Calgary, Aug. 07, 2025: USA came out strong and held off a mid-match challenge from Canada, to stay undefeated at the U21 Men’s Pan American Cup, hosted at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex & Chief Jim Starlight Centre near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The final score for USA was 3-1 (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22).
The United States led in attack points (52-39), had one more blocking point (7-6) and were 6-3 in serves today. Canada made one more error (33-32) than its southern neighbors. USA’s captain Sebastiano Sani led scoring with 21 points (19 kills, a block and an ace). Daniil Hershtynovich led Canada’s scoring effort with 15 points.
USA head coach John Hawks commented: “First of all, I loved playing the home team on the home court, that was a great showing by the fans. Secondly, we came out sharp, we played well and put on pressure from the service line. That was the big difference between sets two and three; they came out serving a little tougher down the stretch and making it a bit more difficult for us. But we executed our plan, it was a fun match and hopefully we see them again (in the finals). Right now we are focused on Mexico, respecting our next opponent and taking it one point at a time.”
USA plays Mexico next, and Canada faces Chile on Friday.
“We had a lot of tension coming into the game, but we were able to find some rhythm and battle back. I’m really proud of the way the guys responded. We built up and were improving the entire match and I hope we can continue that,” said Canada’s head coach Chris Voth. “The crowd’s energy got us back into the game and I’m really thankful for the support.”
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