Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 4, 2025) –In a match befitting two undefeated teams, the U.S. Girls U19 National Team fell just short to Poland, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14), on Friday at the 2025 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship in Osijek, Croatia.

The U.S. (2-1) will return to the court Sunday, July 6, at 12:15 p.m. PT against Bulgaria (2-1).

The match was as close statistically as the final score would indicate with Poland holding a narrow margin in kills (64-62), the U.S. leading by one in aces (6-5) and each team totaling eight blocks.

Outside hitter Cari Spears scored a team-high 21 points, 13 of which came in the fourth and fifth sets, with 16 kills, a match-best four blocks and an ace. Opposite Henley Anderson paced the team with 19 kills.

Setter Genevieve Harris was all over the court setting, playing defense and contributing seven points with two kills, three blocks and two aces. Outsider hitter Kelly Kinney (seven kills, one ace) and middle blocker Gabrielle Nichols (six kills, one block, one ace) each scored eight points.

Middle blocker Abbey Emch finished with five kills and outside Lameen Mambu added four.

“Congratulations to Poland on a well-fought match,” U.S. head coach Keegan Cook said. “This is the exact match we hoped for this group to experience in pool play. We will be better for it. We will also need to learn some lessons quickly as Bulgaria and Türkiye are both strong opponents. I’m looking forward to seeing our USA team respond.”

The U.S. scored five of the first seven points of the match, but Poland responded with a 7-2 run to take a lead it would not relinquish in the first set. The lead grew to seven, 22-15, before a huge U.S. rally (8-2) made it 24-23 but Poland was able to get a kill to end the set.

Nichols scored five points on four kills and a block that finished a 4-0 run to cut the deficit from seven to three. Kinney and Spears each had three kills and four points.

A Kinney kill on an overpass in set two gave the U.S. its first lead, 7-6, since leading by the same score in the opening set. A Harris block and a Poland timeout evened the score at 14 and led to a Poland timeout. Kinney scored on a kill off a block and Spears followed with two aces, the second dribbling off the tape, for a three-point U.S. lead.

Back-to-back aces by Harris gave the U.S. a 21-17 lead. Poland scored the next three points and had a swing to even the set but a great dig by Harris led to an Anderson kill. Poland did eventually tie the set at 23 but Anderson put a ball down and an opposing hitting error gave the U.S. the set to square the match at one set apiece.

Anderson scored five points on kills, while Harris scored four points on a kill, a block and her two key aces.

With the U.S. leading 8-7 in the third set, Poland scored six of the next seven points to take a 13-9 lead. The U.S. pulled within three points on another Harris block, 15-12, but Poland went on a 5-1 run lead to take control of the set. Anderson produced four kills in the set.

The fourth set was close throughout with the U.S. denying two match points. Spears scored the team’s last five points. The first tied the set at 23 and the second staved off the first match point after Poland could not convert a free ball. Her kill off the block again saved match point and this time tied the set at 25. Spears recorded a block to give the U.S. its first set point and send the match to a fifth set with her 10th point and seventh kill of the set.

An Anderson kill gave the U.S. a 3-2 lead in the deciding set but it would be its last lead of the match. Poland led 13-10 before a kill by Emch and a hitting error brought the U.S. within a point. A tough Anderson serve led to a kill by Mambu to even the set at 13 apiece. Service errors on the last two U.S. serves opened the door for Poland to seal the match. Spears recorded three more kills in the set and Emch added two.

2025 U19 National Team Roster for World Championship

(Name, Pos., Birth Year, Height, Hometown, School, Region)
3 Jordan Taylor (MB, 6-5, 2007, Houston, Texas, University of Minnesota, Lone Star)
5 Lily Hayes (L, 5-9, 2007, Tampa, Fla., Berkeley Prep HS, Florida)
6 Suli Davis (OH, 6-1, 2007, Euless, Texas, Brigham Young University, North Texas)
8 Abbey Emch (MB, 6-3, 2007, New Waterford, Ohio, University of Pittsburgh, Ohio Valley)
10 Isabelle Hoppe (S, 5-8, 2008, Gibsonia, Pa., Pine Richland HS, Ohio Valley)
11 Kelly Kinney (OH/OPP, 6-2, 2007, West Palm Beach, Fla., The Kings Academy, Florida)
12 Genevieve Harris (S, 5-11, 2007, Raleigh, N.C, Cardinal Gibbons HS, Carolina)
13 Gabrielle Nichols (MB, 6-3, 2007, Winston Salem, N.C., Penn State University, Carolina)
16 Cari Spears (OH, 6-3, 2007, Dallas, Texas, University of Texas, North Texas)
17 Lameen Mambu (OH, 6-0, 2007, Chantilly, Va., Georgia Tech, Chesapeake)
19 Henley Anderson (OPP/OH, 6-3, 2007, Dripping Springs, Texas, Dripping Springs HS, Lone Star)
20 Devyn Wiest (OH, 6-3, 2007, Peoria, Ariz., University of Utah, Arizona)

