MANAGUA, Nicaragua, November 18, 2025. – Barbados recovered after losing the first two sets to defeat Nicaragua 3-2 (19-25, 26-28, 25-17, 25-18, 15-13) in Pool A of the NORCECA U17 Men’s Continental Championship.
After dominating the first set comfortably and taking the second in a dramatic finish, Nicaragua surrendered the initiative to Barbados, committing 12 errors in the third set that revived their opponents and, ultimately, cost them the match.
Barbados’ Piere Gill led all scorers with 19 points. Isaiah John added 18 and Joshua Ashby contributed 17 in the victory. For Nicaragua, Carlos Gómez scored 14 points and Jeanpierre Ramírez added another 14.
Barbados led in attacks 55-50, blocks 8-3, and serves 9-8, committing 40 errors compared to Nicaragua’s 38.
Barbados will face Puerto Rico on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (local time), while Nicaragua will take on Costa Rica at 8:00 p.m.
Elwyn Oxley, Head Coach of Barbados: “I think it was a good performance, but I know we can do things better than what we showed tonight. They made a great effort coming back from two sets down, and not only that, but doing it against Nicaragua, who had strong support from the crowd. We had a plan we gave the boys, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. We lost many easy balls, and we need to review the system to improve.”
Jorge Mena, Head Coach of Nicaragua: “We lost our reception, and with that, our attack. In the last sets we couldn’t coordinate our offense because we didn’t have a good first touch. It’s normal with kids; they are just starting, and we have to keep moving forward. In the fifth set, two errors cost us the match. Tomorrow, we have a tough match against Costa Rica, and we must improve.”
English 
Spanish