USA WINS BRONZE MEDAL AGAINST MEXICO

The American team finished third at I Boys' U19
Pan American Cup.

Mexicali, Mexico, July 16 2011.— The United States Volleyball team won the bronze medal of at Boys’ U19 Pan American Cup after winning 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) against Mexico.

Cody Caldwell scored 14, while Scott Rhein and Aaron Russell tallied 10 apiece for USA. Mexico’s top scorer was Marco Antonio Rodriguez with 7 points, while Sergio Perez recorded 6. “We knew this was going to be a very hard match after a long one against Puerto Rico. We tried to regain the motivation by starting over, but faced a very strong American team”, stated Jonathan Ponce about the host team.

“I am proud of my teammates. We also had a very long and tough previous match against Brazil. Mexico played unbelievably but we went together as a team”, said USA captain Matthew West.

“I think we lost since yesterday’s match (against Puerto Rico). If I can explain about it, the boys were not motivated. We tried to upraise their enthusiasm, but they were lack of it”, mentioned Oscar Licea about Mexican Team.

For American coach Ken Shibuya facing Mexico for the second time was a challenge. “It is a fantastic team and his coach is bright, it is bad to not see them in Argentina. I want to thank the Mexican Federation for the chance of playing here. This was a first class event”, Shibuya stated.

After this competition, USA will continue its preparation for the World Championship in Argentina, while Mexican coach Licea will work with the U17 unit focusing on the 2013 Youth World Championship.