UCI players earn silver

The United States men’s junior national volleyball team, which

features three UC Irvine players, reached the gold medal match of the

Continental Volleyball Championship, but fell to Cuba, 25-19, 21-25,

25-22, 25-20, Monday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

UCI sophomore middle blocker David Smith had six kills.

Team USA defeated host Canada, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19, and Mexico,

25-21, 25-23, 25-13, to advance to the title match.

Smith and UCI’s Jayson Jablonsky each added eight points in the

win over Mexico.

UCI sophomore outside hitter Matt Webber was also a member of Team

USA, guided by Anteaters’ Coach John Speraw.

Anteaters shine

* SOCCER: Scott Shiraishi and Brandon Tario, who will both be

sophomore midfielders for UC Irvine this fall, each helped Honolulu

Bulls club team win the under-19 title in the prestigious United

States Youth Soccer National championship in Orlando, Fla., Monday.

Shiraishi and Tario, both from Honolulu, are original members of

the Bulls, which became the first team from Hawaii to claim regional

and national championships.

Players were met by media at the Honolulu International Airport

and were heralded as pioneers for the state of Hawaii and the Hawaii

Youth Soccer Association.