U.S. Boys U17 Defeats Mexico in Five Sets to Begin 2026 Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 4, 2026) – The U.S. Boys U17 National Team began the 2026 NORCECA Boys U17 Pan American Cup with a 3-2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-8) victory over Mexico on Tuesday in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The U.S. (1-0) continues pool play action against Puerto Rico tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT.

The U.S. held a 54-45 advantage in kills and served one more ace (4-3) but particularly controlled the net with 15 blocks compared to just seven for Mexico.

“It was a fun match. It’s hard to get a kill on those guys. They dug us a ton, they put pressure on us, they scrapped. It was just hard to kill the ball, so you just have to grind through it,” said U.S. head coach Mike Wall. “I don’t know if that was the first time I’ve seen 14 athletes on a roster all play in the same match. I’m sure it has happened, but it doesn’t happen very much. We had every single player in the match at one point or another, so it was a full team win. There were moments where Mexico was definitely better than us, playing with more energy, but we chipped away and when you get to that fifth set, you hope a couple plays go your way, which they did. We will take it and run.”

Gabe Desiderio led all players with 22 kills and shared match-high honors with three blocks and two aces for 27 total points. He led the team with 15 digs and added 14 successful receptions. Libero Collin Tullis led all players with 33 successful receptions.

Middle blocker Nikodem Opiola scored 13 points on nine kills, three blocks and an ace. Outside Noah Mbaitoloum entered the match in the third set and finished with eight points on six kills and two blocks. Opposite Gavin McWaters contributed seven points on five kills and a pair of blocks. Opposite Jackson Real added six points on four kills, a block and an ace, while middle Frankie Vincent delivered five kills.

Middle blocker Nolan Barrett registered two blocks and added a kill for three points and outside Logan Flores scored twice. Setter Carter Tchaikovsky was one of six U.S. players with at least two blocks as he contributed two blocks in addition to leading the offense to a .234 hitting percentage against an excellent Mexico defense.

After Mexico assumed a 12-11 lead in the first set, back-to-back points by Real, the second on an ace, and a Barrett kill put the U.S. back up by two, 14-12. Barrett’s second block helped raise the margin to three points, 16-13, and force Mexico to take a time out. The margin grew to four, 19-15, on a perfect Tullis pass, Tchaikovsky set and Desiderio kill. A Desiderio ace pushed the lead to five, 21-16. A Mexico timeout could not stop the Desiderio serving run as a Real block out of the timeout, Mexico hitting error and another Desiderio ace gave the U.S. set point at 24-16. One point later, Opiola put a ball away. Desiderio scored six points on four kills and his two aces, and Real added five points on three kills, one block and an ace.

Mexico jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set and raised the advantage to four points, 12-8. A block put Mexico ahead 16-9, prompting the U.S. to use its second timeout. A Tchaikovsky block brought the U.S. within six points, 17-11. A block pushed the margin to eight points, 20-12. A Desiderio kill and Opiola block cut the deficit to six, 23-17, before Mexico evened the match by scoring two of the last three points. Desiderio and Opiola each scored three points on two kills and a block.

For the third consecutive set, Mexico scored the first two points. The U.S. took its first two-point lead of the third set, 8-6. Desiderio put down an overpass on a dig off a strong Opiola attack to even the set before a pair of Mexico errors, the first after a Tchaikovsky dig off a setter dump. Mbaitoloum scored on back-to-back plays, the second point on a block, to put the U.S. ahead 12-8. Desiderio scored on a back row attack for a 14-11 lead before Mexico scored twice to cut the lead back to one. Mbaitoloum scored off the block and Desiderio followed with a block for a 16-13 U.S. advantage.

Mexico cut the deficit to one point again, 17-16, and had a swing to tie the set but Desiderio scored off a bump set from Tullis. A Mexico hitting error raised the margin to three points, 20-17, and forced a timeout. A Desiderio block cover led to a Mexico hitting error that made it 21-18. Vincent put a ball straight down for a 23-19 lead and Desiderio scored on a back row attack as part of a give-and-go to give the U.S. set point at 24-20. A Mbaitoloum serve forced an overpass and McWaters finished the set on a kill to put the U.S. ahead two sets to one. Desiderio led all players with eight points on six kills and a pair of blocks.

