
The United States saved its best offensive performance of the tournament for the biggest moment.
Setter Rafael Urbina guided the offense to a .442 attack percentage as the United States defeated Cuba 25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18 in the U19 NORCECA Continental Championship gold-medal match on Sunday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The United States did not commit an attack error until midway through the second game and hit match-best .692 in the opening game. The team also had a .476 attack percentage in the fourth game to secure the championship and clinch a berth to the 2025 U19 FIVB World Championship.
Outside attacker Aleksey Mikhailenko after being limited to two kills in the first two games finished with a team-high 15 kills on a .565 attack percentage. Mikhailenko had a game-high six kills in the final game, including having back-to-back kills to cap off a 9-3 run midway through the game.
Middle attacker Roman Payne added 10 kills on a match-best .692 attack percentage and had the match-winning kills. Pin-hitters Cooper Keane and Grant Lamoureux each also contributed nine kills against Cuba.
The United States finished with seven aces – three more than Cuba. Thomas Demps IV led all players with four aces, while Payne had two aces.
Cuba in the loss had a .327 attack percentage. This was the first time a team hit more than .300 against the United States throughout the tournament.
Cuban pin-hitter Yosdani Medina Torriente had a match-high 20 kills on a .378 attack percentage. Pin-hitter Andy Lazaro Marrero Castillo also had 11 kills and hit .307 against the United States.