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Two U.S. Men’s Junior National Team players concluded the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship earning two of the tournament’s top individual awards.
Stanford opposite Jaylen Jasper was named the Best Server, while UC San Diego setter Blake Crisp was selected was the Best Setter on Saturday at the international event that is a qualifier for the FIVB U21 World Championship.
Jasper finished with a tournament-high 21 aces — six more aces than any other player. The 2018 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Freshman All-American had a 1.17 aces per game average and was the only player at the tournament to average more than 0.80 aces per game.
Among Jasper’s top severing performances featured 11 aces in a four-game victory against Canada that clinched the Group B championship for the United States. In addition, he had a match-high four aces as the United States lost the rematch to Canada in the bronze-medal match on Saturday.
Along with winning the Best Server award, Jasper led the United States and had the third-most points of any player at the bi-annual NORCECA event.
Crisp earned the Best Setter honor after leading the tournament with a 5.00 excellent sets per game average.
The UC San Diego freshman also guided the U.S. offense to the tournament’s third-best offensive efficiency at 48.63 percent.
The United States opened the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship undefeated in group play and earned a bye to the semifinals. However, it was upset by the Dominican Republic in the semifinals and was unable to earn one of this tournament’s two berths to the 2019 U21 World Championship.