July 29, 2011

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford sophomore Carly Wopat and the U.S. Women's Junior National Team have advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Women's Junior World Championships Peru.

The U.S. now stands at 4-2 in the tournament after a five-set loss to host Peru (21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9) Thursday evening.

The Thursday evening match had the loudest crowd of any as the gym was packed with 6,500 spectators, many of which were cheering especially loud in honor of Peru's Independence Day.

U.S. Women's Junior National Team Head Coach Rob Browning expressed that Team USA still has the same goal as it did from the start.

"Our goal is to win it all and we still can," Browning said. "We deserve to be in the final four and we are thrilled that we are."

Wopat, a middle blocker, posted 19 points for the U.S. on 17 kills, a block and an ace. Haley Eckerman led the team with 24 points on 23 kills and a block.

Team USA racked up 70 kills on 108 attacks for 34.48 kill percent, while its opponent scored 55 kills on 117 attempts. The U.S. team accumulated 95 digs, while Peru had 89.

Browning congratulated Peru for the win and gave his recap of the U.S. team's play.

"Peru played a fantastic match, their best match of the tournament," Browning said. They deserved to win tonight. We played okay much of the time, but got rattled in certain situations - most notably in the fifth set. We lost the serve and pass battle all night and that made it difficult to find any rhythm."

2011 FIVB Women's Junior World Championship

Second Round (July 26-28)
Pool E (at Lima)
July 26: USA def. Dominican Republic, 25-11, 25-15, 25-23
July 26: Italy def. Peru, 25-23, 25-20, 25-14
July 27: Italy def. USA, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20
July 27: Dominican Republic def. Peru, 25-19, 26-24, 25-15
July 28: Italy def. Dominican Republic, 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20
July 28: Peru def. USA, 21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 9-15

Pool F (at Trujillo)
July 26: Brazil def. Belgium, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21
July 26: China def. Slovakia, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21
July 27: China def. Belgium, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19
July 27: Brazil def. Slovakia, 25-13, 25-22, 25-12
July 28: Brazil def. China, 29-27, 25-19, 25-20
July 28: Belgium def. Slovakia, 17-25, 11-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12

Pool G (at Lima)
July 26: Cuba def. Korea, 25-23, 18-25, 26-24, 25-17
July 26: Japan def. Tunisia, 25-9, 25-15, 25-14
July 27: Japan def. Korea, 25-20, 25-13, 25-9
July 27: Cuba def. Tunisia, 25-15, 25-13, 25-12
July 28: Cuba def. Japan, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19
July 28: Korea def. Tunisia, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17

Pool H (at Trujillo)
July 26: Russia def. Egypt, 25-10, 25-20, 25-11
July 26: Poland def. Serbia, 25-21, 25-17, 14-25, 18-25, 15-11
July 27: Russia def. Poland, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18
July 27: Serbia def. Egypt, 25-16, 25-5, 29-27
July 28: Russia def. Serbia 26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-11
July 28: Poland def. Egypt, 25-14, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15

Medal Rounds and Playoffs (July 31)
- the winners of the semifinals will play the final for the 1st and 2nd position.
- the losers of the semifinals will play for the 3rd and 4th position.
- the winners of the play-off 5-8 will play for the 5th-6th position.
- the losers of the play-off 5-8 will play for the 7th-8th position.
- the winners of the play-off 9-12 will play for the 9th-10th position.
- the losers of the play-off 9-12 will play for the 11th-12th position.
- the winners of the play-off 13-16 will play for the 13th-14th position.
- the losers of the play-off 13-16 will play for the 15th-16th position.

Courtesy of USA Volleyball