CHIRIQUÍ, Panama, September 16, 2025.– The Nicaraguan National Team came from behind to defeat Honduras in five sets (23-25, 22-25, 25-8, 25-12, 15-6), earning their first victory in Pool B action as the VII AFECAVOL U23 Central American Championship got underway.
Honduras started strong by taking the first two sets against a Nicaraguan squad that took time to find their best rhythm.
Nicaragua completed the comeback thanks to their superior attack, led by Yader León with 29 points, 27 on attacks and 2 from the service line.
Also contributing to Nicaragua’s offense were Jesy Umaña with 18 points and Josué Blandón with 16 points.
For Honduras, Jesús Montes was the only player to score in double digits, finishing with 14 points.
As a team, Nicaragua outperformed Honduras in attacks 69 to 33, and in service points 7-2. Honduras, however, had the advantage in blocks 9-3. Both teams were almost even in points from unforced errors, with Nicaragua conceding 32 and Honduras 31.
Following the victory, Nicaragua’s head coach Jorge Mena said: “The first two sets were very tough; the team made a lot of mistakes, and that hurt us. But we managed to make the necessary adjustments to turn things around and win the next three sets. We knew that losing this match would have greatly reduced our chances of advancing.”
Meanwhile, Honduras’ head coach Miguel Pagoaga explained: “We started very well, surprising everyone by winning the first two sets, but then the players struggled with reception. We have no choice but to work on improving those weaknesses for the next match. Reception errors and poor blocking positioning hurt us a lot.”
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