Unfortunately for USA Volleyball fans, this NORCECA Men’s Pan American Cup medal-round preview does not include the USA, which went 1-2 in pool play, then defeated the Dominican Republic and Chile in classification matches, finishing seventh. 

With a roster of recent college grads and a few current collegiate athletes, the USA went 1-2 in pool play to finish third behind Argentina and Puerto Rico and miss out on a chance at a medal. 

Setter James Shaw made a major impact for the squad after coming off the bench as a right-side attacker in the third match of the tournament. Shaw led Team USA in points in its final two matches, posting 23 versus Dominican Republic and 21 versus Chile to help the team end the tournament with a pair of wins.

“The guys played their best match of the tournament today,” Team USA head coach David Hunt said after defeating Chile to secure seventh place. “We served tough, we hit in and we battled as Chile made us side out a lot. Jonah Seif did a great job running the offense.”

Today at 7 PM PT, Brazil and Argentina, both undefeated thus far in the Pan Am Cup, face off in the gold-medal match. With a four-set victory over Cuba in the semifinals, reigning Pan Am Cup champ Argentina advanced to its fourth-consecutive Pan American Cup final. Brazil has won three Pan Am Cup gold medals, even defeating Argentina in the 2015 gold-medal match. 

The bronze-medal match features Cuba and Puerto Rico at 5 PM PT today. Cuba, last year’s third-place finisher, has had a great tournament so far, going undefeated in pool play to advance to the semifinals. Puerto Rico only lost to Argentina in pool play and took down the USA in four sets.

All four medal-round teams have earned their spot in the 2019 Pan Am Games. Mexico and Canada will play today at 3 PM PT in the fifth-place classification match to determine the recipient of the final berth.