COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rising Creighton junior Ayden Ames had five kills and an ace to help United States Volleyball to its fourth consecutive NORCECA U21 Women’s Pan American Volleyball Cup title after defeating Canada in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21) in Sunday’s Gold Medal match at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Ames has now won three gold medals with USA Volleyball, previously winning the 2025 Women’s U21 Pan American Cup last summer in addition to the FIVB U19 World Championship in 2023.

Ames had the first kill of the match for the United States, then added the first ace of the match four points later to help set the tone in the 25-18 victory in set one.

The American side never trailed in the second set either, with Ames posting the first kill once again in an eventual 25-19 win. 

The Prosper, Texas, native added a kill in the final set to give CU a 19-16 advantage.

Ames played in four of the five US matches in the tournament, finishing with 18 kills in 35 swings while hitting .400. She was also credited with six blocks and three aces.

The US won all five matches it played during the week, defeating Venezuela (3-0), Mexico (3-0) and Canada (3-1) in pool play to earn a bye into the semifinals of the eight-team field.  The American side swept Mexico for a second time on Saturday to set up Sunday’s battle with its neighbor to the North.

The US squad was coached by Tama Miyashiro. The title was the Americans fifth overall title, having previously won the tournament in 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025. Ames and Abby Vander Wal were the only women on both the 2025 and 2026 squads, though Ames was the only player to appear in both gold medal matches.

Creighton has had several women play internationally with USA Volleyball in recent seasons, as Brittany Witt (Thailand), Jaali Winters (Croatia), Taryn Kloth (China; France) Norah Sis (Mexico) and Ava Martin (Mexico) have all represented Team USA at one time or another in the past decade. Sis was part of back-to-back gold medal-winning teams at the U21 Women’s NORCECA Pan American Cup in addition to a U23 Pan American Cup title, while Kloth became Creighton’s first female student-athlete to compete in the Olympics in 2024 when she tied for ninth in Beach Volleyball along with partner Kristen Nuss.

 

2026 Women’s U21 National Team for the Pan Am Cup

Name, Position, Height, Hometown, Current School, USAV Region

2 Ayden Ames, MB, 6-4, Prosper, Texas, Creighton University, North Texas

5 Lily Hayes, L, 5-9, Tampa, Fla., University of Florida, Florida

6 Suli Davis, OH, 6-2, Euless, Texas, SMU, North Texas

7 Manaia Ogbechie, MB, 6-3, Santa Rosa Valley, Calif., University of Nebraska, Southern California Southern Nevada

9 Keoni Williams, MB, 6-4, Fort Worth, Texas, University of Nebraska, Lone Star

10 Taylor Harvey, MB, 6-3, Salt Lake City, Utah, University of Texas, Lone Star

11 Campbell Flynn, S, 6-3, Rochester Hills, Mich., University of Nebraska, Lakeshore

12 Genevieve Harris, S, 5-11, Raleigh, N.C., University of Texas, Carolina

13 Rachel Van Gorp, L, 5-9, Olathe, Kan., Iowa State University, Heart of America

15 Payton Petersen, OH, 6-0, Dike, Iowa, University of Louisville, Iowa

16C Abby Vander Wal, OH, 6-3, Elmhurst, Ill., University of Texas, Great Lakes

17 Carly Gilk, OPP, 6-2, Minneapolis, Minn., University of Minnesota, North Country

19 Henley Anderson, OPP/OH, 6-3, Dripping Springs, Texas, University of Texas, Lone Star

20 Devyn Wiest, OH, 6-3, Peoria, Ariz., University of Utah, Arizona

 

Coaches

Head Coach: Tama Miyashiro (LOVB)

Assistant Coach: Alfee Reft (LOVB)

Assistant Coach: Alisha Childress (MLV)

Performance Analyst: Will McDonald (LOVB)

ATC: Misao Tanioka (LOVB)

Team Lead: Kyle Thompson (NTDP)