A win by the women’s U23 Dominican Republic team is nothing extraordinary, but a gold medal win by the U23 Dominican Republic’s men’s volleyball team in the U23 Pan American Cup is unheard of. Yet it happened.
On 3 August 2025, in Guatemala City, following what Norceca league reports as a “thrilling five-set battle,” the Dominican Republic was crowned champions of the Men’s U23 Pan American Cup after defeating the United States 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14) at the Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala City.
Norceca’s press release describes the match as “a power-packed match, with both teams showcasing their offensive strength.” The Dominican defense stood out, led by libero Eliander Jiménez, who kept the ball off the floor. The Dominicans executed better to take the first set.
The second and third sets went to the United States, that despite their attacking and blocking power, had to struggle to close out each set. In the fourth set, the Caribbean team pulled ahead on the scoreboard, forcing a dramatic tie-break to decide the title.
The Dominicans capitalized on the 44 unforced errors committed by the United States to secure the Gold Medal.
Team USA led in attacks (58-50) and blocks (16-10), while the Dominicans were superior from the service line (6-5).
For the Dominican Republic, top scorer Adrián José Figueroa tallied 27 points (23 attacks, 2 blocks, 2 aces), followed by Albert Molina with 14 and Moisés Alexander Ortiz with 10.
The United States spread the scoring across nearly all players, with four reaching double digits: Jalen Phillips with 18 points, Cameron Thorne with 17 (9 attacks, 8 blocks), Ryan Barnett with 16, and Marc Smith with 12.
José Alexander Gutiérrez, head coach of the Dominican Republic, said: “It was a tough match, tough because playing against the United States at the end is not the same as at the beginning; they adjust and know how to study their opponents. My guys are super young and have a lot of ups and downs. This result is thanks to the work being done in the Dominican Republic. It shows we are on the right path, and we must keep working.”
It seems, men’s volleyball is following the footsteps of Dominican women’s volleyball.
Read more:
Norceca
USA Volleyball
USA Volleyball
El Nacional
El Dia
5 August 2025