LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 26, 2025.- Venezuela opened its campaign with a straight-set victory 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 31-29) over the United States in the first match of Pool A at the Men’s Senior Pan American Cup, held at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.
In their next outing, Venezuela will face Cuba, while the United States will take on Antigua and Barbuda.
The South American squad was boosted by the offense of Moisés Vásquez, Emerson Rodríguez, and captain Willner Rivas, who helped secure control of the opening set despite the efforts of Kyle Hobus and Nolan Flexen on the U.S. side.
The second set was tighter, with multiple ties and narrow leads. The U.S. moved ahead 14-12 thanks to Venezuelan errors and a block by Daniel Wetter, but Venezuela regained the edge with attacks from Jean Herrera and eventually closed the set on an Emerson Rodríguez spike.
In the third set, the United States built an 18-15 advantage with points from Flexen and Hobus, but Venezuela fought back to tie at 23 and, after saving five set points, sealed the win with back-to-back serves from Rodríguez.
Statistically, the match was balanced; Venezuela held the edge in attacks (43-40) and serves (5-2), while the U.S. was superior in blocking (8-7). Venezuela also committed fewer unforced errors (26-29).
Captain Willner Rivas led Venezuela with 17 points, including two aces. Opposite hitter Emerson Rodríguez added 14 points with three aces, and middle blocker Moisés Vásquez contributed 10. For the U.S., Nolan Flexen topped with 15 points, followed by Kyle Hobus with 13 and Daniel Wetter with 10.
Willner Rivas said about his team’s victory: “The United States is a great opponent; they have a good team. We had the opportunity to arrive a week before the competition and play four preparation matches against Mexico, which helped us a lot, and the result was seen today. We stayed focused to come back and turn the game around in the third set.”
Team captain Kyle Hobus of the United States said: “The match could have been better for us in a lot of areas. Venezuela played really well, served really strong and we did not, that was the difference”.
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