024.- Following on the successful hosting of the volleyball competition at the Courland Beach Sports Facility in Black Rock, Tobago for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Tobago last year, the venue will once again take the spotlight where a Development Camp and the U19 World Championships Qualification event will be held.
Additionally, the Trinbago Beach Volleyball Tour (TBVT) hosted by the T&T Volleyball Federation (TTVF) serves off on at the same venue. The event will be held from the 23-26 May 2024.
The first two days of the four-day event will be dedicated to a development training camp for the young athletes and their coaches supported by Panam Sports. This will be followed by the FIVB Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Under-19 World Championship Zonal Qualifiers featuring teams from Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Martinique, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname and host Trinidad & Tobago.
The Trinbago Senior Open Championship, will be contested alongside the U19 Championships.
The development training Camp will be conducted by Brazilian FIVB Instructor Augusto Sabbatini, and all National Coaches accompanying the teams will participate with their respective teams.
The winning team in each gender of the World Championship Qualifying U-19 Tournament, will secure their tickets to the main draw of the FIVB World Championship in China from August 27 to September 1 while the runners-up will qualify for the qualification draw of the FIVB World Championship in China August 27 to September 1.
Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA), said it is a grand opportunity for all the participating countries in the Caribbean to win the grand prize of qualifying to the FIVB Under-19 Beach Volleyball World Championship later this year.
Mohammed added, “So, an Under-19 boys and girls team on Sunday (May 26) will win that opportunity to go to the World Championships and it is a first for the Caribbean and we are happy to facilitate these opportunities.”
A former T&T Volleyball Federation boss Mohammed was also full of praise for the merger between the two associations in the Caribbean coming together for the qualifiers, the ECVA and CAZOVA.
He said, “The merger of the two zones of the ECVA and CAZOVA provides another great opportunity because it’s one Caribbean. Playing together is a unique opportunity for all the countries and players to develop because the more the players compete together and against each other is the more likely they are to develop as players and teams.
Looking at the participating teams and players, Mohammed stated, “We have athletes here competing over the two days who are 14 years-old and this is an Under-19 FIVB World Qualification Tournament, so it means that in eight years time for the Brisbane Olympics in Australia that individual will be 22 years of age which is considered the peaking years to play your sport at the Olympics.
“And the ones who are already 18-years and competing in Tobago, the next two cycles they will be 26 which is even better for them at the Olympics, so the Under-19 category here is really outstanding.
In terms of the technical aspects of the game, Mohammed said, “We also have many coaches here who will be sharing their ideas together with the four international coaches that we have here, so they will all learn and benefit from each other in the preparation of athletes for higher level competitions.
“Overall, this is great start and a wonderful investment and hopefully, we can see at the end of this in eight to 12 years that some of the athletes who started here qualify for the Olympics, and that will be the crowning moment for us.”
Speaking on the eve of the competition, T&TVF President, Daymian Stewart said, “I’m very happy and pleased to see the progress that we are making and the Trinbago Tour in terms of the milestones and markers that we had set ourselves in our strategic plan for 2032.
“This is our second season of the Trinbago Tour and we would have learnt a lot from our first season in 2023 and now for the start of the second season with the combined ECVA and CAZOVA teams competing in the FIVB Under-19 World Beach Volleyball Championship Qualifiers we are delighted.”
Looking ahead for the two-day FIVB Under-19 Qualifiers, Stewart noted that 10 countries have confirmed participation for the chance to qualify one team in the men and women categories to the FIVB World Championship.
“So, it’s really a big tournament and at the same time we are very thankful for the sponsors and of the Tobago House of Assembly and the other sponsors and we also want to implore that corporate T&T also get on board.”
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 22, 2024.- The first Girls U17 Pan American Cup, to be held from May 27 to June 1, will take place in Guatemala City, Guatemala, at the Dome Sports Center.
The Girls U17 Pan American Cup is an event that is part of the qualification system for the NORCECA U17 Continental Championship in 2025 and the age-group FIVB World Championship in 2026.
The details of the competition were announced by the president of the National Volleyball Federation of Guatemala, Enrique Santis Rangel, during a press conference.
Lic. Enrique Santis
“It is a great opportunity and a challenge to organize this event, for which we have been preparing for a long time. We are fostering new talents and laying the foundations for those who will represent our country in future competitions,” said Santis Rangel.
The tournament will have eight national teams competing, divided into two groups.
Group A includes Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru, while Group B consists of Costa Rica, the host Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
Mexico is the current NORCECA U17 champion, a title they won last November in an extraordinary comeback from two sets down, winning 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-21, 15-5) against Puerto Rico at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The preliminary pool-play round begins on Monday, May 27, concluding on Wednesday, May 29, to determine the teams advancing directly to the semifinals. The second and third-place teams in each group will compete in the quarterfinals to determine the teams advancing to the medal rounds.
“Two years ago, the FIVB agreed to the creation of this category, so all the Confederations worldwide adopted this new competition system. This year, there is participation in the U17 World Championship. This event will serve for ranking purposes towards the 2025 NORCECA Continental Championship,” concluded Santis.
May 22, 2024.- The U.S. Men’s National Team fell to Poland 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 26-24) in its first match of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on Wednesday in Antalya, Türkiye.
The U.S. Men (0-1) will look to rebound against France (1-0) on Friday at 7 a.m. PT.
Led by Aleksander Śliwka (13 points), the defending VNL champions showed their experience by not faltering, even when the U.S. Men jumped out to an early lead in the first set. Poland led the U.S. in kills (40-34), blocks (6-3) and aces (8-6). Poland scored on 22 U.S. errors and committed 18.
Opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez made his competitive debut with the U.S. Men’s National Team and led U.S. scorers with 11 points on nine kills and two aces. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert made his VNL debut and followed with 10 points on nine kills and one ace.
The U.S. Men nearly forced a fourth set after Garcia Fernandez scored from the back row tying the set at 21-21. Shortly after, libero Kyle Dagostino made an incredible play, chasing a ball behind the serve line into a sliding kick save to return the ball over to Poland’s side. However, Poland won the point bringing them to match point. Despite tying it up at 24-24, Poland eventually took the set and match.
“I think we started a little bit slower than we anticipated,” Dagostino told Volleyball World. “All of us feel like we have more to show and more to prove this week.”
Dagostino was credited with four digs and four successful receptions.
Middle blocker Matthew Knigge made his VNL debut as a starter and had six points on four kills. Middle blocker Patrick Gasman added five points on two kills, one block and two aces.
Outside hitter Cody Kessel had five points on four kills and one block. Opposite Jake Hanes had three kills.
Outside hitters Ethan Champlin and Brett Wildman, setter Quinn Isaacson and Middle blocker Michael Marshman also made their VNL debuts as substitutes.
May 21, 2024.- Cuba took a major step towards the Paris Olympics with the victory in their VNL debut at a packed Maracanãzinho stadium for the return of legendary head coach ‘Bernardinho’ Rezende who didn’t intimidate Cuba as the Caribbean stunned Brazil in front of nearly 10,000 fans to start the Volleyball Nations League 2024 on the right foot.
Benefiting from an excellent collective performance, the Cubans secured a big 3-1 (25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 25-21) victory over the South Americans in Pool 2 and significantly improved their chances of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
The first national team sitting below the cut-off line, Cuba earned 12.7 points in the Ranking with the victory, going up from 11th to tenth place and getting to 249.66 to now rank just 3.56 points behind Serbia, the last team inside the qualification zone – they can move above the cut-off line on Wednesday if the Serbians lose to Iran in Rio. Despite the upset, Brazil continues in fifth place.
A well-diversified offense was one of the keys to the Cuban victory as five players reached double digits in scoring in the match – outside hitters Marlon Yant (18) and Miguel Ángel López (15), opposite Michael Sánchez (14) and middle blockers Javier Concepcion (13) and Robertlandy Simón (12).
“To win here at the Maracanãzinho, with this atmosphere, it’s crazy,” Simón commented. “We knew we needed good results this week to help us qualify for the Olympics and today was a good start. We need to keep taking it one step at a time. We’ll give everything to make it to Paris.”
Playing aggressively, the Cubans also outscored the Brazilians in blocks (ten to four) and aces (seven to four), paving the way for their victory.
Cuban-born Brazilian outside hitter Yoandy Leal led all scorers with 19 points (17 kills, two aces), with fellow outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli adding another 11, with nine kills, one block and one ace.
