For Immediate Release
July 14, 2004

CATANO, Puerto Rico – Mexico couldn’t solve the height and power of the USA middle attack as the USA Girls’ Youth National Team opened the 2004 NORCECA Youth (Under-18) Championships with a 3-0 win against Mexico Wednesday night.

Starters for the United States in the 25-22, 25-13, 25-19 victory included setter Rachel Holloway (Aurora, Colo.), outside hitters Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), opposite Alisha Glass (Lake Leelanau, Mich.), middle blockers Kori Cooper (Amarillo, Texas) and Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas) and libero Kimberly Kuzma (Muncie, Ind.).

Although stats were unavailable at press time, the middle hitting core of Cooper, Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.), Stephanie Browne (Holland, Ohio) and Williams accounted for a healthy portion of the USA offense. The middles combined to hit more than .700 for the match.

”We expected Mexico to fight for the match and they did. After the first game we were fortunate enough to find our rhythm with the middle attack,” said Team USA Head Coach Rich Zeciski (Camp Dennison, Ohio).

Mexico took advantage of early USA errors and took an 8-7 lead into the first technical timeout. USA regained their composure during the break and Hodge opened a lead with a thunderous kill from the left side followed by a service ace. The USA held a 16-11 lead at the second technical timeout.

Mexico closed the gap on a kill and two USA errors before Hodge and Cooper scored back-to-back kills forcing a timeout at 22-17. Klineman and Cooper combined on a block for point number 23. A quick kill from Williams in the middle finished the set and USA took set one by a score of 25-22.

In set number two, USA raced out to an early lead on Browne’s serve and cruised into the first technical timeout with an 8-6 lead after kills from Glass and Klineman. The lead was opened to five on the serving of Holloway and Mexico took a timeout at 12-7. After two more blocks from Browne, USA widened the gap to a 16-9 margin heading into the second technical timeout.

Brittney Dolgner (Waupun, Wis.) entered the game for Hodge and promptly responded with a kill from the left side closely followed by an ace from Glass. Cooper added three more kills and the USA ran away with set two 25-13.

Up two games to none, the USA called on setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) to relieve Holloway. She picked up where Holloway left off by establishing a strong middle attack and the USA quickly registered five kills en route to an 8-5 lead at the first technical timeout. The teams traded points until a pair of Klineman kills opened the lead to 22-16 and Mexico took a timeout. Brown entered the game and score on her first swing to set up match point, and shortly followed with another kill to finish the game 25-19 and wrap up the match 3-0.

“We are very excited to get the first international match under our belts,” said Glass. “We had to get our nerves out because we knew Mexico would challenge us with their great defense.”

Team USA (1-0) now turns their attention to Guatemala, which is scheduled to play Puerto Rico in the evening match.

“We still have room for improvement in our serve-receive and blocking if we are to be successful in this competition,” added Zeciski.

USA will return to the court against Guatemala on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). The winner of the five-day competition will receive an automatic bid into the 2005 FIVB Girls’ Youth Championships.

For Immediate Release
July 15, 2004

The USA started Rachel Holloway (Aurora, Colo.) at setter, Kim Kuzma (Muncie, Ind.) at libero, Kori Cooper (Amarillo, Texas) and Stephanie Browne (Holland, Ohio) in the middle, Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) on the left side and Kylie Marshall (Puyallup, Wash.) at opposite. Guatemala, whose tallest player was 5 feet 8 inches, had a great deal of difficulty slowing the USA down at the net as the Americans ran away with a 25-12, 25-9, 25-9 win.

“As the scores indicate, we were able to maintain a lot of energy throughout the entire match. We have coached and reinforced courageous serving since we assembled (this team),” said USA Coach Rich Zeciski. “A number of our servers kept heavy pressure on the Guatemalan serve-receive system.”

In a reversal from last night, USA was lead offensively by their outside hitters Thursday night. Hodge and Klineman each had a match-high nine kills, with Hodge connecting on 82 percent of her attacks. Browne continues to lead the tournament in blocking after adding three more blocks in the win.

In the first set the USA instantly established the middle attack as Browne and Cooper scored two of the USA’s first three points on quick attacks. After two Hodge kills, the USA took an 8-5 lead into the first technical timeout. Cooper returned to the floor and scored two aces along with a pair of kills from Klineman and Guatemala took timeout at 12-5. The USA promptly increased their lead to nine at 21-12. Brittney Dolgner (Waupun, Wis.) entered the game for Hodge and responded with five straight serving points, finishing set one with an ace and a 25-12 victory.

“We knew Guatemala has a strong defense so we would need to be patient, but still aggressive,” said Klineman who led all scorers with 11 points. “They served us very strong and we reacted well, controlling the ball throughout the match.”

