MORELOS, Mexico, August 13, 2026.- Canada secured a direct berth to the semifinals of the 2026 Men’s Pan American Cup after defeating the United States 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 34-32) on Thursday at Poliforum 2 of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM).
Canada finished pool play undefeated with a 4-0 record, taking first place in Pool A and advancing directly to the semifinals. The United States finished second with a 3-1 record and will play in the quarterfinals against the third-place team from Pool B, which will be determined later.
After controlling the first two sets, Canada had to battle to the limit to complete the sweep. The United States responded in the third and built a 22-20 lead, but Canada fought back to tie the score. From there, both teams traded opportunities to close out the set before the Canadians finally prevailed 34-32 in the longest set of the tournament so far.
Errors also played a major role in the dramatic third set, with the United States committing 20 and Canada 13.
Blocking was key to Canada’s victory, as they held a 10-4 advantage and also benefited from 39 U.S. unforced errors while committing 26 of their own. The United States held a slight 4-3 edge in serves, while both teams scored 32 points on attacks.
Kaden Schmidt led Canada with 13 points, while Erik Siksna added 10. Patrick Rogers also scored 13 points to lead the United States.
David Preston, Head Coach of Canada: “It was a great day for us. Our game plan worked well in the first two sets. USA is a great team; they have great athletes and are really well coached. They made some adjustments in the third set, and we had to make some adjustments as well. I’m really proud of the way we came back. We were down in the third set, and I’m really, really proud of our guys for continuing to fight.”
Michael Wright, Setter of the United States: “Canada came out firing a little bit more than us, and they punched first. It took us a while to punch back. It was a dramatic finish. We came out in that third set ready to roll, but they kept punching, and I think they just landed too many knockout punches. I’m proud of our guys. We faced a lot of adversity in that last set, so it was a good, tough battle. I’m sure we’ll see them again.”
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