U.S. Men's U21 Team Makes It past Mexico in Cuba

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 4, 2022) – Shaking off the jet lag from arriving in Cuba on Monday, the U.S. Men’s U21 Team opened the Pan American Cup with a 3-2 (25-13, 24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12) win over Mexico on Tuesday.

The U.S. Men (1-0) will continue pool play on Wednesday against the Dominican Republic (0-2) at 11:30 a.m. PT.

The U.S. Men led in kills (62-42), blocks (7-6) and aces (10-5). Mexico scored 44 points on U.S. errors while committing 32.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Outside hitter Zach Rama led all scorers with 23 points on 20 kills, one block and two aces.

Opposite Shane Wetzel added 17 points on 15 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Noah Roberts totaled 15 points on 13 kills and two aces.

Middle blocker Wesley Smith scored 11 points on seven kills, three blocks and one ace. Middle Nyherowo Omene added seven points on five kills and two aces.

Setter Andrew Rowan scored five points on three aces, one kill and one block. He set the team to a .374 hitting efficiency.

Opposite Trent Moser played as a substitute and scored a point. Dane Hillis, Kyle Teune and Tyler Morgan also played as substitutes.

Libero Christopher Connelly was credited with 12 digs and 15 excellent receptions. Rama led the team with 25 excellent receptions.

U.S. Roster for the 2022 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, School, USAV Region)
2 Christopher Connelly (L, 5-10, Naples, Fla., Long Beach State, Florida Region)
4 Dane Hillis (OH, 6-3, San Clemente, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Volleyball Association)
8 Kyle Teune (OH, 6-6, Downers Grove, Ill., Ohio State, Great Lakes Region)
10 Tyler Morgan (S, 6-7, Dike, Iowa, Lewis University, Iowa Region)
11 Noah Roberts (OH, 6-7, Seal Beach, Calif., University of Southern California, Southern California Volleyball Association)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Volleyball Association)
13 Shane Wetzel (Opp, 6-7, Longwood, Fla., Ohio State, Florida Region)
14 Max McCullough (MB, 6-8, San Marcos, Calif., Concordia University Irvine, Southern California Volleyball Association)
16 Nyherowo Omene (MB, 6-8, South Holland, Ill., Princeton, Great Lakes Region)
17 Trent Moser (Opp, 6-8, Gilbert, Ariz., BYU, Arizona Region)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-9, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona Region)
21 Wesley Smith (MB, 6-10, Encinitas, Calif., La Costa Canyon HS, Southern California Volleyball Association)

Head Coach Andy Read
Assistant Coach Hudson Bates
Second Assistant Chris Seiffert
Performance Analyst Alex Hurlburt
Athletic Trainer Chris Cornell
Team Leader Donovan Martinez

U.S. Men’s Schedule for the 2022 Men’s U21 Pan American Cup
All times PT
USA def Mexico, 3-2 (25-13, 24-26, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12)
Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m. USA vs Dominican Republic
Oct. 6 at 7 a.m. USA vs Chile

Oct 6
Quarterfinals
3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Oct. 7
Classification and semifinals

Oct. 8
Classification and finals