Americans beat Argentina and lock-up semifinal berth

GATINEAU, Canada, June 15, 2011 - Team USA assured itself a bye to the semifinals on Wednesday defeating Argentina 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 at the Pan Am Cup men’s volleyball tournament.

The US finishes first in group C with a 3-0 record and get a bye to the semis because they are assured of having at least the best two point for and against ratios among the first place group finishers.  Argentina drops to 2-1 and is headed to the quarterfinals as a second place finisher.

‘’Argentina has played great defence at this tournament and we knew we had to be at our best today,’’ said U.S. head coach Gordon Mayforth.  ‘’I was aware of the points situation and we worked our players hard.  We really wanted that day off tomorrow.’’

‘’We got some great experience in those first three matches,’’ added US captain Robert Tarr, who led his team with 14 points.  ‘’Argentina was a big challenge for us and that kind of match will really help us.’’

William Price added 12 points for the Americans. Ivan Castellani led Argentina with nine points while Nicolas Mendez had eight.

‘’This was a great way for us to prepare for the world junior championships,’’ said Argentina’s head coach Juan Manuel Cichello.  ‘’The U.S., have an incredible defensive-blocking system and we were nervous against that. It’s a learning process.’’

‘’They are a hard team to play against,’’ added Argentina’s captain Juan Ignacio Finoli.  ‘’We’ve taken this as a great opportunity.’’