U.S. Men Beat Canada for 2024 Final 6 Gold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 25, 2024) – The young U.S. Men’s National Team competing at the NORCECA Final Six won a second straight gold medal at the tournament, beating Canada 3-1 (25-19, 17-25,  25-20, 25-22) on Sunday in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.

The U.S. Men finished the tournament at 5-1. It is the fourth time the U.S. has medaled at the tournament since it started in 2021. It took bronze in 2021 and ’22.

MATCH STATISTICS

U.S. setter Nicholas Slight was named tournament MVP. Outside hitter Cooper Robinson won Best Server. Libero Mason Briggs took Best Receiver. Middle blocker DiAeris McRaven won Best Blocker.

Canada swept the U.S. Men during the round robin. The U.S. used a different starting lineup and made adjustments during the match after Canada won the second set.

“Two days ago, Canada played a really great match against us, and we went back and looked at it and saw some things we could have been better at,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “Today we were just a better team.”

The U.S. led in blocks (14-7) while Canada led in kills (48-43) and aces (6-5). The U.S. scored 30 points on Canada errors while giving up 25.

“I think we gained a lot of confidence over the tournament,” U.S. libero Mason Briggs said. “Everyone did their job, and I think the team just really came together to play the best volleyball that we could at the end of the tournament.”

Robinson led all scorers with 16 points on nine kills, four blocks and three aces. He also led the team in excellent receptions with 10 and had six digs.

Outside hitter Will Rottman scored 13 points on 12 kills (.393 hitting efficiency) and one ace. He also led the team in digs with eight.

Opposite Zach Rama totaled 13 points on 12 kills and one block. McRaven scored 10 points on five kills and a match-high five blocks.

Substitute middle Toby Ezeonu added four points on three kills and one block. Starting middle scored two points on a kill and an ace.

Slight scored four points on one kill and three blocks.

After losing the second set, Read switched Robinson and Rottman in the rotation and brought in Toby Ezeonu. The moves helped the U.S. Men take early leads in the next two sets.

U.S. Men’s Roster for the NORCECA Final Six
No. Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School, USAV Region)
2 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
5 Grant Sloane (Opp, 6-8, Irvine, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
8 Nolan Flexen (OH, 6-9, Rio Rancho, N.M., UC-Irvine, Southern)
10 Zach Rama (Opp, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
11 Alex Knight (OH, 6-6, Culver City, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
12 Micah Wong Diallo (MB, 6-9, Los Angeles, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13 Will Rottman (OH, 6-5, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, )
15C Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
18 Bryce Dvorak (S, 6-4, Newport Beach, Calif., Pepperdine, Southern California)
20 Toby Ezeonu (MB, 6-7, North Brunswick, N.J., Penn State, Garden Empire)
22 Timothy McIntosh (L, 6-0, Miami, Fla., Sacred Heart, Florida)
23 DiAeris McRaven (MB, 6-5, Honolulu, Hawaii, Long Beach State, Aloha)
28 Nicholas Slight (S, 6-3, Storm Lake, Iowa, Grand Canyon Univ., Iowa)
30 Ben Braun (MB, 6-11, Rancho Mirage, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Team Manager and Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Assistant Coach: Collin McMillan
Assistant Coach: Thomas Pestolesi
Physiotherapist: Benjamin Colletti

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the NORCECA Final Six
(All times PDT)
Matches will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@TheVolleyballCanada
Aug. 20 USA def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19)
Aug. 21 USA def Mexico, 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 25-13, 15-11)
Aug. 22 USA def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-23)
Aug. 23 Canada def USA, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18)
Aug. 24 USA def Cuba, 3-0 (33-31, 25-14, 25-17)
Aug. 25 Gold Medal: USA def Canada, 3-1 (25-19, 17-25,  25-20, 25-22)