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.
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”.
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