COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 21, 2024) –The United States women’s national team defeated winless Costa Rica 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-15) on Wednesday at the 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, to increase their record to 4-0.

The victory set up a showdown with Argentina (3-0) for first place in Group B on Thursday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. PT. The winner will advance directly to the semifinals on Saturday, while the loser will play in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The USA dominated every aspect of the game, posting a 42-15 edge in kills, 9-3 in blocks and 7-1 in service aces. The USA posted an efficiency percentage of .388, while Costa Rica posted a -.075, making seven more errors than kills.

“Another good game for us. We need to work on some things and improve in certain areas, which will really help us in the games to come,” said head coach Brad Rostratter. “It was great to see how well we did that and hopefully we can implement that in more and more games in the future.”

GAME STATISTICS (PDF)

Five players scored between 10 and 12 points for the balanced U.S. attack. Middle blocker Amber Igiede led all players with 12 points with eight kills, two blocks and two aces.

“I was really looking forward to this game because it secured our place in the next round. We worked really hard as a team and had a lot of fun,” said Igiede.

Outside hitter Claire Hoffman and opposite hitter Stephanie Samedy each recorded double-doubles. Hoffman scored 11 points with nine kills, one block and one ace, as well as 10 pass catches (the highest of the game), and also recorded eight digs. Samedy scored 10 points overall with eight kills and two aces, as well as 10 digs.

Libero Sarah Sponcil was the best player with 15 digs and added five successful pass catches. Outside Jaali Winters, who scored the most points of the game with 10 kills and one block, scored 11 points and finished the game with eight digs and six successful pass catches. Middle Breland Morrissette finished the game with five blocks, two more than the entire Costa Rica team, and totaled 10 points with four kills and an ace.

Setters Ella Powell and Jenna Gray led the offense, which posted a 27-kill lead. Powell contributed two kills, an ace and three digs. Jenna Gray added a kill and two digs. Igeide (four) and Morrissette (three) combined for seven digs from the middle blocker position.

Strong serving from Winters to start the opening set helped the USA take a 9-4 lead. After Costa Rica scored the next two points, the USA scored eight straight points to close the set with 16 of the final 18 points. Morrissette recorded four blocks and two kills in the set, leading the team with six points. Igiede scored five points in total with three kills, a block and an ace.

Costa Rica earned its biggest lead of the match by scoring the first three points of the second set. The USA took the lead with a 6-1 run, but Costa Rica again scored three straight points to regain the lead. From there, the USA took the lead with a 12-2 run to make it 18-9. Winters led all players with six kills, while Hoffman (two kills, one block, one ace) and Igiede (three kills, one block) each contributed four points.

Winters scored three early points to help the U.S. take a 10-5 lead early in the third set. Costa Rica could not get closer than four points in the rest of the set. Samedy led with five points from four kills and an ace, and Hoffman had four kills.

US Women’s Squad for 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup
4 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., University of Texas, Southern)
5 Kendall Kipp (Opponent, 6-6, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
6 Serena Gray (MB, 6-3, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
7 Claire Hoffman (OH, 6-2, Pleasant Hill, Oregon, University of Washington, Columbia Empire)
8 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., University of Hawaii, Delta)
9 Tia Jimerson (MB, 6-3, Sugar Hill, Ga., Ohio University, Southern)
12 Breland Morrisette (MB, 6-1, Birmingham, Alabama, Georgia Tech, South)
13 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Arkansas, University of Washington, Delta)
14 Sarah Sponcil (N, 5-10, Phoenix, Arizona, UCLA, Arizona)
15 Jaali Winters (OH, 6-3, Ankeny, Iowa, Creighton, Iowa)
17 Zoe Fleck (L, 5-6, Grenada Hills, California, Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kansas, Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
31C Roni Jones Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain)
34 Stephanie Samedy (Opponent, 6-2, Clermont, Florida, University of Minnesota, Florida)

Head Coach: Brad Rostratter
Assistant Coach: Jonathan Charette
2. Assistant coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Team Manager: James Lundgren
Physiotherapist: Cherryl-Marie Bueno
Statistician: Peter Wong

US Women’s Pan American Cup Schedule
(All times are PT)
The games will be streamed live on Federación Mexicana de Volleibol Facebook page.

August 18: USA defeats Chile 3-0 (25:13, 25:16, 25:18)
August 19: USA defeats Puerto Rico 3-0 (25:14, 25:20, 25:15)
August 20: USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-10)
August 21: USA def. Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-15)
August 22: USA – Argentina, 4 p.m.
23 August: Quarterfinals and placement
24 August: Semifinals and placement
25 August: Medal Games