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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (August 2, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s U23 National Team earned a spot in the gold medal match at the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) semifinal win over previously undefeated Venezuela in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The U.S. (4-1) will meet the winner of the other semifinal between the Dominican Republic and Mexico in the Pan American Cup final tomorrow, Sunday, August 3 at 5 p.m. PT.
The U.S. ended the match with a significant advantage in kills (44-26), while also leading in blocks (8-5) and serving five of the six aces in the set. Venezuela made seven fewer errors (25-18).
The top three scorers in the match were all U.S. players with outside hitter Ryan Barnett posting match-highs of 15 kills and 16 points, adding an ace. Middle blocker Cam Thorne scored 14 points on 11 kills, shared the team lead with two blocks and served an ace. Outside Patrick Rogers totaled 12 points on nine kills, one block, and a match-high two aces.
Libero Ryan Merk finished with 19 digs, nearly three times as many as any other player in the match and also led all players with five successful receptions. Setter Nathan Flayter ran the U.S. offense that hit .376 as a team with 44 kills and only 12 errors in 85 total attacks. He added a block and an ace.
Wesley Smith and Jalen Phillips each recorded two blocks to share the team lead with Thorne. Smith contributed five kills for seven points and Phillips produced four to score six points.
A Thorne block gave the U.S. a 9-5 lead in the first set before Venezuela scored the next three points. The U.S. then scored three points in a row, the last on a Flayter ace, to move ahead 12-8. Still trailing by four, 14-10, Venezuela ran off four consecutive points to even the set. A Barnett kill on a back row attack capped a 4-1 run that put the U.S. ahead for good in the set. Barnett’s sixth kill made it 24-20 and Smith ended the set with a block.
Taking advantage of five early errors, Venezuela took a 9-4 lead in the second set. The U.S. inched closer until a Rogers kill tied the set at 15 and then his ace put the U.S. ahead (17-16) for the first time since leading 3-2. Phillips chased down an errant dig to keep a rally alive that ended with a block by Flayter to put the U.S. ahead by two and prompt a Venezuela timeout.
Venezuela cut the margin to one point three times, but the U.S. earned a side-out each time. Barnett gave the U.S. its first three-point lead of the set, 22-19, and a Thorne block made the score 23-19. A Rogers kill ended the set to put the U.S. up 2-0. Barnett and Rogers each scored five points on four kills and an ace.
The U.S. raced out to a 7-2 lead in the third set. Thorne scored three points in the run, the third on an ace after two kills. Back-to-back blocks by Rogers and Phillips made it 7-2. Kills by Barnett and Smith sandwiched a Rogers ace that pushed the lead to eight points, 12-4.
Rogers’ fourth point of the set gave the U.S. its largest lead of the match 18-9. Venezuela scored the next four points and six of the next seven to cut the deficit back to four points, 19-15. A Phillips kill on a back row attack raised the lead back to five. Barnett delivered a kill for a 21-16 lead and then chased a ball to the other side of the net to keep a rally alive that ended up with him scoring again off the block.
Thorne put the final point down to put an exclamation point on the U.S. win to finish the set with a match-best six points on five kills and an ace. He teamed with Barnett (five kills), Rogers (three kills, one block, one ace) and Phillips (three kills and a block) for 20 points in the final set.
USA Volleyball Men’s U23 Roster for Pan Am Cup
Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College/Pro, Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-1, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
4 Nathan Flayter (S, 6-4, 2005, Hales Corner, Wisc., McKendree, Badger)
5 Cam Thorne (MB, 6-4, 2004, Hollywood, Fla., UCLA, Florida)
6 Ryan Barnett (OH, 6-5, 2003, Vero Beach, Fla., Pepperdine, Florida)
8 Jalen Phillips (OPP, 6-5, 2004, Anaheim, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
9 Ryan McElligott (S, 6-6, 2004, Mundelein, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
14 Nicodemus Meyer (MB, 6-4, 2003, Franklin, Wisc., Loyola Chicago, Badger)
18 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, 2004, Rutherford, N.J., Ball State, Garden Empire)
19 George Bruening (OPP, 6-10, 2004, Newport Beach, Calif., UCSB, Southern California)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-11, 2004, Encinitas, Calif., USC, Southern California)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Merrick, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
25 Theo Snoey (OH/OPP, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
Alternates
7 Andrew Deardorff (OH, 6-5, 2003, Itasca, Ill., St. Francis, Great Lakes)
10 Paul Wyszynski (L, 6-0, 2003, Northbrook, Ill., Miedzyrzeckie Towarzystwo Siatkarskie, Great Lakes)
13 D’Aaron McCraney (MB, 6-9, 2003, Las Vegas, Nev., McKendree, Southern California)
16 Nyherowo Omene (OPP, 6-7, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
Coaches
Head Coach: Nickie Sanlin (McKendree)
Assistant Coach: Reid Priddy (Indoor VC, Olympian)
Assistant Coach: Luke Reynolds (Pepperdine)
Performance Analyst: Mackenna Basore (Auburn)
ATC: Claire Pointer (LOVB Madison)
Team Lead: Will Berdecia (OTVA)
All times Pacific
July 29: Dominican Republic def. USA, 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 31-29, 25-16)
July 30: USA def. Mexico, 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-23)
July 31: USA def. Belize, 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-13)
Aug. 1: Quarterfinals: USA def. Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-19)
Aug. 2: Semifinals: USA def. Venezuela, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17)
Aug. 3: Gold Medal Match: USA vs. Dominican Republic/Mexico
The U.S. Men's U23 National Team put together its most dominant performance of the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-19) quarterfinal win over Costa Rica on Friday in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The U.S. Men's U23 National Team played another thrilling match at the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup, earning its first win with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-23) victory over Mexico on Wednesday in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The U.S. Men's U23 National Team played another thrilling match at the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup, earning its first win with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-23) victory over Mexico on Wednesday in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The U.S. Men's U23 National Team dropped an exciting opening match at the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup, 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 31-29, 25-16) to the Dominican Republic on Tuesday in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
SA Volleyball announces the 12 athletes representing the United States at the 2025 NORCECA Men’s U23 Pan American Cup, July 29–Aug. 3 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
