Outside attacker Gabriele Desiderio made sure the United States finished the U17 Pan American Cup on the medal podium.
Desiderio finished with a match-high 21 kills on a .500 attack percentage as the United States swept Mexico 25-17, 25-21, 25-19 in the bronze-medal match on Sunday in Guatemala.
The outside attacker led all players with nine kills in the second game, including a kill during a U.S. run midway through the game that erased a four-point deficit. Desiderio also had a game-high eight kills in the final game – six more kills than any other U.S. player – to help secure the bronze medal.
Desiderio was one of three players with more than five kills against Mexico.
Pin-hitter Jackson Real contributed 13 kills on a .450 attack percentage with seven of those kills coming in the opening game. In addition, outside attacker Siddanth Saikanth had six kills in the first game and finished with nine kills and one error on a .500 attack percentage.
Along with the offensive performance, Saikanth had a match-high two aces.
Setter Carter Tchaikovsky guided the U.S. offense to out-hit Mexico .500 to .302.
The United States opened the match with zero errors and a match-best .950 attack percentage in the opening game. The team finished that game with kills on all but one of its 20 attack attempts.
Pin-hitter Francisco Sebastian Merino Romero in the loss had a team-high 18 kills but was the only Mexican player to have double-digit kills. Middle attacker Diego Ibarra also had eight kills and no errors on a team-best .667 attack percentage against the United States.
This was the second time during the Pan Am Cup that the United States defeated Mexico. The United States opened the tournament with a five-game victory against Mexico in pool-play.
The United States finished its pool in second place and beat the host-nation Guatemala in the quarterfinals. The team, though, lost to Venezuela in the semifinals to move into the bronze-medal match.