U.S. Men Take Cuba to Five in Pan Am Cup Loss

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 12, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s Team competing at the Pan American Cup came back from 0-2 and took Cuba to five before falling, 3-2 (25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11) on Tuesday in Tepic, Nayaret, Mexico.

The U.S. Men (0-2) will have to regroup quickly to play Puerto Rico (2-0) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT. Matches are being livestreamed at facebook.com/Incufid/videos.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

“We executed nearly every facet of our game at a much higher level than in our previous (a 3-0 loss to Canada on Monday),” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “The team committed to the systems we trained and those systems were validated by the performance tonight.”

Cuba is using the Pan Am Cup to prepare for the FIVB World Championship later this summer and had senior national team players on the floor.

The U.S. Men held a 6-4 lead in the fifth set, but Cuba came back to get the win. Cuba led in kills (63-47) and aces (5-3). The U.S. took advantage of 43 scoring errors by Cuba while committing 35.

Defense was key to the improved U.S. performance. The U.S. Men led in blocks 14-8. Middle blockers Nyherowo Omene and Austin Wilmot and outside hitters Brett Wildman and Kyle McCauley each finished with three blocks.

Libero Mason Briggs was credited with 14 digs and 19 excellent receptions. Wildman led the team in excellent receptions with 22.

On offense, opposite Francesco Sani led the U.S. scoring with 17 points on 15 kills and two aces. McCauley added 15 kills and an ace to his three blocks.

Omene, who started the last three sets as a substitute, finished with 11 points, including eight kills to go with his three blocks. Wildman scored 10 points on seven kills and three blocks. Wilmot had three kills and three blocks.

Middle blocker J.R. Norris started the first two sets and scored two points on a kill and a block.

Opposite Parker Van Buren and setter Matt West played as substitutes for Sani and starting setter Quinn Isaacson. Van Buren scored one point with a kill.

West and Isaacson, who had a kill and a block, combined to set the U.S. Men to a .326 hitting efficiency.

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
3 p.m. United States v Puerto Rico
5 p.m. Canada v Cuba
7 p.m. Mexico v Dominican Republic

Thursday July 14
3 p.m. Canada v Dominican Republic
5 p.m. Cuba v Puerto Rico
7 p.m. Mexico v United States

Friday July 15
3 p.m. Puerto Rico v Canada
5 p.m. United States v Dominican Republic
7 p.m. Mexico v Cuba

Saturday July 16
3 p.m. Fifth v Sixth
5 p.m. Second v Third
7 p.m. First v Fourth

Sunday July 17
4 p.m. Bronze Medal
6 p.m. Gold Medal