WINNIPEG, Canada, June 7, 2008.- An intense match gave the gold medal of the 2008 Men’s Pan American Cup to the USA, defeating Canada 3-1. Set scores were: 25-22, 27-29, 25-22, 25-22.

Canada made too many mistakes in the first set, but they came back strong at the beginning of the second set with a lead of 5-0.  With many exciting rallies, they managed to break the two point separation first and win the second set.  Things got a little shaky in the third set and the Canucks could not bridge the gap created by the strong Americans. The same story repeated itself in the fourth set, for the Americans to win the match.

During the whole game, rallies were long and teams were digging without fear. Small details gave the USA the momentum and they ended with a sweet victory. They worked hard and earned this Gold medal.

The leader of the USA was Evan Patak with 24 points. His American fellows Matthew Anderson and Andre Hein respectively accumulated 12 and 11 points. Nicholas Cundy was the Canadian star with 15 points, followed by Dallas Soonias with 11.

American Coach Alan Knipe: “It was a great battle with the longest rallies of the tournament. It was good to see the force of our Team. It is a great win, specially with very little preparation before this international tournament.

Captain John Hawks IV declared: “Canada played very well. They were definitely ready for a hard match and they were great opponents. Team Canada has good defense but we got some great service rounds. It could have gone either but I am glad it came on our side!”

“Once again, we made too many execution errors and that cost us the game. A mistake here and there created a split between us and the Americans and they ended up with the win. It shows us that we still have a long way to go. ” stated Glenn Hoag, coach of Team Canada.

Gold Medalists: USA

Silver Medalists: Canada
Bronze Medalists: Dominican Republic

Individual Player Awards

- Most Valuable Player: Evan Patak (USA)
- Best Scorer: Elvis D. Contreras (DOM)
- Best Spiker: Gavin Schmitt (CAN)
- Best Blocker: Tomas Aguilera (MEX)
- Best Server: Evan Patak (USA)
- Best Digger: Alvaro Cascante Retana (CRC)
- Best Setter: Pedro Rangel (MEX)