TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 2, 2026. – Belize completed the semifinal lineup of the II AFECAVOL U17 Girls’ Central American Volleyball Championship by defeating El Salvador 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-15) in the final quarterfinal match.
With the victory, Belize advanced to face Pool A winner Guatemala in the semifinals, while Pool B winner Honduras will take on Costa Rica, which earlier defeated Nicaragua in the quarterfinals.
Belize took control from the opening points by putting constant pressure on El Salvador with its serve, disrupting its opponent’s reception and limiting its offensive options. Belize also displayed solid defensive organization throughout the match, effectively neutralizing El Salvador’s attacks.
Jamielee Espejo led Belize’s offense with 15 points, followed by Kristen Simpson with 13, including three aces. For El Salvador, Alessandra Cordero and Giselle Landos finished with five points each.
Belize was superior in attacks (36-12) and in aces (8-4), while El Salvador held a slight 2-1 edge in blocks. Belize committed 20 unforced errors, while El Salvador finished with 30.
Jamielee Espejo, Belize captain: “I’m really excited to be in the semifinals. I think El Salvador is a good team. They play good defense, especially in the back row, and they fight for every ball. Tomorrow isn’t the kind of match that will make us nervous, but we’ll try to stay very focused.”
Kristen Simpson, of Belize: “I feel really good. I think we played very well. I felt our level was really high, and that kept us in control of the match. When I’m on the court, I just try to stay focused all the time and do my best. As a team, I think we did a great job, but tomorrow we need to stay focused throughout the entire match because today we lost our concentration a little at times, but we were able to recover and finish strong.”
FRIDAY, JULY 3 SCHEDULE
5th-6th Place Match
Nicaragua vs. El Salvador – 2:00 p.m.
Semifinals
Belize vs. Guatemala – 4:30 p.m.
Honduras vs. Costa Rica – 7:00 p.m.
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