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Middle attacker Sam Lewis provided a preview at the FIVB U19 World Championship of what the USC incoming freshman can do for the Trojans.
Lewis had a both a match-high three and three blocks as the United States defeated Puerto Rico 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22 on Sunday in Bahrain to remain undefeated at the international tournament.
The United States (2-0, 6 points Pool A) for the second consecutive match had a better offensive efficiency as it out-performed Puerto Rico 46.15 percent to 36.92 percent. In addition, USC setter Chris Hall guided the U.S. offense with a match-best 21 excellent sets.
Lewis contributed eight kills on a .462 attack percentage against Puerto Rico (1-2, 2 points Pool A).
UC Irvine outside attacker Jonathan Bowles coming off the bench had a team-high 11 kills. UC Irvine outside attacker Joel Schenidmiller also had 11 kills, despite starting only the first two games.
This was the second consecutive match that Schneidmiller led the United States in kills. Schneidmiller finished with a team-high 21 kills to help the United States beat the host nation Bahrain in its tournament opener on Saturday.
BYU outside attacker Gabriel Garcia in the loss led Puerto Rico with 13 kills. He also was one of the two Puerto Rican players to have more than five kills against the United States.
The United States defensively had more than double the amount of digs than Puerto Rico. In addition, Ohio State libero Parker Mikesch had a match-high 10 digs and Hall contributed seven digs.
With this victory, the United States remains in first place in Pool A and is the only team in its pool to still be undefeated midway through the opening round.
The United States will continue the pool-play stage as it plays Tunisia on Monday.
Puerto Rico dropped to fourth place in Pool A following its loss to the United States and needs beat Bahrain in its pool-play finale to be assured a spot in the Round 16. The top four teams from the five-team pool will earn berths to the Round of 16.