May 21, 2024.- After shaking off the nervous energy of the season opener, Canada’s men’s team earned its first win of Volleyball Nations League 2024 in Antalya, Türkiye, today.
The home team of Türkiye won the first set, but couldn’t hold back Canada, who ended up winning 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21).
“We had a very nervous start of the game,” admitted head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo, “but we knew it might have been like this, so we broke the ice and from the second set on, we got back to the game. Step by step we got better and we were good in key moments in the last three sets. Now all the focus is on getting better and improving our game.”
Canada led in attack points 51-44, and services aces 12-5, but was out-blocked by its opponent 5-12. Canada also made more errors: 29-24.
“I think we had some jitters and they played well, and we could have played better in the first set. After that we got in our rhythm and the connections were much better, and we served better after the first set… What’s great about our group is that everyone helps each other,” captain Nick Hoag said in the post-match interview to VBTV. “We’re growing as a team, and playing better set after set.”
Veteran Stephen Maar led scoring with 24 points including five ace serves, followed by relative newcomer Fynn McCarthy with 14 points (including three blocks and three aces).
Canada, ranked 12th is already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the team’s second-place performance in the Olympic Qualifier pool last year. Türkiye is ranked 14th in the world.
Canada next plays world number-one Poland on May 23.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 19, 2024.- United States ended the first round of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on a high note with a sweep (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) of the Dominican Republic on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
United States dominated on the attack, leading the Dominican Republic in kills 51-35. The U.S. also led in aces 4-1. The Dominican led in blocks 11-6 and the teams tied in scoring errors 14-14.
Avery Skinner and Chiaka Ogbogu combined for 30 points, with the outside hitter producing 18 and the middle blocker adding another 12. Outside hitter Brayelin Martínez was the Dominican leading scorer with 11 points.
The 7.96 points earned with the sweep helped the United States gain a spot in the World Rankings, moving up to fourth place. The Dominicans remained in ninth place.
The women will now have a week off in the VNL 2024 before returning to the court from May 28 to June 2. Brazil, the Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand and hosts China will play in Macau while Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Korea, Poland, Serbia, Türkiye and hosts USA will compete in Arlington.
Next week, the men will start their campaigns with pools in Rio de Janeiro (Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan and Serbia) and Antalya (Bulgaria, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Türkiye and USA).
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 19, 2024.- Outside hitter Aleksey Mikhailenko of United States was named the Most Valuable Player of the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship that finished on Sunday at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
MVP, and1st Best Spiker, Aleksey Mikhailenko, USA
Mikailenko was also recognized as the first best spiker of the event along with a list of U.S. players that copped the individual awards during the closing ceremony.
Grant Lamoureaux received the second best spiker award. The two best middle blockers were Roman Payne and Luc Scerensen, Rafael Urbina the best setter, Bluth Lxton the best receiver and Thomas Demps the best server.
Dominicans Malik Britton received the award for best opposite and Yandy Rodriguez was named the best libero and best digger.
Stanley Grant from Costa Rica was the best scorer with a total of 173 points.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 19, 2024. – United States was crowned undefeated champion of the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship after defeating Cuba 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18) in the gold medal match on Sunday at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
In addition to winning the U19 NORCECA title, United States secured their spot in the 2025 age-group FIVB World Championship.
USA finished undefeated with a 5-0 win-loss record, dropping only one set, precisely in this match against Cuba.
Cuba had 4 wins and 2 losses, both against the United States.
The U.S. led in blocks 7-3 and in aces 7-4. Cuba had the advantage in attacks 51-49. United States gave away 23 points on unforced errors while Cuba gave away 32.
Aleksey Mikhailenko USA
Outside hitter Aleksey Mikhailenko with 16 points on 15 kills and one block was the U.S. Middle blocker Roman Payne also contributed to the victory with 12 points, 10 on kills and one ace. Team captain Gran Lamoureux added 10 points.
Middle blocker Luc Soerensen scored a match-high of 4 blocks, and outside hitter Thomas Demps, scored a match-high of 4 aces.
Yosdani Medina CUB
Cuban opposite player Yosdani Medina led all scorers with 21 points on 20 attacks and one ace. Outside hitter Andy Marrero had a tally of 12 points on 11 attacks and one ace.
After the United States won the first two sets, Cuba switched their setter, replacing Ronaldo Flaquet with Daniel Sainz, which led to Cuba reaching a four-point lead (15-11) that the United States could not overcome.
In the fourth set, Aleksey Mikhailenko took charge of United States’ offense scoring 4 consecutive points, along with Thomas Demps in serving, and the championship point was a kill point scored by middle Roman Payne.
Roman Payne, middle blocker of United States: “We communicated really well, had a lot of energy, even on the bench. The court work was amazing, and it felt great scoring the last point. Cuba came out with more energy in the third set, and we were expecting to sweep them, we needed to fire up a little bit more and in the last set we came out stronger, with more attitude”.
Charles Sullivan, Head coach of United States: “Cuba made some adjustments in the third set, brought their other setter in and set a new offense, that was a great move by them, forcing us to make adjustments as well, making it a higher level of fight. The result is a communal effort from all the coaches, all the clinics and all the administration around the United States”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 19, 2024. – Puerto Rico won the bronze medal in five thrilling sets, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9), against Canada in the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The host, Puerto Rico, finished the championship with a 4-1 record, while Canada ended with a 2-4 record.
Puerto Rico dominated in blocks with a comfortable 14-8 margin; however, Canada outperformed in attacks 61-56 and service points 7-1. Puerto Rico benefited from 37 Canadian errors while committing 23.
Jean Paul Gonzalez PUR
Puerto Rico’s offensive attack was led by Jean Paul with 23 points from 22 attacks and one block, followed by outside hitter Gustavo Alvarez with 20 points from 17 attacks and 3 blocks. Adrian Carrillo also contributed to the victory with 10 points from 8 attacks, one block, and one ace. Middle blocker Fernando Castello scored a match-high of 6 points from blocks.
The top scorer of the match was Canadian Reuben Veith with 27 points from 25 attacks, one block, and one ace. Opposite Luke Wright finished with 16 points, and outside hitter Tyson Dezutter added 14 more points.
In the first set, Canada took an early 10-6 lead, but Puerto Rico managed to tie the score at points 21 to 23. Reuben Veith, with an attack point and a service ace, put Canada ahead.
With the support of their home crowd, Puerto Rico jumped to an early lead in both the second and third sets, with middle blocker Fernando Castello closing both sets with block points.
The lead shifted in the fourth and Canada managed to push the match to a tie-break scoring four consecutive points from Puerto Rico’s errors and attacks by Aiden Vandenheuvel and Luke Wright. Puerto Rico dominated the fifth set with the offense efforts of Adrian Carrillo and Gustavo Alvarez.
Carlos De Sevilla, Head coach of Puerto Rico: “I am very satisfied and happy. I give the credit for the medal to the boys who played under pressure in their homeland and performed as they did. In the fifth set, I told them at point 12 that they had worked hard for those last three points, and to fight for them. It is a spectacular bronze medal with a group that is two years below this category”.
Adrián Carrillo, Outside Hitter for Puerto Rico: “We worked hard and gave it our all on the court. We worked as a team, and I think that was the key to winning the bronze medal”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 19, 2024. – Malik Britton scored a record 42 points, leading the Dominican Republic to fifth place in Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship after a five-set victory, 3-2 (23-25, 25-14, 27-25, 21-25, 15-8), over Costa Rica.
Both teams finished the tournament with a record of three wins and three losses. They also faced each other in the preliminary round, but Costa Rica won in four sets.
Malik Britton, who led the Dominican Republic’s scoring throughout the event, recorded 39 powerful kills, 2 blocks, and one service point. Captain Melvin De Jesús contributed 18 points on 13 kills and a match-high of 5 aces. Outside hitter Ramon De Jesús also scored in double digits with 13 points on 10 kills, one block, and two service points.
Malik Zahir Britton DOM
Stanley Grant, the top scorer for Costa Rica, finished the match with 37 points, including 35 attacks and one block. Opposite Ignacio Morales added 10 points on 9 attacks and one block.
Dominican Republic finished with advantages in every skill, attacks 66-52, blocks 9-6, and service points 9-1.
