Hawai’i opposite Kainoa Wade came off the bench and delivered for the United States.
Wade finished with both a team-high five aces and 13 kills on .360 attack percentage as the United States defeated Venezuela 22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-19 at the U21 Pan American Cup on Wednesday in Guatemala
The Hawai’i sophomore was inserted into the lineup following the team’s opening-game loss and led all players with four aces and five kills in the second game. Wade also had a game-high five kills and no errors in the third game to help the United States remain undefeated in pool-play.
UC Irvine setter Cameron Kosty guided the United States to out-hit Venezuela .357 to .088, including the team having a match-best .637 attack percentage in the third game.
Wade was one of three U.S. players to have more than five kills.
UCLA outside attacker Mateo Fuerbringer contributed 11 kills on a .400 attack percentage and had a game-high four kills in the final game. In addition, Stanford outside attacker Aleksey Mikhailenko contributed seven kills and zero errors on a team-best .438 attack percentage.
Venezuela pin-hitter Angel David Matute Virguez in the loss had a match-high 14 kills highlighted with a team-high four kills in the first game.
Venezuela after winning the opening game was limited to a match-low negative-.294 attack percentage in a 13-point second-game loss.
The United States with this victory moves into second place and one point behind first-place Mexico.
The United States and Mexico will play each other in the pool-play finale on Thursday with the winner clinching the pool title and a bye to the semifinals.
Both Mexico and the United States clinched quarterfinals berths with their wins on Wednesday. Mexico, though, swept the Dominican Republic to move one point ahead of the United States in the standings because of the Venezuelan opening-game win.