USA advance to match for fifth place

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 28, 2011 – United States advanced to a match for the fifth position of the Pan American Games men’s volleyball tournament after defeating Venezuela in five sets (21-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13) on Friday.

USA’s Evan Patak led the score charts with 25 points including three aces and two blocks while Tony Ciarelli added 9 tallies. Venezuela’s Jhoser Contreras and Luis Arias totaled 18 and 17 points respectively.

Evan Patak (Captain of USA): “Our team has played a lot of volleyball, a total of 24 sets in five days. It is great to celebrate with a victory. On the first set we didn’t know if we were fully awake, because it was too early, but we were definitely awake on the fifth.”

Kervin Piñerúa (Captain of Venezuela): “We have improved our performance during the tournament. We have gained a better level and experience. Every match has been a different one, but I feel we have played a better volleyball and we are going in a good way.”

John Speraw (Coach of USA): “It is hard to play when you are not playing for a medal.  Despite that I think both teams played really hard.”

Gilberto Herrera (Coach of Venezuela): “I liked how our kids battled like in the match against Argentina. They had their up and downs. I am not concerned in terms of physical performance. Our main concerns are about the tactical and technical issues, but we will improve them for the future.”