USA Earns Comfortable Win over Trinidad and Tobago
MORELOS, Mexico, August 12, 2026.- The United States earned its
third victory at the 2026 Men’s Pan American Cup after defeating
Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) on Wednesday at
Poliforum 2 of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM).
The United States improved its record to 3-0 in Pool A and will
face Canada on Thursday for first place in the pool and a direct
berth to the semifinals. Trinidad and Tobago will close pool
play against Puerto Rico.
The U.S. team controlled the match from the start, setting the
pace throughout all three sets and giving Trinidad and Tobago
little opportunity to extend the match.
The United States dominated every skill, leading 37-17 in
attacks, 9-4 in blocks and 5-0 in serves. The teams recorded a
similar number of unforced errors, with the United States
committing 23 and Trinidad and Tobago 24.
Jacob Pasteur led the U.S. offense with 12 points, followed by
Kyle Hobus with 11. Daynte Stewart was Trinidad and Tobago’s
leading scorer with 6 points.
Pasteur highlighted the importance of the team’s lineup rotation
during a tournament with numerous matches.
“The tournament is long, and there are a lot of matches, so we
need everybody out on the court ready to play. The coaching
staff has done a really good job rotating the lineup, so
everybody has a pretty even workload.”
On his performance, Pasteur added: “More than anything, I just
felt calm out there. It was super nice having good energy with
the team. I thought we were really focused on our game plan and
how we wanted to take on this team. I think that helps settle
the nerves when you know the whole team is focused on the job
ahead.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s decisive match against Canada,
Pasteur said: “I’m super excited. It’s always a fight when we
play Canada. I expect them to bring a big fight to us. Those are
the matches you really play for, so I’m excited to see what
we’ve got against them.”