In a match marked with momentum shifts, the U.S. girls’ youth volleyball national team rallied to defeat Brazil 26-24, 19-25, 8-25, 25-19, 15-11 on Monday in pool play of the biennial FIVB Girls’ U18 World Championship at Santa Fe, Argentina.
The Americans concludes pool play against Mexico on Tuesday. Both the U.S. and Brazil are 1-2 in the tournament. Mexico is winless, without a set victory.
Taylor Landfair, who received her first starting nod, scored a team-high 22 points with 18 kills on 48 swings, two blocks and two aces.
Logan Eggleston charted 16 points with 13 kills via 48 swings, two blocks and an ace. Mica Allison, also getting her first starting nod, contributed nine kills on 18 swings, one block and one ace for 11 points.
Madison Horin pocketed nine points with six kills on 11 swings, two blocks and an ace. Holly Campbell, who started and played just the first and third sets, tallied three kills and two blocks for five points. Kendall Kipp added two blocks, one ace and one kill in starting the second, fourth and fifth sets. Nicklin Hames recorded two aces from her setter position. Menlo School junior Selina Xu completed the scoring with an ace.
Momentum played a huge role in the match. The Americans overcame a 20-17 deficit in the opening set to win 26-24.
After the U.S. started the second set up 4-1, Brazil took a 13-7 lead on a 12-3 run and went on to win 26-24.
In the third set, Brazil scored 21 of the final 24 points, including a 14-0 spurt, to win 25-8.
After trailing 8-3 in the fourth set, the Americans used a 13-4 run to take a 16-12 advantage and went on to cruise for a 25-19 win.
In the deciding fifth set, Team USA used a key 5-1 run to take a 13-10 advantage and went on to win 15-11.
Eggleston provided 16 excellent receptions on 28 chances and nine digs. Allison was credited with a team-best 20 digs. American libero Brooke Nuneviller tallied 19 digs and 16 excellent receptions on 28 chances.
The U.S. converted 36.6 percent of its attacks into points with a .148 hitting efficiency (52-31-142). Hames was credited with 12 running sets on 129 total set attempts in running the American offense. In contrast, Brazil converted just 32.8 percent of its attacks with a .130 hitting efficiency (43-25-131).
By USA volleyball
By USA volleyball
By USA volleyball