Belize City, Belize, July 18, 2024. – Nicaragua achieved an important victory over Guatemala in five intense sets, winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16, and 15-8). This triumph revitalized their chances of winning a medal in the XX Central American U21 Women’s Championship of AFECAVOL.
Nicaragua’s record now stands at 2-1 in wins and losses, while Guatemala has a 1-1 record. Belize, which had a rest day, has two wins without losses.
It was a match where Nicaragua maintained their fighting spirit to secure a game that almost opens the doors to the podium, with one more challenge against Honduras on Saturday to close their schedule.
Meanwhile, Guatemala has matches pending against Honduras and will face Belize in the final round on Saturday.
Norma Brenes was the main attacking figure for Nicaragua with 21 points, 18 in attack and three in serves. María José Rivera was also effective with 16 points, 13 in attack, and three in blocking.
For Guatemala, María Santa Cruz led the offense with 25 points, 19 in attack, and six in serves, while Naomi Monney finished with 17 points, 14 in attack, two in blocking, and an ace.
As a team, Nicaragua achieved 54 points in attack, compared to 40 for Guatemala, which led in blocking 11-6 and serves 12-5, but conceded 41 points on unforced errors compared to 37 for Nicaragua.
Regarding the victory, Claudia Noguera, Nicaragua’s coach, stated: “It is a very important victory that places us on the podium. We only have one match left against Honduras in which we will try to change the color of the medal.”
On the other hand, William Fernández, Guatemala’s coach, pointed out: “Our team stopped fighting at crucial moments, in contrast to Nicaragua, who fought with everything throughout the match.”
English 
Spanish