United States Earns First Victory at Men’s U23 Pan American Cup

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, July 29, 2015. – The United States secured its first win at the Men’s U23 Pan American Cup after defeating Mexico 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 25-27, 25-23) at the Domo Polideportivo in Zone 13 of Guatemala City.

With this victory, both the United States and Mexico are tied with one win and one loss (1-1). On Thursday, they will define the final standings in Pool B, currently led by the Dominican Republic with two victories.

To determine pool positions, the United States will face Belize at 4 PM, while Mexico will have a tough match against the leaders, the Dominican Republic, at 2 PM.

The U.S. took a slight lead in the first set and held onto it to claim the set. In the second, the Americans established a comfortable advantage as Mexico started off unfocused, trailing 1-6 early on.

In the third set, Mexico rallied from a five-point deficit to tie the score at 23. In the fourth, the Mexicans again came back from a five-point deficit to take the lead, but it wasn’t enough as the U.S. recovered to win the set and the match.

The U.S. held the edge in attacks (52-50) and blocks (13-11), while Mexico led in service aces (5-4).

Marc Smith stood out for the U.S.  with 18 points, including 8 attacks, 8 blocks, and 2 aces. Also scoring in double digits were Theo Snoey with 14 and Cameron Thorne with 13 points, while Jalen Phillips added 11.

For Mexico, four players reached double figures: Leonardo Maldonado with 14 points, and Ariel Hernández, Isay Toy, and Lorenzo Martínez each with 11.

Marc Smith, United States: “We did well today. The guys felt good together. Mexico is a great team, and we lost the third set, but we came back in the fourth and took it to get the victory. I give a lot of credit to my pins who helped me block well; I just had to make sure to jump.”

Salvador “Chava” García, Mexico’s captain: “We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match. We know the United States and that they are not an easy rival to beat. We did everything we could and left it all on the court. We have one more match ahead, we are strong, and we have worked hard. This isn’t over; it was just a stumble, but we are going to keep moving forward.”