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United States Advances to the Quarterfinals
of the U19 Girls’ World Championship
July 8, 2025.– The United States advanced to the quarterfinals of
the U19 Girls’ World Championship taking place in Croatia and
Serbia. The defending champions edged out Germany 3-2 (25-18, 26-28,
17-25, 25-15, 15-13), while Mexico was unable to overcome the
strength of Bulgaria and fell 0-3 (22-25, 16-25, 16-25).
The quarterfinal matchups on Friday, July 11, will be: Italy vs
United States, Bulgaria vs Brazil, Türkiye vs China, and Poland vs
Japan, to determine the semifinalists of the tournament.
Team USA will continue its title defense on Friday when they face
Italy in the quarterfinals.
The defending champions battled through a tough five-setter against
Germany in their Round of 16 match in Osijek, taking the win 3-2
(25-18, 26-28, 17-25, 25-15, 15-13) to secure a spot among the top
eight.
The Americans played a focused, point-by-point match, dominating in
both blocking (19 to 11 effective blocks) and serving (8 to 4 aces).
Middle blockers Jordan Taylor and Gabrielle Nichols added 7 and 6
points respectively to the team’s blocking performance. Taylor also
tallied 6 points (5 kills, 1 ace), while Nichols scored another 7
points, all from attacks. Both ended the match with 13 points each,
matched by outside hitter Suliane Davis (8 kills, 2 blocks, 3 aces).
Germany’s Maria Tabacuks led all scorers with 21 points (19 kills, 1
block, 1 ace) in a respectful farewell for the European team.
U.S. Head Coach Robert Keegan Cook said, “We talked about our
defense being an issue during the group stage, and it was great to
see our middles step up and organize the block against some very
talented outside hitters. Germany played outstanding volleyball… I
was very impressed with them. It was a tough match, and it’s good to
see your team face that and see how they respond. We had to make a
lot of changes in our lineup and systems. Having many players who
can perform in different positions is one of our strengths, and
thanks to our persistent team effort, we were able to win today.”
Mexico Falls to Bulgaria
Bulgaria became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals,
confidently defeating Mexico 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-16). Kalina
Veneva and Viara Parapunova both scored 12 points. For Mexico, Naomi
Cruz Toledo led with 11 points.
In the matches for 17th to 24th place, Canada came from behind to
beat Peru 3-2, after losing the first two sets. The set scores were
21-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 15-12. Canada outperformed Peru across
the board: 63-43 in attacks, 12-6 in blocks, and 9-7 in aces. Maya
Bukovcan led the scoring for Canada with 20 points, followed by
Brooke Fermaniuk with 16 and Sydney Bell with 14.
Puerto Rico also secured a 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21) victory
over Tunisia. They led in attacks (39-38), blocks (13-12), and
service aces (10-6). Pamela Zoe Agosto led Puerto Rico with 15
points, while Johnnyeshka Carrasquillo contributed 13.
Canada and Puerto Rico will now play for positions 17 to 20.
In a thrilling five-setter, the Dominican Republic was edged out by
Chile 2-3 (17-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-13, 10-15). Despite leading in
attacks (60-49) and service aces (11-8), the 40 unforced errors from
the Dominicans contributed to Chile’s victory.
Matches on July 11 (Local Time – Croatia and Serbia)
Quarterfinals:
China vs Türkiye – 15:15; Japan vs Poland – 18:15; Bulgaria vs
Brazil – 21:15; United States vs Italy – 21:15
9th–16th Places:
Serbia vs Croatia; Chinese Taipei vs Thailand; Mexico vs Belgium –
18:15; Germany vs Argentina
17th–20th Places:
Canada vs Puerto Rico – 15:15; Spain vs Chile
21st–24th Places:
Peru vs Tunisia; Egypt vs Dominican Republic – 18:15 | 
