GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, August 5, 2026. – Mexico claimed its first victory at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-20, 32-30, 25-21) win over Canada, keeping its hopes of reaching the medal round alive.
At the Multi-Sport Dome in Guatemala City, Mexico showed confidence from the opening whistle, controlling leads of three and four points throughout most of the first set to take the early advantage.
The second set was the most competitive of the match. Canada raised its level of play and forced a tightly contested battle that extended to 32-30. After 35 minutes of play, Mexico prevailed to take a two-set lead.
In the third set, Mexico played with greater composure and answered every Canadian rally. After the 19-point mark, the Mexicans created enough separation to close out the set and secure the match in straight sets.
Mexico held a 49-42 advantage in attacks, while both teams finished even with six blocks and two service aces each. Canada committed 25 unforced errors, compared to 21 by Mexico.
Mexico’s Axel Ortiz and Sebastián Merino shared match-high scoring honors with 18 points each. For Canada, captain Julian Josephs led the team with 15 points, while Bennett Krahn added 14.
On Thursday, the final day of Pool B play, Canada will face the United States at 2:00 p.m., while Mexico will take on Puerto Rico at 4:00 p.m.
Mexico libero Emanuel Vázquez said:
“We’re very happy because this is what we’ve been working for. We’ve achieved our first objective, and now we have to keep this momentum going, maintain our intensity, and give our best on every point of every set.”
Canada libero Andrew Ty Henry said:
“Our passing was pretty good today, but I think we didn’t execute well when it came to finishing our attacks, and our blocking wasn’t as good as it was yesterday. Tomorrow, we need to come out stronger with our blocking and be more effective at turning our attacks into points.”
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