Francisco José Lerebours, Head coach of Dominican Republic: “We achieved our goal of finishing among the top five in the tournament. We will continue with the project, work on improving the fundamentals of the game.” Costa Rica is working very well, and they have a projection like ours. Both matches we played against them were closely contested. Today, the boys’ bravery motivated them to come from behind.
Robertocarlo Argüello, Head coach of Costa Rica: “I think the boys got overconfident. The plan was to finish well, but we failed in some crucial receptions that cost us key points and prevented us from catching up; they have two players who control the jump serve very well (number 2 and number 3).”
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 19, 2024. – Guatemala defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-14) for seventh place in the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship on the final day of the event in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Guatemala finished the tournament with a 1-4 win-loss record, while Suriname ended with a 0-5 record.
Guatemala dominated in attack points 43-28 and service points 9-3. Suriname led in blocks 8-4, allowing more points from errors 19-15.
Guatemala
Outside hitters Boris González and Luis Mendizábal led Guatemala with 17 and 16 points respectively. González scored on 16 attacks and one ace, while Mendizábal contributed with 12 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 aces.
Opposite player Javier Nasibdar was Suriname’s top scorer with 12 points on 11 attacks and one block.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, Head coach of Guatemala: “It was a very tough competition for us. We had good matches and in others we struggled. We managed to get the victory today and we wish to continue working. This was a good experience for everyone, we learned a lot to do better in other competitions. Guatemala is very determined regardless of our opponent, and we have good performances in tournaments”.
Furjil Ong-A-Fat, Head coach of Suriname: “Our performance was bad. We failed in attack y receive, our service was too easy, and we made a lot of errors. We could have played much better; we had a bad match today”.
VNL Week 1 Luke Herr – Winnipeg, MB Brett Walsh – Calgary, AB Ryley Barnes – Edmonton, AB Nicholas Hoag – Sherbrooke, QC Eric Loeppky – Steinbach, MB Stephen Maar – Aurora, ON Pearson Eshenko – Banff, AB Fynn McCarthy – Lake Country, BC Danny Demyanenko – Toronto, ON Lucas Van Berkel – Edmonton, AB Xander Ketrzynski – Toronto, ON Arthur Szwarc – Toronto, ON Landon Currie – Coldstream, BC Justin Lui – Pickering, ON Reserve: Jordan Schnitzer – Surrey, BC
Staff: Head coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo Assistant coach: Joao Paolo Bravo Assistant coach: Michael Hawkins Strength and conditioning: Michael Cook Performance analyst: Damian Musiak Athletic therapist: Schad Richea Chiropractor: Abe Avender Team manager: Cassandra Nicol Director, high performance: Julien Boucher
OMAHA, Nebraska, May 18, 2024. – No. 2 seed Omaha came out strong and never looked back, sweeping No. 4 seed Grand Rapids, 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-22) to win the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Championship.
The match was played before 10,678 fans at the CHI Health Center and resulted in the team also earning the $1 million bonus that goes with capturing the league crown.
Supernovas setter Sydney Hilley was awarded Postseason Most Valuable Player honors and a $10,000 bonus. The Wisconsin graduate came off the bench to guide the Omaha offense to two victories. She recorded 40 assists and six digs in the three sets as the Supernovas hit .342 for their second highest hitting percentage of the season. That effort was after handing out 46 assists and adding nine digs in a reverse sweep over San Diego in the semifinals.
Saturday marked the third sweep in the month of May for the Supernovas. Omaha had three sweeps combined in the previous three months.
The Supernovas began the first set strong, jumping out to leads of 8-4 and 16-8 before winning 25-13. Brooke Nuneviller had six points in the set, leading the team to a .650 attack percentage. No individual had more than two points in that set for the Rise.
It was tighter in the second set, as Omaha edged Grand Rapids 26-24. The Rise’s Claire Chaussee led all players with six points in the set, while Bethania De La Cruz and Tori Dixon topped the Supernovas with five points apiece.
Omaha scored the first three points of the third set. Grand Rapids played catch up for most of the frame before a pair of Omaha attack errors allowed the Rise to finally draw even at 19-19. Emiliya Dimitrova, playing in her last match after 17 professional seasons, notched her final pro kill to level the score at 20-20 before Omaha pulled away and won the final set, 25-22.
Olympian Bethania de la Cruz paced the Omaha attackers with 13 kills on a .423 clip to go with eight digs and her league-leading 35th ace of the season. Stephanie Samedy matched her teammate with 13 kills on a .346 hitting percentage. Samedy finished the postseason with 43 total kills on a .391 clip in two matches with 13 digs, three blocks and two aces. Team captain Brooke Nuneviller was the third Supernovas player to reach double-digit kills with 12 along with 15 digs.
Grand Rapids was led by star attackers Claire Chaussee and Dimitrova. Chaussee totaled 12 kills and seven digs while Dimitrova added 12 kills and 11 digs.
The match marked only the second time the Rise were swept this season. The other 3-0 defeat came on April 28 at the Columbus Fury.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 18, 2024.- Canada wrapped up the first week of Volleyball Nations League in style with a decisive win over Thailand in Rio, Brazil on Saturday.
Thailand had moments of energy but couldn’t hold back the powerful Canadians who took the match in four sets 3-1 (25-21, 25-13, 20-25, 25-17).
“There are no easy games in this tournament. Tonight, we knew we had to be patient in attack and clean on block. Thailand’s defense was outstanding and made it difficult to score, but our team shared the load tonight to get over the line,” said head coach Shannon Winzer. “We couldn’t ask for a better first round and we’ve laid a strong foundation from which we can keep pursuing our goal of qualifying for Paris.”
Top scorer was Kiera Van Ryk (22 points), who is leading VNL with 85 points so far.
Van Ryk told VBTV: “Obviously we would have liked to do it in three (sets), but Thailand came back and fought hard… it was up and down and it’s not the cleanest volleyball, but I’m proud of the way we came out and fought to the end and did the job that we needed to do. … everyone’s got their job and they are doing it well. It’s a team win.”
The teams were even in attack points 53-53, but Canada dominated in block points 13-1; serves 5-3, and Thailand made more crucial errors 24-19.
Canada wraps up the first leg of VNL with an impressive 3-1 record, and next competes in Arlington, Texas, later this month.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 18, 2024. – Cuba advanced to the gold medal match of the Boys U19 NORCECA U19 Continental Championship with a thrilling five-set victory 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-8) over host Puerto Rico on Saturday night at Salvador Dijols Coliseum.
In the title match, Cuba will face United States again, whom they lost to in straight sets during the pool-play. The NORCECA Champion earns a berth to the 2025 FIVB World Championship.
Puerto Rico will face Canada for the tournament’s bronze medal.
There were many inconsistencies from both teams, where Cuba secured their spot in the final with a comfortable 15-8 tie-break win, outscoring Puerto Rico 10-4 in attack points in that set.
Although Puerto Rico controlled in the blocking category (11-9), Cuba’s significant advantage in attacks (67-49) made the difference. Cuba had a slight margin in serving (6-5). Cuba committed fewer unforced errors than Puerto Rico (23-28).
Cuban Andy Marrero blocks Gustavo Alvarez of Puerto Rico
Andy Marrero led Cuba’s offense with 26 points, 24 from attacks, one block, and one ace. Opposite Yosdani Medina totaled 21 points, 20 from attacks, and one ace. Outside hitter Alessandro González added 15 points and team captain, setter Ronaldo Flaquet contributed 10 more points.
Outside hitters Adrián Carrillo and Gustavo Alvarez each scored 12 points for Puerto Rico. Maximiliano Aponte contributed 11 points.
Ronaldo Flaquet, Captain of Cuba: “We have struggled a lot in every match, but the important thing is that we have come out ahead. We have fought every match to the end, just as we showed today. We wanted to secure a spot in the World Championship. We owe the victory to our determination, effort, and powerful attacks.”
Carlos De Sevilla, Head coach of Puerto Rico: “This group is under 17, we are two or one year younger than the opposing team. I am satisfied with the game; we came from behind and were able to close the second and fourth sets. I think the inexperience in the fifth set was evident. We battled until the end, gave a good show, and represented Puerto Rico with dignity.”
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 18, 2024. – United States outlasted Canada 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 29-27) in a hard-fought semifinal match at the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship on Saturday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The U.S. will face the winner between Puerto Rico and Cuba for NORCECA U19 gold and a berth to the 2025 FIVB World Championship.
United States was challenged by a scrappy Canadian team that lost three set points (24-23), battling to force a fourth set in a dramatic finish.
