U.S. Team ends up in 9th place at 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship
Under the command of Head Coach James Stone, the U.S. team bagged their fifth consecutive victory at the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship. In the final match for 9th position on Sunday, August 21, the U.S. squad put up against Slovakia
and brushed them aside in straight sets.
Slovakia was generally considered the better team but they collapsed in front of the American team and received a 0-3 (21-25, 16-25, and 14-25) defeat. USA settled for ninth position while Slovakia had to be content with 10th position this year.
The U.S. team had a tough time beating Slovakia in the first set. Slovakia applied different tactics to try and save the opening set but couldn’t succeed in doing so. A four-point advantage allowed the USA to secure the first set in 22 minutes. The riumph
in the opening set gave more confidence to the US players and they increased the pressure on Slovakia in the second set. Slovakians suffered the loss of another set, whereas the U.S. team enjoyed top form. They came up with full strength in the third and achieved
set points with a fair margin of 11 points as Slovakia was beaten up by USA in the crucial 9-position match.
Paulina Prieto Cerame was named the top-scorer of the match as she registered 13 points for USA. Her team-mates, Mallory McCage and Amber Rolfzen, contributed 12 and 11 points respectively as both of them played at the middle-blocker positions. On the Slovakian
side, none of the players could go into double figures. Nikola Pistelakova was the top-scorer who added just 9 points. Andrea Strbova notched five points and Miroslava Rehakova followed her up with four points.
American side dominated the Slovakian opponents by using a 44-21 kill advantage. Mallory McCage was the most successful players on the court and she converted 11 points through 17 attack attempts. Moreover, she was also credited for one block in three sets.
Paulina Prieto-Cerame received huge applause for the 10 kills she delivered. Overall, she attempted 20 attacks, 3 blocks and totalled 13 points. The U.S. player in the number-15 jersey, Amber Rolfzen, enjoyed the spotlight for her four blocks and 10 kills
and she also got a team-high 12 digs.
James Stone, the Head Coach of American team stated his thoughts about the the match and said, “We saw Slovakia playing very well yesterday versus Italy. I’m very proud how my players entered the match. They were much focused, playing on a high level today.”
Slovakian mentor Eva Kosekova also had his say about the match. He commented: “Today we were not able to copy yesterday’s performance. We didn’t play with heart. However, congratulations to the USA, they showed again high-class volleyball."
U.S. Team captain, Mallory McCage, was delighted to beat the better team. She said her team was strong in the offensive and that’s what led them to success in the match. Her counterpart, Barbora Kosekova of Slovakia, explained the cause of failure. She said
the team was tired after taking on tough rival Italy in the previous match. They were exhausted and couldn’t produce match winning performance against U.S. team.
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