ANAHEIM, Calif. (May 26, 2016) – The U.S. Men’s National Team competing at the Pan American Cup in Mexico City ended on a high note with a 25-22, 25-15, 25-14 win over the Dominican Republic on Thursday at Olympic Gymnasium Juan de la Barrera.
With the victory, the U.S. finished the tournament in fifth place with a 3-1 record.
Opposite and Team Captain Carson Clark led the U.S. Men with 10 points on seven kills and three blocks.
“We obviously didn’t do what we came here to do,” Clark said in a NORCECA press release. “This is a young team and we only trained two weeks before coming to the tournament. I think we lost by not being comfortable with each other yet.
“Other than that I can say that we played well together and some of the young players are going to be really good.”
The U.S. finished with 13 blocks overall as compared to seven for the Dominican Republic. The U.S. also took advantage of 28 Dominican errors while committing only 17.
“I liked how we came out and played today because you worry that playing for fifth is going to be an emotionless game,” U.S. Head Coach Ron Larsen said. “I am happy with the way the team responded and how they came out and battled.”
Outside hitters Greg Petty and T.J. DeFalco and middle blocker Taylor Averill each finished with eight points. Each had five kills. Averill had three blocks while Petty and DeFalco each had two blocks and one ace.
Henry Tapia led the Dominican Republic with 10 points.
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strong>U.S. Starters on Thursday
Outside Hitter: Greg Petty and T.J. DeFalco
Middle Blockers: Jeff Jendryk and Taylor Averill
Setter: Josh Tuaniga
Opposite: Carson Clark
Libero: Michael Brinkley
U.S. Statistics on Thursday
Kills: Carson Clark 7, Jeff Jendryk 6, Greg Petty 5, T.J. DeFalco 5, Taylor Averill 5, Josh Tuaniga 2, Josh Taylor 1
Blocks: Clark 3, Averill 3, Petty 2, Taylor 2, DeFalco 2, Jendryk 1
Aces: Petty 1, DeFalco 1, Tuaniga 1
U.S. Men’s Pan American Cup Team
1. Jake Langlois (OH, 6-10, San Jose, Calif., BYU)
2. Greg Petty (OH, 6-6, Downers Grove, Ill., Lewis)
3. Brenden Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
4. Josh Taylor (OH, 6-7, Honolulu, Hawaii, Pepperdine)
9. Joshua Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
10. Peter Hutz (S, 6-4, Whitefish Bay, Wis., Loyola of Chicago)
12. Kris Johnson (MB, 6-11, Long Beach, Calif., California Baptist University)
15. Carson Clark (Opp, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Irvine)
17. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
19. Taylor Averill (MB, 6-7, San Jose, Calif., University of Hawaii)
23. TJ DeFalco (OH, 6-5, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State University)
24. Michael Brinkley (L, 5-10, Huntington Beach, Calif., University of California – Irvine)
Staff
Head Coach: Ron Larsen
Assistant Coach: Armen Zakarian
Assistant Coach: Sean Rooney
Team Manager: Jordan Cheng
Athletic Trainer: Jonathan Sung
Schedule/Results (All times PT)
Pool Play
May 21: USA def Chile, 25-17, 17-25, 25-15, 25-22
May 22: Dominican Republic def Chile, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24, 25-23
May 23: USA def Dominican Republic, 25-20, 25-23, 26-28, 25-17
May 24: Quarterfinals
Canada def USA, 26-24, 26-28, 25-19, 31-29
Mexico def Dominican Republic, 25-22, 25-19, 28-26
May 26
Fifth place: USA def Dominican Republic, 25-22, 25-15, 25-14
Third place: Canada def Mexico, 25-20, 25-20, 29-27
First place: Cuba def Argentina, 30-32, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 19-17