U.S. Men Win Gold at 2023 Final Six

U.S. Men's National Team poses with medals after winning the NORCECA Pan Am Final Six

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 24, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s National Team took gold at the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six after defeating Canada (25-21, 25-14, 25-16) on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta. The U.S. did not lose a match throughout the tournament and only dropped one set over the course of their six matches.

“I just think we played a really complete tournament,” said U.S. head coach Andy Read. “Our goal was to be better every day of the tournament. The standard was let’s be the best we can be and always get better and the guys met that standard. And so I’m super proud of our guys for just continuing to say we are going to play as hard as we can against every opponent and just get better every day. That was our goal.”

MATCH STATISTICS

The U.S. got off to a slow start in the gold medal match with seven service errors accounting for a third of Canada’s points in the first set. There were five service errors for Canada. The U.S. pulled away from a closely contested first set thanks in part to six block points and holding Canada to 0.

The U.S. tallied 12 of 13 eventual block points by the end of the second set. Middle blocker and team captain Patrick Gasman had seven blocks on and five kills on the match. Gasman was given the best blocker award and named tournament MVP.

“We have a lot of experience on our team to help us out, but it just came down to effort and energy and we played within our system and we got the job done,” said Gasman.

Up 2-0, the U.S. kept its foot on the gas in the third set by scoring five points off the serve. Outside hitter Ethan Champlin and opposite Camden Gianni each recorded two aces. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert accounted for one as well. The U.S. maintained control to take a 25-15 victory and won the gold in straight sets.

Ewert also had eight kills in the match and received the top server and top spiker awards. Champlin finished as the leading point scorer with 16 by way of 12 kills and two blocks to go with his two aces. He was named second best spiker for the tournament.

Setter Andrew Rowan received the best setter award. Rowan only recorded one fault on 58 total attempts in the gold medal match.

Awards Ceremony at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six tournament in Edmonton on September 24, 2023. Photo by Paul Swanson

The U.S. held a 40-29 attacking advantage at the end of three sets and only committed three attacking errors.

This is the third year of the Pan Am Final Six and the first gold for the U.S. since this tournament began. The team placed third in the two previous years.

U.S. Men’s Roster for the Pan American Cup
No. Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, School, USAV Region)
2 Troy Gooch (L, 6-0, Buffalo, N.Y., UCLA, Western Empire)
4 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)
6 Bryce Dvorak (S, 6-4, Newport Beach, Calif., Pepperdine, Southern California)
9 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
10 Camden Gianni (Opp, 6-5, Carlsbad, Calif., Grand Canyon, Southern California)
12 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, 2003, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
13C Patrick Gasman (MB, 6-10, Clovis, Calif., Univ. of Hawaii, Northern California)
20 Zach Rama (OH, 6-8, 2004, Phoenix, Ariz., UCLA, Arizona)
21 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
22 Kyle McCauley (OH, 6-4, Huntington Beach, Calif., UC San Diego, Southern California)
23 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
26 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
27 Jalen Penrose (OP, 6-8, Cambridge, Mass., Penn State, New England)