U.S. Men's U21 Starts 2026Pan Am Cup with Win Over Dominican Republic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 23, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team started strong at the 2026 U21 Pan American Cup on Tuesday with a dominating 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-21) victory over the Dominican Republic in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The U.S. (1-0) returns to play tomorrow against Venezuela (0-1) at 1 p.m. PT.

The U.S. held a 32-25 advantage in kills and 9-5 in blocks, but it was the service game that was the key as the U.S. served 11 aces to none for the Dominican Republic.

“I thought the guys played really well from start to finish. Our goal was to come out and serve the ball well and try to give ourselves some good rhythm going into the pool play here. Sets one and two were really good and in set three, kind of late we made some good serves. Overall, I am excited for the guys and we’ll see how we could use this as a launching pad into Venezuela,” said U.S. Men’s U21 National Team head coach Donan Cruz.

Middle blocker Jackson Cryst led the U.S. with 10 points on seven kills and three blocks with outside hitter Aleksey Mikhailenko scoring nine points on five kills, three blocks, and an ace while playing the first two sets.

Opposite Kainoa Wade scored seven points on four kills and three aces, outside Mateo Fuerbringer scored six points on four kills, a block and an ace, and outside Blake Fahlbusch added five points on four kills and an ace.

A kill followed by a block from Mikhailenko put the U.S. ahead for good in the first set, 5-3. Another Mikhailenko kill and a Wade ace made it 9-5. A Jordan block helped push the lead to six, 15-9. Kills by Wade and Jordan, and blocks by Cryst and Mikhailenko gave the U.S. a double-digit lead, 20-10. Another Wade ace made it 22-11. A Mikhailenko ace gave the U.S. set point, and he ended the set two points later with his fourth kill and seventh point of the opening set.

Cameron Kosty served four aces to get the U.S. off to a 6-0 start in the second set, forcing a Dominican Republic timeout. Fahlbusch served an ace for an 8-1 lead and registered a kill for a double-digit advantage, 12-2. Another Wade ace increased the lead to 11 points, 14-3. Mikhailenko and Fahlbusch recorded back-to-back kills to increase the lead to 18-6. Trevell Jordan and Grant Lamoureux posted kills as the U.S. tripled up the Dominican Republic, 21-7. Kills by Cryst and Grayson Bradford ended the set and put the U.S. up 2-0 in the match. Kosty (four aces) and Fahlbusch (three kills and an ace) scored points in the set with Cryst adding three on a pair of kills and a block.

Cryst’s second kill of the third set gave the U.S. a 7-4 advantage. The Dominican Republic pulled within two points, 9-7, before Fuerbringer scored on back-to-back plays with a kill and a block. Dominican Republic used consecutive blocks to end a 5-1 run and even the set at 12 apiece. Three consecutive errors put the U.S. back in front. After Dominican Republic cut the margin back to a point, 16-15, the U.S. went on a 4-0 run keyed by Cryst delivering a kill and a block, and Lamoureux serving an ace. Fuerbringer served two points in a row for a 23-20 U.S. lead and a Bradford kill set up match point. Two points later, the U.S. completed the sweep on an error. Fuerbringer scored six points on four kills, a block and an ace, while Cryst added five points on four kills and a block.

2026 Men’s U21 National Team Roster for the Pan American Cup

Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, School, USAV Region)
1 Cameron Kosty (S, 6-5, Hayward, Calif., UC Irvine, Southern California Southern Nevada)
3 Drake Foley (L, 6-4, Newport Beach, Calif., Corona Del Mar HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
7 Mateo Fuerbringer (OH, 6-5, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Mira Costa HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
9 Trevell Jordan (MB, 6-10, Mesa, Ariz., Hawai’i, Arizona)
10 Johnny Dykstra (L, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
12 Rafa Urbina (S, 6-5, Broomfield, Colo., UCLA, Rocky Mountain)
14 Aleksey Mikhailenko (OH, 6-8, Mequon, Wis., Homestead HS, Badger)
15 Blake Fahlbusch (OH, 6-8, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Loyola HS of Los Angeles, Southern California Southern Nevada)
18 Kainoa Wade (OPP, 6-9, Kailua, Hawai’i, Hawai’i, Aloha)
20 Grant Lamoureux (OH, 6-10, Clemmons, N.C., Pepperdine, Carolina)
21 Jackson Cryst (MB, 6-10, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
22 Grayson Bradford (OPP, 6-11, Redondo Beach, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
24 Isiah Powell (MB, 6-8, Silver Spring, Md., Springbrook HS, Chesapeake)
28 Tommy Henige (MB, 6-9, Glendale, Ariz., Perry HS, Arizona)

Alternates
2 Griffin Dieter (L, 6-4, San Diego, Calif., Torrey Pines HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
4 Lucas Helle (S, 6-4, Pauline, S.C., Dorman HS, Palmetto)
5 Elan Taylor (OH, 6-4, San Jose, Calif., Valley Christian HS, Northern California)
6 Connor Oldani (OPP, 6-5, Phoenix, Ariz., BYU, Arizona)
8 Myles Jordan (OH, 6-5, Houston, Texas, Long Beach State, Lone Star)
11 Cooper Keane (OPP, 6-7, Hermosa Beach, Calif., USC, Southern California Southern Nevada)
13 Logan Hutnick (OH, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
16 Luc Soerensen (MB, 6-8, Meadville, Pa., Meadville Area Senior HS, Keystone)
17 Noah Douphner (OH, 6-6, Stevenson Ranch, Calif., CSUN, Southern California Southern Nevada)

Coaches
Head Coach: Donan Cruz (Hawai’i)
Assistant Coach: Rory Prager (USC)
Assistant Coach: Ryan Ammerman (Arizona women’s volleyball)
Performance Analyst: AJ Ruttenberg (UCLA)
Athletic Trainer: Ben Colletti (Loyola Chicago)
Team Leader: Brandon Oswald (NTDP)

Schedule

All times Pacific

June 23: USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-21)
June 24: USA vs. Venezuela, 1 p.m.
June 25: USA vs. Mexico, 3 p.m.
June 26: Quarterfinals
June 27: Semifinals
June 28: Medal matches