United States First Team to Advance to

Men’s U23 Pan American Cup Final

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, September 26, 2026.- The United States became the first team to advance to the Men’s U23 Pan American Cup final after defeating Mexico 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20). In just its second appearance in the tournament, the United States advanced to the gold medal match for the second consecutive time.

Mexico started the match with plenty of power, while the United States gradually evened things out before taking the lead at 14 and building a comfortable advantage to close out the first set.

In the second set, the United States found its rhythm and became more effective in attack. Opposite David Decker, who had been relatively quiet offensively in the opening set, began to make his presence felt and contributed to the U.S. dominance.

The story did not change much in the third set. The United States maintained its strong attack, while Mexico displayed a solid technical and tactical game but was unable to contain the Americans’ power.

The United States held the advantage in attacks 40-29 and blocks 7-3, while also leading in aces 5-3. The teams were close in unforced errors, with the United States committing 25 and Mexico 23.

U.S. opposite David Decker once again stood out with 21 points and was the only player in the match to reach double figures. For Mexico, Bryan Vásquez and Eduardo Garza finished with nine points each.

The United States awaits the winner of the semifinal between Guatemala and Costa Rica in the gold medal match. The bronze medal match is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., followed by the gold medal match at 4:00 p.m. Sunday’s schedule begins at 12:00 p.m. with Dominican Republic facing El Salvador for fifth place.

Nicolette Sanlin, head coach of the United States: “I’m happy to be back for year two. We still have a lot of energy, we’re in sync and there’s more to give, so I’m excited to see that tomorrow against our next opponent. It’ll be another good match tomorrow. We’re not done yet.”

Jair Morales, head coach of Mexico: “We played a good match, although we made some errors from the service line. The United States is a very strong opponent, with a lot of height and power. We weren’t able to counter that the way we would have liked, and that was the difference.”

“The team has improved as the tournament has progressed. Now we’re waiting to see who our opponent will be in the bronze medal match, and we’re very focused on getting onto the podium.”