Men's U21 World Championship 2023

USA and Mexico in neighbourly clash for world’s 13th

Tunisia and hosts Bahrain to battle for avoiding the last place

Published 01:28, 15 Jul 2023

Bahrain (BRN) vs. USA (USA) men - Play Off 13-16 #5838111

USA’s Zachary Rama in defence

A neighbourly North American clash between United States and Mexico will decide the 13^th place in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship final standings on Sunday. On Saturday in Manama, they claimed four-set playoff victories over hosts Bahrain and Tunisia, respectively, who will lock horns for the 15^th.

USA and Mexico have already met once at Bahrain 2023. In a Pool H game two days ago, the Mexicans celebrated a four-set win. Tunisia and Bahrain engaged in an epic five-set Pool G match on Wednesday, with the Africans triumphant after the tie-breaker.

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USA heavily outplayed Bahrain in offence, in blocking and in serving on the way to a victory on Saturday. While Dillon Klein was the best score of the match with 18 points, including two kill blocks, towards the victory, his teammate Zachary Rama scored three of the team’s six aces to finish with 16 points. Marc Smith also reached the double digits with five kill blocks and six successful spikes. On the home team’s side, Sayed Hashem Ali and captain Husain Ehsan finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. This result put an end to USA’s losing streak of six consecutive games since the start of the tournament.

Mexico (MEX) vs. Tunisia (TUN) men - Play Off 13-16 #5838585

Mexican setter Martin Arredondo Palomino saves the ball

Mexico and Tunisia put up quite a battle and in each set the lead went back and forth between the two teams. Doing better in offence and capitalizing on more opponent errors, eventually the Mexicans emerged with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22) victory. Their opposite Angel Dominguez Carrillo led the way with 20 points, including two blocks. Outside hitter Jorge Hernandez Cabrera also raised two stuffs towards a 17-point tally, while Ramon Gonzalez Castro fired three aces to finish with 13 points. Tunisia’s opposite Khaled Bouallegue delivered the match high of 22 points, including two aces and two blocks. Middle blocker Mahdi Ben Tahar’s record included three aces and three blocks towards an 18-point tally.