Jul 12

US Women Open Pan Am Cup Victorious

Print

Bill Kauffman
USA Volleyball Communications
Phone: 719-228-6800
Email: bill.kauffman@usav.org
@USA_Volleyball - USAV Facebook

Unofficial DataVolley Stats - Official Stats

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 12, 2012) – The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team defeated Canada 25-15, 25-22, 25-15 Thursday afternoon to open the Women’s Pan American Cup at Juarez, Mexico.

The U.S. continues Pool A action on July 13 versus Puerto Rico at 8 p.m. MT, followed by Cuba on July 14 at 6 p.m. MT. Team USA faces Colombia on July 15 at 4 p.m. MT before concluding pool play on July 16 versus host Dominican Republic at 6 p.m. MT.

The U.S. opened a 6-3 lead in the first set and cruised to a 25-15 victory in benefiting from 12 Canada errors. The Americans used a 15-4 scoring run to overcome a 9-5 deficit in winning the second set 25-22. Team USA used six unanswered points in the third set to gain a 14-6 advantage and went on to win 25-15.

The U.S. was led in scoring by Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) and Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.), who each tallied 14 points. Metcalf was credited with 13 kills on 28 attacks and an ace. Gibbemeyer boasted eight kills on 16 swings, a match-high five blocks and an ace. Kristin Richards (Orem, Utah) charted nine kills on 17 attacks for her total points. Jennifer Tamas (Milpitas, Calif.) contributed five kills on 11 errorless attacks and an ace for six points. Cassidy Lichtman (Poway, Calif.) tacked on three kills and a block for four points. Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and Nicole Fawcett (Zanesfield, Ohio) rounded out the scoring with a kill each.

Kayla Banwarth (Dubuque) provided a team-high five digs and five excellent receptions on 11 attempts. Glass set the U.S. offense to a 45.5 kill percent and .239 hitting efficiency (40-9-88) with 17 running sets on 66 set attempts.

Reed Sunahara (Cincinnati, Ohio), who is serving as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team competing at the Pan American Cup, started Richards and Lichtman at outside hitter, Tamas and Gibbemeyer at middle blocker, Metcalf at opposite and Glass at setter. Banwarth is the designated libero for the tournament. Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, Mich.) subbed in the match in the first set, while Fawcett was a sub in the second set. Keao Burdine (Pico Rivera, Calif.) and Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) were subs in the third set. For Sykora, it was her first match wearing the U.S. uniform in an international competition since an April 2011 bus accident left.

“Victory is always great,” said Sykora, who is serving as captain for the U.S. team. “Canada is a very strong team and I am very happy for playing again. Actually this is my first Team USA match after that accident and I really wanted to get back and play volleyball again.”

“I decided to use her just in the right time and she did a good job,” Sunahara said. “For me as coach and for USA Volleyball it is unbelievable to see her recovering and we are very happy she is back again.”

Team USA benefited from 26 Canada errors in the match while limited its own miscues to 12. The Americans held a 6-5 margin in blocks and 3-2 edge in aces. Offensively, the U.S. managed a 40-33 advantage in kills and 9-7 margin in digs. Team USA’s defense held Canada to a 36.7 kill percent and .222 hitting efficiency (33-13-90).

“USA found our weaknesses, especially in the pass and the other difference was in the unforced errors,” Canada coach Arnd Ludwig said.

Canada’s Sarah Pavan led her team with 10 points, while Shanice Marcelle and Lisa Dawn Margaret Barclay each totaled eight points.

The Pan American Cup serves as a qualification tournament into the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix, which the U.S. has won each of the past three years. The top four teams from NORCECA, plus the top team from South America other than Brazil, will qualify for the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix.

After an off-day on July 17, cross-over quarterfinal matches between second- and third-place teams in each pool will take place at COBACH on July 18 as well as classification matches for positions seven through 12. Pool winners earn a direct ticket to the semifinals, which take place on July 19 at COBACH. The tournament concludes with medal round and final classification matches on July 20 at COBACH.

