Reports From USA Volleyball & Bill Kauffman

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team needed just 53 minutes to defeat Costa Rica 25-11, 25-10, 25-2 Monday evening on the fourth day of pool competition at the IX Women’s Pan American Cup being held in Tijuana and Rosarita, Mexico.  Wilson grad Cynthia Barboza had nine points swinging on the outside.

Team USA improves to 4-0 during the Pan American Cup Pool B competition, while Costa Rica fell to 0-4. The U.S., the only undefeated team left in Pool B, concludes pool play on Tuesday against host Mexico at 7 p.m. PT in Tijuana.

Leading 4-3 early in the first set, the U.S. launched a 15-4 scoring run as it eased to a 25-11 victory to start the match. Team USA bolted to a 6-1 advantage in the second set and did not allow Costa Rica to score on its own serve in winning 25-10. The Americans left no doubt in the third set as it went up 14-0 before yielding a point and used just three servers the entire set to win 25-2.

“We knew that Costa Rica didn’t have their complete team, because they have a few more weapons,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “But despite the circumstances, they played hard and as best as they could with all their heart. We are happy to win this one.”

The Pan American Cup is a qualifying event into the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix. The top three teams from NORCECA during the Pan American Cup earn berths into the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix, while the top side from South America also earns a berth.

Ogonna Nnamani (Bloomington, Ill.) chalked up a match-high 19 points with 13 kills on 17 errorless attacks for a .765 hitting efficiency. She added five blocks and an ace in the victory. Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) hit .636 for the night with seven kills on 11 errorless attacks to go with five blocks and an ace for 13 points. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) contributed eight kills on 18 swings, three aces and a block for 12 points in the victory.  Barboza charted seven kills and two blocks for nine points. Christa Harmotto (Aliquippa, Pa.) came off the bench to add two blocks and a kill for three points. Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.) came off the bench to land two service aces, while Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) scored one kill. Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) rounded out the scoring with an ace.

Larson chipped in a team-high nine digs, while Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii) totaled seven digs. The U.S. managed a 28-11 dig advantage in the match.

McCutcheon started Glass at setter, Nnamani at opposite, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker, and Larson and Barboza at outside hitter. Miyashiro was the designated libero for the match, her first-ever start with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Harmotto started the second and third sets in place of Bown, while Thompson started the third set in place of Glass after being a sub in the second set. Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) was part of a double-switch in the second set.

Team USA dominated at the net with a 15-1 margin in blocks. The U.S. also held an 7-0 advantage in service aces as Costa Rica passed serve at just 54 percent positive for the night. For the match, the Americans only had 20 service reception attempts with Larson holding an 77.7 excellent percent on a team-high nine chances. As a team, the U.S. converted 47.4 percent of its attacks into kills with a .436 hitting efficiency (37-3-78). Costa Rica was held to a 14.6 percent kill rate (13-17-89).

Costa Rica was led offensively by Mijal Hines Cuza and Irene Fonseca Avila with five points apiece.

“We came to this tournament with half of our team, and the other half of the team at this time is out due to the injuries,” Costa Rican Captain Verania Willis said. “But the girls who entered this match tried to enjoy it and learn the experience of facing such a great team like USA. They were good with us, because they didn’t play at their maximum.”

Earlier today in Pool B, Peru improved to 3-1 as it defeated Trinidad & Tobago (2-2) 25-18, 25-23, 25-15. Later tonight in Pool B, Mexico (1-2) hosts Puerto Rico (1-2) at 7 p.m. PT. Should the U.S. win Pool B, it will advance directly to the semifinals that start on June 25.

In Pool A, Brazil topped Canada 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 and Dominican Republic defeated Argentina 25-14, 27-25, 26-28, 25-20. Dominican Republic and Argentina are now both 2-1, while Brazil is 1-3 and Canada is 0-3. Cuba, which was idle today, is 3-0 and will meet Argentina on Tuesday. Dominican Republic finishes pool play with Canada.

The U.S. opened with a 2-0 start to the first set after an Akinradewo block and Nnamani kill. Larson followed an Akrinradewo kill with an ace to increase the margin to 4-1. Costa Rica answered with consecutive points to narrow the deficit to 4-3. Akinradewo and Bown put down consecutive kills at 6-3. Nnamani and Barboza scored consecutive kills to extend the Team USA advantage to 8-4 at the first technical timeout. Out of the timeout, Barboza added a block and Nnamani found the deep corner for an ace lifting the USA margin to six at 10-4. Larson and Nnamani collected consecutive kills to push the American lead to 13-6. Akinradewo claimed back-to-back points and Larson scored a third straight point to yield a 16-7 American advantage at the second technical timeout. Out of the break, Nnamani chipped in a fourth and fifth straight point on kills followed by a Larson kill to create a 19-7 advantage. Larson notched an ace after a Nnamani kill to extend the U.S. lead to 21-8. Costa Rica scored consecutive points to close to 21-10. A Nnamani kill and block added the U.S. lead at 23-10. Barboza placed a deep kill for the set at 25-11 after a Costa Rica service error. Nnamani tallied nine points in the opening set, while Akinradewo added five points and Larson four points.

The U.S. went up 5-1 to start the second set with kills from Nnamani, Barboza and Larson followed by a Costa Rica error. Out of a timeout, Nnamani formed a block to increase the margin to 6-1. Team USA scored three straight points with a Costa Rica service error, Glass ace and Nnamani block to land the score at 13-6. Barboza put the U.S. in front 16-7 with a kill at the second technical timeout after an Akinradewo block and Costa Rica error. Larson downed two back-row kills while Akinradewo served an ace and Harmotto stuff an attack as part of 5-0 scoring run to set the score at 21-9. Nnamani and Larson picked up consecutive kills and a Costa Rica error put set points at 24-9. Harmotto put up a block to close the set at 25-10. Costa Rica had eight errors in the second set. Nnamani added another five points in the second set to lead the Americans.

Team USA jumped to a 14-0 lead in the third set with two Thompson aces around four kills and a block from Akinradewo, a Nnamani block and kill and two Larson kills and block. The U.S. reached the second technical timeout leading 16-1 with a Nnamani kill and Costa Rica error, its third of the set. Out of the break, Nnamani scored a block and kill after an Akinradewo kill to push the margin to 19-1. Barboza tallied two kills around a Larson service ace and Akinradewo block to extend the score to 23-1. After a Costa Rica point, the U.S. finished the set at 25-2 with a Larson block as it used just three servers the entire set and half a full rotation.