Alisha Glass (Lake Leelanau, Mich.), Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas), Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Hodge, Browne, and Dolgner started set two with Kuzma at libero. Glass and Browne helped the USA build an 8-2 lead when they combined on a pair of blocks and each scored a kill. Glass added four consecutive jump-serve aces and the USA cruised to a 16-4 lead. Williams added a kill and an ace en route to USA winning set two by a score of 25-9.

Carico, Klineman, Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.), Dolgner, Marshall, and Cooper started the third set with Kuzma at libero. USA used a diversified offensive attack and tough serving to open a 16-7 lead at the second technical timeout. Brown added consecutive aces and the lead ballooned to 21-8. A Marshall ace and a Guatemala hitting error sealed the game for USA 25-9 and the match, 3-0.

Puerto Rico, which is undefeated after defeating Guatemala 3-0 last night, will play Mexico (0-1) in Thursday night’s finale. The USA will play Puerto Rico tomorrow. If Puerto Rico defeats Mexico, the winner of the USA- Puerto Rico match will receive an automatic bye into the NORCECA Championship finals on Sunday.

For Immediate Release
July 16, 2004

Enter Megan Hodge.

Hodge (Durham, N.C.) broke loose for 26 kills and two blocks to pace the United States in a thrilling five-game victory over Puerto Rico, who lost their second straight match in five sets Friday night.

The USA win secures a first-place finish in the preliminary round with a perfect 3-0 record and an automatic berth into the NORCECA finals on Sunday. The winner of Sunday’s final will receive an automatic bid into the 2005 Girl’s Under-18 World Championships.

“We can only feel very fortunate to have played so poorly in games one and two and to have matured so much in games three, four, and five”, said Team USA Head Coach Rich Zeciski. “Everyone on our team grew as players, especially Kylie Marshall, who was inserted in game three to provide the stability we were lacking.”

Marshall (Puyallup, Wash.) chipped in three kills, but provided steady serving and passing, something that plagued the USA through the first two sets.

The USA started the match with Rachel Holloway (Aurora, Colo.) at setter, Kori Cooper (Amarillo, Texas) and Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas) in the middle, Hodge and Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) on the left side, Alisha Glass (Lake Leelanau, Mich.) at opposite and Kim Kuzma (Muncie, Ind.) at libero.

Puerto Rico came out on fire scoring twice in transition on two of Yarimar Rosa’s 25 kills. The two teams then traded kills until the score was 5-5. Hodge scored three straight points on her serve, including an ace and the USA was up 8-5 at the first technical timeout.

Puerto Rico then tied the score at 11-11 and 13-13 with dynamic offense, but the USA got a kill from Glass and a Puerto Rico hitting error to go up 16-14. Two USA errors lead to a 17-17 tie, but consecutive kills from Klineman and Williams forced Puerto Rico to call timeout at 19-17.

Stephanie Browne (Holland, Ohio) entered the game and immediately scored a stuff block. Holloway scored an ace and Puerto Rico used their second timeout at 21-18. Puerto Rico then stormed back to tie the game 23-23. A Puerto Rico block and Rosa kill closed out the first set 25-23 in favor of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico continued their momentum by dominating the first part of set two and opening an 8-2 lead at the first break. A Browne blocked pulled the USA within three points and Puerto Rico took a timeout leading 13-10. Puerto Rico took advantage of several USA errors to force a USA timeout at 18-12. Puerto Rico forged another run, capped off by an ace, and won the set 25-14 and led the match 2-0.

In the third set, the teams traded points and the lead until they tied at 5-5, but three straight USA errors gave the Puerto Ricans the lead 8-5 at the first technical timeout. USA took a pair of leads at 12-11 and 13-12 as Hodge came across the front row, but Puerto Rico picked up their offense and took the lead at 15-13 and 16-15 at the second technical timeout. USA rallied to tie the score at 21-21 on a Glass block and Williams kill, but Puerto Rico scored the next two points on USA hitting errors. Following a USA serving error, Hodge blasted a kill to pull with in 24-23. Glass then served an ace and Cooper blocked Rosa to put the USA up game point. Glass swiftly served another ace and the USA broke through with a 26-24 win in set number three.

Set four started as a fierce battle between the two potent offenses. Hodge scored on a back- row kill to give the USA a slight 8-7 advantage at the first timeout. Marshall scored on a combination play and a right-side attack and the USA was up 12-9. The gap was widened to 16-10 after a pair of Hodge kills and a Williams ace. Puerto Rico got with in 21-16, but a Klineman kill and Holloway ace closed out set number four 25-18 pushing the match to a 15-point tie breaker.

