PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2026.- Puerto Rico earned its second consecutive victory at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six after outlasting Canada in a demanding five-set battle 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-9) at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.
For Canada, it was their first loss of the tournament, bringing their record to 1-1.
With the match tied at one set apiece, the third set developed into a tight battle down the stretch.
Klistan Lawrence broke a 22-22 tie with an attack from zone two, and Puerto Rico reached set point at 24-22 with a triple block against Kaden Schmidt.
A strong attack by Pelegrín Vargas from zone four sealed the set 25-23 and gave Puerto Rico a 2-1 lead.
Canada responded in the fourth set with better ball control and a stronger presence at the net to force a decisive fifth set.
An attack by Arthur Szwarc gave Canada an 18-13 advantage, a lead they never gave up. Canada closed the set 25-18 following a service error by Pelegrín Vargas.
Puerto Rico came out strong in the fifth set, taking an early 5-2 lead, which included a kill by Pedro Molina from zone four. The Puerto Ricans maintained their composure and closed the set 15-9 to secure their second victory of the tournament.
Puerto Rico held a 56-52 advantage in attacks, while Canada led 12-6 in blocks and 9-7 in aces. Puerto Rico committed 31 unforced errors compared to Canada’s 37.
Klistan Lawrence led Puerto Rico with 21 points, followed by Pedro Molina with 17 and Pelegrín Vargas with 15.
For Canada, Arthur Szwarc and Kaden Schmidt finished with 17 points each, while Erik Siksna added 16.
Pelegrín Vargas – Puerto Rico: “The difference between yesterday’s match and today’s is that they were completely different games, different challenges. It’s something we need to keep working on, and we already discussed it as a group: not necessarily coming in to see what the other team brings, but focusing on implementing our own game. I think today we were more capable of doing that.
“Canada is a very competent team; they play very organized volleyball. And their players, if they’re not competing in top collegiate programs, they’re playing professionally overseas — they’re a very good team.
“I think we were able to implement our game and, in the end, something that is becoming characteristic of us is staying mentally steady despite difficulties. That was the difference. The fourth set was probably our weakest today, but we recovered, and in the fifth set we came out strong.”
Daniil Hershtynovich – Canada: “Puerto Rico is a great competitor, a strong rival, and it’s difficult to play against Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico. We need to evaluate and start from scratch to figure out what we need to do to secure the win.
“It was a good match and they are a great team. We knew we had to adjust, and we will come back stronger.”
Puerto Rico will face Mexico on Tuesday, while Canada will take on the United States.
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