MANAGUA, Nicaragua, September 4, 2026.- Defending champion United States used its powerful serving, holding a commanding 17-3 advantage in aces, to defeat Nicaragua 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-15) and secure its place in the final of the NORCECA U23 Women’s Pan American Cup, remaining the only undefeated team with a 4-0 record with one day left in the preliminary round.
On Saturday, the United States will close the preliminary round against Mexico (3:00 p.m.), which will be looking for a win to advance to the final, while Nicaragua will face the Dominican Republic (7:00 p.m.), which also needs a victory to keep its hopes alive of playing for the title on Sunday.
The United States also held a wide 35-13 advantage in attacks and outblocked Nicaragua 4-2. Nicaragua committed 19 unforced errors to 21 by the United States. Captain Ireland Real led the U.S. offense with 22 points, including nine aces.
In the first set, the United States quickly built a 10-point advantage and continued to pull away, with Real contributing 11 points to set the pace for the match.
In the second set, the United States spread its offense more evenly, with Nyla Livings contributing five points, Real four and Taimane Ainuu three, to remain in control of the match.
In the third set, Nicaragua put up greater resistance and managed to sustain longer rallies, encouraged by the crowd at the Polideportivo Alexis Argüello. The United States remained in control and once again applied pressure from the service line to close out the match in straight sets.
Alexandra Dunphy, head coach of the United States: “We’re super excited to be in the final, but Mexico is going to be really tough in tomorrow’s match. They’re tough and they run a really fast offense, so we’ll spend the night preparing. Nicaragua is a team with smaller players, but when they were up there blocking, they were getting their hands across and getting some really good touches, and they got a couple of blocks. So, we told our players they had to hit really high, really high and deep because they were defending very well.”
Ireland Real, captain of the United States: “Today was a lot of fun. It was super intense and really fun to play in such a loud gym; the fans really showed up, so that was great. And they’re small, but mighty. They got me out of system with their serves, so that was pretty cool. For tomorrow, we’re just going to try to play the way we always have, play our game and play for one another.”
Norma Brenes, setter of Nicaragua: “We all feel proud to represent our country’s flag, and it’s super exciting to be able to face strong teams like the United States. It’s a way for us to test ourselves. We know every match is different, and no matter who the opponent is, we have to go out and give our best.”
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