U.S. Men Take Bronze at Pan Am Cup Final Six

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 17, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s Team competing at the Pan American Cup Final Six finished the tournament with its best effort on Sunday, beating Puerto Rico for the bronze medal, 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-23) on Sunday in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.

The U.S. Men finished the tournament 4-3. It was their second straight bronze-medal finish in the event. Cuba beat Canada in the gold-medal match.

U.S. libero Mason Briggs was named the tournament’s Best Receiver.

The U.S. led 47-37 in attacks and 7-5 in blocks. Each team scored a point with an ace. The U.S. committed 27 scoring errors against 22 from Puerto Rico.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

The U.S. Men hit .313 behind starting setter Quinn Isaacson and backup Matt West. Puerto Rico hit .218.

“Their response in the last 24 hours, since their five-set loss in the semis, has been great,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “The only way to move on is to get right back out there and compete again.”

Outside hitter Brett Windman led all scorers with 14 points on a match-high 13 kills and one block. He also had 20 excellent receptions. Libero Mason Briggs was credited with 15 excellent receptions and 13 digs.

Outside hitter Kyle McCauley was right behind him with 13 points on 12 kills and one block.

Middle blocker Nyherowo Omene scored 11 points on seven kills, a team-high three blocks and the United States’ only ace. Opposite Francesco Sani scored 10 points on nine kills and one block.

Middle Merrick McHenry totaled six points on six kills and setter West had two points on a kill and a block.

“This was a super long tournament; it was so fun,” McHenry said. “It was a very high-level tournament. I think we all got better. And it will definitely help us for the future, just to play competitive teams and good volleyball.”

U.S. Men’s Roster for the Pan American Cup Final Six

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, Region)
5C Matt West (S, 6-6, Seattle, Wash., Pepperdine, Puget Sound)
9 J.R. Norris IV (MB, 6-6, Lancaster, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
11 Francesco Sani (Opp, 6-8, Bethesda, Md., UC Irvine, Chesapeake)
14 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State, Great Lakes)
15 Parker Van Buren (Opp, 6-9, Cross Plains, Wis., Loyola Chicago, Badger)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-7, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes)
17 Austin Wilmot (MB, 6-10, Valley Village, Calif., Pepperdine, Southern California)
20 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
22 Kyle McCauley (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., UC San Diego, Southern California)
24 Brett Wildman (OH, 6-5, Virginia Beach, Va., Penn State, Old Dominion)
26 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
29 Cole Power (L, 5-11, Huntington Beach, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California)
31 Spencer Olivier (OH, 6-6, Tustin, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coach: Ron Larsen
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager
Team Leader/Performance Analyst: AJ Ruttenberg
Athletic Trainer: Jackie Chan

Schedule for the NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six
(All Times PDT)

Monday July 11
Cuba def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-22)
Canada def United States, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21)
Puerto Rico def Mexico, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13)

Tuesday July 12
Puerto Rico def Dominican Republic, 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 32-34, 22-25, 15-12)
Cuba def United States, 3-2 (25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11)
Canada def Mexico, 3-1 (33-31, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21)

Wednesday July 13
United States def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 27-25)
Cuba def Canada, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21)
Mexico def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-21)

Thursday July 14
Canada def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-20)
Cuba def Puerto Rico, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20)
United States def Mexico, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-19)

Friday July 15
Canada def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23)
United States def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-20)
Cuba def Mexico, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22)

Saturday July 16
Fifth place: Mexico def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24)
Semifinal: Canada def United States, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-9)
Semifinal: Cuba def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22)

Sunday July 17
Bronze: USA def Puerto Rico, 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Gold: Cuba def Canada, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19)