United States Defeats Puerto Rico to Play for Fifth Place

LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 30, 2025.– The United States defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (28-26, 23-25, 25-18, 25-13) and will compete for fifth place at the 18th Senior Men’s Pan American Cup at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.

The Americans will face Chile for fifth place, while Puerto Rico will meet Cuba for seventh.

The opening set was tightly contested. The U.S. came back from a three-point deficit to tie at 18, and after several exchanges, closed it 28-26 with a Nolan Flexen attack followed by a Michael Wright serve. Puerto Rico responded in the second, surging ahead 14-7 with the firepower of Jamal Ellis and Pelegrin Vargas. Despite U.S. pressure, a service error handed Puerto Rico the set 25-23.

Momentum shifted back to the U.S. in the third, opening with a 7-1 lead thanks to Flexen’s effective serving. Kyle Hobus led the attack to secure the set 25-18. In the fourth, the teams were tied at 21 when a spike from Andrew Deardorff and two Puerto Rican errors pushed the U.S. to match point. A service error by Kevin Rodríguez sealed the 25-13 victory.

The U.S. led in blocks (10-4), service points (4-2), and committed fewer errors (24-37). Puerto Rico held the edge in attacks (52-20).

Kyle Hobus was the top scorer for the U.S. with 16 points, supported by Flexen with 14, Matthew Gentry with 12 including a match-high six blocks, and Cameron Thorne with 10. For Puerto Rico, Ellis scored 17 points and Vargas added 13.

Andrew Deardorff and Mathew Gentry, both starters in their first international match with the U.S. national team, said:

Deardorff: “We worked well as a team and improving in each play. We worked out of every obstacle to win the game”.

Gentry: “Defensively I thought we were sound, we trusted each other to make the right moves and there was a lot of adjustment considering that we hadn’t played yet. There’s a lot for us to improve on”.