Bill Kauffman
Official FIVB Statistics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 27, 2011) - The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team (BYNT) lost to Brazil 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 Saturday evening in the classification 9-12 semifinals of the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ Youth World Championship Argentina 2011 being played in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The U.S. will face the loser of the other 9-12 classification match between Iran and Egypt on Sunday in the 11th-place match at a time to be determined. The Americans have already faced both possible opponents, defeating Egypt 3-2 to open the tournament on Aug. 19 and losing to Iran 3-1 to start the second round 9-16 classification on Aug. 24.  Brazil scored four unanswered points to take a 10-5 lead in the opening set and never allowed the U.S. to challenge down the stretch with a 25-20 victory. Brazil overcame a 17-15 deficit in the second set and scored five of the last eight points for a 25-23 victory. The U.S. led 22-18 in the third set, but Brazil erased the deficit and took a 23-22 advantage only to have American Matt Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif.) score the final three points for a 25-23 victory, but was injured on the final play of the set and did not return in the match. Brazil used a 4-0 spurt to gain control of the fourth set at 10-5, then put away the set with a 7-1 run at 23-13 en route to a 25-16 victory.

Austin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) scored 11 kills via 31 swings, one block and one ace for 13 points to lead the U.S. Boy’s Youth National Team against Brazil. Matthew Tarantino (Van Nuys, Calif.) matched the team-high 13 points with 11 kills on 29 attacks and two blocks. Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) chipped in nine kills on 13 attacks and two blocks for 11 points. Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill.) came off the bench to supply to supply six kills and a block for seven points. Cody Caldwell (Newport Beach, Calif.) tallied five kills and a block for six points, while Ben Patch (Provo, Utah) tacked on six points via four kills, one block and an ace. Nikola Antonijevic scored a team-high three blocks with a kill for four points, while James Shaw (Woodside, Calif.) rounded out the scoring with three points on two kills and a block.  The U.S. converted 35.7 percent of its attacks into points with a .139 hitting efficiency thanks to 30 attack errors. While Brazil’s kill percent was slightly higher at 37.9 percent, it produced a .274 hitting efficiency with only 13 attack errors. Matt West (Seattle) tallied 10 assists on 84 set attempts, while Shaw added four assists on 38 set attempts.  “It was exciting from both sides, but Brazil was better,” U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team Head Coach Ken Shibuya said. “Caldwell was very tired, so I replaced him with Petty, who had his best match today. I'm also proud of Matthew (Tarantino), who asked me to continue playing even though he was injured on his shoulder.”  Andrew Sato led the U.S. back-row with 15 digs and eight excellent receptions on 17 attempts. Caldwell charted 17 excellent receptions on 25 attempts to go with four digs. Kingi provided 18 excellent receptions on 33 attempts.  “It was a very well played match,” West said. “We did a great job and we are happy to be here, but it was too bad that we couldn't win.”

U.S. Boys’ Youth Head Coach Ken Shibuya started Shaw at setter, Kingi at opposite, Tarantino and Caldwell at outside hitter, and Antonijevic and Russell at middle blocker. Sato served as the libero for the match. West and Petty entered the match in the second set and started the final two sets. Patch subbed into the third set and started the fourth set. Scott Rhein (Pleasant View, Tenn.) was a sub in all four sets.  Although the U.S. held a 49-47 advantage in kills, Brazil gained points on 33 U.S. errors to its own 21. Brazil also held a16-12 margin in blocks, while both teams served two aces.

“The USA team has a great staff, I think they will all have a great future,” Brazil head coach Percy Oncken said. “I want to congratulate them. Brazil played with passion today, that's the only way we know to do it.”  Brazil featured four players in double-figure scoring led by Alan Souza’s 15 points with 12 kills and three blocks. Jonatas Cardoso provided the victors 10 kills, two blocks and an ace for 13 points. Joao Ferreira and Henrique Batagim added 11 and 10 points, respectively.  In other matches played today, Spain earned a spot into the gold-medal match by defeating Cuba 27-25, 25-22, 16-25, 26-24 and will await the other semifinal winner between Serbia and France. In the 5-8 classification semifinals, Argentina handled Greece 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 and Bulgaria downed China 25-20, 26-24, 25-18. In the 13-16 classification semifinals, Russia topped Tunisia 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20 and Korea edged Puerto Rico 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 32-30.

After Tarantino scored the first point of the match, Brazil notched three unanswered points for a 3-1 lead to begin the first set. Brazil jumped its advantage to 6-3 as Santos served an ace in a 3-0 run. Shaw followed a Brazil error with a kill to move the U.S. within 6-5, only to have Brazil rolled off another four unanswered points to obtain a 10-5 advantage. Caldwell hammered a kill after a Brazil error to shave the deficit to 10-7. Brazil stretched its lead to 16-10 on three straight points heading into the second technical timeout. Shaw followed a Kingi kill with a block to cut the gap to 17-13, only to have Brazil answer with two points of its own at 19-13. Back-to-back Brazil errors allowed the U.S. to save two set points before falling 25-20. Tarantino led the U.S. with four points in the set.