Alternates
1 Izzy Mogridge (S, 5-11, 2007, Lutz, Fla., Berkeley Prep HS, Florida)
2 Charlotte Vinson (OPP, 6-2, 2007, Muncie, Ind., Yorktown HS, Hoosier)
4 Kalyssa Blackshear (MB/OPP, 6-4, 2007, Torrance, Calif., University of Louisville, Southern California)
7 Ayanna Watson (OH/OPP, 6-3, 2007, Henderson, Nev., Bishop Gorman HS, Southern California)
9 Natalie Wardlow (MB/OPP, 6-5, 2007, Lincoln, Neb., Lincoln Southeast HS, Great Plains)
15 Logan Bell (L, 5-11, 2007, Beech Grove, Ind., Roncalli HS, Hoosier)
18 Aniya Warren (L, 5-8, 2007, Lockport, Ill., Benet Academy, Great Lakes)

Coaches
Head Coach: Keegan Cook (Minnesota)
Assistant Coach: Alyssa D’Errico (Utah)
Assistant Coach: April Sanchez (New Mexico)
Performance Analyst: Jon Wong (Florida State)
ATC: Cherryl Bueno (Coast to Coast AthletiCare)
Team Lead: Courtney Smith (NTDP)

2025 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship Schedule
All times Pacific/Osijek, Croatia
Matches live on VBTV and Volleyball World YouTube

July 2: USA def. Spain, 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-23)
July 3: USA def. Peru, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
July 4: Poland def. USA, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14)
July 6: 12:15 p.m. USA vs. Bulgaria
July 7: 12:15 p.m. USA vs. Türkiye
July 8: TBA Round of 16
July 11: TBA Playoffs/Quarterfinals
July 12: TBA Playoffs/Semifinals
July 13: Finals

Waterville, Maine – Introducing Colby Athletics’ summer spotlight series, where we take a look into what Colby student-athletes are working on over the summer break. Up first is rising junior Marjorie Johnson of Colby Volleyball. This summer Marjorie has been partaking in an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at Bigelow Laboratories for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine.

Bigelow is an independent, non-profit research institute whose mission is to use innovative approaches to study the foundation of global ocean health and unlock its potential to improve the future for all life on our planet. At her REU there are 18 other interns who are spending the summer at a beautiful residence hall located right next to the state of art laboratory. Each one of them, including Marjorie, are working in different areas of specialties from using code to study and track jellyfish populations to researching oil spill emulsification. They are all getting hands-on experience conducting their own research with a senior research scientist as our mentor. Marjorie has been working in Christoph Aeppli’s lab studying the current and historical trends of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in marine sediment cores in midcoast Maine.

“It has been such an inspiring experience to be able to do hands-on research on a topic that has such important health and environmental implications,” said Johnson. “It is such an amazing experience to be interning at a laboratory that is working to solve some of the world’s most complex issues. It’s also not too shabby spending my summer on Maine’s coastline and getting to not only explore Maine but experience a Maine Summer.”

Be on the lookout for more of our summer spotlight series. 

Alex Borg is running to become Nationalist Party leader, competing against Adrian Delia. Read a profile about his rival here.

A 29-year-old lawyer from Gozo, former Mr World Malta, water polo player and gym-enthusiast-turned-politician, might just become the next leader of the opposition and maybe even the next prime minister.

And while different groups of people share many mixed feelings about him, few candidates and MPs in the Maltese political landscape have captured attention as swiftly as Alex Borg.

The young Gozitan MP will turn 30 next week, and he will likely be spending his birthday trying to persuade PN members that age is but a number, and that he is mature enough to be trusted with the helm of the ailing party. After all, Joseph Muscat was also in his early 30s when he took over Labour.