United States led in attack points (43-34) and in aces (5-3). Both teams were tied with 11 blocks each. United States gave away 26 points on errors, while Canada gave away a total of 21.
Outside hitter Aleksey Mikhailenko closed the first and second sets with a huge kill, while team captain Gran Lamoureux hit against the Canadian block to seal the match.
Mikhailenko led United States with 14 points (13 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 ace), followed by Lamoureux with 11 points, all on kills. Middle blocker Luc Soerensen contributed to the winning effort with 10 points (6 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 ace).
United States celebrates semifinal win
The top scorer of the match was Canadian team captain Reuben Veith with 17 points (13 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 ace). Outside hitter Tyson DeZutter and opposite Luke Wright added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Charles Sullivan, Head coach of United States: “It was a dramatic finish. Just one more rally, they were so close, and we weren’t at our best, but we kept trying. Everyone was there, but they are all learning. Overall, we are qualifying for worlds, and we will wear USA on our back representing a great community in our country, volleyball is strong, and we are passionate, great high school coaches and it’s all part of what happened here today”.
Dan Ota, Head coach of Canada: “We just lack composure in critical moments and late in each set. The guys were a little tight because they were thinking of the win instead of what we need to do at the moment. We did a good job executing our game plan. USA has an excellent team and we made it difficult for Lamoureux (#20) and Keane (#11) towards in performing their normal game. Unfortunately, we were so close and it’s mostly about mental decisions or miscommunication, it’s normal for a young team. I am proud of how they fought against a tough opponent. There’s still tomorrow’s match and if it gives a chance for worlds, we will be ready”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 18, 2024. – The Dominican Republic will face Costa Rica for fifth place at the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship after defeating Suriname 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-18).
The Dominican Republic and Costa Rica will meet for the second time in the tournament; in pool-play Costa Rica won 3-1. Suriname will face Guatemala for positions seven and eight.
After a shaky start for the Dominican Republic, trailing by five points (6-11), they managed to recover with their attack, finishing with a significant advantage of 49-23.
The Dominicans also led in blocking 8-6, but Suriname was more effective in serving 4-3 and committed fewer errors 6-11.
The top scorer for Dominican Republic was their captain Melvin De Jesus with a match-high of 25 points on 18 attacks, a match-high of 5 blocks, and two aces. Opposite Malik Britton scored 16 points, all on kills, and outside hitter Ramón De Jesus added 12 points, also on kills.
Suriname blocks Dominican Britton Sosa
Middle blocker Jahmit Jambo was the top scorer for Suriname with 9 points.
Melvin De Jesus, captain of the Dominican Republic: “We entered with too much confidence, and that complicated the first set for us. We started to develop our game to improve, and things turned out well. Our defense and strong blocking were what helped us win. Tomorrow, we face Costa Rica again, and we are going for revenge; we will fight hard. We need our blocking to work.”
Jahmit Jambo, top scorer of Suriname: “In the first set we had the motivation to play, but in the other sets we lacked energy. We tried to pull through and keep the players hype, but it didn’t work for us. Tomorrow, we need a fighting spirit to win, and also, we need the pass and block to be better”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 18, 2024. – Costa Rica defeated Guatemala in straight sets 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-5) and will play for fifth place of the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
On Sunday, Costa Rica will face the winner between Suriname and the Dominican Republic for fifth place in the event; Guatemala will face the loser for seventh place.
In pool-play, Costa Rica also defeated Guatemala but in four sets.
Stanley Grant spikes against Guatemala
Costa Rica dominated their Central American rival without difficulty, with advantages in kills 43-21, in blocks 8-3 and 5-1 in aces. Costa Rica benefited from 63 errors by Guatemala compared to their 34.
Three Costa Rican players scored double digits, led by captain Eytan Vargas with 18 points, outside hitter Stanley Grant with 15 points, and opposite Ignacio Morales with 13 points.
Robertocarlo Argüello, Coach of Costa Rica: “We wanted to finish the match quickly because tomorrow is an important day. In the previous match, we made some changes that cost us a set against Guatemala. Yesterday, we couldn’t win against Canada, and it was very exhausting, so we are aiming for fifth place tomorrow.”
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 17, 2024. – Cuba triumphed in quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 28-26, 25-14) and will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals of the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Cuba will face host Puerto Rico in the semifinals, while United States and Canada will compete in the other semifinal. Dominican Republic will play in the classification matches for positions 5 to 8, starting with Suriname.
Cuba overcame a determined Dominican team that managed to extend the match by repeatedly tying the scores in the second and third sets.
Cuba defeated Dominican Republic with an advantage in attack points 59 to 48, a blocking difference of 10 to 6, and service points 9 to 2. The Dominicans capitalized on 24 points from Cuban errors and conceded 20 from their own errors.
Alessandro Gonzalez Fuentes of Cuba attacks
Cuba’s offense was led by outside hitter Andy Marrero with 24 points on18 attacks, 2 blocks, and a match-high of 4 service points. Outside hitter Alessandro González added 18 points on 14 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 aces. Opposite Yosdani Medina also contributed to the victory with 17 points on 14 attacks and 3 blocks.
Dominican opposite Malik Britton was the top scorer of the match with 29 points (26 attacks, 2 blocks, and one service point). The other Dominican player with double digits was captain Melvin De Jesús with 14 points.
Lian Sem Estrada, Coach of Cuba: “I congratulate the Dominican Republic for their total commitment and spectacular defensive work. We were able to press with our attack, and the Dominican libero performed admirably. At times, we fell into their game, but little by little we regained our playing system. Our attack managed to score in key points, the players wanted the win, and both teams knew how to fight”.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, May 17, 2024. – The U.S. Women’s National Team had its comeback come up short on Friday as it fell to Brazil 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19) in at Volleyball Nations League (VNL) preliminary match in Rio de Janeiro.
The U.S. Women (1-2) will finish their first round of VNL preliminary matches on at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday against the Dominican Republic (1-2).
A crowd of more than 9,000 filled the Maracanazinho to watch the rematch of the Tokyo 2020 gold medal match.
Outside hitter Jordan Larson led the U.S. scoring with 17 points on 15 kills, one block and one ace. But no other U.S. player scored in double figures.
“Playing Brazil in Brazil; it’s an honor to play in a country that loves volleyball this much,” said U.S. setter Jordyn Poulter, who scored four points. “We’re still trying to figure things out. We use VNL a lot differently than other countries do. We’re trying to be good in two months, not necessarily put it all together right now.”
The U.S. Women led Brazil in blocks (14-11) and aces (5-4). Brazil led in kills (54-50) and scored 24 points on U.S. errors while committing just 13.
The U.S. could not slow down Brazil’s outside hitter Gabi Guimaraes, who finished with 24 points.
Outside hitter Ali Frantti started the first two sets and scored nine points, including eight kills. Avery Skinner took over for Frantti and also scored nine points, including eight kills.
Middle blocker Brionne Butler scored eight points, including a match-high five blocks. Middle Chiaka Ogbogu also had eight points, including two blocks.
Opposite Danielle Cuttino started the first two sets and scored six points, including two blocks. Madi Skinner started the final two sets at opposite and also scored six points.
Outside hitter Sarah Wilhite Parsons played as a substitute and scored one point. Middle Anna Stevenson Hall started the third set and scored one point but had to leave after being hit in the head by an attack.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 17, 2024.- Canada’s women’s team was able to beat higher-ranked China today in Rio, Brazil. This comes on the heels of a win over Dominican Republic last night, bringing the team to a 2-1 record so far in Volleyball Nations League.
Though China (now ranked 7th) beat perennial favourite USA (ranked 3rd) in its matchup yesterday, today they came up short against 11th ranked Canada 1-3 (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25). Both teams are still aiming to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“Being able to back up last night’s performance (over Dominican Republic) with another big showing against another top team is huge,” said Canada’s head coach Shannon Winzer. “We are showing up with fierce determination and it’s fun to be a part of that. Tonight, our serving was ruthless, and key to disrupt China’s offense. Our middles did a great job of slowing down their attack and our hitters remained aggressive in key moments. I also cannot credit our subs enough for the jobs they did tonight, making an impact each time!”
China led in attack points 61-58, but Canada edged them out in blocking (8-6) and had an impressive service point record (13-6) but made more errors 19-16.
