Press release

Gatineau, Canada, August 21, 2010 – The United States defeated hosts Canada in straight sets in front of a packed house to win their first gold medal at the NORCECA Men’s Junior Tournament.

Both teams also secured berths in next year’s FIVB World Championship to be held in Brazil.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico claimed the bronze medal and the third and last ticket available to the 2011 edition by outlasting three-time defending champions Cuba in four sets.

In two other matches on Saturday, Dominican Republic edged Mexico in a three-set battle for the fifth position and Trinidad & Tobago downed St. Lucia in straight sets.

USA v Canada

Maurice Torres scored a game high 14 points to lead the U.S., as her side scored a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-16) victory over Canada in the gold medal final at the NORCECA Junior Men’s Volleyball championships played before a full house at the Centre Sportif. It is the first time the U.S., has won the tournament for North and Central America and the Caribbean which started in 1998.  

“This victory means absolutely everything to us,” said Torres.  “There’s nothing more you can do than win a gold medal.  We play as a team.  There’s not one or two of us, there’s 12 of us.  That’s the best system you can have.”

“I was proud of our effort this week and tonight,” said U.S., coach John Hawks. “They executed the game plan. They are smart players and just a really fun group of guys to coach.”
 
Puerto Rico v Cuba

Puerto Rico defeated Cuba 25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22 for the bronze medal on Saturday With the victory Puerto Rico also gained the third and last available berth for next year’s world junior championships at this tournament. Jorge Antonio Lopez led Puerto Rico in scoring with 19 points, Ricardo Archilla added 15 and Christian Rivera 15.  Lazaro Fundora notched 18 points for the Cubans, Jorge Gonzalez 16 and Zamy Gomez 14.

 “We know it’s not the gold medal but it feels awesome,” said Puerto Rico’s Ramon Burgos.  “One of our big goals was to get a spot for the world junior championships and we did it.  It’s a feeling I can’t explain.  We worked so hard for this. It’s great to see our program making so much progress at the international level.”

Dominican Republic v Mexico

The Dominican Republic was determined to win its last match and defeated Mexico 26-24, 25-22, 29-27 to finish the tournament in fifth place. Team captain Miguel Vargas was once again the offensive catalyst for the Dominican with 17 points, Anuary Burgos added 15 and Kelvin Campechano 13. Juan Revuelta posted a game high 21 points for the Mexicans.

“We feel very happy about the win,” said the Dominican’s coach Osiel Vasquez Cancio.  “We’ve been working very hard and this win goes to the Dominican.  Our players were well prepared at all levels.”

Trinidad & Tobago v St. Lucia

Trinidad and Tobago defeated St. Lucia 25-12, 26-24, 25-22 to finish in tenth place. Brandon Legall led the victors with 15 points while Kazeem Khan added 12 and Bernard Renaud 10. Julian Bissette had 9 points for St. Lucia.

“This was a goal for our team not to finish last,” said Trinidad and Tobago captain Akim Bushe.  “We showed we have a lot of good volleyball in us and the next tournament we plan to come out a lot better and stronger.”

Final positions:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Puerto Rico
4. Cuba
5. Dominican Republic
6. Mexico
7. Guatemala
8. Honduras
9. Martinique
10. Trinidad & Tobago
11. St. Lucia

Individual Awards:

Best Scorer: Jorge Lopez (PUR)
Best Spiker: Taylor Crabb (USA)
Best Blocker: Kelvin Campechano (DOM)
Best Server: Brandon Legall (TRI)
Best Setter: Micah Christenson (USA)
Best Digger: Jose Mulero (PUR)
Best Receiver: Evan Mottram (USA)
Best Libero: Hugo Cardona (GUA)
MVP: Nicholas Hoag (CAN