A veteran Dominican Republic team surprised a youthful group of Americans on the second day of competition at the NORCECA Pan-American Cup, winning a pool play matchup in straight sets (25-14, 25-12, 25-19) on Wednesday in Gatineau, Canada.

Thirty-eight-year-old Elvis Contreras and team captain Wilfrido Hernandez of the Dominican Republic led the match with 13 points each, while 2017 BYU grad Jake Langlois was the Americans' top scorer with seven points.

The straight-set loss struck a blow to the USA team's hopes of being the team in Group A and getting a bye into the semifinals. Cuba, which defeated the Dominican Republic in four sets on day one and swept Mexico on Wednesday night, leads the pool with nine points. Thanks to its victory over the USA, the Dominican Republic is in second place with six points.


NORCECA

"I think the Dominicans were the aggressors today, and we kind of played hesitant," USA captain Jonah Seif said. "We just weren't executing the game plan we talked about before the match... I think we need to reset and just focus on Cuba."

Cuba is the defending champion of the Pan-Am Cup, and Cuban outside hitter Miguel Angel Lopez leads the tournament with 37 points over two matches. The USA and Cuba will play at 6 PM ET, and you can watch the match live right here on FloVolleyball.



On the second day of competition in Group B, Puerto Rico pulled off the upset over host team Canada, winning 25-21, 25-16, 25-22, and Argentina swept Venezuela.

Argentina now leads Group B with 10 total points after winning both of its matches in three. Puerto Rico is in second with five points, and Canada is not far behind in third place with four points.

NORCECA Pan-American Cup Results: July 26, 2017

Group A
Dominican Republic def. USA 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-19)Cuba def. Mexico 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-15)

Group B
Argentina def. Venezuela 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 28-26)Puerto Rico def. Canada 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-22)