COLORADO SPRINGS — The U.S. Girls U-19 National Team began pool play with a resounding victory over the USVI 3-0 (25-6, 25-18, 25-12) at the NORCECA Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
The U.S. maintained steady control on the scoreboard throughout each set, never trailing in the match. U.S. Head Coach Keegan Cook took note of areas where he thought the team could improve, but was pleased with the overall result.
“Really strong opening set,” Cook said. “I would have liked to have seen us carry that through a little bit more. I am looking forward to seeing us improve in serve receive and on the service line, but nice to see a bunch of talented young athletes wear USA for the first time and I liked what I saw.”
Opposite Olivia Babcock scored eight points in the victory as one of the top scorers in the match. Two of her eight points came on service aces. Babcock set aside any pregame jitters once it was time to deliver.
“It was my first time wearing the USA jersey so I was nervous,” Babcock said. “It was a great opportunity to represent my country and it ended up being really fun and I think we played really well as a team. I think this is going to be a great tournament for us.”
Middle blocker Jaela Auguste and opposite/setter Logan Parks each also contributed seven points to the winning effort. Auguste earned three of those points on blocks, while Parks brought in five of her seven points on kills.
Libero Ava Falduto led the team with eight digs and outside hitter Teraya Sigler led the team with three service aces.
Outside hitter Julia Blyashov and setter Izzy Starck joined Auguste for the tie in team high blocks at two.
Overall, the U.S. had just under a 70 percent success rate on attack throughout the three sets and limited U.S. Virgin Islands to just a 15 percent success rate.
The U.S. Girls U19 Team will be back in action on Wednesday against Costa Rica with match time set for 11 a.m. PT.