Canadian outside hitter Kiera Van Ryk has an impressive match-high 27 points, while teammate Alexa Gray contributed 21 points.
China’s Y.Y. Li scored 24 points, including 3 aces, for the losing side.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
Seven women’s teams are already qualified for the Games. The remaining five places are filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB World Ranking as of the end of the preliminary phase of Volleyball Nations League.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 17, 2024. – Canada advanced to the Boys U19 NORCECA U19 Continental Championship semifinals after a five-set victory 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) on Friday at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
It was a match of highs and lows, with extraordinary performances by both teams. Costa Rica led in all sets except the first. Canada recovered from a three-point deficit (10-13), just two points away from Costa Rica sealing the win in the fifth set.
Canada’s significant 14 to 4 advantage in block points and 69 to 58 in attack points was crucial in pushing the team to the semifinals, despite conceding 42 error points compared to Costa Rica’s 20. Canada also had a 4-2 advantage in service points.
Canada’s top scorer was team captain, Reuben Veith, with 30 points (29 attacks, 1 block). He was joined by opposite Luke Wright with 24 points (20 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 service) and middle Grayson McDonald with 10 points (7 attacks, 3 blocks). Middle Simon Tate scored the highest with 5 blocking points.
Luke Wright of Canada atacks against Stanley Grant Brown of Costa Rica
Stanley Grant once again led Costa Rica’s scoring, finishing with 30 points, all from attacks. Opposite Ignacio Morales added 15 points (12 attacks, 2 blocks, 1 service), and outside hitter Jean Paul Vargas contributed 11 points.
Dan Ota, Head Coach of Canada: “I don’t think that was the way we planned the game to go. This is a young team that is learning to play together. I am proud of how they played when it got difficult. Sometimes we aren’t playing well, but the boys are starting to discover this ability to come back, fighting and if they keep fighting, they’re never out of the game. I hope this match will continue to encourage them because that’s the Canadian style. Today people who got to watch the game enjoyed good volleyball. I like to give credit to Costa Rica, they are an excellent team, they have some excellent players who pushed us to our absolute limit”.
Eytan Vargas, Captain of Costa Rica: “We had a lot of adrenaline, we lost our focus a bit, there was excitement in leading the entire match, it’s part of learning and part of the game. We are a very young group. I believe there were points that shouldn’t have been called. We accept the loss, we must keep working, correct the mistakes, hold our heads high, and make Costa Rica proud”.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, May 16, 2024.– The U.S. Women’s National Team fell to China 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19) on Thursday at the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) at the Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro.
The U.S. Women (1-1) will look to bounce back against host Brazil (2-0) on Friday at 5 p.m. PT.
While the U.S. Women have already qualified for the Olympic Games, China (2-0) has not and is looking to qualify via its world ranking at the end of VNL.
Led by outside hitter Li Yinying (20 kills) and setter Wang Yuanyuan (eight blocks), China was strong at the net, leading the U.S. in kills (60-58) and blocks (12-6). The U.S. Women led in aces (5-4). The U.S. scored on 22 Chinese errors and committed 20.
Opposite Danielle Cuttino led the U.S. scoring with 19 points on 16 kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Jordan Larson added 18 points on 16 kills (.411 hitting efficiency), one block and one ace.
“We had moments where we were grooving,” Larson told Volleyball World. “We know what we need to do to get better. I am proud of us for sticking through it.”
Outside hitter Avery Skinner scored 14 points on 12 kills, one block and one ace. She was also credited with 14 digs and 11 successful receptions.
Middle blocker Anna Stevenson Hall added nine points on seven kills, one block and one ace.
Middle Chiaka Ogbogu totaled five points on four kills and one ace. Middle Brionne Butler, who subbed for Ogbogu in the third set and finished the match, scored three points on three kills.
Setter Lauren Carlini scored one point with a kill. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 11 digs and seven successful receptions.
Outside hitters Ali Frantti and Sarah Wilhite Parsons also played as substitutes.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 16, 2024.- Canada’s women’s team earned its first win at the 2024 edition of Volleyball Nations League against a familiar tough opponent, Dominican Republic. But the Dominican team couldn’t hold back a determined Canada, ending in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22) sweep in Rio, Brazil.
“It was a good solid game for us,” said head coach Shannon Winzer. “We felt in control the first two sets, playing aggressive but calm volleyball. Winning in three was really important because we wanted to maximize the world ranking points, so when we fell behind in the third with a shaky start it was great to see the players battle with a sense of urgency to come back and take the third set.”
Canada led in attack points 43-37, blocks 7-6 and ace serves 4-1. Dominican Republic also made more errors than Canada 21-19. Alexa Gray led Canada in scoring with 19 points and Kiera Van Ryk had 18.
Winzer commented: “Our service pressure was much better tonight (than against Brazil yesterday), as was our block/defense. China is next and they are a very tough team to beat in system, we will need to bring our best serving game tomorrow!”
Dominican Republic is qualified for Paris 2024, while Canada is battling for each set and match to qualify via ranking points.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
Seven women’s teams are already qualified for the Games. The remaining five places are filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB World Ranking as of the end of the preliminary phase of Volleyball Nations League.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, MY 16, 2024.- Puerto Rico earned a direct ticket to the Boys U19 NORCECA semifinals after defeating Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-13) on Thursday at Salvador Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico advanced to Saturday’s semifinal as undefeated (3-0) winner of pool B. Dominican Republic finished third with a 2-1 record and will face Cuba, runner-up in pool A, in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Costa Rica, second in pool B, will play quarterfinals against Canada, third in pool A.
Puerto Rico came from behind in the first set (7-10), managing to pull ahead up to point 12 after six consecutive Dominican errors. In the following two sets, the home team had no difficulties securing the victory in straight sets.
Kelvin Miguel Mercedes Zorrilla DOM y Adrian Alejandro Carrillo PUR
Puerto Rico held a 40 to 33 advantage in attack points, 5 to 4 in block points, and three to one in aces. Puerto Rico scored 27 points from Dominican errors and gave away 12.
Puerto Rico’s captain, Jean Paul González, led all scorers with 19 points on 18 attacks and one block.
Opposite hitter Malik Britton led Dominican Republic with 14 points on 13 attacks and one block.
Ignacio Cruz, libero of Puerto Rico: “In the first set we made quite a few errors, but thanks to our concentration we were able to pull through and win the match. We adjusted our blocking because they have tall players, like Malik Britton, and that allowed us to defend well. We are taking it step by step because our goal is to reach the final match”.
Malik Britton, top scorer of Dominican Republic: “We started with good energy, but we couldn’t maintain it in the last two sets. In the next round, we will fight with a positive attitude”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 16, 2024. – Stanley Grant capitalized on 32 points in Costa Rica’s 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-19) over Guatemala to advance to the next round of the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Outside hitter Stanley Grant scored 32 points on 31 attacks and one direct service point, leading Costa Rica to the next round with a record of 2 wins and one loss, awaiting to know their final position in Group B.
Guatemala will compete in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.
In the third set, Guatemala took advantage of Costa Rica’s errors (7-4) to tie the score up to point 22, forcing a fourth set with a 2-0 advantage in blocking and 3-2 in service.
Stanley Grant CRC
Alongside Stanley, the other Costa Rican player with double digits, was opposite hitter Ignacio Sánchez who contributed 11 points.
Outside hitters Boris González and Juan Carlos Menéndez led Guatemala with 16 points each. González scored all points from kills and Menéndez with 14 kills and 2 service points.
Costa Rica held the advantage in attack (62-45) and blocking (8-5). Guatemala prevailed in service (7-5) and committed fewer unforced errors (16-19).
Stanley Grant, Costa Rica’s top scorer: “It’s an honor to represent Costa Rica and contribute to advancing to the next round. I feel that today we could have done better, maybe it could have been a 3-0 victory, but we were overconfident because we’ve been doing things so well, still, we achieved the goal. I am very satisfied, and we will give a good battle if we continue to follow the coach’s instructions”.
Juan Carlos Menéndez, outside hitter of Guatemala: “It has been a high-level tournament. Our performance could have been better, we need to have better communication”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 16, 2024. – United States defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-18) with dominant blocking (16-4) to advance directly to the semifinals of the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
United States won pool A undefeated (3-0) and advanced directly to Saturday’s semifinals. Cuba with a 2-1 record will compete in Friday’s quarterfinals against third place from pool B.
Despite Cuba scoring three consecutive points to recover in the first set (19-23), their efforts were not enough.
