SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 12, 2022.- Belize remains undefeated after beating El Salvador 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 26-28, 25-10) at the XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of AFECAVOL being played at Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Belize has a 2-0 record and seven points, while El Salvador has 1-1 and six points after two days of competition.
Belize overcame a tough Salvadorian team that battled to extend the action, winning a dramatic third set after Belize lost two match points. Belize dominated the fourth set without complications, jumping to an early 8-1 lead from the beginning.
In numbers, Belize held a huge 46-29 advantage in attacks and 14-1 in serves, in blocking they scored one point more (3-7). Belize committed 44 unforced errors against 33 from El Salvador.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejía of Belize, once again led all scorers with 26 points, on 20 points from attacks, 2 from blocks and 4 from serves, followed by opposite hitter Preston Smith with 16 points, on 10 attacks, 3 blocks and 3 serves; also, outside hitter Malcolm Murillo chipped in with 10 points.
Outside hitters Rafael Vargas and Marlon Solórzano led El Salvador with 13 and 10 points respectively.
On Tuesday, Belize (2-0) will face Nicaragua (0-1) and El Salvador (1-1) goes against Guatemala (0-2).
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize: “We were prepared to face them, we watched them play yesterday and we were ready, we had our game plan. We lost a set, but we executed in the fourth set; it was a strong set for us. Our strongest weapon is our ability to grind when things get tough”.
Gerardo Hernández, head coach of El Salvador: “Belize is one of the strongest opponents, they have a great attack. The first two sets slipped out of our hands, the boys had ups and downs because of Belize’s strong attacks. We will continue to work for tomorrow’s performance, this is a short tournament, and we must be prepared”.
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