An off-speed attack from Desiderio started a 4-0 run that ended with a McWaters block and put the U.S. ahead 11-7. Opiola scored on a kill that hugged the net for a 12-8 advantage. A 5-2 Mexico run cut the deficit to one point, 14-13. A Desiderio kill stopped the run for a two-point U.S. lead. He scored again and an Opiola block pushed the margin back to three points, 17-14. After Mexico tied the set 18 apiece, a service error and a Mbaitoloum crosscourt kill put the U.S. up 20-18. Mexico went on a 5-1 run for a 23-21 lead. A Vincent kill and Mbaitoloum block tied the set at 23 and a Mbaitoloum kill evened the score 24-24 before Mexico scored the next two points to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

The U.S. started fast in the fifth set with two McWaters kills sandwiched by Opiola and Desiderio kills for a 4-0 lead. Mexico called a timeout and scored the next three points, causing the U.S. to take its own timeout. Mbaitoloum scored on the following play and a hitting error put the U.S. back up by three points, 6-3. An Opiola kill and a huge block by McWaters restored the four-point margin, 10-6. Two Desiderio kills and a Mexico hitting error followed a timeout and ran the lead to seven points. A Desiderio kill off a Tullis set moved the U.S. within a point of the match, 14-7. Two points later, Desiderio scored on a back row attack for his fifth kill of the set and 22nd of the match.

2026 Boys U17 National Team Roster for Pan American Cup

No. (Name, Position, Height, Hometown, High School, USAV Region)
2 Logan Flores (OH, 6-1, Cypress, Calif., Cypress HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
3 Collin Tullis (L, 6-2, Slidell, La., Seton Catholic Homeschooling, Southern)
4 Sid Saikanth (OH, 6-3, Leander, Texas, Rouse HS, Lone Star)
5 Dane Schaefer (S, 6-3, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
9 Gabe Desiderio (OH, 6-6, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Saint Francis HS, Northern California)
10 Nikodem Opiola (MB, 6-5, Arlington Heights, Ill., Rolling Meadows HS, Great Lakes)
12 Carter Tchaikovsky (S, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
13 Frankie Vincent (MB, 6-6, Schaumburg, Ill., Schaumburg High School, Great Lakes)
15 Noah Mbaitoloum (OH, 6-7, Rockville, Md., Winston Churchill HS, Chesapeake)
16 Jackson Real (OPP, 6-9, Irvine, Calif., San Clemente HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
18 Nolan Barrett (MB, 6-7, Encinitas, Calif., La Costa Canyon HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
20 Louis “Lula” Kordus III (OH, 6-5, Los Altos, Calif., Homestead HS, Northern California)
21 Gavin McWaters (OPP, 6-8, Loveland, Ohio, Loveland HS, Ohio Valley)
24 Jonah Tuaniga (S, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Millikan HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)

Alternates
1 Nate Paige (L, 5-10, Wheaton, Ill., Wheaton Warrenville South HS, Great Lakes)
6 Paxon Boynton (L, 5-11, Mesa, Ariz., Mountain View, HS, Arizona Region)
7 Sean John (MB, 6-3, Mount Prospect, Ill., John Hersey HS, Great Lakes)
8 Tommy Clifford (OH, 6-5, Glen Ellyn, Ill., Glenbard West HS, Great Lakes)
11 Kekoa Wade (OPP, 6-5, Kailua, Hawaii, University Laboratory School, Aloha)
14 Jackson Vanderpool (MB, 6-6, Queen Creek, Arizona, Higley HS, Arizona Region)
17 Kellen Saurer (S, 6-8, Elgin, Ill., Wheaton Academy, Great Lakes)
19 Miles Crotty (MB, 6-3, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
22 Grant Schmidt (OPP, 6-7, San Diego, Calif., Clairemont HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
23 Luis Tarja (OH, 6-7, Temecula, Calif., Temecula Valley HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
25 Dean Wagner (OH, 6-1, Irvine, Calif., Mater Dei HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
26 Ryder Wilper (OH, 6-6, Golden, Colo., Ralston Valley HS, Rocky Mountain)

Coaches
Head Coach: Mike Wall (USA Volleyball)
Assistant Coach: Steven Duhoux (Ohio State)
Assistant Coach: Tom Stillwell (NTDP)
Athletic Trainer: Beth Drayer (BD Movement)
Performance Analyst: Alex Hurlburt (The Volleyball Institute)
Team Lead: Brandon Oswald (NTDP)
Training Coach: Sean Byron (Daemen), Derek Sullivan (Belmont Abbey)
Mental Performance Coach: Mitzi Kincaid (Performance GRIT)

Schedule

All Times PT

August 4
USA def. Mexico, 3-2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-8)

August 5
USA vs. Puerto Rico, 1 p.m.

August 6
USA vs. Canada, 1 p.m.

August 7
Quarterfinals

August 8
Classification and semifinals

August 9
Classification and Finals