COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.<\/b> (May 16, 2026) <\/b>\u2013 The U.S. Men\u2019s U19 National Team will play for the gold medal at the 2026 NORCECA Continental Championship after defeating Mexico, 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-23) in Saturday\u2019s second semifinal at Simon Fraser University Athletic University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.<\/p>\n
The U.S. (4-0) will meet host Canada (4-0) in Sunday\u2019s gold medal match at 4 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n
\u201cMexico is a very good team and we haven\u2019t been tested a lot in the tournament yet. They pushed us, which we needed. I thought the second set was everything. There were a number of times the ball could have gone down, and our guys just fought on the floor to get the ball in the air, get it over, and we won a majority of those points,\u201d described U.S. Head Coach Andy Read. \u201cI could not be happier with the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside hitter Daniel Hornyak put on the best offensive display of the tournament for the U.S. with 19 kills, adding two blocks and two aces for 23 points. He led the U.S. to advantages in kills (50-36), blocks (9-3), and aces (3-1). \u201cI think we played really well, we fought together through the hard points. We sided out the first ball a lot and we swung hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Outside Trayce Crusfield recorded a double-double with 11 points (nine kills, a block, and the team\u2019s other ace) and a match-high 12 digs. \u201cRelentlessness,\u201d he responded to asked what the team will bring to tomorrow\u2019s match. \u201cAlthough we are playing very good teams, if we just keep going and keep striving, we will win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Middle blocker Jason Amani (six kills, two blocks), and opposite Bryce Thistlethwaite (seven kills, one block) each totaled eight points. In addition to leading the team to a .417 hitting percentage, senior captain Chase Wallin added two kills and two blocks.<\/p>\n
Libero Wade Coppedge finished with 12 successful receptions and 11 digs. Middle Nils Bennebroek finished with six points on five kills and a block.<\/p>\n
Horynak scored six early points on four kills, a block, and an ace to stake the U.S. to a 10-7 lead in the opening set. After leading 11-9, the U.S. went on a 5-1 run ending on an Amani kill for a six-point advantage, 16-10. Mexico pulled within four points twice but could get no closer. Hornyak added two more kills to finish the set with eight points. Chrusfield scored four points on three kills and a block. The U.S. hit .500 with 16 kills and just two errors in 28 attacks.<\/p>\n
Mexico took a 6-3 lead in the second set and still led by three points, 12-9, after the teams split the next 12 points. A Hornyak kill, ace, and another kill on a back row attack, evened the set at 12 apiece. The teams exchanged the next 10 points for a 17-17 tie before Mexico scored the next two points. A Kravtstov killed tied the set again at 19.<\/p>\n
Mexico regained a two-point advantage, 22-20, after a miscommunication on the U.S. side of the court. A Mexico service error and another Hornyak kill tied the set at 23. Following a Mexico timeout, Crusfield served an ace to give the U.S. set point and its first lead of the set. Mexico defended two set points, but a Bennebroek block and a hitting error gave the U.S. the set, 27-25, and a 2-0 lead in the match. Hornyak scored nine points on eight kills and an ace, while Thistlethwaite contributed five points on four kills and a block.<\/p>\n
A Wallin block gave the U.S. its first lead of the third set, 8-7. Back-to-back blocks by Amani and Hornyak capped a 6-0 run that made it 11-7. Another Wallin block and an Amani kill extended the lead to six points, 20-14. Mexico used a 7-2 run to cut the deficit back to one point, 22-21, and lead to a second U.S. timeout. Hornyak\u2019s 19th kill set up match point, 24-22, and after a U.S. service error, Thistlethwaite ended the match with a kill. Hornyak led the way again with six points on five kills and a block.<\/p>\n
2026 Men\u2019s U19 National Team Roster for NORCECA Continental Championship<\/b><\/p>\n
Name (Height, Position, Hometown, High School, USAV Region)<\/b> Alternates Coaches<\/b> U.S. Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n May 12: USA def. Panama, 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-11)
1 Wade Coppedge<\/a> (6-1, L, Raleigh, N.C., Grace Christian School, Carolina)
2 Trayce Chrusfield III<\/a> (6-2, OH, Oak Park, Ill., Oak Park River Forest HS, Great Lakes)
3 Collin Tullis<\/a> (6-1, L, Slidell, La., Seton Home Study, Southern)
5 Franklin Shiekh<\/a> (6-4, OH, Upland, Calif., St John Bosco HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
8 Chase Wallin<\/a> (6-6, S Laguna Niguel, Calif., Santa Margarita Catholic HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
7 Nils Bennebroek<\/a> (6-6, MB, Foster City, Calif., Hillsdale HS, Northern California)
11 Jackson Feik<\/a> (6-7, MB, Denver, Colo., Regis Jesuit HS, Rocky Mountain)
12 Carter Tchaikovsky<\/a> (6-5, S, Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
13 Cameron Kosolcharoen<\/a> (6-7, OH, San Clemente, Calif., San Clemente HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
14 Jason Amani<\/a> (6-8, MB, Grand Prairie, Texas, Dubiski Career HS, Lone Star)
16 Daniel Hornyak<\/a> (6-8, OH, San Diego, Calif., Poway HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
17 Bryce Thistlethwaite<\/a> (6-8, OPP, Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling HS, Great Lakes)
19 Matthew Kravtsov<\/a> (6-8, OH, Barrington, Ill., Barrington Community HS, Great Lakes)
20 Kevin O\u2019Brien<\/a> (6-11, MB, San Diego, Calif., Francis Parker School, Southern California Southern Nevada)<\/p>\n
<\/strong>4 Noah Pabarcus<\/a> (6-3, S, San Diego, Calif., Saint Augustine HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
6 Timeo Domergue<\/a> (6-5, OH, Boca Raton, Fla., Spanish River HS, Florida)
9 Noah Duffield<\/a> (6-7, OH, Burbank, Calif., John Burroughs HS, Southern California Southern Nevada)
10 Niko Opiola<\/a> (6-5, MB, Arlington Heights, Ill., Rolling Meadows HS, Great Lakes)
15 Noah Mbaitoloum<\/a> (6-7, OPP, Rockville, Md., Winston Churchill HS, Chesapeake)
18 Luke Bosanac<\/a> (6-9, OPP, San Jose, Calif., Bellarmine College Prep, Northern California)
21 Antony Niu<\/a> (6-11, MB, Fremont, Calif., Archbishop Mitty HS, Northern California)<\/p>\n
Head Coach: Andy Read (Men\u2019s National Team)
Assistant Coach: Spencer Wickens (University of Minnesota)
Assistant Coach: Leandro Vissotto Neves (Brazil MNT, University of Miami)
Performance Analyst: Matthew Adams (University of Michigan)
Team Doctor: Dr. Chris Cornell (Coduhi Clinic)
Team Lead: Donovan Martinez (National Team Development Program)<\/p>\n
May 13: USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-17, 25-7, 25-8)
May 14: USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-15)
May 15: Quarterfinals (USA received a bye)
May 16: Semifinals, USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-23)
May 17: Gold Medal Match, USA vs. Canada, 4 p.m. PT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 16, 2026) \u2013 The U.S. Men\u2019s U19 National Team will play for the gold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":966060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-966059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116588477488177356","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=966059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/966060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=966059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=966059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=966059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}