Canada Outlasts Costa Rica in Five Sets to Remain Unbeaten

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 24, 2026. – Canada had to dig deep to remain unbeaten in Pool B of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup, defeating Costa Rica in a thrilling five-set battle, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11), at the Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium in Guatemala City.

On the final day of pool play, Canada will face host Guatemala with first place in the group on the line, while Costa Rica will take on Nicaragua.

Canada held the edge in attacks (61-58) and blocks (11-7), while Costa Rica led in service aces (2-0). The Canadians also committed fewer errors (34-37).

Four Canadian players reached double figures in scoring. Tyson Dezutter led the way with 21 points, followed by William Basilio with 17, Owen Harris with 14, and Ethan Baraniuk with 13. Costa Rica’s Stanley Grant was the match’s top scorer with 23 points, all on kills, while Ignacio Morales added 17 and Jeremy Venegas finished with 10.

Costa Rica took the early advantage by claiming the opening set behind the offensive production of Stanley Grant and Antoine Molina, capitalizing on several Canadian errors to move ahead 1-0.

Canada answered in a closely contested second set. After Costa Rica erased a three-point deficit, William Basilio, Owen Harris and Tyson Dezutter sparked the Canadian comeback to level the match with a 25-22 win.

The Canadians carried that momentum into the third set. With Baraniuk, Harris and Dezutter leading the offense and a solid blocking performance, Canada built a comfortable lead that proved enough to move ahead two sets to one despite a late Costa Rican rally.

Costa Rica refused to back down in the fourth set. Consistent blocking, effective attacking and several Canadian errors allowed the Central Americans to even the match once again and force a decisive fifth set.

Canada seized control early in the tie-break, building a 10-6 advantage behind Dezutter and Harris. Costa Rica responded with the powerful attacks of Morales and Grant to close the gap, but the Canadians held firm, and William Basilio sealed the 15-11 victory with the match-winning kill.

Canada’s leading scorer, Tyson Dezutter, reflected on the victory: “That was an awesome match. It was so much fun. Even after losing two sets, we stayed together as a team and kept fighting. The togetherness of this group is incredible, and the energy we have for each other makes a huge difference. Costa Rica did a great job extending the match to five sets. They outplayed us in some of the small-ball situations and won a lot of the long rallies. Credit to them—they played a very, very good match.”

Costa Rica head coach Jorge Arturo Solano reflected on his team's performance. "We lacked efficiency in attack toward the end of the match, and Canada did a better job blocking us in the decisive moments. In the first and fourth sets, the key was our ability to attack and finish plays. This loss hurts because it was a match we could have won. Tomorrow, we have another tough challenge against Nicaragua, a very competitive team. We can't relax, we have to come out ready to give everything."