U.S. Men to Play for 5th after Win over Venezuela

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 29, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Team competing at the Pan American Cup defeated Venezuela, 25-23, 25-14, 25-20 on Saturday in Gatineau, Canada.

The U.S. Men (2-3) will play Dominican Republic (3-2) for fifth place on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. It will be a re-match of the pool play contest, which the Dominican Republic won, 3-0.

Saturday’s victory came after a tough loss on Friday to Puerto Rico. U.S. Head Coach Rob Neilson was happy with his team’s resilience.

“Today, we played very good from the service line, and received the ball very well,” Neilson said. “For sure it was an overall better match today.  I’m excited for the guys, and hopefully we’re moving in the right direction.”

Venezuela led in kills (33-32) while the U.S. Men led in blocks (8-5) and aces (11-3). The U.S. scored 24 points off Venezuela errors while committing 16. The U.S. hitting efficiency was .387 while Venezuela’s was .163.

“This is a young group; we have players that are still in university and they are learning what it takes to compete at an international level,” Neilson said. “It’s the quality of touches and quality of shots. We’re learning and sometimes we’re taking some hard knocks, but we’re progressing, and I’m pleased with that.”

Outside hitter Jake Langlois led the U.S. Men with 10 points on eight kills, one block and one ace. Middle blocker Mitch Stahl totaled nine points including three aces and two blocks. Outside hitter David Wieczorek scored nine points on seven kills (.545) and two blocks. Setter Jonah Seif had a match-high four aces.

Starters for the U.S. Men vs. Venezuela
Outside hitters: Jake Langlois and David Wieczorek
Middle blockers: Jeff Jendryk and Mitch Stahl
Opposite: Kyle Ensing
Setter: Jonah Seif
Libero: Larry Tuileta

Statistics for the U.S. Men vs. Venezuela
Kills: Langlois 8, Wieczorek 7, Ensing 7, Stahl 4, Jendryk 3, Seif 3
Blocks: Stahl 2, Wieczorek 2, Jendryk 2, Seif 1, Langlois 1
Aces: Seif 4, Stahl 3, Langlois 1, Jendryk 1, Ensing 1, Michael Saeta 1
Digs: Tuileta 3, Seif 2, Jendryk 1, Langlois 1, Wieczorek 1

U.S. Men’s Roster for Pan American Cup

No. Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College)
2. Price Jarman (MB, 6-9, Las Vegas, N.Y., BYU)
3. Mitch Stahl (MB, 6-7, Chambersburg, Pa., UCLA)
4. Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola of Chicago)
7. Arvis Greene (Opp, 6-7, Los Angeles, Calif., Cal State Northridge)
8. Brenden Sander (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., BYU)
9. Jake Langlois (MB, 6-10, San Jose, Calif., BYU)
11. C Jonah Seif (S, 6-6, Thousand Oaks, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
13 Jake Arnitz (OH, 6-7, Yorba Linda, Calif., UCLA)
14. Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State)
15. David Wieczorek (OH, 6-8, Chicago, Ill., Pepperdine)
20. Scott Stadick (MB, 7-0, Watertown, Wis., UC Irvine)
21. Michael Saeta (S, 6-5, Pasadena, Calif., UC Irvine)
23. Larry Tuileta (L, 6-2, Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii)
25. Evan Enriques (L, 6-2, Punalu’u, Hawaii, Stanford)

Head Coach: Rob Neilson
Team Manager: Brian Failinger
Assistant Coach: Joaquin Acosta
Assistant Coach: Jordan Cheng
Therapist/Trainer: Brett Biedermann
Technical Coordinator: Brian Failinger

Schedule/Results for Men’s Pan American Cup
Gatineau, Canada (All times ET)

July 25
Argentina def Puerto Rico, 25-20, 25-14, 25-17
Cuba def Dominican Republic, 25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22
United States def Mexico, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18
Canada def Venezuela, 25-17, 25-27, 25-15, 25-22

July 26
Dominican Republic def United States, 25-14, 25-12, 25-19
Argentina def Venezuela, 25-17, 25-18, 28-26
Cuba def Mexico, 25-15, 25-18, 25-15
Puerto Rico def Canada, 25-21, 25-16, 25-22

July 27
Dominican Republic defMexico, 25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 25-18
Puerto Rico def Venezuela, 25-19, 17-25, 25-17, 25-27, 16-14
Cuba def United States, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11
Argentina def Canada, 27-25, 25-23, 25-11

July 28: Quarterfinals
Canada def Dominican Republic, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23
Puerto Rico def USA, 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14

July 29:
Classification 5-8: Dominican Republic def Mexico, 24-26, 26-24, 25-19, 25-20
Classification 5-8: USA def Venezuela, 25-23, 25-14, 25-20
6 p.m. Semifinal: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico
Semifinal: Argentina def Canada, 25-23, 25-15, 25-10

July 30:
5 p.m. Gold
3 p.m. Bronze
1 p.m. Fifth: USA v Dominican Republic
11 a.m.Seventh: Mexico v Venezuela

Year by Year Podiums 

Medal Standings