Aug. 3, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's volleyball sophomore Joe Sunder helped guide the U.S. Men's Junior (U-19) National Team to a second place finish in Pool A of the 2009 FIVB World Championships in Pune, India. The U.S. played in three matches and finished with a 2-1 record behind India.
The U.S. men opened play with a 3-1 (32-30, 21-25, 25-18, 30-28) victory against Belarus on July 30. Sunder tallied 15 points in the match with 12 kills and three blocks.
Sunder and the U.S. continued play on Saturday, Aug. 1 against Tunisia. The U.S. posted another 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-21) win. Sunder led all scorers in the match with 17 points on 14 kills, two blocks and one ace.
The U.S. men concluded play against India and suffered a 3-0 (23-25, 21-25, 18-25) loss. Sunder finished with six points off of five kills and one block.
Sunder heads into his second season with the Nittany Lion men's volleyball team this year. In his first season under head coach Mark Pavlik, Sunder played in all 31 matches starting in 28. He totaled 251 kills, 23 aces, 120 digs and 52 total blocks in 2009 to help the Nittany Lions to their 21st EIVA Championship title and their 24th NCAA appearance.
Final Pool A Standings
India 2-1 5 points
USA 2-1 5 points
Belarus 2-1 5 points
Tunisia 0-3 3 points
Pool A Results
July 30
USA def. Belarus, 32-30, 21-25, 25-18, 30-28
July 31
India def. Tunisia, 25-11, 25-15, 25-13
Aug. 1
USA def. Tunisia, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-21
Belarus def. India, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11
Aug. 2
Belarus def. Tunisia, 24-26, 26-24, 25-17, 25-17
India def. USA, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18