United States wins NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship

 

MONCTON, Canada, September 16, 2026. – The United States had to go the distance to beat Canada in the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship final.

 

Team USA won the championship match 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25, 15-13) to earn the continental crown Wednesday at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, Canada.

 

Canada – along with Cuba, Dominican Republic and Mexico – will compete in the final NORCECA qualification stage Friday, with a Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games spot to be decided Saturday. Team USA is already qualified as Olympic host.

 

With that upcoming Olympic qualification in mind, Canada used Wednesday’s game as an opportunity to rest some top players while others gained valuable international experience. The Canadians started well, holding early leads of 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9 before Team USA gradually took control to win the first set. The Americans got out to a 17-13 lead in the second set, but Canada battled back to pull ahead 21-20. The teams exchanged points until the United States won on their second set point thanks to a big block by Jake Hanes.

 

The Canadians continued to make Team USA work in the third set. Canada survived set point at 24-23, then won a pair of exciting rallies on Xander Wassenaar Ketrzynski kills to stay alive with a 27-25 win. The home team rode that momentum into the fourth set, delighting the crowd with a decisive 25-17 win to force the tiebreaker.

 

The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair. The exuberant fans cheered every Canadian point, but it wasn’t enough to will the home team to victory, as Jacob Pasteur’s kill clinched the win.

 

With 26 points, Wassenaar Ketrzynski was the top scorer in the match between previously undefeated teams, which ran two hours and 20 minutes. Skyler Varga chipped in 14 points, including a match-high four blocks. Zachary Hollands led the way with 18 digs and Max Elgert had 48 running sets.

 

Hanes and Matthew Anderson, with 18 each, were Team USA’s top scorers. The Americans had the advantage in attacks (64-55) and aces (7-4) while Canada led the stat sheet in blocks (12-5).

 

Micah Ma’a, Team USA: “It’s a crazy battle. I’m glad that the people here hopefully enjoyed it. We definitely enjoyed it. It wasn’t the prettiest for us at times but they’re a really good team and a really deep team as you saw tonight. Whatever lineup they put out there is going to be able to compete, and it was a fight.”

 

Karch Kiraly, USA head coach: “Canada, that was their second unit and they put on a great fight. Xander was amazing the last three sets and we really struggled to slow him down. But some guys came in and gave us a really nice lift: Cole Hartke and Matt Knigge and especially Jacob Pasteur who killed the last ball. I’m really happy for those guys and this is a wonderful way to end a long, challenging but rewarding 2026 season for the USA men’s national team.”

 

Dan Lewis, Canada coach: “This has been obviously a wild summer of many moving parts, but one part that has always been there is the consistency of the play, especially with the younger guys. I’m so bloody proud of them. They fight so hard and they never, ever stop. They don’t quit, they don’t give up, they continue to search for solutions. This really is enjoyable to watch and that younger group is going to arrive at the highest level of international volleyball player. It’s just moments away for them. They did exactly what we needed to do today, which was play at a high international level, give ourselves an opportunity to win and prepare them.”