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Outside attacker Grant Lamoureux ended the longest overtime for the United States at the tournament and put the team in the gold-medal match of the U19 NORCECA Continental Championship.
Lamoureux had the match-winning kill to close out an eight-point overtime as the United States swept Canada 25-23, 26-24, 29-27 in the semifinals Saturday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Lamoureux led the United States with 11 kills on a .368 attack percentage, including six kills in the final game. The outside attacker added a kill to fight off a Canada game-point opportunity early in the overtime.
Along with Lamoureux, outside attacker Aleksey Mikhailenko had a kill on a Canada game-point in the third game and finished with 10 kills. Mikhailenko also had the game-winning kill in the second-game overtime and the game-winning kill in the first game that prevented an overtime.
Canada failed to convert on four game-point opportunities in the third game with two chances ending in service errors.
Middle attacker Luc Soerensen following Canada’s fourth failed game-point delivered an ace to give the United States the advantage in overtime.
The United States in the victory out-hit Canada .237 to .176 and had a team-best .313 attack percentage in the final game.
Canada pin-hitter Reuben Veith finished with a match-high 13 kills and hit .333. In addition, Veith had all but two of their kills in the final game.
This is the second time at the U19 NORCECA Continental Championship that the United States defeated Canada. The United States swept Canada in its group-play opener and has yet to lose a set at the international tournament.
The United States will advance to play Cuba in the gold-medal match on Sunday. Cuba defeated the host-nation Puerto Rico in five games in the other semifinal match on Saturday.
The gold-medal match will be a rematch of the group-play finale on Thursday that the Untied States won in three games.