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The United States men’s Pan American volleyball team fell short of reaching the Final Four, dropping a 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 decision to Argentina in the quarterfinals of the Pan American Cup at Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico on Wednesday.
Argentina plays Mexico in Thursday’s semifinals while the U.S. will play Puerto Rico for fifth place on Friday.
“We couldn’t use some of the players that have been responsible in our line-up until now because of some injuries and we tried to find the best combination,” USA coach Milan Zarkovic said. “At the end of each set we were very close, fighting to win. I would say we came to the spring but we didn’t drink water.”
Colton Cowell led the United States with 10 points and middle blocker George Huhmann, outside hitter David Wieczorek and opposite James Shaw, a former Stanford All-American, each recorded eight points.
“I don’t think we played our kind of volleyball,” U.S. captain Joshua Tuaniga said. “We didn’t make as many serves as we should have. Argentina played a pretty good game, all-around game, the served tough, they defended well; it was just tough to handle. We got to be better in communication, if we served a little bit better and add offense it would have helped.”
Recent Stanford graduate Kyle Dagostino recorded a team best 10 digs as the Libero. Shaw recorded a hitting percentage of .667 with his seven kills on nine attacks, with one error.
By Palo Alto Online Sports/NORCECA
By Palo Alto Online Sports/NORCECA
By Palo Alto Online Sports/NORCECA