The national teams of the Dominican Republic and Canada (both pictured in the main photo; source: norceca.net), with support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, earned the silver and the bronze medals, respectively, at last week’s U23 Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup in Managua. The United States triumphed as champions in the Nicaraguan capital.
2026 NORCECA WOMEN’S U23 PAN AMERICAN CUP MEDALISTS! 🔥
🏆 🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
🥈 🇩🇴 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
🥉 🇨🇦 CANADA📍 Managua, Nicaragua 🇳🇮 #norceca #u23panamcup pic.twitter.com/xw6lpujGmJ
— NorcecaInfo (@Norceca_Info) September 7, 2026
The Dominican Republic has so far been granted a total of USD 1,050,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their women’s volleyball national teams, benefiting from the expertise of Brazilian head coach Marcos Kwiek. Volleyball Canada has been allocated a total of USD 1,702,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, USD 75,000 in volleyball equipment, and another USD 12,000 in knowledge transfer programs. Their women’s national volleyball teams have been benefitting from the expertise of senior coach Giovanni Guidetti of Italy and NextGen coach Matthew Krueger.
Both the Dominican Republic and Canada finished the round-robin phase of the U23 Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup on a 3-2 win-loss record, in second and fourth place, respectively. The Dominicans beat Costa Rica, Mexico and Nicaragua, while the Canadians defeated Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. USA topped the standings undefeated.
🇩🇴 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IS HEADED TO THE FINAL! 🥇
Dominican Republic swept host Nicaragua 🇳🇮 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-10) at the 2026 NORCECA U23 Women’s Pan American Cup.
🔝 Alondra Tapia 🇩🇴 18 pts
📆 Sept. 6
🥉 CAN–MEX | 3 p.m.
🥇 USA–DOM | 5 p.m.#norceca #u23panamcup pic.twitter.com/IJw6WXxMqg— NorcecaInfo (@Norceca_Info) September 6, 2026
In the gold medal showdown, the Americans put together a 3-1 (25-15, 25-10, 23-25, 25-18) victory over the Dominican Republic to defend the title, which they claimed for the first time last year. The Dominicans settled for their second silver, after six gold medals they collected in the first six editions from 2012 to 2023.
In the bronze medal match, Canada got back at Mexico for the loss in the league round with a hard-fought 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 15-11) victory and celebrated their second podium after last year’s silver.
“I think we got better with every match, and that’s all we can ask for. We came here with a bit of a slow start, but to the girls’ credit, we kept trying to adapt and get better and better,” Canada’s Matthew Krueger told norceca.net. “That’s why we come to these competitions, to play against really good teams and see if we can grow. Nicaragua has been great.”
🥉🇨🇦 CANADA WINS BRONZE! 🔥
Canada 🇨🇦 edged Mexico 🇲🇽 in a five-set thriller 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 15-11) at the 2026 NORCECA U23 Women’s Pan American Cup!
Canada’s first bronze in event history 🥉
🔝 Lauryn Hovey 🇨🇦 23 pts#norceca #u23panamcup pic.twitter.com/I5SOmDKJFr
— NorcecaInfo (@Norceca_Info) September 6, 2026
Costa Rica produced a 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-12) sweep of the fifth-place match against hosts Nicaragua.
USA’s 18-year-old outside hitter Tessa Larkin was honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Best Receiver of the U23 Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup. Setter Ashly Morales (Mexico), opposite Alondra Tapia (Dominican Republic), outside hitters Aime Topete (Mexico) and Michelle Lizarraga (Mexico), middle blockers Veronica Dickson (Canada) and Megan Hodges (USA), and libero Rashell Easy (Costa Rica) made up the Dream Team. Aime Topete was also awarded the Best Scorer prize. Dominican Republic’s Kirssy Fernandez took the Best Digger award, while Mexico’s Arleth Marquez was named Best Server.
