*Photos courtesy of NORCECA and FIVB
USA Worlds-Bound After Winning U21 NORCECA Men's Gold
After a month of preparation, it took just 13 sets and four opponents for Jay Hosack to lead the U.S. Men's Junior National Team to the 2016 NORCECA Under-21 Continental Championship title. On Sunday, a focused MJNT team handled Cuba with a 3-1 gold-medal game victory in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada to finish with a perfect 4-0 record in the qualifying tournament.
By winning the gold, Hosack and the U.S. MJNT team will head to Brno, Czech Republic in 2017 to compete in the FIVB U21 World Championship.
“Not only is it always an honor to represent your country at any sporting event, it was especially an honor for me to represent George Mason on the global level as a coach for Team USA this summer,” commented Hosack. “We accomplished a tremendous feat in winning gold at NORCECA and earning a bid to the FIVB World Championships next summer in the Czech Republic against the top 16 teams in the world.”
Team USA began the quest for the title on July 5 with two games in pool play. They opened the qualifying tournament bypassing Barbados in a three-set victory to face St. Vincent the following day. By defeating St. Vincent, another straight-set victory, MJNT advanced directly to the semifinal round on July 8 at Centre Sportif de Gatineau. Cuba, Team USA's ultimate final opponent, won Pool B to also advance to the semifinal round.
After a day off, Team USA met Canada in the semifinal round and used a 15-point run in the opening set to set the tone for a three-set victory (25-9, 26-24, 25-21). A pair of undefeated teams were then set to face off in the championship match as neither the United States nor Cuba had lost a set to date in the tournament.
So on Sunday, Team USA and Cuba met for a chance to advance to the World Championship. After MJNT sailed through the first set, the final swung on the second set as Team USA overcame a six-point deficit at 17-11 to set up a nail-biting finish where the MJNT won on the sixth set point to claim the second set. Cuba grabbed the third set, but with Team USA leading 2-1 heading into the fourth set, the MJNT raced out to an early lead and held Cuba to secure the gold-medal victory.
In the final match, the MJNT converted 55-of-106 attacks (51.9 percent) while Cuba made good on 54-of-115 (47 percent). The Americans' reception seldom wavered, as Cuba was limited to three aces. The U.S. out-blocked Cuba 11-4, led by Ensing with four blocks.
Setter Josh Tuaniga (CSU Long Beach) was named tournament Most Valuable Player and Best Setter. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert (Stanford) was named Best Spiker.
“This summer was an unforgettable experience, and I'm grateful to be able to bring my experiences with the men's junior national team back with me to George Mason,” Hosack noted. “Now, I get to be home, and get ready to focus on what will hopefully be another great season with Mason volleyball.”
Hosack, the 2016 Bob Sweeney EIVA Coach of the Year, just completed his first season at the helm of the George Mason men's volleyball program and it was a season for the record books as the Patriots captured their first EIVA crown since 1988. With the EIVA title, Mason earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament where it faced Ohio State in the first round. The Patriots rounded out the season with an 18-12 overall record and 10-4 mark in league play to finish ranked No. 11 nationally.
Team USA Schedule/Results
July 5: USA def Barbados, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16
July 6: USA def St. Vincent, 25-11, 25-12, 25-10
July 8: Semifinals - USA def Canada, 25-9, 26-24, 25-21
July 9: Finals - USA def Cuba, 25-17, 29-27, 19-25, 25-22
To read the Team USA recap, please click here.
