COLIMA, Mexico, June 18, 2024. – Canada won over Guatemala 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 26-24) in their second victory at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup being held in Colima, Mexico.
After losing the first set, Canada came back strong to improve their record to 2-0 in pool A, while Guatemala remains winless at 0-2.
Canada concludes pool-play on Wednesday against Mexico, while Guatemala will face Costa Rica.
Canada’s dominance in blocking (10-4) and service points (10-4) was crucial for their victory. Guatemala committed fewer unforced errors (22-36).
Canadian captain and outside hitter Tyson DeZutter was the leading scorer in the match with 24 points, on 18 attacks, 2 blocks, and a match-high of 4 aces. Opposite Kade Funk, who came in as a substitute in the first set, added 13 points on10 attacks, 2 blocks, and one ace. Outside hitter Seth Brunoro also contributed with 12 points.
For Guatemala, captain Luis Mendizábal led his team with 16 points from 14 attacks and 2 blocks.
Guatemala led throughout the first set, but Canada returned with greater confidence to take the second. In the third set, Canada quickly built a commanding 18-9 lead. Despite Guatemala rallying from a six-point deficit (14-20) in the fourth set, thanks to a series of Canadian errors and strong offense from Mendizábal, Canada regained control and reached match point at 24-23, which Guatemala managed to stave off twice. Tyson DeZutter ended the match with a powerful spike.
Cruz Chittick, libero of Canada said “Our team relied on each other to recover from falling in the first set. Our resiliency was better than Guatemala’s, when they came down they couldn’t bounce back, while we bounced back in every sense”.
Edvin López, Guatemala’s coach, commented, “I think the boys were too anxious. We made mistakes, but we need to work more as a team. Some players are also overloaded from the U21 competition. We’ll aim for a win against Costa Rica to advance to the next round”.
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