USA and Argentina to play for top spot in Pool C

GATINEAU, Canada, June 14, 2011 - Three-time defending champions United States defeated Panama 25-14, 25-14, 25-11 on Tuesday at the Pan Am Cup men’s volleyball tournament. USA improves its record to 2-0 while Panama falls to 0-2. 

With the win, the USA-Argentina round robin match on Wednesday will determine top spot in Pool C with a potential bye to the semifinal on the line as well. Murphy Troy, Andrew Hein, David Smith and William Price all had 7 points apiece for USA.  

‘’USA and Argentina have a great history,’’ said USA head coach Gordon Mayforth.  ‘’We have played against each other many times.  It’s going to be a very good match, we know that Argentina has a lot of talent.’’

‘’This victory was a big step for us,’’ said USA captain Robert Tarr.  ‘’We showed we have a really deep team with some experience and some young guys who have come in and done a really good job.  Panama presented some challenges and we had to be disciplined.’’

‘’Our team played its best against a very strong opponent,’’ said Panama’s head coach Sergio Ballestas. ‘’We have some new players and we haven’t played together in any league or tournament.’’

‘’We tried to input speed in our plays but it wasn’t enough,’’ added Panama’s Captain Ricardo Brown.  ‘’The players on the USA are very tall and it was hard for us to pass the block.’