Air Force Academy

July 12, 2010

TIJUANA, Mexico - The U.S. Women's Junior National Volleyball Team, assisted on the bench by Air Force head coach Matt McShane, won the gold medal at the NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean) Continental Championships this past week, finishing with a perfect 5-0 record during the July 6-10 tournament in Tijuana, Mexico.

The junior national team defeated all five teams in straight sets. The U.S. set the tone of the tournament early, as they held El Salvador (25-8, 25-4, 25-7) and Guadalupe (25-8, 25-7, 25-6) to single-digit scores in each set. The junior national team rounded out pool play with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-23 victory over Mexico, earning a bye into the semifinals. In the semifinals, Team USA swept Mexico again by 25-19, 25-14, 25-14 scores, before defeating the Dominican Republic 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 in the gold medal match.

With the win over the Dominican Republic, the U.S. claimed its fourth straight gold medal at the biennial NORCECA Continental Championships, while qualifying for the 2011 FIVB (U-20) World Championships in Peru.

The Dominican Republic placed second, while Cuba edged out Mexico in the third-place match. Puerto Rico finished fifth, while Canada (sixth), Costa Rica (seventh), Trinidad and Tobago (eighth), El Salvador (ninth) and Guadalupe (10th) rounded out the field of competition.

McShane, who is beginning his first season as the head coach of the Falcons' volleyball program, served as an assistant coach for this year's junior national team. He has previously worked with USA Volleyball as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Team (1996), the Yaohan International Volleyball Team and the U.S. National A2 Team (2007). In addition, he has served as the head coach for the 2002 U.S. National A2 Team and the Intermountain Volleyball Association High Performance Team (2001).