Achievement Unlocked: U.S. Men's U21 Advances to Pan Am Cup Semis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 6, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team will advance straight to the semifinals at the Pan American Cup after sweeping Chile on Thursday morning (25-18, 25-23, 25-17).

The U.S. Men (3-0) won Pool A and will play Cuba (3-1) at 1:30 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 6). Canada (3-0) won Pool B and will play Mexico (3-1) in the other semifinal. Matches are being shown live at https://fb.watch/g0mOLg-dNt/.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

The U.S. pool win was especially notable because the team arrived in Cuba late and didn’t have much time to prepare. Also, a loss to Chile could have meant the U.S. Men playing a quarterfinal match on Thursday evening.

“It was a very important match for us to win,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “It was great for our guys to continue to improve every single match. We got solid performances from Shane Wetzel and Kyle Teune off the bench… Libero Chris Connelly gets better every match.”

The U.S. Men led Chile in kills (37-27) and aces (10-4). Chile led in blocks (6-4). The United States scored 24 points on Chile’s errors and gave up 21.

Outside hitter Zach Rama led all scorers with 13 points on 10 kills and a match-high three aces.

Opposite Shane Wetzel added 12 points on 10 kills and two aces.

“I think we played well and did what we needed to do to win,” Wetzel said. “We took it to them in blocking, serving and passing. We just beat them out in every system.”

Middle blocker Wesley Smith totaled eight points on four kills, three blocks and one ace.

Middle Nyherowo Omene added seven points on six kills and one ace.

Outside hitter Kyle Teune, who substituted for Dane Hillis in the second set, finished with five points on four kills and one ace.

Setter Andrew Rowan scored three points on a kill, a block and an ace and set the team to a .403 hitting efficiency.

Libero Christopher Connelly was credited with seven digs and 12 excellent receptions.

Hillis finished with two points on a kill and an ace and middle blocker Max McCullough scored with a kill as a substitute.

U.S. Roster for the 2022 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, School, USAV Region)
2 Christopher Connelly (L, 5-10, Naples, Fla., Long Beach State, Florida Region)
4 Dane Hillis (OH, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Volleyball Association)
8 Kyle Teune (OH, 6-6, Downers Grove, Ill., Ohio State, Great Lakes Region)
10 Tyler Morgan (S, 6-7, Dike, Iowa, Lewis University, Iowa Region)
11 Noah Roberts (OH, 6-7, Seal Beach, Calif., University of Southern California, Southern California Volleyball Association)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Volleyball Association)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, Longwood, Fla., Ohio State, Florida Region)
14 Max McCullough (MB, 6-8, San Marcos, Calif., Concordia University Irvine, Southern California Volleyball Association)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes Region)
17 Trent Moser (Opp, 6-8, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona Region)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-9, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona Region)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-10, Encinitas, Calif., La Costa Canyon HS, Southern California Volleyball Association)

Head Coach Andy Read
Assistant Coach Hudson Bates
Second Assistant Chris Seiffert
Performance Analyst Alex Hurlburt
Athletic Trainer Chris Cornell
Team Leader Donovan Martinez

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2022 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup
All times PT
USA def Mexico, 3-2 (25-13, 24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12)
USA def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21)
USA def Chile, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-17)

Oct 6
Quarterfinals
3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Oct. 7
Classification and semifinals

Oct. 8
Classification and finals