Men's U21 Moves into Sole Possession of First Place at 2025 Pan Am Cup

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 7, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team moved into sole possession of first place at the 2025 NORCECA U21 Men’s Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22) win over previously undefeated host Canada in Calgary.

The U.S. (3-0) continues play in the Pan American Cup against Mexico (1-2) at 3:30 p.m. PT tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 8.

The U.S. finished with a double-digit advantage in kills (52-39) with slight leads in blocks (7-6) and aces (6-3).

Outside hitter Sebastiano Sani led all scorers with 21 points, 15 of which came in the final two sets, on 19 kills, a block and an ace. He added seven successful receptions.

“It was a great match. We started off really strong with no troubles in the first set. We had a great second set. We were hitting well and then Canada really rallied back. They were hitting their serves and we were out of system a lot. In the fourth, we took it back and we were just playing lights out with nothing to lose and that’s how we took the match,” Sani explained.

Opposite Kainoa Wade scored 15 points on 13 kills and two blocks, and outside Riggs Guy delivered 13 kills. Middle blocker Micah Goss led the team in blocks (three) and aces (four) to go with two kills for nine points. He also led the team with seven digs.

Setter Trent Taliaferro led the offense to a .356 hitting efficiency percentage and added a pair of kills. Libero Johnny Dykstra led all players with 12 successful receptions and contributed five digs. Middle Tre Jordan produced three kills.

The U.S. doubled up Canada, 12-6, to start the match on Guy’s fourth kill. A Goss block on the next play raised the lead to seven points, 13-6. Another Guy kill pushed the lead to double digits, 21-11. Back-to-back kills by Wade gave the U.S. set point at 24-11. Victor Loiola followed with an ace. Wade scored six points on five kills and a block, and Guy finished with five kills. The U.S hit .722 for the opening set with 13 kills without an error in 18 attacks.

A Wade kill and Joshua Aruya block put the U.S. ahead 9-5 in the second set but Canada responded with its first three-point run of the match as part of a 5-1 stretch that tied the set at 10. A Taliaferro kill ended one of the longest rallies of the match to give the U.S. a 13-11 advantage.

Canada evened the set six times before moving ahead 21-20, its first lead since 3-2 early in the set. A Sani kill, Canada hitting error, and an ace by Goss put the U.S. ahead 23-21. The U.S. moved ahead two sets to none on a Guy kill. Guy finished the set with four kills.

After dropping two of the first three points in the third set, Canada scored four points in a row to take the lead until a Goss block tied the set at 13. After the teams exchanged points, Canada scored three points in a row to take a 17-14 lead. The U.S. pulled back within a point, 18-17, on a Sani kill.

Trailing 19-17, the U.S. tied the set when Sani tooled the block for a kill and produced a block. After Canada regained the lead, 20-19, Jordan put a ball down, but a service error and a block put the U.S. back down two points, 22-20. A Sani kill on a back row attack cut the lead to one before another service error gave Canada its two-point advantage back.

After a timeout, the U.S. tied the set at 23 by scoring the next two points on kills from Guy and Wade before a third service error down the stretch gave Canada set point, which it converted on a block. Sani led all players with seven points on six kills and a block.

An ace gave Canada a 7-4 lead early in the fourth set, prompting a U.S. timeout. The U.S. scored the next five points to force Canada to use its first timeout. A Guy kill tied the score at seven apiece and a Goss kill put the U.S. up by a pair. A Sani kill and a hitting error capped an 8-1 run that put the U.S. ahead 12-8.

Wade extended the lead to five, 15-10, with his 13th kill of the match, but Canada responded by scoring the next three points to cut the margin back to two points. A great up by Dykstra kept a rally alive that ended with a Wade block as the U.S. established a three-point lead again at 16-13.

Canada used an eighth U.S. service error of the set and a kill to narrow the gap back to one point, 19-18. Sani answered with a block and a Canada error pushed the advantage to three again. The next three points came on service errors and Canada produced a kill to come within a point again, 22-21. Sani scored the next point on a kill off the block and then his ace set up match point. Canada saved one match before a back row attack by Sani finished it with his seventh kill and eighth point of the set.

2025 Men’s U21 National Team

Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School/Club, USAV Region)

1 Kellen Larson (L, 5-9, Irvine, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
5 Marek Turner (OH, 6-6, Long Beach, Calif., Team Rockstar, Southern California)
6 Victor Loiola (OH, 6-4, Manhattan Beach, Calif., N/A, Southern California)
7 Trent Taliaferro (S, 6-5, San Clemente, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
8 Jacob Little-Phillips (S, 6-2, Winter Park, Fla., Winter Park HS, Florida Region)
9 Tre Jordan (MB, 6-10, Mesa, Ariz., Grand Canyon, Arizona)
10 Johnny Dykstra (L, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
15 Joshua Aruya (MB, 6-9, Mission Viejo, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, Southern California)
17 Riggs Guy (OH, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., UC Santa Barbara, Southern California/Southern Nevada)
18 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-10, Kailua, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha Region)
22 Sebastiano Sani (OH, 6-8, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Long Beach State, Chesapeake)
23 Micah Goss (MB, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California)

Alternates
2 Roan Alviar (L, 5-11, Hayward, Calif., Princeton, Northern California)
4 Aidan Klein (MB, 6-10, Evanston, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
11 Finn Kearney (OH, 6-5, Phoenix, Ariz., Univ. of Hawaii, Arizona)
14 Justin Todd (MB, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha)
19 Grayson Bradford (OPP, 6-11, Redondo Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California)
24 Kahale Clini (OH, 6-3, Honolulu, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)

Coaches
Head Coach: John Hawks (UCLA)
Assistant Coach: Donan Cruz (Ball State)
Assistant Coach: Matthew Pollock (Pepperdine)
Performance Analyst: Thomas Shaffer (Loyola Chicago)
Athletic Trainer: Hazel Peterson (USOPTC)
Team Lead: Brandon Oswald (NTDP)

Schedule

All times Pacific

Aug. 5: USA def. Chile, 3-0 (25-15 25-14, 25-15)
Aug. 6: USA def. Barbados, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-14)
Aug. 7: USA def. Canada, 3-1 (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22)
Aug. 8: USA vs. Mexico, 3:30 p.m.
Aug. 9: USA vs. Puerto Rico, 3:30 p.m.
Aug. 10: Medal Matches and Classification