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Loyola middle attacker Jeff Jendryk stepped up with several of his teammates sick to help get the United States into the Pan American Cup quarterfinals.
Jendryk had a match-high four blocks and added nine kills as the United States defeated Dominican Republic 25-20, 25-23, 26-28, 25-17 on Thursday in Mexico City to finish group play undefeated at the continental tournament.
The Loyola All-American was one of three U.S. players with at least nine kills in the victory. Former Lewis All-American outside attacker Gregory Petty led the United States with 13 kills, while former UC Irvine opposite Carson Clark added 11 kills.
Long Beach State outside attacker TJ DeFalco also had eight kills and two aces against the Dominican Republic (1-1, 1-1 Group A).
The United States (2-0, 2-0 Group A) committed a combined 11 attack errors throughout the match, including zero attack errors in the fourth game to secure the victory. In addition, Long Beach State setter Josh Tuaniga guided the U.S. offense to more than a 50 percent efficiency in every game.
Opposite Pedro Garcia in the loss finished with a match-high 16 kills versus the United States.
With this victory, the United States secured a berth to the quarterfinals on Thursday. The United States won both its group-play matches in four games.