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Quick hits: 5 things to take away from Pan American Cup

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The U.S. Men’s Junior National Team ended the Pan American Cup winning the silver medal on Sunday

Check out the five things to take from the Pan American Cup matches.



1. U.S. swept in finals — The United States lost in three games to Brazil in the Pan American Cup finals on Sunday to finish with the silver medal. Brazil was the only team to beat the United States during the tournament and ended the event undefeated. In addition, the United States reached the finals after beating Canada in the semifinals to avenge its loss to Canada last year in the NORCECA semifinals.

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2. The Sequel shines for U.S. — BYU outside attacker Brenden Sander led the United States in kills in three matches, including having a tournament-high 20 kills in the team’s four-game semifinal victory against Canada. He also had a team-high nine kills in the championship match loss to Brazil.

3. U.S. dominant on defense — The United States entered the finals leading the tournament with a 2.88 blocks per game average, including having Loyola middle attacker Jeff Jendryk in the tournament’s top five for blocks per game average. In addition, UC Santa Barbara Freshmen All-American libero Hayden Boehle was third in the tournament with a 3.40 digs per game average.

4. Momentum heading into World Championship — Despite initially missing a chance to qualify last year for the upcoming FIVB U-21 World Championship, the United States clinched a spot at the international tournament in September. The FIVB during the weekend unveiled the four groups for World Championship. The United States was placed in the Group of Death along with Russia, Poland and Argentina.

5. NJIT outside stands out with Barbados — NJIT outside attacker Jabarry Goodridge led Barbados in kills for all six of its matches, including having a tournament-high 26 kills in a five-game victory against El Salvador. Goodridge in a rematch versus El Salvador had a match-high 17 kills to to help Barbados end the Pan American Cup in sixth place. The junior also earned the tournament’s Best Scorer award.