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Setter Andrew Rowan kept the U.S. offense rolling straight to the gold-medal stand.
Rowan guided the offense to a .324 attack percentage as the United States swept Mexico 25-19, 30-28, 25-14 in the gold-medal match of the U21 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Cuba.
The UCLA freshman helped the United States finish the event with a tournament-best .376 attack percentage en route to being named the event’s Most Valuable Player. Rowan also had an ace against Mexico to close out Pan American Cup leading all players averaging 0.68 aces per game.
Three U.S. players had more than five kills in the gold-medal victory.
Ohio State opposite Shane Wetzel had a team-high 10 kills. UCLA outside attacker Zach Rama added nine kills, while Princeton middle attacker Nyerovwome Omene had six kills and zero errors on a perfect 1.000 attack percentage.
Both Omene and Wetzel also contributed a team-high two aces against Mexico
The United States out-blocked Mexico 11 to 6 with Omene leading all players three blocks.
Along with finishing the tournament undefeated and winning the gold medal, the United States clinched a berth to the 2023 FIVB U21 World Championship. Mexico as the silver medalist earned the tournament’s other berth to the World Championship next year.