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Briefs: Clark powers U.S. win

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Former UC Irvine All-American Carson Clark had a match-best 18 kills and 19 points to lead the United States men’s team to a 29-27, 25-20, 25-11 victory over Argentina in the final of the Pan American Cup on Saturday in Colorado Springs.

Clark, a 6-foot-5 opposite who was joined on the Team USA roster by former Anteaters Jordan DuFault, Dan McConnell and Ryan Ammerman, as well as Corona del Mar High and UC Santa Barbara product Dylan Davis, had a kill percentage of 62.1 and a hitting efficiency percentage of .517.

Clark, a four-time All-American who helped UCI win a pair of NCAA titles, including 2012, started the match for the Americans.

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DuFault, an outside hitter, Ammerman, a setter, and Davis, a middle blocker, all played in the title match, while McDonnell contributed earlier in the tournament.

McDonnell was a senior on the 2012 squad that defeated USC in the national championship match at USC’s Galen Center on May 5.

Ammerman and DuFault were members of UCI’s 2009 national championship team. They both earned All-American honors.

The American players, some of whom could be on the U.S. Olympic team in 2016, won all five of their matches in the tournament and won Team USA’s fifth crown in the seven-year history of the event.

The U.S. unit defeated the Dominican Republic, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-12, in the semifinals. Team USA topped Venezuela (25-17, 25-19, 25-12), Mexico (25-8, 25-12, 25-18) and Brazil (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22) to emerge from Pool B.

— From staff reports

Pavlik adds title

Former UC Irvine women’s volleyball player Whitney Pavlik paired with Jenny Kropp to earn the duo’s second straight title at the Chicago Open, a Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball series event completed on Sunday.

It was the third straight title on the series for Pavlik and Kropp. They previously won crowns at the Florida Open and the Belmar (N.J.) Open.

Pavlik and Kropp defeated Priscilla Lima and Tyra Turner, 20-22, 21-19, 15-13, in the final. It was Lima, from Brazil, and Turner, from Florida, who defeated Pavlik-Knapp earlier Sunday, forcing the defending champions to come out of the contenders’ bracket to earn a rematch in the final.

In men’s action at the same tournament, Newport Harbor High product Ty Tramblie teamed with Avery Drost to finish second. They fell to champions Casey Patterson and Ryan Doherty, 21-23, 21-19, 15-10, in the final.

Both Pavlik and Tramblie earned spots in the Milwaukee Shootout, scheduled for Aug. 3-5.

Next is the Hermosa Beach Open, July 20-22.

— From staff reports

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