Mexico Defeats Canada to Advance to the Pan American Cup Final

LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 30, 2025.- Mexico advanced to the final of the 18th Senior Men’s Pan American Cup after defeating Canada 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22) at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.

The host team will play for the gold medal this Sunday against Venezuela, while Canada will face Colombia for the bronze.

The home crowd enjoyed a thrilling start in the opening set, as Mexico jumped ahead 20-12 thanks to the offense of Alexis Garay and Franky Hernández. Canada responded with a spectacular comeback led by Erik Siksna and Cole Duncanson, closing the gap to 23-21, but a blocking error and a stuff block from Axel Téllez sealed the set for the hosts.

The second set remained tight up to 17 points, when two Canadian errors opened the door for Mexico. In the final stretch, Cory Schoenherr extended the suspense, but a kill from Oziel Aguirre secured the 2-0 lead.

Canada controlled the third set with a comfortable 16-10 advantage and, despite a late push from Mexico, Jordan Canham led his side to force a fourth set.

In the decisive set, Mexico rallied from a three-point deficit with Yasutaka Sanay coming off the bench and the contribution of Brandon López. Two late errors from the home team made it dramatic, but captain Mauro Fuentes clinched the victory with a powerful hit off the block of Jonas Van Huizen.

Although Canada led the stats in attacks (48-40), blocks (8-7), and service points (5-4), their high number of errors (46 to Mexico’s 30) proved costly.

For Mexico, Axel Manuel Téllez and Yasutaka Sanay led with 9 points apiece. Three Canadians finished in double digits: Erik Siksna (21), Jordan Canham (11), and Jonas Van Huizen (10).