Boys U19 Team to Play for Gold at Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 25, 2022) – The U.S. Boys U19 National Team will play for the gold medal at the Pan American Cup after defeating Chile 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) on Friday in Guatemala City.

The U.S. Boys (4-0) will play Mexico (3-2) in the championship match at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday. The two teams played Wednesday in pool play where the U.S. Boys won in a sweep.

Friday was also the second time the U.S. Boys played Chile in the tournament. The U.S. Boys also won the first match 3-0 during pool play.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

“Chile has a good program,” said U.S. Head Coach Charlie Sullivan, who celebrated his birthday on Friday. “They are really dedicated and play at a high level, so we knew they would make some changes from our first encounter. We were prepared to face anything and make adjustments when we needed to.”

The U.S. led Chile in kills (36-16), blocks (9-6) and aces (8-0). Chile scored 34 points on U.S. errors while committing 22.

Outside hitter Sean Kelly led the U.S. Boys with a match-high 21 points on 16 kills (.609 hitting efficiency) and a match-high five blocks. Outside hitter Sterling Foley added 11 points on six kills and a match-high five aces.

Libero Kellen Larson was credited with four digs and 11 excellent receptions.

“We had a few mistakes, but we didn’t dwell on it and we didn’t let it change the way we play,” Larson said. “We came together as a team and played the best we could. For tomorrow we´ll bring energy, positivity, loudness and hard work.”

Opposite Finn Kearney scored seven points on six kills and one ace. Middle blocker Kaumana Carreira, who started the whole match, totaled four points on four kills.

Middles Reed Wainwright and Tristan Whitfield, who split up playing time, each scored three points on two kills and one block.

Setter Tread Rosenthal scored four points on two blocks and two aces and set the team to a .259 hitting efficiency.

Matches will be streamed on Facebook Live at Fnvg Voleibol Guate except for all Guatemala’s matches that will be streamed exclusively on Facebook Live at Comité Olímpico Guatemalteco.

2022 Boys U19 National Training Team
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, Region, College commitment)
1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-10, Irvine, Calif., Southern California, NA)
4 Quinn Bishop (OH, 6-3, Jupiter, Fla., Florida, NA)
6 Victor Loiola (OH, 6-4, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Southern California, NA)
8 Jameson Vaccaro (OH, 6-4, San Diego, Calif., Southern California, NA)
9 Caleb Blanchette (S, 6-5, Brentwood, Tenn., Southern, NA)
11 Finn Kearney (OPP, 6-5, Phoenix, Ariz., Arizona, NA)
12 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Newport Beach, Calif., Southern California, NA)
13C Sean Kelly (OH, 6-6, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Southern California, NA)
16 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif./Austin, Texas, Southern California, NA)
17 Reed Wainwright (MB, 6-7, Newport Beach, Calif., Southern California, NA)
18 Tristan Whitfield (MB, 6-7, Virginia Beach, Va., Old Dominion, Princeton)
19 Kaumana Carreira (MB, 6-8, Mission Viejo, Calif., Southern California, NA)

Head Coach: Charlie Sullivan (Head Coach, Springfield College)
Assistant Coach: Lindsay Brown (Assistant Coach, Purdue Fort Wayne)
Assistant Coach: Theo Edwards (Associate Head Coach, CSUN)
Performance Analyst: Jon Parry (Technical Coordinator, LBSU)
Athletic Trainer: Rachel Menze (CSUN)
Team Leader: Sam Shweisky (Head Coach, Princeton)

U.S. Schedule for the Boys U19 Pan American Cup
(All times PDT)

Pool Play
May 23 USA def Chile, 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-11)
May 24 USA def Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-15)
May 25 USA def Mexico, 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-13)

Quarterfinals on May 26
Mexico def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-17)
Chile def Guatemala vs Chile, 3- 1 (25-15, 25-13, 19-25, 25-20)

Classification and Semifinals on May 27
Guatemala def Honduras, 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-15)
Costa Rica def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (25-15, 25-13, 27-29, 25-19)
USA def Chile, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-20)
Mexico def Puerto Rico, 3-2 (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 18-25, 17-15)

Finals on May 28
11 a.m. 7th place: Honduras vs Dominican Republic
1 p.m. 5th: Costa Rica vs Guatemala
3 p.m. Chile vs Puerto Rico
5 p.m. USA vs Mexico