SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, November 8, 2025. – The United States advanced to the gold medal match of the 2025 NORCECA Girls’ U17 Continental Championship after a commanding 3-0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-11) victory over Puerto Rico at the Gimnasio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica.
The United States will play for the gold medal against the winner of the other semifinal between the Dominican Republic and defending champion Mexico. Puerto Rico will compete for the bronze medal.
This event serves as a qualifier for the 2026 FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship to be held in Chile, with the NORCECA champion earning a direct berth. The FIVB will confirm the additional qualification spots granted to the Confederation.
This is the second time in the tournament that the United States has swept Puerto Rico, repeating their pool-play result from the opening day.
Team USA dominated every scoring category, leading in attacks (38-11), blocks (10-1), and service points (9-2), with a nearly even number of errors (USA 17, Puerto Rico 18).
Three American players scored in double digits: Madlen Gloessner led the team with 13 points (7 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces), followed by Lexi Coleman and Maya Ogbogu with 12 points each. Coleman recorded 9 kills, 2 blocks, and one ace, while Ogbogu contributed 10 kills, one block, and one ace. Arianna Pantojas led Puerto Rico with 5 points.
Puerto Rico started the first set strong, taking a 4-1 lead with steady serving from Eliany Quiñones, but the U.S. quickly turned things around, pulling ahead 10-5 and closing the set 25-10 behind strong blocking from Gloessner and attacking from Coleman and Ogbogu.
The U.S. stormed into the second set with an early 5-1 lead, fueled by Madison Middleton’s block. A dominant 10-2 run and consistent pressure from the service line kept Puerto Rico out of rhythm. Ogbogu led the offense, while Mesa Jameson also contributed effectively.
The Americans opened the third set with a 6-0 run, including two service points from Coleman, extending their lead with precise serving and powerful offense. With Puerto Rico unable to regain momentum, Gloessner sealed the match from the service line for another decisive U.S. victory.
Tayyiba Haneef-Park, Head Coach of the United States, said: “It’s always difficult to play a team a second time. We had a lot of discipline yesterday in practice, especially on the block, and we saw that implemented in the game today. Puerto Rico is always aggressive, we watched them come back yesterday against Canada, so we knew they’d come out with fire. I’m really happy with how the girls adjusted our block and made key points. The goal was to put out their fire as fast as possible.”
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