Russell scored a kill and block on back-to-back rallies to yield a 2-1 U.S. lead in the early stages of the second set. Brazil reversed the lead and took a 6-3 advantage with four straight points including three blocks. Caldwell ended the run with a kill and Antonijevic followed with consecutive blocks to knot the score at 6-all. A Caldwell kill and Brazil error pushed the Americans in front 8-7 at the first technical timeout. The U.S. reached the second technical timeout leading 16-13. Trailing 17-15, Brazil scored consecutive points to level the score at 17-all. Brazil then closed out the set with a 25-23 victory.

The U.S. jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set as Caldwell and Tarantino scored points and Kingi added an ace. Petty and Tarantino scored consecutive kills to yield an 8-4 American lead at the first technical timeout. Brazil sliced the deficit to 9-7 with consecutive points. Kingi tallied a block after a Russell kill to send the score to 12-8. Brazil closed the gap in half at 14-12 with back-to-back points. Kingi and Petty collected consecutive points to increase the American lead to 22-18. Brazil answered with a 4-0 run to level the score at 22-all, then grabbed the lead at 23-22 on its fifth straight point. Tarantino stopped the run with three consecutive kills to end the set at 25-23. Tarantino finished the set with seven points, while Petty added six points.

Brazil earned the first two-point cushion of the fourth set at 5-3 with a 4-1 scoring run. Brazil reached the first technical timeout leading 8-5, then added a third and fourth straight points at 10-5 out of the break. Kingi downed consecutive attacks to cut the deficit to 10-7, but Brazil returned to a five-point edge at 15-10. Brazil jumped its lead to 23-13 with a 7-1 scoring run. Russell collected a kill and Patch followed with an ace to shave the deficit to 23-15. Brazil sided out the rest of the set for a 25-16 victory.

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, Thousand 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., Space Needle, 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

Semifinal Round
Aug. 27: Spain def. Cuba 27-25, 25-22, 16-25, 26-24
Aug. 27: Serbia vs. France, 5 p.m. PT

Classification 5-8
Aug. 27: Argentina def. Greece 25-22, 25-21, 25-21
Aug. 27: Bulgaria def. China 25-20, 26-24, 25-18

Classification 9-12
Aug. 27: Brazil def. USA 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16
Aug. 27: Iran vs. Egypt, 5 p.m. PT

Classification 13-16
Aug. 27: Russia def. Tunisia 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20
Aug. 27: Korea def. Puerto Rico 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 32-30

Second Round (Aug. 24-26)

Pool E
Aug. 24: Cuba def. China 25-18, 20-25, 25-14, 23-25, 17-15
Aug. 24: Serbia def. Argentina 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9
Aug. 25: Serbia def. Cuba 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-15
Aug. 25: Argentina def. China 25-23, 19-25, 25-15, 25-19
Aug. 26: Serbia def. China 25-15, 20-25, 25-15, 25-20
Aug. 26: Cuba def. Argentina 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17

Pool F
Aug. 24: Spain def. Bulgaria 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17
Aug. 24: France def. Greece 19-25, 25-14, 25-20, 26-24
Aug. 25: Spain def. France 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 15-25, 15-10
Aug. 25: Bulgaria def. Greece 25-23, 25-19, 25-21
Aug. 26: France def. Bulgaria 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-11
Aug. 26: Spain def. Greece 25-19, 30-28, 25-19

Pool G
Aug. 24: Brazil def. Tunisia 25-15, 21-25, 25-12, 25-21
Aug. 24: Egypt def. Puerto Rico 15-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17
Aug. 25: Brazil def. Puerto Rico 25-17, 25-16, 25-18
Aug. 25: Egypt def. Tunisia 25-19, 25-22, 15-25, 28-26
Aug. 26: Tunisia def. Puerto Rico 25-21, 25-18, 25-21
Aug. 26: Brazil def. Egypt 25-18, 25-14, 25-20

Pool H
Aug. 24: Iran def. USA 25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-18
Aug. 24: Russia def. Korea 25-20, 19-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-10
Aug. 25: Iran def. Korea 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22
Aug. 25: USA def. Russia 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13
Aug. 26: Korea def. USA 25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-11
Aug. 26: Iran def. Russia 25-12, 26-24, 25-20

First Round (Aug. 19-21)

Pool A (Almirante Brown)
Aug. 19: USA def. Egypt 25-16, 25-21, 27-29, 34-36, 17-15
Aug. 19: Bulgaria def. Argentina 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 15-8
Aug. 20: Bulgaria def. USA 25-22, 27-29, 25-16, 25-20
Aug. 20: Argentina def. Egypt 25-22, 25-19, 25-22
Aug. 21: Egypt def. Bulgaria 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17
Aug. 21: Argentina def. USA 25-20, 25-19, 28-26

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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