U.S. Men Begin 2026 NORCECA Final Six With Tough Win over Mexico

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 23, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s National Team opened the 2026 NORCECA Final Six with a hard-fought 3-1 (32-30, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20) win over Mexico on Sunday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. will next face Guatemala tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT.

The U.S. finished with slight advantages in kills (48-43) and blocks (8-6), while each team served 10 aces.

Outside hitter Sean Kelly led all players with 18 kills and paced the U.S. with 19 points, adding an ace. He also recorded 10 excellent receptions and finished with seven digs. Opposite Kainoa Wade returned to the court and totaled 16 points on 12 kills and a team-best four aces.

Setter Tread Rosenthal, playing in his first match since suffering a concussion in the Pan American Cup earlier this month, shared team-best honors with four blocks, contributing a kill and three aces for eight points. Middle blocker Jackson Cryst also recorded four blocks to go with seven kills for 11 points.

Libero Jacob Reilly recorded a match-high 14 excellent receptions and finished with seven digs. Outside hitter Sterling Foley scored nine points on seven kills and two aces, while leading the team with nine digs and also finished with six excellent receptions. Middle Micah Wong Diallo added three kills.

Kills by Wade and Foley gave the U.S. an early 3-1 lead in the match, the last time either team led by two points until a Cryst block put the U.S. up 11-9. Down 12-10, Mexico scored three points in a row, taking the lead on an ace for a 13-12 advantage. After the 15th tie of the set at 19-19, Mexico scored the next two points to take its first two-point lead of the match. The U.S. tied the set again at 23-23 on a Rosenthal block. Mexico earned set point at 24-23, but a Kelly kill tied the score again. The U.S. earned two set points of its own that Mexico held off. A Wade kill kept the set going and the U.S. took a 29-28 lead on a hitting error and a 30-29 lead on a Kelly kill, but Mexico saved set point each time. Kelly again put the U.S. out in front, this time 31-30, and a Mexico hitting error gave the U.S. the first set. Kelly registered nine kills on 12 attacks in the set.

Rosenthal started the second set with an ace followed by Kelly’s 10th kill. Mexico used a five-point run to turn a 4-2 deficit into a three-point lead. The U.S. responded by scoring the next six points, five of them by Wade, who delivered a pair of kills and three aces for a 10-7 advantage. The margin grew to five points, 13-8, on another Rosenthal block. Cryst kills put the U.S. ahead 15-10 and 16-11 with a Foley kill stretching the lead to six points and forcing a Mexico timeout. Mexico scored three points in a row of the timeout to cut the deficit in half before kills from Wade and Foley pushed the margin back to five points. A Rosenthal block and Foley ace gave the U.S. a 24-18 lead. Two points later, a Mexico hitting error gave the U.S. a two-set lead in the match. Wade scored six points on three kills and three blocks, while Foley contributed five points on four kills and an ace.

Mexico began the third set with three consecutive aces, but the U.S. quickly tied the set at 3-3 with a Rosenthal ace tying the score. A Kelly kill tied the set 7-7 and a hitting error gave the U.S. its first lead of the set, followed by Rosenthal scoring on a second ball for a 9-7 lead. An ace capped a 5-1 Mexico run for a two-point lead. The U.S. tied the score on a Kelly ace (13-13), Cryst kill (14-14) and Foley kill (15-15) before Mexico went back up by two points, 17-15. Mexico stretched the margin to three points, 19-16, before a hitting error and Rosenthal’s fourth block of the match closed the gap to one point and prompted a Mexico timeout. Kills by Wade tied the score at 19-19 and 20-20, but Mexico ran off three points in a row to take control of the set. Wade paced the U.S. with four kills.

Mexico took the first two-point lead of the fourth set before a pair of hitting errors evened the score at 7-7. Mexico moved ahead 10-8 and did not relinquish the lead until two Kelly kills tied the score 14-14 and a Cryst block put the U.S. ahead and sent Mexico to a timeout. After dropping the next two points, the U.S. took its first two-point lead of the set, 18-16, on a Cryst kill and back-to-back Kelly kills. A Mexico timeout did not slow Kelly down as he produced another kill to raise the margin to three. The U.S. completed a 7-0 run with a Cryst kill and a Rosenthal ace for a 22-16 advantage. Mexico used a three-point spurt to cut the lead in half before a service error and a Cryst block set up match point. After Mexico saved one match point, the U.S. clinched the victory on Cryst’s third kill and sixth point of the set. Kelly delivered six kills.

U.S. Men’s Final Six Roster

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
2 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-9, Kailua, Hawai’i, Hawai’i, Aloha)
3 Michael Wright (S, 6-4, Richmond, Va., Ohio State, Old Dominion)
6 Jacob Reilly (L, 6-2. Cypress, Texas, Pepperdine, Lone Star)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State, Chesapeake)
8 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, Rutherford, N.J., Ball State, Garden Empire)
9 Sterling Foley (OH, 6-6, Los Angeles, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
12 Micah Wong Diallo (MB, 6-9, Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California Southern Nevada)
16 Cameron Thorne (MB, 6-4, Hollywood, Calif., UCLA, Florida)
25 Troy Gooch (L, 6-0, Buffalo, N.Y., UCLA, Western Empire)
27 Parker Tomkinson (MB, 7-0, Carlsbad, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
28 Tread Rosenthal (S, 6-9, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Univ. of Hawai’i, Southern California Southern Nevada)
30 Sean Kelly (OH, 6-7, Manhattan Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)

Head Coach: Reid Priddy
Assistant Coach: David Lee
Assistant Coach: Jonathan Winder
Performance Analyst/Team Manager:  Jesse Tupac
Physiotherapist: Mandolyn Peterson

2026 Final Six Schedule
(All times PDT)

Aug. 23: USA def. Mexico, 3-1 (32-30, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20)
Aug. 24: USA vs. Guatemala, 1 p.m.
Aug. 25: USA vs. Canada, 3 p.m.
Aug. 26: USA vs. Dominican Republic, 1 p.m.
Aug. 27: USA vs. Puerto Rico, 6 p.m.
Aug. 28: Semifinals
Aug. 29: Medal rounds