NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand | Jordyn Poulter and her United States teammates will return home with medals, the only question is what kind.
The Eaglecrest High School junior-to-be and her American squad secured themselves a spot on the podium at the FIVB U-18 Girls’ Youth World Championships volleyball tournament with a tight five-set semifinal victory over Brazil Saturday at Chatchi Hall.
Poulter — a University of Illinois commitment — started again at setter for the U.S. team, which rallied twice from set deficits and prevailed in the decisive fifth set for a 16-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12 victory in front of 500 spectators that sent them into Sunday’s title match against China, which outlasted Peru in another five-set semifinal.
“It was a great match,” U.S. coach Jim Stone II said in a press conference afterward. “Brazil is a good opponent. The match could go either way. We had a shaky start in the first set, but then in the last four sets we played really hard. I’m very pleased with our effort. ”
The Americans made it to the championship match for the first time in the tournament, which is held every two years, already improving on the fourth place finishes of 2003 and 2005. The U.S. has qualified for the tournament eight times.
Two other players from Aurora high schools — Grandview’s Erica Denney in 2009 and Regis Jesuit’s Janae Hall in 2011 — played for the U.S. at the tournament, which started with 16 teams and expanded to 20 this season.
The U.S. won Pool C with a 3-1 record, defeated Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16 and Poland in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals against a Brazil team it swept in pool play.
Looking for their eight trip to the tournament championship match, the Brazilians won the first and third sets, but couldn’t close out the Americans, who got big scoring matches from Mikaela Foecke (West Point, Iowa) and Simone Lee (Menomonee Falls, Wis.).
Peru — which saw China rally from a two-set deficit for a 17-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 23-21 victory in the semifinals — will play Brazil in the third-place match.
Twelve other places will be decided at the tournament, which saw the bottom four teams sort themselves out as Argentina finished 17th, Mexico 18th, Tunisia 19th and Algeria 20th.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555. Follow @aurorasports on Twitter and find the Aurora Prep Sentinel page on facebook.
2013 FIVB U-18 GIRLS’ WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP VOLLEYBALL
Aug. 4
Gold medal match: China vs. United States
Bronze medal match: Peru vs. Brazil
