USA Volleyball Makes Mysterious 2025 Pan American Cup Exit

USA Volleyball has recently been experimenting, with it becoming apparent during the VNL that coach Erik Sullivan is keen on building the next generation of stars for Team USA.”Giving an opportunity to some of the less experienced players is one of our big goals this summer,” Sullivan said after their final VNL group stage game against China. The team’s hunger to compete was also apparent.

The US national team dropped its wide roster for the upcoming World Championship even before the VNL finals kicked off. Once again, the players selected for the wide roster reflected the trend of a handful of seasoned veterans and many young talents. So you’d think USA Volleyball won’t miss any chances to let rising stars like Lexi Rodriguez, Logan Eggleston, Rachel Fairbanks, and others to gain some international experience, right?

Well, that’s the impression Team USA initially gave as they looked poised to take on the best teams in North and South America at the XXII Women’s Pan American Cup. Yet, in a mysterious twist, USA Volleyball has suddenly pulled out of the competition at Colima, Mexico. What’s even more confusing is that USA Volleyball put out an official statement only to delete it later.

The page still exists, but shows the infamous “Error 404 – Page Not Found” prompt when you click on it. However, it’s not like you can’t get any clues from the page. The URL still contains the title of the statement: “USA Volleyball Prioritizes Athlete and Staff Safety – Withdraws From Women’s XXII Pan American Cup in Colima Mexico.” But there are no further clues.

Team USA has also maintained silence on its sudden decision, withholding further statements and clarifications since deleting its post. As per the official NORCECA website, the US national team was part of Pool A with Canada, Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela. It’s an unfortunate turn of events considering Team USA’s history at the contest and their recent form in other age brackets.

USA Volleyball dominated the Pan American Cup this year

Besides winning the most gold medals of any other North or South American team, the US also won medals in the last three Pan American Cups. The team clinched back-to-back bronze medals in 2022 and 2023 and improved to silver in 2024. Unfortunately, they won’t have the chance to improve to gold this year and take the US’s Pan Am gold tally to 8. But it gets even more upsetting.

Despite USA Volleyball not sending its senior team to Mexico, USA did participate in the U-23 and U-21 editions of the 2025 Women’s Pan American Cup, and they’ve dominated both competitions. Both the U23 and U21 squads achieved significant milestones besides clinching gold in both competitions. For instance, this was Team USA’s first U23 Pan Am Cup appearance.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, the U21 redefined dominance in their age group. “Golden sweep. The U.S. Women’s U21 National Team defeated Chile 25-18, 25-14, 25-13 to win the 2025 Pan Am Cup—without dropping a set all tournament. That’s three straight Pan Am Cup titles for the red, white, and blue,” USA Volleyball posted on social media, congratulating the team.

Unfortunately, the senior team won’t be able to keep the momentum going. That being said, the World Championships are just around the corner. It may be safe to assume that Coach Erik Sullivan is busy narrowing the final candidates after announcing the wide roster.