COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 9, 2026. – The United States secured first place in Pool A and a direct berth to the semifinals of the 2026 NORCECA Women’s U21 Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 21-25, 25-18) victory over Canada on Thursday at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.
The three-time defending champions remain on course to capture a fourth consecutive title and a fifth overall after winning the 2017, 2022, 2023, and 2025 editions, making the United States the most successful team in the tournament’s history.
The Americans controlled the opening two sets before Canada responded by taking the third. The United States regrouped in the fourth set, regaining control of the match to finish the preliminary round undefeated and book its place in Saturday’s semifinals.
Henley Anderson led the U.S. offense with 17 points, while Manaia Ogbechie and Abigail Vander Wal each added 14.
Canada’s offense was paced by Logan King with 13 points and Emerson Matthews with 11.
The United States held the advantage in attacks (58-46) and service aces (10-2), while Canada led in blocks (6-4).
Tama Miyashiro, United States head coach: “It was another entertaining match for us. Although Canada came back to win the third set after we had taken the first two, the girls made the necessary adjustments to close out the match in the fourth and showed they can perform under pressure.”
Matthew Krueger, Canada head coach: “We had a rather slow start, with the United States playing their best right from the beginning of the match. We made some adjustments and managed to win the third set—that taught us a lot—but the United States is a very strong, very physical team, and we couldn’t close out the match.”
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