PONCE, Puerto Rico, August 26, 2026. – The United States remained undefeated and secured a spot in the semifinals of the NORCECA Men’s Final Six after defeating the Dominican Republic in five sets on Wednesday at the Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.
The set scores were 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 23-25, 15-11.
The United States improved to 4-0 with its fourth consecutive victory, while the Dominican Republic dropped to 1-3.
The United States held the advantage in blocks (12-5) and aces (11-6), while the Dominican Republic led in attacks (56-52). The United States committed 31 errors compared to 34 by the Dominican Republic.
Sterling Foley led the United States with 26 points, followed by Kyler Wade with 14 and Patrick Rogers with 13.
For the Dominican Republic, Alexis Cruz led with 21 points, while Erisandy Castillo added 14.
After dropping the opening set, the United States responded by taking the next two to move ahead 2-1 in the match.
The United States appeared to be in control of the fourth set after two consecutive aces from Foley gave them a 15-11 advantage. The Dominican Republic responded with an 11-6 run to take a 22-21 lead, using solid reception and effective counterattacking to win the set 25-23 and force a fifth.
In the deciding set, the United States quickly established a 10-4 advantage. The Dominican Republic attempted to close the gap, but the Americans kept the lead and completed the victory 15-11 to remain unbeaten.
Cameron Thorne – United States
“It was a long match. Our team came out to play and we did some things well, although there are definitely areas we need to improve. We’re certainly going to rest; we’ve had consecutive nights playing five-set matches, so we’re a bit tired. We need to recover, but there are many things to correct and also many positives. Tomorrow Puerto Rico will come out strong; they’re a great opponent and will have a lot of support from the fans here. It will be fun, we’ll see. There are no guarantees, of course, of finishing the preliminary round undefeated, but we’ll try to give our best to win. Whatever the result, we will stay together as a team, remain united, and keep working toward the semifinals, the final, and everything ahead. Hopefully we’ll have a good crowd supporting us.”
Enger Miguel Mieses Feliz – Dominican Republic
“We are a team that, from my perspective as a player, is very capable. We have the quality, I believe, to compete against any of the teams in this event. It’s a matter of maintaining consistency and playing with the energy we’ve shown since yesterday against all teams from the start of the tournament. It is difficult for us to maintain our level of play and concentration. I think it also has to do with the age of most of the boys, but we are moving in the right direction.”
The United States will close the preliminary round against Puerto Rico on Thursday, looking to finish undefeated, while the Dominican Republic will face Canada.
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