U.S. Men Capture Gold at 2026 Continental Championship

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 16, 2026) – With a berth in the 2027 Men’s World Volleyball Cup already secured, the U.S. Men’s National Team kept its foot on the gas to win gold Wednesday night at the 2026 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship in Moncton, NB, Canada. The squad defeated Canada for the top spot, 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13), avoiding the reverse sweep.

With the gold, the U.S. Men have concluded the 2026 national team season with a 28-6 record. Canada will now play a mini-tournament against Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico for an 2028 Olympic bid.

Erik Shoji was named tournament MVP.

The U.s. led Canada in kills (64-55) and aces (7-4), but Canada had the edge in aces, 7-4.

Matt Anderson and Jake Hanes led the U.S. scorers with 18 points apiece. Anderson had 17 kills and an ace while Hanes had 15 kills, two blocks and an ace. Jordan Ewert also hit double figures with 12 points on 11 kills and a block. Jeff Jendryk scored seven points with five kills, one block and an ace.

Jacob Pasteur came in late in the fourth set and made the most of it, notching six kills, including five in the deciding set. Cole Hartke also made a late appearance to grab five kills, including four in the final set. Merrick McHenry had two kills, a block and an ace, and setter Micah Ma’a had four points (two kills, two aces). Matt Knigge had one kill.

Set one was tight early on, with the two teams exchanging leads until a McHenry ace and Ewert kill put the U.S. up by two. Still up by just two at 18-16, a Canada error and two Ewert kills increased the lead to five, 21-16. Two more Canada errors made it 23-17, and after a Canada kill, errors plagued the Canadians again for two points and the set loss. Hanes had six points and Ewert had five.

The U.S. was up by five in set two, 16-11, when Canada chipped away at the lead to close it to one at 19-18. A Canada kill and service ace tied it at 20, then Canada used a huge block on Hanes for a 21-20 lead. The U.S. took the lead back at 23-22 on a Hanes overpass kill that was unsuccesfully challenged by Canada for a net touch. The teams exchanged points until 24-24, when the U.S. used an Ewert kill and Hanes block for the 26-24 win.

Despite being down 2-0, Canada came out fighting in set three, leading early 10-6. But the U.S. used Hanes’ firepower with a kill and a block, along with an Anderson ace to move within one at 10-9. The U.S. tied it at 11 and took a lead at 15-14 with another Hanes kill. Canada regained the lead and increased it to two at 21-19, and then it was a battle to the finish with a couple great rallies. At 25-25, Canada finally gained the advantage with two straight kills for the win. Anderson led the U.S. with 10 points.

The U.S. had no answers for Canada in the fourth set as every ball dropped in the opponent’s favor. Head coach Karch Kiraly tried a number of different lineups, but Canada kept at it, setting up a decisive fifth set.

The two teams continued to battle in the fifth, with the set tied at 6 midway through. The U.S. took at 7-6 lead on a Canada service error, and Pasteur (who came in late in set four), notched a kill after a great defensive save to give the U.S. a two-point lead. Another Pasteur kill kept the U.S. ahead 9-7 after a Ma’a service error. But, Canada tied it again two points later at 9, forcing Kiraly to call a timeout.

The timeout worked as Hartke notched a kill for a 10-9 lead, but Knigge served it long for 10-10. Pasteur came through again with his fourth kill of the set for 11-10. At 11-11, Canada served into the net and Anderson went to the line. But Canada grabbed a kill off the U.S. block for 12-12.

Canada served it out for a 13-12 U.S. lead. Patrick Rogers then came in to serve,  Canada called a timeout, and Rogers served it out for 13-13. But Canada served it in the net to give the U.S. match point with Ma’a at the line. Shoji made a great dig on a Canada attack, and Pasteur finished it off with a kill for the gold medal, 15-13.

2026 NORCECA Continental Championship Roster

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
3 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State, Chesapeake)
8 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, Rutherford, N.J., Ball State, Garden Empire)
12 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
17 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
18 Cole Hartke (OPP, 7-0, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst/Team Manager: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Statistician: Kailani Wang

Schedule

All times Pacific
Sept. 11: USA def. Guatemala, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-11)
Sept. 12: USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-19)
Sept. 13: USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-14)
Sept. 14: Quarterfinals: USA received a bye
Sept. 15: Semifinals: USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
Sept. 16: Final: USA def. Canada, 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13)