Team USA reached an early three-point separation at 6-3 with kills from Glass and Metcalf after a Canada error. Back-to-back Canada errors and Richards kill increased the American lead to 10-5. Tamas connected for a kill after a Canada error to raise the score to 12-6. Lichtman put up a block after a Canada error to extend the gap to 14-7. Team USA reached the second technical timeout leading 16-8 with a Gibbemeyer kill and Canada error. Gibbemeyer put up a kill and block on consecutive plays to yield an 18-9 lead. Team USA moved the gap to nine at 22-13 with a Richards kill and Canada’s 11th error of the set. Metcalf ended the set with an ace at 25-15 after a Canada error. Gibbemeyer scored a team-high four points in the opening set as four others scored two points each. Canada committed 12 errors while the U.S. limited its own miscues to three.

Canada started the second set by scoring the first three points and extended the lead to 5-1.Team USA closed to 5-3 with a Lichtman kill and Gibbemeyer block. Canada regained its four-point edge at 7-3 with back-to-back points. After falling behind 9-4, the U.S. went on a 4-0 run with a kill by Richards and Gibbemeyer ace. On a fifth straight point, Richards tied the set at 9-all with a kill. Canada answered with consecutive points to take an 11-9 advantage. Richards, Tamas and Metcalf collected consecutive kills to put the U.S. in the lead 13-12. Metcalf added another kill to extend the gap to 14-12 with a fourth straight point. Metcalf tallied two kills around a Tamas ace followed by a Gibbemeyer block to yield an 18-13 American lead on a 4-0 scoring run. Metcalf and Lichtman added a fifth and sixth straight point with kills at 20-13. Canada ended the run with back-to-back points at 20-15. Canada closed to 21-17 with consecutive points, then kept charging at 22-19. Canada closed to within two points at 23-21 with consecutive points before Richards knocked down a kill for set points at 24-21. Richards ended the set with a kill at 25-22. Metcalf tallied six points in the set to lead the U.S., while Richards added five points.

Team USA gained a two-point cushion at 4-2 with a Tamas kill and Canada error. Metcalf followed a Canada error with a kill and Gibbemeyer put up a block for a 7-3 margin. Canada scored twice out of the first technical timeout to trim the gap to 8-6. Team USA built the lead to 12-6 with two Gibbemeyer kills around two Canada errors. Gibbemeyer put up a block and Canada gave its 23rd error of the match at 14-6 for sixth straight U.S. point. Canada reeled off three straight points to close to 14-9. Richards and Metcalf scored two kills each to increase the U.S. lead to 19-10. Canada notched back-to-back points to inch to 20-13. Metcalf hammered a kill and Canada committed its 26th error of the match to bring the score to 23-13. Metcalf finished the set and match with a kill at 25-15.

Women's Pan American Cup Year-by-Year
Year: Gold – Silver – Bronze
2002: Cuba – Dominican Republic – USA
2003: USA – Dominican Republic – Cuba
2004: Cuba – USA – Dominican Republic
2005: Cuba – Dominican Republic – Brazil
2006: Brazil – Cuba – Dominican Republic
2007: Cuba – Brazil – Dominican Republic
2008: Dominican Republic – Brazil – Argentina
2009: Brazil – Dominican Republic – Puerto Rico
2010: Dominican Republic – Peru – USA
2011: Brazil – Dominican Republic - USA

2012 U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Roster for Pan American Cup
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 - Alisha Glass (S, 6-0, Leland, Mich., Penn State)
5 – Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Burleson, Texas, Texas A&M)
6 – Kayla Banwarth (L, 5-10, Dubuque, Iowa, Nebraska)
9 - Jennifer Tamas (MB, 6-4, Milpitas, Calif., Pacific)
11 – Lauren Paolini (MB, 6-4, Ann Arbor, Mich., Texas)
12 - Nancy Metcalf (Opp, 6-1, Hull, Iowa, Nebraska)
14 - Nicole Fawcett (Opp, 6-4, Zanesfield, Ohio, Penn State)
15 – Cassidy Lichtman (OH, 6-1, Poway, Calif., Stanford)
17 – Carli Lloyd (S, 5-11, Bonsall, Calif., California-Berkeley)
19 – Keao Burdine (OH, 6-1, Pico Rivera, Calif., Southern California)
24 – Kristin Richards (OH, 6-1, Orem, Utah, Stanford)
25 – Lauren Gibbemeyer (MB, 6-2, St. Paul, Minn., Minnesota)

