COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 27, 2023) – The U.S. is bringing home some hardware from the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, after Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Murphy earned bronze. The U.S. duo defeated Ana Gallay/Fernanda Pereyra (ARG) 2-0 (21-18, 21-10) to earn their spot on the third step of the podium.
Quiggle and Murphy went undefeated in the pool stage of the Pan Am Games, earning an automatic bid to the quarterfinals. There they defeated Chris Vorpahl/Francisca Rivas (CHI) 2-0 (21-18, 21-16). This set up a semifinal match with world No. 1 Ana Patricia/Duda (BRA). The Brazilians were victorious in the semis by a 2-0 score (21-11, 21-18) which placed Quiggle/Murphy in the bronze medal match.
“I think we are really proud to be taking home the bronze medal here in Chile,” Quiggle said. “I think we worked hard to get there. We had a great semifinal match against Duda and Ana Patricia. They are a great team; they are No. 1 in the world so it was really a fun game to play them and then we got to bounce back and play Argentina, who is also a really good team on the international tour. To be able to take this accomplishment and bring it home to the U.S. is amazing.”
The U.S. women made the most of 12 successful attacks and three blocks while forcing six opponent errors in the second set of their final match. After taking the bronze, Murphy reflected on the overall atmosphere of the Pan Am Games.
“It’s been an incredible energy all week out here,” Murphy said . “The setting is amazing. The venue, the fans; everybody has just been awesome and supportive, and it has been a really fun environment to play in, especially alongside Corinne. Really happy to be bringing home a bronze medal. We worked hard for it and really thankful for our coach, Fiapo, Arty back home, and our fellow Americans, Hagen and Logan.”
In the men’s side of the tournament, Logan Webber and Hagen Smith battled until the very end of the bronze medal match. The duo forced three sets, but came up just a few points short, falling to world No. 22 Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt (CHI) 2-1 (21-14, 18-21, 15-12).
“We have been here at their matches for most of the week, so it was fun to get to play that match and just experience it actually being on the court,” Smith said. “It was a great crowd. It’s fun to play in front of knowledgeable volleyball fans as well. You could tell they know the game and are very into it.”
The fourth-place finish by Webber and Smith caps off a strong showing at the Pan Am Games. The pair went undefeated in pool to earn a place in the quarterfinals where they defeated Miguell Sarabia/Juan Virgen (MEX) 2-0 (21-18, 21-15). In the semifinals, Smith and Webber fell to world No. 34 Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz (CUB) 2-0 (21-15, 21-13), which sent them to the bronze-medal match.
“We finished well; we made it a game at the end,” Webber said. “Just a point or two away and needed a couple more blocks or digs at the end and it would have made it a little more interesting, but yeah it was fun. The crowd was awesome. It was a fun match.”