Hartke and Pollock Help Team USA Win Gold Medal at NORCECA U21 Continental Championship
6/17/2024 1:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — Incoming Pepperdine men's volleyball freshman Cole Hartke and associate head coach Matthew Pollock helped the U.S. Men's U21 National Team win the gold medal at the U21 2024 NORCECA Continental Championship, held in Nogales, Mexico on Sunday night.
After dropping just one set in the four matches leading up to the championship, Team USA continued its dominant run by sweeping Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 27-25) to take home the gold medal. In the championship match, Hartke tallied 11 points on nine kills, a block and an ace to help Team USA's offense finish with a 15-kill advantage over Canada.
Earlier in the tournament, Team USA swept Nicaragua and Suriname before closing pool play with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16) win over Mexico. From there, Hartke and Pollock rolled with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-16) win over Cuba in the semifinals to reach the championship match, which pitted two undefeated North American teams against each other. Throughout the tournament, Hartke was one of Team USA's main contributors on offense: He notched 11 kills (on a .556 hitting percentage) against Cuba, plus he tied the team-high in points during the team's opening win over Nicaragua.
Team USA's gold medal finish was an improvement over the squad's fourth-place finish at the 2018 NORCECA Men's U21 Continental Championships. USA's last gold medal at this tournament was in 2016.
