PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2026.- The United States earned its second consecutive victory at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six, defeating Guatemala in straight sets 25-19, 25-13, 25-16 on Monday at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.
For Guatemala, the result marked its second loss in as many matches in the tournament.
From the opening whistle, the United States imposed its rhythm, power and speed on offense. After taking the first two sets, the three-time defending champions continued to dictate play in the third, gradually pulling away to a 16-9 advantage on a back-row attack by Patrick Rogers before comfortably closing out the match.
The United States featured a balanced and efficient offense. Jacob Pasteur led all scorers with 16 points, followed by Patrick Rogers with 12 and Kyle Hobus with 11.
For Guatemala, Carlos López and Andy Blanco contributed six points apiece.
The United States held the advantage in attacks 41-23, blocks 11-4 and aces 5-0. Guatemala committed 18 errors compared to 21 by the United States.
Guatemala will face the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, while the United States will look to remain undefeated against Canada.
Troy Gooch (#25) – Libero, United States
“I think we did a really good job focusing on our side of the net. We talked about being strong in serve-receive and taking care of the easy plays. They put some pressure on us with their serving, but I think we handled it well. I also think we did an excellent job putting our serves in, so it was really good for us to come out and gain more momentum.”
Andy Alexis Leonardo Blanco (#11) – Guatemala
“They are a high-level team with young and very fast athletes. We also have a young group, but their height and the speed of their game affected us quite a bit.
“Even so, this will help us for the rest of the tournament. We’re calm, we know we could have done better, and there are still more matches ahead to adjust and improve. These were two very difficult matches; they always are. We always start with two strong opponents, and as the championship progresses, I think we need to strengthen the team’s unity a bit more — which is already there and is actually very strong — but we still need to analyze a few things and study our other opponents.”
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