Aleksey Mikahailenko
The dominant blocking (16-4) of the United States stopped Cuba, which equaled 32 attacking points with the Americans. United States had a slim margin in direct service points 7-6. Both teams conceded 12 points on unforced errors.
The top scorers for the U.S. were outside hitter Aleksey Mikahailenko and middle blocker Roman Payne with 14 points each. Mikahailenko scored on 10 attacks, 3 blocks, and one ace , while Payne with 4 attacks, a match-high of 9 blocks, and three aces. Grant Lamoureux added 11 points (7 attacks, one block, 3 aces).
Alessandro González led Cuba with 11 points on 8 attacks, 2 blocks, and one direct service point.
Grant Lamoureux, Captain of United States: “We played very well tonight. A lot of energy, a lot of teamwork, we played really well. We controlled most of the pace, we just had the energy on our side. We’re looking forward to playing the semifinals who ever team we face”.
Alessandro González, Cuba’s top scorer: “We had many flaws. Now we must move forward since the tournament has several phases. We need to improve in every skill, along with having more competitiveness and reducing unforced errors”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 16, 2024. – Canada advanced to quarterfinals after a 3-1 victory (25-13, 22-25, 25-7, 28-26) over Suriname at the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Canada secured third place in pool B with a 1-2 win-loss record and will compete for a spot in the semifinals on Saturday against the team finishing second in pool A. Suriname concludes the pool-play with 0-3 record and will play classification matches for positions 5 to 8.
After a strong first set victory for Canada, Suriname surprised the northern team evening the scores with solid blocking and offensive attacks at the net. Canada returned mentally and physically stronger to win the third set by a huge margin (25-7). Canada survived a dramatic fourth set after Suriname overcame a seven-point deficit (16-23) and then lost a set point.
Reuben Veith CAN
Canada led in kills 58-25, in blocks with a slim 8-7 margin, and had a comfortable 9-5 advantage in service points. Canada gave away 34 points on errors against 24 from Suriname.
Canadian team captain Reuben Veith led all scorers with 15 points on 13 kills, one block, and one ace. Opposite hitter Luke Wright added 14 points on 9 kills, 2 blocks, and a match-high of 3 ace points. Outside hitter Kai Miles contributed 10 points.
Suriname’s top scorer was Gianni Ritfeld with 11 points.
Luke Wright, outside hitter of Canada: “Our energy was shifting a lot during the match and in the third set it kind of locked in and did our best. Now in the next our talking, defense-service and blocking-defense need to improve mostly”.
Roberto Benschop, libero of Suriname: “We had ups and downs. I told my team that if Canada went on a service run, we were going to lose because it was going to be very hard to comeback from 4 or 5 points. We played point for point in the second and fourth set, receive-pass-attack. We were pretty close in the fourth set because of our fighting spirt; we did a very good job against a highly competitive team like Canada”.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 15, 2024.- The Dominican Republic Women’s Volleyball Team, known as “Las Reinas del Caribe,” got off to a good start in their Volleyball Nations League debut by defeating the reigning world champion Serbia 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20) in a Pool 2 clash.
On Thursday, the Dominican team will face Canada in their second VNL match at eight in the evening (Dominican time).
This is the second consecutive victory for Las Reinas del Caribe against Serbia, as they also defeated them last September in the Pre-Olympic Tournament held in China, where the Caribbean team secured their fourth ticket to the Paris Olympic Games. Serbia’s main player, Tijana Boskovic, did not play.
The victory over a higher-ranked opponent earned the Dominicans 9.86 points in the FIVB World Rankings and made them regain eighth place from Japan. Serbia dropped the same amount of points, but remained in fourth place.
Dominican Republic scored 56 attacks, while Serbia managed 38. Serbia led in blocks 14-12 and in serves 4-3.
Dominican Yonkaira Peña topped all scorers with 18 points (16 kills, one block, one ace), one more than fellow outside hitter Brayelin Martínez and opposite Gaila Gonzalez.
Opposite Ana Bjelica led Serbia’s offense with 15 points (12 kills, two blocks, one ace).
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, May 16, 2024. – The U.S. Women’s National Team opened the 2024 Volleyball Nations League with a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-12, 25-18) on Wednesday at the Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro.
The U.S. Women (1-0) will face China (1-0) in their second Preliminary Round match at 1:30 p.m. PT on Thursday.
Three-time NCAA champion Madi Skinner made her debut with the U.S. Women, playing opposite instead of her usual outside hitter. She led all scorers with 19 points on 12 kills, four blocks and a match-high three aces.
“My teammates supported me through and through,” Skinner told Volleyball World. “They gave me a lot of confidence as we were training throughout the last week.”
Overall, the U.S. Women led Thailand in kills (53-49), blocks (12-1) and aces (8-4). Nevertheless, Thailand used tough passing and digging, and took advantage of nine U.S. errors, to win the second set.
“Thailand is a great team and can be very dangerous at any time,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly told Volleyball World. “We were a little too error prone in that second game and we (needed) to get back to our steadiness.”
The U.S. Women also had setter Jordyn Poulter back in the lineup after a yearlong absence while she rehabbed from a knee injury she suffered while playing for her Italian club team. She and backup setter Lauren Carlini, who subbed in the second set, combined to help the team to a .364 hitting efficiency.
Behind Madi Skinner, outside hitter Ali Frantti scored 14 points on 13 kills and one ace. Madi Skinner’s sister Avery Skinner scored 11 points on nine kills, one block and one ace at outside hitter.
Middle blocker Anna Stevenson Hall totaled 12 points on nine kills, one block and two aces. Middle Brionne Butler totaled 10 points on six kills and four blocks. Poulter added two points on a kill and block.
Libero Zoe Fleck made her senior team debut and was credited with 12 digs and six successful receptions.
Backup outside hitter Sarah Wilhite Parsons scored two points on a kill and ace. Substitute opposite Danielle Cuttino scored two points on a kill and block.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, 15 de mayo de 2024.- Puerto Rico struggled to defeat Guatemala 3-1 (25-13, 26-24, 24-26, 25-21) and secure their second victory.
Puerto Rico leads group B with 2-0 record and will end pool-play against Dominican Republic (1-1). Guatemala, with 0-2, will face Costa Rica (1-1).
The host team had no trouble winning the first set, but in the following sets, they followed Guatemala’s system of play and struggled to close the match.
Thanks to a significant advantage in blocking (15-5) and effective kills (54-38), Puerto Rico overpowered Guatemala. Puerto Rico also had the advantage in serving (9-6) but committed more unforced errors (35-22).
Jean Paul Gonzalez PUR
Three players from Puerto Rico registered double digits, outside hitters Jean Paul González (18pts) and Gustavo Alvarez (16pts), followed by middle blocker Jorge Suárez (13pts).
Brothers Boris and Jorge González, both outside hitters, scored 12 and 11 points respectively for Guatemala. Opposite hitter Luis Mendizabal contributed 10 points.
Carlos De Sevilla, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “When the opponent’s game rhythm changes, the team must adapt, and we didn’t know how to do it. It was a game of many errors, especially forced errors. We need to improve against teams that don’t apply service pressure, that play a slow game; we couldn’t adapt. I’m not satisfied. We need to practice hard”.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, Head Coach of Guatemala: “It was an interesting game. Yesterday we could have won, and today the boys came with greater desire. We tried to do our best despite missing players who couldn’t be here due to visa problems; it has been complex. Tomorrow is a match that we have to prepare well for against Costa Rica”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 15, 2024. – Costa Rica notched its first victory in the Boys U19 NORCECA Championship after defeating Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-22, 29-27, 22-25, 25-19) at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Costa Rica improved its record to 1-1 in group B, Dominican Republic has the same record. On the last day of the preliminary round, Costa Rica will face Guatemala and the Dominican Republic will play against Puerto Rico.
The second and third placed teams will play in the quarterfinal round and the group winner moves into semifinals.
Costa Rica took an early lead in every set. In the second set, Dominican Republic recovered from a five-point deficit (7-12) for a dramatic 29-27 finish for the Central Americans. The Dominicans extended the match to a fourth set, but Costa Rica gained more confidence to secure the victory.
The match was a battle between the top scorers so far in the tournament, Britton and Stanley from the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica respectively.
Malik Britton DOM
Malik Britton scored an impressive 41 points, a record in this category, with 39 attacks and two blocks; while Stanley Grant capitalized on 30 points from 26 attacks, one block, and three service points.
