It’s not every day a young volleyball player makes their Pan American Cup debut with a team chasing its third straight gold medal.
Balmoral’s Liam Pauls accomplished that feat when he suited up for Team Canada NextGen at the 2025 Pan American Cup from Aug. 24 to 31 in León, Mexico.
Pauls, 20, was the youngest member of the roster and one of four Manitobans — alongside Liam Kristjanson of Oak River, Jeremy Love of Dauphin and Darian Picklyk of Winnipeg.
On a team loaded with professionals and top university players, Pauls found a way to contribute as a serving substitute, seeing floor time in every match as Canada captured the bronze medal.
“It was definitely one of the best learning experiences I’ve had,” Pauls said. “Getting to see a team like Venezuela — they brought the team from the 2024 Olympics — and then there’s world championship teams there, some really high-level teams, so it was just a good moment to learn. And then when we’re playing these games, just to see what some of the top guys who have big pro contracts are doing, it’s so cool to see the level change.”
Venezuela went on to win gold on Aug. 31 with a victory over Mexico.
Canada’s bronze medal came earlier that evening when it beat Colombia in straight sets (27-25, 25-22, 25-14).
The team’s only loss of the tournament was in the semifinals against Mexico (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 23-25) in front of about 3,000 fans at Domo de la Feria.
“It was pretty special to be in Mexico and just to see what that tournament meant to those Mexican fans,” Pauls said. “When we played them in the semifinals, it was one of the loudest gyms I’ve ever been in. To have that much buzz and hype around the sport of volleyball was pretty cool to see, especially on the international stage.”
The tournament capped a four-month stretch that Pauls and his teammates spent training together, mostly in Gatineau, Que., Canada’s national training centre.
Pauls will now return to Manitoba for his fourth season as an outside hitter with the Brandon University Bobcats, who are defending their title as U Sports national champions.