If elected, Borg will be the youngest of all PN and Labour leaders in the modern history of the two parties. The second-youngest would be Dom Mintoff, who rose to the Labour leadership at 33.

And if he wins the next general election, Borg would be the youngest prime minister in history.

A family with political roots

Borg hails from a family with political roots. He is the son of the late Tony Borg, who served as mayor of Fontana and as chief of staff to former popular Gozo minister Giovanna Debono.

He pursued his legal studies at the University of Malta, graduating and commencing his practice as a lawyer in 2019. 

His political journey began to gain momentum in 2020, when he was elected to the MŻPN’s executive committee as the Gozo coordinator. This was followed by his election to the Nationalist Party’s Executive Committee in July 2021.

His rapid ascent culminated when he ran for his first general election in 2022 and was elected with an impressive 6,108 first-preference votes – almost as many as Labour’s frontman in Gozo, Clint Camilleri, with 6,458.  He outpaced veteran Labour MP Anton Refalo (5,002) and incumbent and high-ranking PN veterans.

Speaking to Times of Malta days after the election, Borg, then just 26 years old, said he decided to contest in 2020 and started knocking on doors from day one.

“House visits made me realise what people really want from politicians – they simply want someone who listens to them,” he said.

“I would sit on their sofa, listen intently without interrupting them, and then explain to them what I stand for and how that might help them live better lives.”

Borg said most of them speak of their suffering and he has had a fair share of it after his father was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2013, and died six-and-a-half years later after a long battle with the illness.

“I try to be positive, even when I criticise, because people long for positivity,” Borg told Times of Malta after his election.

“They also appreciate it when you stay humble and close to them, when you meet them in public squares, bars and social events. And I want to remain like that – I want to remain the people’s politician.”

Alex with his father, Tony, who died after a long battle with cancer.

Shadow minister… and the controversy

Shortly after his election, Borg was also appointed shadow minister for Gozo and has been a vocal advocate for Gozitan issues, pushing for the sister island to receive adequate attention and resources.

But he also had his fair share of controversies.

Among the most recent were his statements concerning the Fort Chambray development in Gozo. Environment and heritage NGOs accused him of taking the side of big business, misleading people into thinking the new owners were bound to foot the bill for the fort’s restoration, when in fact it would be taxpayers who would ultimately pay for the multi-million project.

This led to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life finding that Borg breached ethics, particularly after he refused to apologise for his misleading comments.

Borg’s alleged relationships with big business, particularly developers, have been a significant source of controversy. Critics argue that his political stances often align with the interests of powerful economic actors.

But his first clash with the party was a few months after he was elected when, along with another two PN MPs, he voted against a new IVF law that allows genetic testing before implantation. The rest of the opposition MPs had agreed to vote with the government on that law.

This year, Borg made waves on social media when he openly expressed admiration for US President Donald Trump, particularly for what he perceived as his “nationalist” approach to leadership.

He told Lovin Malta that while some of Trump’s decisions might seem unconventional to outsiders, many Americans view them as actions of a leader who genuinely loves his country and seeks to revitalise industries, such as manufacturing.

When he gave leadership a pass

Borg has already had a chance to contest for PN leadership since his election as an MP but he decided to give it a pass that time.

After the 2022 general election, when Bernard Grech was putting his leadership to the test, rumour had it that Borg could be rising through the ranks to contest him.

He had shut down those rumours, saying it was too early for him to make such a move and that the party needed to unite behind Grech at the time. But he did not rule out a future run.

The Gozitan MP’s rise continued in the following two years; however, when opinion polls began to show Gozo was starting to flip back to PN. And those polls were confirmed in the 2024 MEP election, when Gozo turned blue again.

Even in Malta Today’s opinion poll earlier this month, following which Grech resigned, the abysmal numbers in Malta were not reflected in Gozo. The PN seems to be holding onto its lead in the sister island.

Then came the internal poll, carried out among PN members two weeks ago, as soon as Roberta Metsola announced she would not run.

That poll underscored Borg’s growing influence, indicating him as the clear favourite to become the party’s new leader, leading other prominent figures like Adrian Delia and Franco Debono.

Borg also garnered public attention for his personal life. He is a former Mr World Malta titleholder (2020) and is in a relationship with renowned social media influencer Sarah Bajada.