Middle blocker Josué Bolaños and opposite hitter Ignacio Sánchez also contributed to Costa Rica’s victory with 11 and 10 points respectively. Meanwhile, outside hitter Melvin De Jesús contributed 13 points for the Dominican Republic.
Costa Rica performed better in service points, leading 6-4, and committed fewer errors, 18-28. The Dominican Republic led in attacks, 61-55, and in blocks, 8-7.
Roberto Carlo Argüello, Head Coach of Costa Rica: “Dominican Republic has a very good opposite hitter, and they are a strong team. The plan was to put pressure on the serve so that the ball would be separated from the net, so it would be uncomfortable for them to attack over it; the boys followed the plan. We struggled in the third set due to anxiety, but we managed to control it in the fourth to lead by a difference of 3 or 4 points”.
Francisco Lerebours, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic: “My team is young and therefore inconsistent in attacking, which complicates our games. We are learning to score consecutive points and to be able to pull away on the scoreboard. Our reception failed us”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 15, 2024. – Cuba staged a comeback from a two-set deficit in a 3-2 victory (19-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13) over Canada on the second day of action at the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship being held in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Cuba, with a 2-0 record, will compete for the top spot in pool A against the United States (2-0) on Thursday. Canada (0-2) will face Suriname (0-2) for a spot in the quarterfinals.
After winning the third set, Cuba came from behind in the fourth (16-20) to force a fifth set, which remained close until point 11 when Cuba’s attack sealed the victory.
Andy Lazaro CUB
Cuba finished with a 54-45 advantage in points from kills, while Canada led in blocks 17-11 and service points 7-5. Cuba committed more errors than Canada (39-37).
Opposite hitter Yosdani Medina of Cuba scored a match-high of 28 points (27 attacks, one service), and was the only player from the Cuban squad with double digits.
On Canada’s side, team captain Reuben Veith scored 21 points (12 attacks, 6 blocks, 3 services). Opposite hitter Luke Wright contributed with 12 points.
Lian Sem Estrada, Head coach Cuba: “The game got complicated at the beginning because it was the first time they faced a team of higher level. The players knew how to follow the instructions of all the coaches and went out to fight for the game. What we did better than Canada was the fighting spirit and determination”.
Dan Ota, Head coach Canada: “I think it was a much better performance than yesterday. I am very proud of this team for only their second match together to push Cuba, who is a very strong volleyball country, who showed their quality in the second half of the match and were difficult to stop. This is a young group, and we are only going to get better as the tournament develops. We want to play more exciting games like this one”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 15, 2024. – The United States dominated Suriname with a commanding 14-2 advantage in serves, securing their second consecutive victory in the NORCECA Men’s U19 Championship with a 3-0 scoreline (25-13, 25-11, 25-16).
The United States now holds a record of two wins and no losses in pool A, while Suriname stands at 0-2. The Americans conclude the pool-play against Cuba. Pool winners advancing directly to the semifinals.
Luc Soerensen y Thomas Demps USA block
In the first set, the United States quickly jumped to a 15-6 lead, maintaining control until the end. In the second set, Keane Cooper scored four consecutive aces for a 20-10 lead, while Thomas Demps joined the offensive in serving during the third.
In addition to outscoring Suriname in serves, the United States held a 27-10 advantage in attacks and an 8-2 lead in blocks. Both teams gave away 26 points on unforced errors.
The leading scorer was opposite hitter Thomas Demps of the United States with 14 points, the only player in double digits in the match. Keane Cooper contributed 9 points, 4 of which were aces.
Thomas Demps USA
Thomas Demps, top scorer of United States: “It feels great to have a second win here. Today I had good shots selection, Malak always gave me great sets and put me in position to score. I’ve been working on the serves a long time, so I am really happy it’s paying off here. This is my first international tournament and it’s really fun”.
Charles Sullivan, head coach of United States: “We just stay positive with errors, because we know we are learning a lot of new stuff, we’re improving every part of our game. Tomorrow is a big match against Cuba, they have a great program, and they have a great culture, so we are really excited”.
Gianni Ritfeld, top scorer of Suriname: “Everything is about experience, the U.S. players play a lot more than we do, what we can learn from them is about “timing” (when to hit and when to tip). This is a learning process for all the team, we could have taken our time and played better. The second set was much better, I’m pleased about that”.
The hosts were surprised by the tenacity and defense of the Central American team, whose powerful attack forced an exciting tie-break. In the fourth set, Costa Rica gained a wide eight-point lead (13-5), which later extended to twelve points (19-7), leaving Puerto Rico with no options.
The home team came out determined in the fifth set, quickly advancing to a six-point lead (10-4) to secure the victory.
Puerto Rico outperformed Costa Rica 65 to 61 in attacks, in addition to a slim difference in blocks (13-12) and a 7 to 2 in service points. Costa Rica committed fewer errors than Puerto Rico (18-21).
Gustavo Alvarez PUR
Puerto Rico was led by outside hitter Gustavo Álvarez with 26 points, 22 from attacks, 3 blocks, and one ace. Team captain Jean Paul González added 15 points, middle blocker Jorge Suarez scored 14 points, and outside hitter Adrián Carrillo contributed 13 points.
Outside hitter Stanley Grant finished with a match-high of 32 points, on 31 attacks and one ace. Opposite Ignacio Sánchez recorded 15 points from 12 attacks and three blocks. Middle blocker Josué Bolaños contributed 10 points, 6 on attacks, and a maximum of 4 blocks.
Jean Paul González, captain of Puerto Rico: “We fought hard throughout the match. I think we got a bit overconfident, and Costa Rica played very well, reading our plays. We put all our energy into closing out the fifth set decisively”.
Eytan Vargas, captain of Costa Rica: “I feel like we did things right; however, we let the match slip away by making more mistakes than they did (Puerto Rico). Ultimately, the one who makes fewer mistakes is the one who wins. The best part of the match was the motivation; we enjoyed the game the whole time and disrupted them. The tournament is just beginning; we’ll do better”.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil May 14, 2024.- Canada’s women’s team opened its Volleyball Nations League 2024 campaign in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday evening.
It was a hard-fought 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 26-24, 25-12) win for the world-ranked number three Brazil home team, with Canada still fighting for an Olympic spot, and is at 11th spot in rankings (as of May 15).
“Playing Brazil in Brazil is tough. I thought we battled hard the first three sets. For a first game it was a solid performance. We need to clean up our serving and our block/defense, but I think we set a high standard for the competition in the first game and it’s a solid start from which to build,” said Canada’s head coach Shannon Winzer.
Though Canada led in attack points (55-53), Brazil dominated in blocking (15-5) and Brazil earned more points from errors (27-20); the teams were equal in service points (5-5).
Alexa Gray led Canada’s scoring with 23 points (23 kills, one block, on ace). Kiera Van Ryk contributed with 18 points, two on aces.
Photo FIVB Jazmine White CAN
“The road to qualification is going to be long,” admits Winzer. “We have another 11 games to play in VNL. We will keep focusing on one point at a time, never getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
Canada goes back in action on Thursday May 16 against the Dominican Republic.
The women’s team is still in contention to qualify for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings.
Seven women’s teams are already qualified for the Games. The remaining five places are filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB World Ranking as of the end of the preliminary phase of Volleyball Nations League.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 14, 2024. – The Dominican Republic began the NORCECA Boys’ U19 Continental Championship with a 3-1 victory (24-26, 26-24, 25-13, 25-19) over Guatemala at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Dominican Republic recovered from losing a close first set to secure the victory over Guatemala with an advantage of 47 points to 40 in attacks, 10 blocking points to 4, and 9 direct service points to 4, but committing 19 points to 15 in errors.
Starting from the third set, Guatemala’s unforced errors in reception gave the Dominicans the necessary advantage to claim their first victory in Group B.
DOM Celebrate
Three Dominicans scored double digits, led by opposite Malik Britton with 19 points (16 kills, 2 blocks, one ace), outside hitter and captain Melvin De Jesús with 16 points (12 kills, a maximum of 6 aces), and outside hitter Ramón De Jesús with 10 points (7 kills, 3 aces).
The top scorer of the match was Guatemala’s opposite Luis Mendizábal with 20 points from 18 attacks, one block, and one direct service point. Outside hitters Boris González and Omar Mendoza contributed 8 points each.
