MANAGUA, Nicaragua, September 26, 2024.- Nicaragua (3-0) battled to a 3-1 victory (26-24, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21) over Belize (1-2) to close out the third day of the inaugural AFECAVOL U17 Central American Girls’ Championship.
Belize missed two set points in the first set, leading 24-22, but eventually lost 24-26, which energized Nicaragua to come out strong in the second and third sets.
The match was closely contested, with both teams going on scoring runs, but Nicaragua finished stronger, particularly with effective serves that threw their opponents off balance.
Belize was slightly better in attack, 46-45, while Nicaragua led in blocking, 6-3. Both teams were even in serving, with 10 aces each. Nicaragua committed 25 unforced errors, compared to 37 by Belize.
Nicaragua’s top scorers were Luisa Ríos and Lucía Columna with 12 points each, Karen Bird with 11, and Franchesca Viera with 10. For Belize, Emaun Marín led with 21 points, and Akili Jones added 18.
On Friday, during the fourth day of competition, Belize will face Honduras at 4:00 p.m., while Nicaragua and Costa Rica will play for the undefeated record at 6:30 p.m.
Claudia Noguera, Head coach of Nicaragua: “Belize is one of the countries that has improved significantly in volleyball development over the past few years, and this was an important match. They pushed us to the limit, but the girls managed to stay focused, which is great for our morale ahead of tomorrow’s match against Costa Rica”.
José Fontes, Head coach of Belize: “Emotional control was key in today’s match. Nicaragua is a very solid team in all aspects of the game. I even think we were slightly better at serving. We played a strong first and third set, and the fourth set was close until the end. We take away this positive experience and know that we need to keep working hard for better results”.
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