TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 14, 2024. – Costa Rica kicked off the Girls U19 NORCECA Continental Championship defeating host Honduras 3-2 (25-23, 25-27, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13) in pool B of the event, which began on Sunday in Tegucigalpa.
The match was full of ups and downs, with both teams taking turns in the lead. In the end, Costa Rica emerged victorious, leading in attacking points 52 to 50 and in blocking points 8 to 2. Honduras led in service aces 10 to 8. Both teams committed 40 unforced errors throughout the match.
Outside hitter Mariela Navarro was the top scorer for Costa Rica with 15 points (13 attacks, one block, one ace). She was followed by outside hitter Galia Luconi with 14 points (13 attacks, one ace) and middle blocker María del Sol Venegas with 11 points (6 attacks, a match-high of 4 blocks, one ace).
For Honduras, opposite María Fernanda Merino was the best scorer with 14 points (12 attacks, 2 aces). Outside hitter Sasha Kawas finished with 13 points (12 attacks, one ace). Middle blocker Sofía Ghadesi contributed 10 points.
On the second day of the event, Costa Rica (1-0) will play against Mexico (1-0) at 2:00 pm, and Honduras (0-1) will face the Dominican Republic (0-1) at 8:00 pm.
In the tie-break, Honduras tied the score at 10 points after recovering from a five-point deficit (5-10) with the offensive efforts of Andrea Schmucker, combined with Costa Rica’s errors. An attack by Galia Luconi and an error by Honduras put Costa Rica ahead, but Honduras tied again at 13 points. An error by Honduras, followed by a kill from middle blocker Nadia Granados, sealed the victory for Costa Rica.
María del Sol Venegas, captain of Costa Rica: “The match got complicated for us; I feel like we got a little too confident. We achieved the result. There were ups and downs. Costa Rica is very mental, but when we are confident, we play a good game, the best we can. Tomorrow we will face a strong opponent, but we are confident in our game”.
Sofía Ghadesi, captain of Honduras: “I am very proud of my team. I am still euphoric about what we were able to achieve. We had a lot of energy. That’s sports; we had good things and made mistakes. We almost defeated Costa Rica. We supported each other throughout the match, had good energy, and were euphoric. We held our heads high”.
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