The USA opened set five with a point without a ball being served. Puerto Rico head coach Carlos Nunez received his second yellow card and the USA was awarded a point. Hodge then added a pair of kills and a solo block and USA was up 8-3 at the switch. Puerto Rico was unable to mount a comeback and Klineman ripped two of her 13 kills and Williams sealed the victory with a stuff block on Rosa.

“We have a lot of things to work on as a team, but we grew up a lot in this match,” said Hodge

Earlier in the evening, Mexico (2-1) easily defeated Guatemala (0-3) in three straight games to finish second in the round-robin portion of the tournament. Puerto Rico finished third and will face Mexico in the semifinals on Saturday. The United States will return to action on Sunday to compete in the finals versus the winner of the Mexico-Puerto Rico semifinal.

For Immediate Release
July 18, 2004

The United States won the gold medal at the 2004 NORCECA Girl’s Youth Championships Sunday night with a 25-12, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of Puerto Rico in the final match.

With the victory, Team USA qualified for the 2005 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championships next summer. The United States has now won three of the last four gold medals at the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Championships: 1998, 2002 and 2004.

It also marked the second-straight win for the Americans over Puerto Rico in the tournament. On Friday night, Team USA rebounded from a 0-2 deficit after two sets to post a 3-2 win and earn an automatic berth into Sunday’s championship match.

Puerto Rico had to play Mexico in a Saturday semifinal and emerged victorious in five sets to set up a rematch with the United States.

The young USA players entered Sunday night’s match knowing that they didn’t come close to their best performance in the first match against Puerto Rico, and knowing exactly what to expect from the home team and partial home audience.

“It was very important after our first match not to let the atmosphere tip the scales in their direction. The first game was very important. After we controlled the first set, they were able to challenge us in the second set and actually take the lead late in the game,” said Team USA Head Coach Rich Zeciski.

The USA opened the match with Rachel Holloway (Aurora, Colo.) at setter, Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) on the left side, Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas) and Kori Cooper (Amarillo, Texas) in the middle, Alisha Glass (Lake Leelanau, Mich.) at opposite and Kim Kuzma (Muncie, Ind.) at libero.

Both teams came out firing on offense and connected on a total of eight kills for the first 11 points. Puerto Rico was forced into two hitting errors and the USA took a lead of 8-5 into the first technical break. Klineman and Glass each fired a kill and the USA forced Puerto Rico into a timeout at 11-6. Puerto Rico coach Carlos Nunez called a second timeout after two communication errors yielded a 14-7 USA lead, which was extended to 16-8 at the second technical timeout. The USA dominated the last part of set one, outscoring Puerto Rico 9-3 down the stretch and winning the set 25-12.

The USA started the same lineup in set number two. Both teams started very sloppy, committing several errors. A consecutive pair of Glass blocks was the difference in momentum and the USA led 8-6 at the first break. Again, both teams traded a multitude of errors before a Klineman kill and block gave USA a 16-14 lead at the second technical timeout. Klineman then registered her 11th kill of the match to force a Puerto Rico timeout at 19-16.

Two Puerto Rico kills and an ace was enough for Zeciski to use a timeout leading by one point at 20-19. Hodge killed the first ball out of the timeout, followed by a Puerto Rico kill and the score was 21-20. Consecutive USA hitting errors gave Puerto Rico their first lead since the beginning of the set at 22-21. The USA then started a terminal run sparked by a Kylie Marshall (Puyallup, Wash.) substitution, a Cooper kill, a pair of Holloway blocks, and a Hodge kill that gave the USA a 25-22 set two victory.

Hoping to wrap up the tournament in straight sets, the USA continued with the same lineup, except for Glass returning at the opposite position. The USA fell behind early 5-3, but quickly recovered to take the lead, 8-6, at the first technical timeout. Marshall entered the game again and added a big block to extend the lead to 12-8 and force a Puerto Rico timeout.

Team USA’s lead was quickly extended to 16-10 on a Marshall blast and a Williams ace. Another Marshall kill and a solo stuff from Cooper had the USA smelling a sweep leading 18-10. The eight-point lead was much too large for Puerto Rico to overcome and Williams closed the tournament with a slide blast down the line to close out match point with a 25-15 victory and a USA 3-0 sweep.

“This team has matured every day since we started on July 1st,” added Zeciski. “This has been one of the closest knit groups of girls that have been put together in such a short span of time. I have no doubt they have formed some life-long friendships. One of our key themes was the ability to adjust to anything that happens. They have done that day after day of this experience.”

Hodge was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and “Best Attacker.” Holloway captured “Best Setter” honors, Kuzma earned “Best Serve Receiver” recognition and Glass was named the “Best Server.”