Team USA Tops Puerto Rico to Reach Semifinals 

TULSA, United States, July 16, 2014 – The United States advanced to Saturday’s semifinals of the NORCECA Boys’ U19 Continental Championship after defeating Puerto Rico, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 on Wednesday at the Cox Business Center.

Team USA finishes pool play at 2-0. Puerto Rico (1-1) will play Guatemala in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The top three finishing teams at the tournament qualify for the 2015 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship.

On Wednesday, The United States’ serving and blocking kept Puerto Rico from mounting a threat. Team USA led in blocks (12-2) and aces (9-1) as well as kills (37-26). Puerto Rico scored 24 points on U.S. errors while committing 17.

“I thought it was a great USA effort,” U.S. Head Coach Ken Shibuya said. “We haven’t had much time together, but I was completely excited that we were able to do the things we have been working on. Every time we step on the court we are getting better.”

One negative aspect of the match for the U.S. was an injury to setter Josh Tuaniga, who hurt his hand in the third set. His status for the semifinals is not known.

Jordan Ewert led the U.S. in scoring with 11 points on six kills, a match-high four blocks and one ace. T.J. DeFalco added 10 points on eight attacks, one block and one ace.

Puerto Rico Team Captain Luis Ocasio led his team with 11 points on 10 kills and one block. Yadiel Nadal added eight points on eight kills.

“We gave 100 percent and we played well,” Puerto Rico Captain Luis Ocasio said. “But it was a tough match and we needed to play even better to win.”

The closest set was the second as Puerto Rico was leading 11-9 before the U.S. came back to tie it at 12-12 and took the 13-12 lead on a kill by Micah Ma’a. The U.S. increased the lead to 16-13 at the second technical timeout and Puerto Rico didn’t respond.

Quotes

Puerto Rico Captain Luis Ocasio: “We gave 100 percent and we played well. But it was a tough match and we needed to play even better to win. The USA was serving too good today and their outside attack was pretty tough.”

Puerto Rico Coach Julio Ruvira: “The U.S. team has a very good technique level and they are very tough to play against. It’s a very good experience to play against those kinds of teams. Our team played well but we can play much better. If we focus on the unforced errors, we can get the next win.”

U.S. Coach Ken Shibuya: ““I thought it was a great USA effort. We haven’t had much time together, but I was completely excited that we were able to do the things we have been working on. Every time we step on the court we are getting better. I thought our serving remains very good and that’s a big part of what’s happening in the tournament. I’m going to trust that it will continue to help us win some matches.”

U.S. Captain Dane LeClair: “I enjoyed this game a lot more than the last one. It was much more high intensity. We played together really well and we got the win. This was a great environment. There were a lot more people than last match. People were cheering us on and I really had a great time.”