COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 29, 2021) – The U.S. Girls U18 National Team beat Serbia, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 25-18) on Wednesday to take the bronze medal at the FIVB World Championship in Durango, Mexico.

The U.S. U18 Team finished the tournament at 7-1. Russia beat Italy to win the gold medal.

Mckenna Wucherer was named one of two Best Outside Hitters for the tournament.

Wucherer led all scorers in the bronze medal match. Unofficially, she finished with 19 points on 12 kills, a match-high five aces and two blocks.

“We fought our hardest,” Wucherer said. “We never wanted to leave here without some hardware. We played our hearts out and it paid off.”

Middle blocker Bekka Allick added 16 points on a match-high 13 kills and three blocks. Middle Maggie Mendelson scored 14 points on nine kills, three blocks and two aces.

Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine totaled 12 points on 10 kills, one block and one ace. Harper Murray entered the match as a substitute in the first set and played the next three, scoring 12 points on 10 kills and two blocks.

Starting setter Reilly Bergen scored four points on four kills. She and backup Alexis Stucky combined to set the U.S. to a .274 hitting efficiency. Serbia hit .169.

Libero Laney Choboy was credited with 21 receptions, 57 percent positive. Murray led the team in receptions with 35, 51 percent positive.

“Last night we talked about being who we wanted to be in this match,” U.S. Head Coach Jamie Morrison said. “I believe the entire match we did that. Serbia fought back strong in the third set, and in the fourth we just stayed true to who we were.”

Unofficially, the U.S. led in kills (55-37), blocks (13-11) and aces (9-7).

The closest set was the third. Serbia took an 18-12 lead, but the U.S. tied it at 18-18. The teams battled back and forth, with the U.S. fighting off three set points before Serbia took the 28-26 win. The U.S. jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth set and Serbia never challenged.

2021 U.S. Girls U18 National Team
Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, Region, Club)
1 Laney Choboy (L, 5-3, Raleigh, N.C., Carolina, NC Volleyball Academy)
4 Chloe Chicoine (OH/L, 5-10, Lafayette, Ind., Hoosier, Circle City)
6 Bergen Reilly (S, 6-1, Sioux Falls, S.D., North Country, Kairos Elite Volleyball)
7 Mckenna Wucherer (OH, 6-1, Brookfield , Wis., Badger, Milwaukee Sting)
10 Caroline Jurevicius (OPP, 6-2, Gates Mills, Ohio, Ohio Valley, Academy Volleyball Cleveland)
13 Harper Murray (OH, 6-2, Ann Arbor, Mich., Lakeshore, Legacy Volleyball Club)
14 Alexis Stucky (S, 6-2, Laramie, Wyo., Rocky Mountain, Northern Colorado Juniors)
16 Devin Kahahawai (OH, 6-3, Kailua, Hawaii, Aloha, Spike and Serve)
18 Eloise Brandewie (MB, 6-3, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Valley, Mintonette)
19 Julia Blyashov (OH, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., Southern California, Wave Volleyball Club)
21 Bekka Allick (MB, 6-4, Waverly, Neb., Great Plains, VC Nebraska)
24 Maggie Mendelson (MB, 6-5, North Ogden, Utah, Intermountain, Hive Volleyball)

Head Coach: Jamie Morrison
Assistant Coach: Michelle Chatman-Smith
Assistant Coach: Alisha Glass Childress
Technical Coordinator: Mike Gee
Team Leader: Meredith Lee
Athletic Trainer: Wyatt Blue

U.S. Schedule for the FIVB U18 World Championship
(All times PT)
Live streams available at youtube.com

Sept. 21: USA def Thailand, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23)
Sept. 22: USA def Romania, 3-1 (25-21, 25-11, 18-25, 25-16)
Sept. 23: USA def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-9)
Sept. 24: USA def Nigeria, 3-0 (forfeit)
Sept. 25 Rest Day
Sept. 26:USA def Argentina, 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-7)
Sept. 27 QFs: USA def Turkey, 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-9)
Sept. 28 SFs: Italy def USA, 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22)
Sept. 29 Bronze: USA def Serbia, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 25-18)