ZINACANTEPEC, Mexico, September 26, 2026.- Defending champion United States advanced to its fifth consecutive gold medal match at the NORCECA Women’s Final Six after defeating Cuba 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21) in Saturday’s semifinals at the Unidad Deportiva Juan Fernández Albarrán.
In six editions of the tournament, the United States has reached the gold medal match five consecutive times and has reached the podium in every edition. The Americans will seek their second straight title on Sunday against the winner of the semifinal between Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The United States controlled the opening set, but Cuba responded in the second, finding better offensive rhythm to even the match. The defending champions regained control in the third set and maintained the advantage in the fourth to secure their place in the final.
The United States led in every scoring category, with advantages of 54-41 in attacks, 9-5 in blocks and 4-2 in aces. The teams finished with similar number of errors, with 32 for the United States and 30 for Cuba.
Middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach led the United States with 17 points, while Onyedikachi Ofoegbu added 10 points, including a match-high four blocks.
Cuba’s Yanisleidis Sánchez, who has been playing as a libero with the national team, returned to her usual outside hitter role and delivered a match-high 21 points. Whitney James added 14 points for Cuba.
The United States will play for the gold medal on Sunday, while Cuba will face the loser of the Mexico-Puerto Rico semifinal for bronze.
Callie Schwarzenbach, United States’ leading scorer: “I was surprised with Cuba. We weren’t expecting that lineup, but we did a really good job of coming out tonight and showing up. It was a really fun game, and props to them for making us work for it. They did really well. We’re excited for tomorrow. It will be a really good game, so we’ll have to come out sharper than we did today.”
Yanisleidis Sánchez, Cuba’s leading scorer: “I normally play as an outside hitter, but with the national team I play libero, so I feel more comfortable as an outside hitter. I have a lot of confidence in that position; I spent nine months playing as an attacker. I think we could have won the match, but we need to maintain our concentration and our energy. Now we’re going for the bronze medal. The coach rested the regular lineup with that in mind.”