U.S. Men Drop Quarterfinal to Canada; Will Play for 5th

Live stream available at https://www.facebook.com/ieddurango/ 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 21, 2021) – The U.S. Men’s National Team will play for fifth place at the NORCECA Continental Championship in Durango, Mexico after falling to Canada in the quarterfinal on Saturday, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10).

The U.S. (3-2) will play Guatemala (0-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in a fifth-place classification semifinal.

Canada led the United States 54-43 in attacks, 17-9 in blocks and 9-3 in aces. Canada gave up 42 points on unforced errors; the U.S. allowed 29 points on errors. The U.S. hitting efficiency was .388. Canada hit .456.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS

“I think we lacked consistency with our volleyball,” U.S. setter and team captain Josh Tuaniga said. “There were a lot of times during the match we played really good volleyball and then there were some dips. Canada played a really good game of volleyball and that’s just what it came down to.”

Opposite Jake Hanes led the U.S. in scoring with 15 points on 12 kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Spencer Olivier added 14 points on 10 kills and four blocks. Outside hitter Brett Wildman scored seven points on seven kills.

The U.S. Men could not find an answer for Canada’s opposite Xander Ketrzynski, who scored 25 points on 17 kills, four blocks and four aces.

“Canada played really strong and a few points better than us,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “I liked how our guys were down (1-2) and fought to get the fourth set.”

Among other U.S. scorers, middle blocker Keenan Sanders finished with six points on five kills and one ace. Middle Tyler Mitchem started the first three sets and added six points on four kills and two blocks. Middle Merrick McHenry, who took over for Mitchem in the third, had three points on two kills and a block. Tuaniga scored three points on kills. Sam Kobrine scored with an ace.

Libero Kyle Dagostino was credited with 13 digs and 12 excellent receptions.

2021 U.S. Men’s NORCECA Championship Roster

No Name (Pos, Height, Hometown, College, Region)
3 Spencer Olivier (OH, 6-6, Tustin, Calif., Long Beach State, So. Cal.)
5 Camden Gianni (OH, 6-5, Carlsbad, Calif., Grand Canyon, So. Cal.)
6 Samuel Kobrine (S, 6-3, Newport Beach, Calif., USC, So. Cal.)
7 Will Rottman (OH, 6-6, Santa Barbara, Calif., Stanford, So. Cal.)
8 Tyler Mitchem (MB, 6-11, Bolingbrook, Ill., Lewis, Great Lakes)
9 Jake Hanes (OP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State, Great Lakes)
12 Brett Wildman (OH, 6-5, Virginia Beach, Va., Penn State, Old Dominion)
13 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas )
15 Jalen Penrose (OP, 6-8, Cambridge, Mass., Penn State, New England)
16 C Josh Tuaniga (S, 6-3, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, So. Cal.)
19 Keenan Sanders (MB, 6-6, San Diego, Calif., UCSB, So. Cal.)
20 Austin Wilmot (MB, 6-10, Valley Village, Calif., Pepperdine, So. Cal.)
24 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Fla., Stanford, Florida)
25 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State, So. Cal.)

Head Coach: Andy Read
Assistant Coach: Keith Smith
Assistant Coach: Galen Dodd
Athletic Trainer: Jackie Chan
Team Manager: Jon Parry

2021 Men’s NORCECA Schedule (All times PT)
Live stream available at https://www.facebook.com/ieddurango/ 

August 18
USA def Guatemala, 3-2 (24-26, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10)
Puerto Rico def Canada, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-19)
Cuba def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (25-17, 29-31, 25-21, 25-19)
Mexico def Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-8)

August 19
Canada def Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14)
Cuba def Guatemala, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19)
USA def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24)
Mexico def Puerto Rico, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-18)

August 20
Puerto Rico def Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18)
Dominican Republic def Guatemala, 3-1 (29-31, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19)
Cuba def USA, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)
Mexico def Canada, 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-21)

August 21
Canada def USA, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10)
Puerto Rico def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23)

August 22
11 a.m. Classification 5-8: Dominican Republic vs Trinidad & Tobago
1 p.m. Classification 5-8: USA vs Guatemala
4 p.m. Semifinal: Cuba vs Puerto Rico
6 p.m. Semifinal: Mexico vs Canada

August 23
11 a.m. Classification 7-8
1 p.m. Classification 5-6
4 p.m. Third-place match
6 p.m. First-place match