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BYU outside attacker Trent Moser stepped up after an opening-game loss to help put the United States in the semifinals.
Moser finished with both a match-high 16 kills and four aces as the United States rallied to beat the Dominican Republic 22-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-10 in the NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup quarterfinals on Thursday in Cuba.
Moser was held to a zero attack percentage in the first game but committed one error in the final three games to end the match hitting .429. The MPSF All-Freshman also had all four of their aces in the final three games, including having an ace to cap off an 11-4 run to start the fourth game.
This was the second consecutive match that Moser led the United States in kills. Moser had 23 kills in a five-game loss to Cuba on Wednesday that dropped the United States into second place in its pool and a quarterfinals match against the Dominican Republic.
UC San Diego setter Gabriel Dyer guided the U.S. offense to out-hit the Dominican Republic .385 to .075. In addition, the United States in the final game did not commit an error and had a match-best .714 attack percentage to secure the victory.
The United States had two players with at least five kills and zero errors.
Princeton middle attacker Nyerovwome Omene had seven kills and no errors on a perfect 1.000 attack percentage. UC Santa Barbara opposite George Bruening contributed five kills and zero errors while hitting .625.
Penn State libero Ryan Merk led the United States defensively with 12 digs – the second consecutive match the Freshman All-American had double-digit digs.
The United States with this victory will advance to play Canada in the semifinals on Friday.
Canada went undefeated in pool-play that was highlighted with a five-game victory against Puerto Rico. The team as the Pool A champions earned a bye to the semifinals.