Follow
The offensive dominance of BYU outside attacker Gabriel Garcia was on full display against the United States at the FIVB U19 World Championship.
Garcia had a match-high 26 kills on a 54.17 percent offensive efficiency as Puerto defeated the United States 25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 25-23 in the 13th-place semifinals on Saturday in Bahrain.
Garcia was the only Puerto Rican player to finish with more than seven kills against the United States (3-4). In addition, the BYU incoming freshman contributed a team-high two aces to help Puerto Rico (2-5) end its five-match losing streak.
This was the second match at the World Championship that Garcia had at least 20 kills. Garcia led all players with 26 kills in a the team’s tournament-opening victory versus Tunisia.
Despite the loss, the United States had a better offensive efficiency than Puerto Rico at 47.01 percent to 45.00 percent.
UC Irvine outside attacker Joel Schneidmiller ended with a team-high 18 kills to extend his streak to seven consecutive matches with double-digit kills. Outside attacker Jerod Nelsen also led the United States with 18 kills, while Stanford opposite Jasper Jaylen added nine kills.
Puerto Rico out-blocked the United States 14 to 9. However, U.S. middle attacker Anthony Matheney led the team with five blocks.
The United States because of injuries had a nine-player active roster for thid mstch. It also was the fourth straight loss for the United States after starting the tournament 3-0, including a victory against Puerto Rico in the opening round.
With this loss, the United States will play Cuba in the 15th-place match on Sunday to conclude the World Championship.