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RENO, USA (Aug. 13, 2015)
– The United States used a new lineup and got better results as
it defeated Mexico, 30-28, 25-22, 27-25 in a Pan American Cup
pool play match on Thursday at the Reno Events Center.
The U.S. (1-1) will wrap up pool play on Friday against
Argentina (2-0). Mexico (0-2) will face Venezuela (1-1). The
pool winner will advance straight to Sunday’s semifinals while
the second- and third-place teams will compete Saturday in the
quarterfinals.
U.S. head coach Jeff Nygaard used a different lineup on Thursday
than he used in Wednesday’s loss to Venezuela, seeking to
evaluate different players and rotations.
Opposite Ben Patch, who spent time as a child in nearby Sparks,
Nev., stood out, leading all scorers with 19 points on a
match-high 17 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Jake Langlois
added 16 points on 16 kills.
Outside hitter Jorge Barajas led an emotional Mexican team with
13 points on 13 kills. Opposite Daniel Vargas added 10 points
on 10 spikes.
The U.S. led in spikes (51-45), blocks (8-4) and aces (2-1).
Mexico scored on 25 U.S. errors while committing 21. Under
starting setter Jonah Seif, the U.S. had a .367 hitting
efficiency while Mexico hit .295.
The U.S. led 18-12 in the first set, but Mexico used a 7-1
scoring run to tie the score at 19-19. The United States reached
set point first at 24-23 on a spike by Patch, but Mexico
countered. The U.S. held five more set points, but each time
Mexico held them off. Finally, at 28-28, spikes from Jeff
Jendryk and Jake Lanlois won the set for the U.S.
The U.S. was trailing 17-15 in the second set when it used a 5-0
run to take the 20-17 lead. Mexico never recovered.
The U.S. opened the third set with an ace from Seif, but then
fell behind 11-7. Still trailing at 15-11, the United States
used a 5-0 run, including a block by Andy Benesh and kill from
Patch to lead 16-15 at the technical timeout. The U.S. reached
match point at 24-23 on a spike by Patch, but Mexico’s Gonzalo
Ruiz de la Cruz came back with an attack. The U.S. had a second
match point at 25-24, which Mexico again fought off. The U.S
took its third match point on a Jendryk attack and a Greg Petty
spike gave it the victory.
Mexico coach Juan Roberto Vilches
“We played much better than yesterday even thought it was a loss
it was a great match. I was very happy with the performance. But
sometimes we committed errors at the times we didn’t have to.”
Mexico captain Daniel Vargas
“We played a good game. We were able to correct some of the
errors we made yesterday but we’re still affected by spells of
bad luck where we lose five points in a row. We felt much better
about this game. We’re very motivated to continue playing.”
U.S. coach Jeff Nygaard
“We were a little more physical at the net and we controlled the
ball a little bit better (than on Wednesday). I think we served
some really good runs which was lacking last night. Tonight, we
put together four or five points in a row on one serve which is
great to see. We started identifying matchup situations.”
U.S. player Ben Patch
“Last night we didn’t have good knowledge or what the team would
bring but with Mexico we had a pretty good idea of their weapons
were and their athleticism. Our coaches did a great job of
getting up prepared with a scouting report and made it easy for
us to do our job.” |
