EDMONTON, CANADA: Sept. 20, 2023. USA defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-19) at the NORCECA Pan American Cup Men’s Final Six, held September 19 to 24 at the Flair Airlines Hangar (Expo Centre), in Edmonton, Canada.
USA attack was strong, gaining 43 points (compared with 29 for Mexico). The U.S. also led in blocking 8-3 and service aces, 3-1. Errors were almost even, with (21-22) in favor of Mexico.
Outside hitter Jordan Ewert led all scoring with 17 points for USA. Josué López Rios was top producer for Mexico with nine points.
USA is 2-0; Mexico is 1-1 on day 2 of the tournament.
Jorge Azair, head coach of Mexico: “Today we made a lot of mistakes. Our sideout didn’t produce and our setting was not connecting well with our attacking. But it’s a long tournament, so we put today behind us and look ahead to the next match with the Dominican Republic.”
Jordan Ewert, player #4 USA : “We came to win today and that’s we did. Serving and passing made the difference – we had a couple of spurts where our serve kind of struggled, but we stayed aggressive and forced them out of system a lot. When they (Mexico) are out of system, we’ve got a good block and defense team, and we were able to get a lot of break points and pull away. We are learning that we are not always clean, but we are getting more comfortable in chaotic situations…. Our goal is to get better as the tournament goes along and be prepared for the finals on Sunday.”
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