TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 19, 2024.- United States won the title 2024 Girls U19 NORCECA Continental Championship after beating Canada 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 25-14) in the gold medal match on Friday at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
United States finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, earning their ninth NORCECA title in this category. Canada concluded with a 4-2 record and won their second silver medal in the history of the event, the first was in the previous edition in 2018, also held in Honduras.
The strong serves (17-1) of USA helped them overcome Canada, who served the U.S. their first set loss in the tournament. The Americans also held advantage in kills (53-42) but gave away 28 points on errors compared to Canada’s 18. The Canadians had a slight edge in blocks (9-8).
United States outside hitter Audrey Flanagan led all scorers in the match with 18 points (14 kills, one block, 3 aces). Middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie contributed 16 points (11 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces). Outside hitter Henley Anderson added 14 points (9 kills, one block, and a match-high of 4 aces). The fourth player in double digits was middle blocker Elena Hoecke with 11 points.
For Canada, middle blocker Carmen Waye led with 16 points (12 attacks, a match-high of 4 blocks). Outside hitter Sol Henson scored 12 attacking points.
Elena Hoecke and Henley Anderson led USA to win the first set, where they also scored 5 aces. The Canadians capitalized on consecutive errors by the Americans, and with the offense of Sol Henson and Carmen Waye, reached a comfortable five-point lead (15-10) and then tied the match 1-1, ending the Americans’ unbeaten streak in sets. In the third set, the U.S. started strong, jumping to a 13-4 lead, but the Canadians responded by tying the score at 22 points. Both teams had a chance to win the set, but it was Audrey Flanagan who scored the set point for the United States. The Americans dominated the fourth set, scoring 4 aces, and winning the gold medal with a commanding 25-14.
Jamie Morrison, head coach of United States: “Canada played a great match, they got better every single match they played, they continued to step up their game and that program is going to continue to get better. On our side I am proud of the girls for getting a gold medal in their first international competition, that’s an amazing thing and I’m glad they got this experience”.
Avaya Maga, captain of Canada: “It was an exciting match. I am so proud of our group for how hard we fought, we competed very hard and kept it very close. Overall, I am so proud of how we represented our country and battled”.
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