David, Chiriquí, Panama, September 27, 2023 – Nicaragua rallied twice in the match to overcome Costa Rica 3-2 (22-25, 31-29, 19-25, 25-18, 15-12) on the fourth day of the VI AFECAVOL Men’s U23 Central American Championship at La Basita Sports Center.
In the second set, Nicaragua was trailing 12-18 but managed to tie the score, taking the action to a dramatic 31-29 finish, where both teams showed their thirst for victory.
Costa Rica seemed on track for victory as they dominated the third set, jumping to a 10-point lead that Nicaragua tried to recover from. In the fourth set, Nicaragua had complete control, securing a 20-12 lead and forcing a fifth set after closing it out 25-18.
In the fifth set, with Josué Blandón contributing six points and Evan Solís adding three, along with great team defense, Nicaragua improved their tournament record to 2-1, while Costa Rica stands at 2-2.
Evan Solís scored 24 points in Nicaragua’s victory, Yader León added 17, and Josué Blandón contributed 15.
Yulius Brown from Costa Rica was the top scorer of the match with 25 points. Harold Rodríguez contributed 20 points for Costa Rica, and Octavio González recorded 14, seven of them through blocks.
Nicaragua led in attacks 71-64 and in serves 5-3, but Costa Rica excelled in blocks 17-11. Both teams gave up 25 points on unforced errors.
Costa Rica plays against Guatemala on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (Panama time), and Nicaragua faces the host team from Panama at 7:30 p.m.
AFECAVOL SUB23 MASCULINO, PANAMÁ
QUOTES
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua: “Another bittersweet victory because we had two players injured, and we’ll see how we manage to finish the tournament. The other guys who came in did their job and showed a lot of heart and courage to recover from a good lead that Costa Rica took from us. We will keep working to recover them and try to be on the podium because I believe we still have many possibilities”.
Jordan Carcache, libero of Nicaragua: “We are super happy; it was a victory that really cost us. Everyone did their job, both those on the court and those who came in because we have players with a high level. We managed to recover from a big disadvantage, and that helped us regain some confidence”.
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