U.S. Women Defeat 2023 Pan Am Cup Final Six Host Dominican Republic in Five

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 24, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s National Team completed round robin play at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six undefeated with a 3-2 win over host Dominican Republic on Thursday night in front of a raucous crowd in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It marked the second win of the day for the U.S., which finished round robin play 5-0.

In a schedule forced to adjust due to Tropical Storm Franklin, the U.S. will compete in the first semifinal against Mexico on Friday at 3 p.m. PT. Round robin play ends earlier on Friday with two more matches still to be played.

The U.S. finished with slight leads in kills (58-52), blocks (10-9), and aces (13-9), but dominated the final two sets with a 23-11 advantage in kills and 7-1 in aces.

Opposite Taylor Mims paced the U.S. Women’s National Team with 22 kills. Outside hitter Simone Lee added19 points on 14 kills, two blocks and three aces. Both players scored eight points over the final two sets.

Middle blocker Kayla Haneline led the team with five blocks to go with four service aces and six kills for a total of 15 points. Fellow middle blocker Danielle Hart also reached double digits with 10 points on eight kills and two blocks. In addition to leading the offense to a .333 hitting efficiency percentage, setter Sydney Hilley led the U.S. with five aces.

Outside hitter Sarah Wilhite Parsons finished with match-highs of 22 successful receptions and 17 digs. Lee totaled 10 digs and Mims added nine. Parsons scored eight points on seven kills and an ace.

With a 10-9 lead in the first set, the U.S. went on a 5-1 run to take a five-point lead. Dominican Republic pulled within two points, 23-21, but a Lee kill stopped a three-point run.

Dominican Republic led from start to finish in the second set, amassing a 12-point lead at 19-7. The U.S. made a valiant comeback in scoring 11 of the next 14 points, but it could not get any closer.

It looked like the U.S. would pull ahead in the match after taking a 15-6 lead in the third set, but Dominican Republic staged a furious rally emboldened by the crowd, scoring 18 of 22 points to take a 24-21 lead. The U.S. fought off three set points and then took a 25-24 lead, but then dropped the last three points of the set.

After losing the first two points of the fourth set, the U.S. scored nine consecutive points and then went on a 9-2 run to take an 18-4 lead. Dominican Republic scored five points in a row after falling behind 22-13, but it could not complete the comeback this time.

The U.S. dropped the first point of the deciding set, but then ran off eight points in a row to take control of the match, eventually extending the lead to the final difference of 10 points.

The U.S. took home the victory in spite of a tremendous effort from Gaila Ceneida Gonzalez Lopez, who totaled 28 kills and 32 points.

Teams from Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Puerto Rico are competing.

U.S. Women’s Roster for the 2023 NORCECA Final 6

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
3 Kendall White (L, 5-5, Zionsville, Ind., Penn State, Hoosier)
13C Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
21 Simone Lee (OH, 6-1, Menomonee Falls, Wis., Penn State, Badger)
25 Brooke Nuneviller (OH, 5-11, Chandler, Ariz., Univ. of Oregon, Arizona)
30 Danielle Hart (MB, 6-4, Virginia Beach, Va., Univ. of Wisconsin, Old Dominion)
34 Stephanie Samedy (Opp, 6-2, Clermont, Fla., Univ. of Minnesota, Florida)
36 Madeleine Gates (MB, 6-3, San Diego, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
37 Kayla Haneline (MB, 6-2, Plattsmouth, Neb., Northern Iowa, Great Plains)
38 Zoe Fleck (L, 5-6, Grenada Hills, Calif., Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
39 Taylor Mims (Opp, 6-3, Billings, Mont., Washington State, Evergreen)
41 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
43 Serena Gray (MB, 6-3, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)
44 Sydney Hilley (S, 6-0, Brooklyn Park, Minn., Univ. of Wisconsin, North Country)

Head Coach: Brad Rostratter
Assistant Coach: Jonathan Charette
Assistant Coach: Cursty Jackson
Team Manager/Performance Analyst: Peter Wong
Athletic Trainer: Mandolyn Peterson

U.S. Schedule for the NORCECA Final Six
All times PDT

Aug. 20 USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-15)
Aug. 21 USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-7)
Aug. 22 USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (25-21, 25-9, 25-13)
Aug. 24 USA def. Cuba, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
Aug. 24 USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-27, 25-14, 15-5)
Aug. 25: at 4 p.m. Semifinals, USA vs. TBA
Aug. 26 Finals