The United States claimed the bronze medal in the Men’s Pan American Cup by winning three sets by one in the Dominican Republic (25-23, 19-25, 25-23 and 25-15, in the first match of the final day held at the Volleyball Palace “Ricardo- Gioriver- Arias.
The winners relied on a magnificent offensive management of their stars, who ruthlessly attacked the opposing defense.
The Dominican Republic ended up losing its last four matches in the Panama Cup, having won the first three challenges.
One aspect that greatly favored the boys of the United States was the blockade where they dominated their rivals.
After having a first half, the Dominicans retaliated and with strong shots from Wilfrido Hernandez and Alexis Cruz, managed to circumvent the opposing defense to equalize the score to one per side.
The main Dominican striker, Henry Tapia, had a very poor night offensively in the sun scoring three points.
However, from the third game, the Americans strengthened their defense, combined with a good defense to take the same 25-23.
In the fourth, the Dominicana hosts felt the weight of their rivals and could barely make 16 points. Merric MacHerny was the best on offense for the United States by scoring 15 points, followed by Ethan Champlin with 13 and Daniel Wetter with 12.
In the lost cause, for the Dominican Republic shone Alexis Cruz with 10 points, Henry Tapia 3 and Wilfrido Hernandez with four each.