On the second day of competition, the Dominican Republic will face Costa Rica and Guatemala will play against Puerto Rico.
Melvin De Jesús, captain of the Dominican Republic: “We were hesitant because it was the first match of the tournament. Matches with Guatemala are always close. We were overconfident at the start of the match. Our serve was crucial for the victory, but we need to improve in blocking”.
Omar Mendoza, captain of Guatemala: “Honestly, I don’t know what happened, we will analyze with the team and the coaches, and then correct the mistakes we made today. We participated very well, but we lacked courage. It was a good match”.
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 14, 2024 – United States defeated Canada 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-23) in their first challenge at the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship, which began this Tuesday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
United States and Canada looked very similar in the first and third sets; it was the second set that made a significant difference, where the United States jumped to a comfortable five-point lead (10-5) and then unsettled Canada with their serving, scoring 6 direct service points.
United States held advantages in all aspects of the game, leading 33-22 in attacks, 6-3 in blocks, and 12-4 in service points. United States conceded 26 points due to errors and scored 30 points from Canadian errors.
Grant Lamoureux
USA’s outside hitter and team captain, Grant Lamoureux, scored 15 points as the top scorer of the match, including the most aces (5). His teammates, opposite Cooper Keane and outside hitter Aleksey Mikhailenko, contributed 10 points each.
For Canada, their captain Reuben Veith and opposite Luke Wright each scored 8 points as their top scorers.
On Wednesday in pool A, the United States (1-0) will face Suriname (0-1), and Canada (0-1) will face Cuba (1-0).
Grant Lamoureux, captain of United States: “The second set was our strongest, we had a little more energy from the first play compared to the first set, we were much better. I think we had a little less error than Canada, they gave away a lot of points and we kept the pressure on them the whole time. I’m looking forward to each one of our matches. In terms of improving, we need better passing and communication all around”.
Reuben Veith, captain of Canada: “The beginning of the match and the ending were a lot closer. In the second set we were off in serve-receive, we didn’t serve well either. We got back in the third set and in general it went well. We haven’t had much training together so I am happy with the result, we played and battled well; the only thing left is to improve with every performance”
JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic, May 14, 2024 .- The duo of Molly Shaw/Chloe Loreen from the United States defeated Canadians Sara Pavan/Molly McBain 2-0 (21-14, 21-14), clinching the gold medal in the 2024 NORCECA Continental Beach Volleyball Tour Finals played at Juan Dolio Beach in the Dominican Republic.
Molly and Chloe advanced to the title match after defeating Mexicans Susana Torres and Atenas Gutiérrez 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) in semifinals, while Pavan and McBain overcame Julibeht Payano and Crismil Paniagua from the Dominican Republic 2-0 (21-10, 21-12).
Canada 2nd place
Pavan and McBain also won silver in the 2023 Finals, against another U.S. duo (Megan Kraft/Teresse Cannon).
Mexicans Susana Torres and Atenas Gutiérrez secured the bronze medal over Dominicans Julibeth Payano/Crismil Paniagua 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).
Mexico 3th place
Fifth place went to Amanda Armenteros/Maikelyn Drik from Cuba, who prevailed over Allanis Navas/María González from Puerto Rico due to an injury. Seventh place belonged to Socorro López/Lolette Rodríguez from Nicaragua, who defeated Danna Aguilar/Paola Alvarado from Guatemala 2-0 (21-15, 21-17).
Ninth place went to Cristina Almeida-Anz/Taylor Buckner from the U.S. Virgin Islands after defeating Costa Ricans Kianny Quesada/Laura Molina 2-0 (21-19, 21-18).
Daniel Vigil/Karla Tovar from El Salvador claimed the 11th position by defeating Thornia Mitchell/Renisha Stafford from Grenada 2-0 (21-11, 21-10), while Heather Thompson/Maryn McCoombs from the Cayman Islands finished in thirteenth place, winning their match against Ketura Heymans/Simone Elizee from Suriname 2-0 (21-10, 21-5).
The 15th position was won by Saint Vincent with Shanadia Sylvester/Nikita Campbell defeating Nyota Peters/Dana Regis (ANT) 2-0 (23-21, 21-10).
Other results of the day were:
Armenteros/Drik (CUB) d López/Rodríguez (NCA) 2-1 (13-21, 22-20, 17-15); Navas/González (PUR) d Aguilar/Alvarado (GUA) 2-0 (21-10, 21-6); Pavan/McBain (CAN) d Payano/Paniagua (DOM) 2-0 (21-10, 21-12); Shaw/Loreen (USA) d Gutierrez/Torres (MEX) 2-0 (21-14, 21-19).
JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic, May 14, 2024. – The United States’ duo of Miles Evans and Chase Budinger defeated Canadians Samuel Schachter and Daniel Dearing 2-0 (21-18, 21-19), to claim the top honors in the 2024 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Final at the sand courts of Juan Dolio beach.
In the semifinals, Evans/Budinger overcame Jorge Alayo and Noslen Díaz from Cuba 2-0 (21-9, 21-17); while Schachter/Dearing bounced back from losing the first set against Miguel Sarabia and Gabriel Cruz from Mexico 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-7).
Canada 2nd place
This was the third occasion that Canadians Sam and Dan competed in a Continental NORCECA Tour Final; they won the first Continental Final in 2022 against Cubans Alayo/Díaz, and last year, they took home the silver medal against the same Cuban duo.
Cubans Jorge Alayo and Noslen Díaz didn’t leave empty-handed and secured the bronze medal after defeating Mexicans Miguel Sarabia and Gabriel Cruz 2-0 (21-13, 21-14).
Cuba 3th place
Fifth place went to William Rivera/Arnaldo Torres from Puerto Rico, who defeated Tyler Penberthy/Bryce Mayer from the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-19, 21-19), while seventh place went to Nicaraguans Rubén Mora/Dany López, who prevailed over Christopher and Yoel Guardado from El Salvador 2-0 (21-14, 21-13).
In ninth place were Dominicans Hayerling De Jesús/Oscar Martínez after defeating Daniel Dyner/Jhostin Varela from Costa Rica 2-0 (21-17, 23-21). Joshua Dwarkasing/Ethan Asimia from Suriname took eleventh place, winning against José Izaguirre/Luis García from Guatemala 2-1 (15-21, 21-12, 15-9).
Jamaar Cropper/Ronaldo Franklyn (VIN) finished thirteenth, overcoming Clerique Ward/Nage Hendrickson (SKN) 2-0 (21-17, 21-12), while Eddy Toro/Joshua Winklaar (ARU) reached fifteenth place winning against Declan Van Dam/Stephen Watson (CAY) 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-9).
Other results of the day were:
Rivera/Torres (PUR) d Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado (ESA) 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) and Penberthy/Mayer (ISV) d Rubén Mora/Dany López (NCA) 2-0 (21-7,21-10); Samuel Schachter/Daniel Dearing (CAN) d Sarabia/Cruz (MEX) 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-7) and Miles Evans/Chase Budinger (USA) d Alayo/Díaz (CUB) 2-0 (21-9, 21-17).
PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 14, 2024. – Cuba defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 29-27) in the opening match of the Boys’ U19 NORCECA Continental Championship at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Despite Cuba starting with confidence and power, Suriname did not let themselves be intimidated, pressing with their blocking, and serving, reaching set point (24-21) in the third set, trying to force the match to extend.
Andy Lazarro Marrero CUB
Cuba led in kills 44 to 19, while Suriname outperformed in blocking 7-4. Both teams scored five service points. Cuba made fewer errors than Suriname (24-28).
Cuba’s outside hitter Andy Lázarro Marrero was the top scorer of the match with 13 points (12 attacks, one block). Cuba’s opposite player Yosdani Medina and Suriname’s outside hitter Gianni Ritfeld scored 11 points each.
On the second day of the preliminary round, Cuba will face Canada and Suriname will face the United States in pool A.
Ronaldo Flaquet, captain of Cuba: “The final minutes were very exciting; we complicated things for ourselves because we got too confident after winning the first two sets. The important thing is that we were able to solve it and get a positive result. We started with confidence in ourselves, but overconfidence made it difficult for us to close”.
Jayden Koendjbiharie, captain of Suriname: “We gave it our all; we definitely fought with more power in the last set and almost won it. For the next match, we will come out with the same energy and fight better. Today, we should have put in more effort”.
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