Becky Murdy
Copy By: Bill Kauffman

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 22, 2011) – The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team begins the second round of the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ Youth World Championship Argentina 2011 on Wednesday with the chance to finish as high as ninth in the tournament.

The U.S. will face Iran on Aug. 24 at 6 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Pacific Time) to start the second round Pool H, followed by Russia on Aug. 25 at 9 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Pacific Time). Team USA concludes the second round versus Korea on Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Pacific Time). The second round schedule has been adjusted to start on Wednesday with two off days after the first round due to team transportation issues caused by volcano ash potentially being in the area.

Each team starts the second round with a 0-0 record and zero group points, which give teams three points for 3-0 or 3-1 victories, two points for a 3-2 victory or one point for a 3-2 loss.

The top two teams in Pool H will advance to the 9-12 classification semifinal round to face the top two teams in Pool G (Brazil, Egypt, Puerto Rico and Tunisia) in crossover matches on Aug. 27. The bottom two teams in Pools G and H will play for 13-16 classification starting on Aug. 27.

After a hard-fought five-set victory over Egypt to open the tournament, the U.S. finished fourth in the first round Pool A with a 1-2 record, which sent the Americans into the 9-16 second-round classification bracket. The Americans lost to Bulgaria in four sets and host Argentina in three sets to finish the first round.

The top two teams in each of the four first round pools of four teams advanced to the top eight, which is divided into Pools E and F. The teams finishing third and fourth were placed in Pools G and H in the second round.

Cody Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif.) is the U.S. leading scorer in the tournament with 49 points (47 kills, 2 blocks), which is tied for ninth-best overall. Caldwell also ranks 14th in Best Spiker with a 40.9 kill percent. Matthew Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif.) has added 46 points (37 kills, 8 blocks, 1 ace) for 14th in Best Scorer. Nikola Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) has averaged 0.67 blocks per set through the first round for 13th place in Best Blocker. Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) ranks seventh in Best Server with a 0.50 ace average in the first round. Andrew Sato (Calabasas, Calif.) is 12th in Best Receiver with a 47.5 efficiency percent. Since the U.S. did not reach the top eight pools for the second round, they will not qualify for the tournament-ending honors and will not be ranked among the best players in the second round or final round.

For more information on the U.s. Boys' Youth National Team, visit the team's FIVB Volleyball Boys' Youth World Championship Argentina 2011 event page at usavolleyball.org/events/8218.

2011 U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team Roster
No. Name (Position, City, State, Club, Region)
1 - Nikola Antonijevic (MB, Buffalo Grove, Ill., Adversity, Great Lakes)
2 - Cody Caldwell (OH, Newport Beach, Calif., Balboa Bay, Southern California)
5 - Austin Kingi (OH, Tousand Oaks, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
6 - Josh Kirchner (MB, Sussex, Wis., West Allis Lightning, Badger)
10 - Ben Patch (Opposite, Provo, Utah, Vegas VC, Intermountain)
11 - Greg Petty (OH, Downers Grove, Ill., Sports Performance, Great Lakes)
12 - Scott Rhein (OH, Pleasant View, Tenn., Impact, Southern)
13 - Aaron Russell (MB, Ellicott City, Md., MVP, Chesapeake)
15 - Andrew Sato (Libero, Calabasas, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
16 - James Shaw (Setter, Woodside, Calif., Mountain View, Northern California)
17 - Matthew Tarantino (OH, Van Nuys, Calif., SMBC, Southern California)
18 - Matthew West (Setter, Seattle, Wash., Spaceneedle, Puget Sound)
*DJ White (OH, Hermosa Beach, Calif., MB Surf, Southern California)

*White will not be making the trip to Argentina due to scheduling conflict with Harvard University.

Staff
Head Coach: Ken Shibuya (Stanford University)
Asst. Coach: Dan Friend (Lewis University)
Asst. Coach: Rob Neilson (Brigham Young University)
Team Manager: Tom Tait
Team Doctor: Julie Chuan
Technical Coordinator: Jonah Carson

Pool E (Times Local)
Aug. 24: Cuba vs. China, 6 p.m.
Aug. 24: Argentina vs. Serbia, 9 p.m.
Aug. 25: Cuba vs. Serbia, 6 p.m.
Aug. 25: China vs. Argentina, 9 p.m.
Aug. 26: Serbia vs. China, 6 p.m.
Aug. 26: Argentina vs. Cuba, 9 p.m.

Pool F (Times Local)
Aug. 24: Spain vs. Bulgaria, 10 a.m.
Aug. 24: Greece vs. France, 1 p.m.
Aug. 25: Spain vs. France, 10 a.m.
Aug. 25: Bulgaria vs. Greece, 1 p.m.
Aug. 26: France vs. Bulgaria, 10 a.m.
Aug. 26: Greece vs. Spain, 1 p.m.

Pool G (Times Local)
Aug. 24: Brazil vs. Tunisia, 10 a.m.
Aug. 24: Egypt vs. Puerto Rico, 1 p.m.
Aug. 25: Brazil vs. Puerto Rico, 10 a.m.
Aug. 25: Tunisia vs. Egypt, 1 p.m.
Aug. 26: Puerto Rico vs. Tunisia, 10 a.m.
Aug. 26: Egypt vs. Brazil, 1 p.m.

Pool H (Times Local)

First Round (Aug. 19-21)

Pool A (Almirante Brown)

Pool B (Bahia Blanca)
Aug. 19: Greece def. Russia 25-12, 25-23, 32-30
Aug. 19: China def. Tunisia 26-24, 21-25, 25-27, 25-21, 15-6
Aug. 20: Greece def. China 25-14, 25-22, 25-12
Aug. 20: Russia def. Tunisia 25-12, 25-19, 25-14
Aug. 21: Greece def. Tunisia 25-22, 25-10, 25-20
Aug. 21: China def. Russia 25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-13

Pool C (Almirante Brown)
Aug. 19: Brazil def. Korea 25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 20-25, 15-9
Aug. 19: Cuba def. France 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21
Aug. 20: France def. Korea 29-27, 25-20, 25-22
Aug. 20: Cuba def. Brazil 21-25, 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-13
Aug. 21: France def. Brazil 14-25, 25-20, 9-25, 25-22, 15-12
Aug. 21: Cuba def. Korea 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13

Pool D (Bahia Blanca)
Aug. 19: Serbia def. Puerto Rico 25-16, 25-22, 25-20
Aug. 19: Spain def. Iran 25-22, 27-25, 25-21
Aug. 20: Spain def. Puerto 25-21, 25-17, 25-15
Aug. 20: Iran def. Serbia 25-22, 13-25, 30-28, 25-18
Aug. 21: Serbia def. Spain 21-25, 28-26, 25-22, 25-21
Aug. 21: Iran def. Puerto Rico 25-12, 25-15, 25-19

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