A late-game comeback put an end to the gold medal hopes of the United States.
Venezuela fought off two game-points and won the final game in overtime as it swept the United States 25-23, 25-21, 26-24 on Saturday in the U17 Pan American Cup semifinals.
The United States led the third game 24-22 before Venezuela rallied with a kill and a block on back-to-back plays to force overtime. In addition, the United States committed attack errors on the first two plays in the overtime to conclude the match.
Venezuela out-hit the United States .233 to .214, including limiting the United States to a .184 attack percentage in the final game.
Pin-hitter Gabriele Desiderio in the loss had a team-high 10 kills.
Middle attacker Nikodem Opiola contributed seven kills and had one error on .545 attack percentage. Both Gavin McWaters and Franklin Vincent also had five kills and zero attack errors against Venezuela.
Venezuela pin-hitter Diego Alejandro Rondon Castrillo finished with a match-high 11 kills and led all players with seven kills in the final game.
The United States with this loss will play Mexico in the bronze-medal match on Sunday. Mexico lost to Canada in its semifinals match on Saturday.
This will be the second meeting between the United States and Mexico at the Pan American Cup. The United States opened the tournament with a five-game victory against Mexico on Tuesday.