U21 Team Stays Aggressive in Win over Dominican Republic

Matches are being shown live at https://www.twitch.tv/chechetoirac

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 5, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s U21 National Team improved to 2-0 at the Pan American Cup on Wednesday after beating the Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21).

The U21 Team (2-0) will play Chile at 7 a.m. PT on Thursday. This match was postponed from Oct. 3 due to Chile’s travel issues. The losing team will have to play in the quarterfinals on Thursday evening.

The U.S. Men led the Dominican Republic in kills (42-23), blocks (9-3) and aces (3-2). The Dominican Republic scored 29 points on U.S. errors and committed 21.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

“It was very important for us to play back-to-back good matches,” U.S. Head Coach Andy Read said. “We passed the ball very well to allow us to run the middle of the court, which is one of our team’s strengths.”

Middle blocker Nyherowo Omene led all scorers with 12 points on seven kills, a match-high four blocks and one ace.

“Going into this match, we had a mentality of being as aggressive as possible,” Omene said. “After this match, we can say we held our heads up. We were aggressive the whole time.”

Middle Wesley Smith finished with 11 points on eight kills and three blocks.

Outside hitter Zach Rama totaled 10 points on a match-high nine kills and one ace. Opposite Shane Wetzel added nine points on eight kills and one block.

Outside hitter Dane Hillis scored six points on five kills and one block. Opposite Trent Moser, who took over for Wetzel in the second set and played the third, added five points on five kills.

Setter Andrew Rowan scored one point with an ace. He set the team to a .571 hitting efficiency. Libero Christopher Connelly was credited with four digs and 10 excellent receptions. Rama led the team in digs with seven.

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)
USA def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21)
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