COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 19, 2024) –The United States women’s national team increased its record to 2-0 with a convincing 3-0 victory (25-14, 25-20, 25-15) against Puerto Rico (1-1) on Monday in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
The U.S. women will play their third consecutive game of the tournament against Cuba (1-1) on Tuesday (August 20) at 7:00 p.m. PT.
“It was a really good game for us. We played nice, clean and consistent,” said head coach Brad Rostratter. “It was fun to see a new group of athletes on the court. Again, our serves and passes made the difference and kept us consistent.”
GAME STATISTICS (PDF)
The US offense dominated the game and finished with a 47-21 lead in kills. The USA also had the lead in blocks (9-6) and service aces (6-3).
Opponent Kendall Kipp and outside hitter Roni Jones-Perry combined for 30 kills and 34 points to overwhelm Puerto Rico’s defense. Kipp led all players with 18 points on 16 kills and two blocks, while Jones-Perry totaled 16 points on 14 kills and two blocks. Both players finished the game with seven digs.
“I thought the team played really well. We’re still getting used to playing together competitively, but I thought we adapted really well to what Puerto Rico does. They played a really good game,” Kipp said. “It was fun to let the nerves out and play some volleyball. It’s fun to play with all those players on the same side of the net after playing against them in college.”
Middle blocker Amber Igiede scored nine points with five kills, two blocks and two aces. She shared the team lead in blocks with Kipp and Jones-Perry and shared the team lead in aces with setter Jenna Gray and middle blocker Serena Gray.
Outside hitter Claire Hoffman contributed seven points with six kills and a block, and Serena Gray finished with seven points with four kills and a block to go with her two aces. Jenna Gray led all players with 13 digs and added a kill and a block to go with her two aces. Substitute setter Ella Powell also played as part of double substitutions.
Stephanie Samedy, the substitute, had a kill. Hoffman and libero Zoe Fleck finished the game with 12 digs each, while Hoffman led the team with 17 catches.
Back-to-back aces from Jenna Gray gave the USA a 16-7 lead in the opening set. The lead grew to 13 points, 21-8, and the set never got closer than nine points. Jones-Perry led the team with five kills, Kipp also scored five points, with four kills and a block.
A frantic defense that led to an Igiede putdown from the middle and a Kipp kill gave the USA an early 8-4 lead in the second set, but Puerto Rico kept the set close throughout. A Kipp block gave the USA its largest lead at 16-11, but Puerto Rico narrowed the gap to 2:17 with an ace that trickled off the net.
The lead was still only two points, 18-16, but a kill by Kipp and a block by Serena Gray extended the lead to four points, and Puerto Rico could not get any closer in the set. Igiede (five kills, one block) and Jones-Perry (four kills, two blocks) led the USA with six points each. Kipp scored five points in the second straight set with four kills and a block.
Three kills from Kipp in a four-point span gave the U.S. a 10-7 lead in the third set. Puerto Rico got within two points midway through the set (13-11) before a 5-0 run extended the lead to seven points. The key to that was two kills from Kipp, along with kills from Jones-Perry and Hoffman.
Kipp’s eighth kill of the match brought the score to 22-13. A kill by Serena Gray marked the second straight U.S. victory to open the tournament. Jones-Perry had five kills in the set and Hoffman added four points with three kills and a block.
US Women’s Squad for 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup
4 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., University of Texas, Southern)
5 Kendall Kipp (Opponent, 6-6, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
6 Serena Gray (MB, 6-3, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
7 Claire Hoffman (OH, 6-2, Pleasant Hill, Oregon, University of Washington, Columbia Empire)
8 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., University of Hawaii, Delta)
9 Tia Jimerson (MB, 6-3, Sugar Hill, Ga., Ohio University, Southern)
12 Breland Morrisette (MB, 6-1, Birmingham, Alabama, Georgia Tech, South)
13 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Arkansas, University of Washington, Delta)
14 Sarah Sponcil (N, 5-10, Phoenix, Arizona, UCLA, Arizona)
15 Jaali Winters (OH, 6-3, Ankeny, Iowa, Creighton, Iowa)
17 Zoe Fleck (L, 5-6, Grenada Hills, California, Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kansas, Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
31C Roni Jones Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
34 Stephanie Samedy (Opponent, 6-2, Clermont, Florida, University of Minnesota, Florida)
Head Coach: Brad Rostratter
Assistant Coach: Jonathan Charette
2. Assistant coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Team Manager: James Lundgren
Physiotherapist: Cherryl-Marie Bueno
Statistician: Peter Wong
US Women’s Pan American Cup Schedule
(All times are PT)
The games will be streamed live on Federación Mexicana de Volleibol Facebook page.
August 18: USA defeats Chile 3-0 (25:13, 25:16, 25:18)
August 19: USA defeats Puerto Rico 3-0 (25:14, 25:20, 25:15)
20 August: USA – Cuba, 7pm
August 21: USA – Costa Rica, 1 p.m.
August 22: USA – Argentina, 4 p.m.
23 August: Quarterfinals and placement
24 August: Semifinals and placement
25 August: Medal Games
