USA defeats Canada in first challenge at NORCECA U19

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.

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 (0-0), and Canada (0-1) will face Cuba (1-1).

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”