LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 26, 2025.– Defending champion Canada opened with a victory in the Senior Men’s Pan American Volleyball Cup, defeating Puerto Rico in a hard-fought match 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20) at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.
On the second day of action in Pool B, Canada (1-0) will face Guatemala (0-1), while Puerto Rico (0-1) will go up against Colombia (1-0).
From the start, Canada set the tone with an effective offense and the blocking of opposite hitter Jordan Canham, who led his team both offensively and defensively. Puerto Rico, led by captain Pedro Molina, battled with intensity and stayed in the fight, but could not contain Canada’s rhythm.
In the second set, the offensive duo of Erik Siksna and Cory Schoenherr extended the lead for the North Americans, while Puerto Rico responded with a powerful spike from Omar Hoyos, before a service error handed the set to Canada.
Puerto Rico came back in the third, supported by the serving of Klistan Lawrence and the attacking power of Hoyos and Molina, jumping to a six-point lead (15-9). Despite a Canadian rally, the Puerto Ricans forced a fourth set thanks to Molina’s decisive play.
In the fourth, Canada regained control with a strong 4-0 start, highlighted by two consecutive blocks from Cole Duncanson. With sharp attacks and the effective contribution of Kaden Schmidt, Canada secured the win, sealed by Canham.
Canada was superior in attacks (50-37) and blocks (12-3), while Puerto Rico led in service aces (4-2). In errors, Canada committed 40 to Puerto Rico’s 33.
Jordan Canham led all scorers with 19 points (15 attacks, 4 blocks), followed by Cole Duncanson with 12 (9 attacks, 3 blocks). For Puerto Rico, captain Pedro Molina led his side with 13 points (11 attacks, 2 aces).
Canadian team captain Darian Picklyk said: “We knew Puerto Rico had that fight in them and they came out strong in the third set. As for us, we are coming together after every point with a couple of new guys at the international scene, so we just had to stay composed. We focused on our side, our receive and serve, and our blocking”.
After the match, Molina said: “Our team is quite similar to the one that won the Final Four recently here in Mexico. Canada is a tremendous team. We have to keep working; we made too many errors. It was a good match for both teams.”
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