United States Opens with a Hard-Fought

Five-Set Victory over Mexico

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, August 4, 2026. – The United States opened the second edition of the Boys' U17 Pan American Cup with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-8) victory over Mexico on the opening day of competition at the Multi-Sport Dome in Guatemala City.

The opening third of the first set was closely contested, with the teams tied through the 10-point mark. From 13-13, the United States began to pull away behind an effective attack to take control of the set. Gabriele Desiderio led the Americans with six points, while Jackson Real added five.

Mexico responded in the second set, building an eight-point advantage. The United States committed 11 unforced errors in the set, allowing the Mexicans to level the match at one set apiece.

The Americans regained control in the third set, opening a four-point lead at 8-4 that they never relinquished to move ahead 2-1. In the fourth set, the United States raced to an early advantage, but Mexico rallied to even the match and force a decisive fifth set.

The United States jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak. Although Mexico battled to close the gap in the opening rallies, the Americans maintained their advantage to secure the victory.

The United States led the team statistics in attacks (54-45), blocks (15-7), and aces (4-3). Mexico benefited from 41 U.S. unforced errors, while committing 34 of its own.

Gabriele Desiderio paced the U.S. offense with 27 points, including three blocks and two aces. Nikodem Opiola contributed 13 points, highlighted by three blocks and one ace.

Mexico had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by Francisco Merino with 20 points. Alexander Medrano added 11 points, while José Luis Romero finished with 10.

United States captain Carter Tchaikovsky reflected on his team's performance.

"I think it took us some time to find our rhythm and our flow. Once we got past the nerves of playing and the environment, we really started to play our game, and I was pleased with the way we responded in the latter stages of the match."

Mexico captain Leonardo "Leo" Cruz remained optimistic despite the loss.

"I felt really good. I think the first match is always about getting rid of the nerves. We had some very good moments, and others when we lost our rhythm, but that's part of the process. We played a good match, and I'm confident we'll do even better as the tournament goes on."

On Wednesday, the United States will face Puerto Rico at 2:00 p.m., while Mexico will take on Canada at 4:00 p.m.