Head Coach: Reed Sunahara (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Assistant Coach: Tom Pestolesi (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Assistant Coach: Dan Fisher (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Team Manager: Mike Hebert (San Diego, Calif.)
Technical Coordinator: Nate Ngo (Lincoln, Neb.)
Medical Support: Maria “Larnie” Boquiren (Culver City, Calif.)

2012 Women's Pan American Cup Schedule

Pool A: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States
Pool B: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago

Pool A
July 12: Dominican Republic def. Colombia 25-13, 25-18, 25-11
July 12: United States def. Canada 25-15, 25-22, 25-15
July 12: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, 4 p.m. MT
July 13: Cuba vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. MT
July 13: Dominican Republic vs. Canada, 6 p.m. MT
July 13: United States vs. Puerto Rico, 8 p.m. MT
July 14: Canada vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. MT
July 14: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico, 4 p.m. MT
July 14: United States vs. Cuba, 6 p.m. MT 6 p.m. MT
July 15: United States vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. MT
July 15: Puerto Rico vs. Canada, 4 p.m. MT
July 15: Dominican Republic vs. Cuba, 8 p.m. MT
July 16: Cuba vs. Canada, 4 p.m. MT
July 16: Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. MT
July 16: United States vs. Dominican Republic, 6 p.m. MT

Pool B
July 12: Brazil vs. Costa Rica, 3 p.m. MT
July 12: Argentina vs. Peru, 5 p.m. MT
July 12: Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 8 p.m. MT
July 13: Argentina vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 4 p.m. MT
July 13: Brazil vs. Peru, 6 p.m. MT
July 13: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, 8 p.m. MT
July 14: Brazil vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 6 p.m. MT
July 14: Peru vs. Costa Rica, 8 p.m. MT
July 14: Mexico vs. Argentina, 8 p.m. MT
July 15: Costa Rica vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 6 p.m.
July 15: Brazil vs. Argentina, 6 p.m. MT
July 15: Mexico vs. Peru, 8 p.m. MT
July 16: Peru vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 6 p.m. MT
July 16: Argentina vs. Costa Rica, 8 p.m. MT
July 16: Mexico vs. Brazil, 8 p.m. MT

July 18: Match 31 - 4B vs. 5A, 4 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 7-10
July 18: Match 32 - 4A vs. 5B, 6 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 7-10
July 18: Match 33 - 6A vs. 6B, 8 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 11-12
July 18: Match 34 - 2A vs. 3B, 6 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Quarterfinal
July 18: Match 35 - 2B vs. 3A, 8 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Quarterfinal

July 19: Match 36 – M31 winner vs. M34 loser, 4 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 5-8
July 19: Match 37 – M32 winner vs. M35 loser, 6 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 5-8
July 19: Match 38 – M31 loser vs. M32 loser, 8 p.m. MT (at UACJ) – Classification 9-10
July 19: Match 39 – Pool B Winner vs. M34 winner, 6 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Semifinal
July 19: Match 40 – Pool A Winner vs. M35 winner, 8 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Semifinal

July 20: Match 41 – M36 loser vs. M37 loser, 2 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Classification 7-8
July 20: Match 42 – M36 winner vs. M37 winner, 4 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Classification 5-6
July 20: Match 43 – M39 loser vs. M40 loser, 6 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Bronze-Medal Match
July 20: Match 44 – M39 winner vs. M40 winner, 8 p.m. MT (at COBACH) – Gold-Medal Match