COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 24, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s National Team competing at the NORCECA Final Six reached the gold medal match after sweeping Cuba (33-31, 25-14, 25-17) on Saturday in Gatineau, Quebec.
The U.S. Men finished the round robin 4-1. They will play host Canada (5-0), which handed them their only round-robin loss, at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday.
The U.S. Men won a tough first set that saw them tied with Cuba in kills (18-18) and with slight leads in blocks (3-2) and aces (3-2). The teams also tied 9-9 in scoring errors.
“We needed to make a couple of adjustments early in the game,” said middle blocker DiAeris McRaven, who scored 11 points on six kills and five blocks. “And then once we were able to adapt to the situation, as you saw in the second set, we were able to pick it up really quickly. Everybody was getting blocks. Our ability to adapt in the middle of the game was huge and critical for our win today.”
The U.S. Men finished the match leading in kills (40-35), blocks (18-2) and aces (6-3). Cuba scored on 22 U.S. errors and committed 19.
“The first set was huge,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “Winning that set in overtime gave us momentum and we just kept rolling…. We want to compete for the gold medal and now we need to get ready for tomorrow and have a great match.”
Three other U.S. players besides McRaven scored in double figures led by outside hitter Cooper Robinson with 15 points on eight kills, five blocks and two aces. He also had nine excellent receptions and five digs. Outside Nolan Flexen added 14 points on 10 kills, two blocks and two aces.
Opposite Zach Rama scored 14 points on a match-high 12 kills (.647 hitting efficiency) and two blocks.
Setter Nicholas Slight scored on a block and ace and set the U.S. Men to a .432 hitting efficiency. Libero Mason Briggs was credited with 11 excellent receptions and five digs.
Middle Micah Wong-Diallo totaled eight points on four kills, three blocks and one ace.
The U.S. Men trailed 15-11 in the first set but tied the score at 18-18. The U.S. took set point at 24-23 but tied the score with a service error. Cuba held the next six set points. The U.S. Men took set point again on a Flexen ace at 31-30. A service error tied the score again, but a Robinson kill gave the U.S. set point and a block from Slight gave the U.S. the set win.
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 Medal matches