Men's U21 Team Earns Silver at Pan Am Cup After Five-Set Loss to Cuba

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 10, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team earned the silver medal at the NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup after falling 3-2 on Saturday to Cuba (21-25, 21-25, 30-28, 25-15, 15-11) in Havana, Cuba.

It marked the second time in the tournament that the U.S. team dropped a five-set match to the host team.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

The U.S. trailed by three points midway through the opening set before going on a 5-1 run for an 18-17 lead and never trailed again in the set. They team led from start to finish in the second set, grabbing a 20-12 lead before hanging on to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Cuba saw the U.S. fight off five set points in the third set before extending the match with a 30-28 victory. The U.S. team’s last lead of the match was 5-4 in the fourth set.

“Obviously we would have liked to have closed out the third set. We didn’t, but I give Cuba credit, being down 2-0, and responding,” U.S. head coach Andy Read said. “The crowd was great. High energy, high intensity, it was a good match.”

Outside hitter Trent Moser paced the U.S. team with 18 kills and added three blocks, while Kyle Teune also reached double-digits in kills with 11. The U.S. totaled 17 kills, led by Owen Rose with four.

“Cuba started serving harder because they had to. It was a good experience for us to have to see that serve,” Read remarked. “That will make us better in the future. I am not sad. I am very happy for how hard our guys played. I am proud of my guys and proud of how they played.”

U.S. Roster for the 2023 Men’s U21 NORCECA Pan American Cup
No. Name (Position, Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Ryan Merk (L, 6-0, 2003, Chicago, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
4 Dane Hillis (OH, 6-2, 2003, San Clemente, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
7 Gabe Dyer (S, 6-5, 2003, San Clemente, Calif., UC San Diego, Southern California)
8 Kyle Teune (OH, 6-6, 2003, Downers Grove, Ill., Ohio State, Great Lakes)
10 Tyler Morgan (S, 6-7, 2003, Dike, Iowa, Lewis, Iowa)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, 2004, Wekiwa Springs, Fla., Ohio State, Florida)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, 2003, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Trent Moser (OH, 6-8, 2003, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
19 George Bruening (Opp, 6-10, 2004. Newport Beach, Calif., UCSB, Southern California)
22 Owen Rose (MB, 6-8, 2003, Long Island, N.Y., Penn State, Garden Empire)
23 Alex Rottman (OH, 6-7, 2004, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
24 Micah Wong Diallo (MB, 6-9, 2004, Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read (Long Beach State)
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager (University of Southern California)
Assistant Coach: Taylor Hammond (UC San Diego)
Performance Analyst: Michael Bouril (Purdue)
ATC: Cherryl Bueno
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (USAV NTDP)
International Referee: Michelle Prater (Southern Region)

Alternates
2 Christopher Connelly (L, 5-10, 2003, Naples, Fla., Long Beach State, Florida)
3 Jacob Reilly (L, 6-0, 2003, Cypress, Texas, Concordia University-Irvine, Aloha)
6 Island Doty (S, 6-5, 2003, Colorado Springs, Colo., Long Beach State, Rocky Mountain)
9 Ben Putnam (OH, 6-5, 2004, Needham, Mass., Ohio State, New England)
14 Nicodemus Meyer (MB, 6-10, 2003, Franklin, Wis., Loyola of Chicago, Badger)
15 Markus Olsson (MB, 6-8, 2003, Cupertino, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California
18 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, 2004, Rutherford, N.J., St. Francis College, Garden Empire)
25 Theo Snoey (OH, 6-8, 2004, Berkeley, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

U.S. Schedule for the 2023 Men’s U21 NORCECA Pan American Cup
All Times PDT

June 5  USA def. Nicaragua 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-8)
June 6 USA def. Guatemala 3-0 (32-30, 27-25, 25-21)
June 7 Cuba def. USA 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 11-15)
June 8 Quarterfinals: USA def. Dominican Republic 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-10)
June 9 Semifinals: USA def. Canada 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16)
June 10 Gold-medal match: Cuba def. USA 3-2 (15-25, 15-25, 30-28, 25-15, 15-11)