The US were aiming to claim a seventh title and first since 2015 but succumbed to a comeback from the defending champions.

The Dominican Republic recovered from 2-1 down in sets to triumph 12-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13 in Canada.

It was the Dominican Republic’s fourth gold medal and a third in succession following their victories in 2009, 2019 and 2021.

"We are very happy about the victory, for having achieved our goal," said Dominican Republic head coach Marcos Kwiek.

"We prepared for this tournament, which was very important to us.

"We started the game poorly, they put a lot of pressure on us, but we managed to turn the match around by playing with a lot of discipline, and that was the best part.

"A 3-2 game was a spectacle for the crowd, very exciting, the defense played very well, and we delivered."

Jordan Thompson led the scoring in the game, notching 21 points including 17 from attack and three blocks but it was not enough to steer the US to glory.

"I’m disappointed to be on the losing end of that," said US head coach Karch Kiraly.

"Dominican is a quality team and they showed it especially after the first game tonight.

"They threw more at us than we could handle."

There was also delight for the hosts as Canada claimed a 25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 25-16 win over Cuba in the bronze-medal match.

Kiera van Ryk was the key player for Canada, scoring 24 points, while Jazmine White, Hilary Howe and Emily Maglio also contributed with double figures.

"I thought the third set was messy, but while we struggled again with first contact in the first two sets, we showed some patience," said Canada head coach Shannon Winzer.

"We know that we are a physical team, compared with Cuba, and we really wanted to show that today.

"It wasn’t the cleanest volleyball we have played this week, but we did what we had to do to pull off the win.

"I think it was a real team effort today."