TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 17, 2024. – Canada defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-4, 25-19, 25-11) on Wednesday, to advance to the semifinals of the Girls U19 NORCECA Continental Championship at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Canada will face Mexico in the first semifinal on Thursday at 6:00 pm. And Costa Rica will play in the classification matches for positions 5 to 8, starting with Cuba at 4:00 pm. In the other semifinal, United States faces Puerto Rico at 8:00pm.
Canada’s force over the net was significant, finishing with advantage in attacks (44-14), blocks (9-2), and aces (7-4). Canada made one less error than Costa Rica (14-25).
Outside hitters Sol Henson and Chloe Bradley led Canada with 15 points each. Henson had 11 attacks, one block, and a match-high of three aces. Bradley scored on 13 attacks and 2 blocks. Middle blocker Maya Bukovcan added 11 points.
Costa Rica’s captain María del Sol Venegas finished with 6 points.
Canada was dominant in the first set, not allowing Costa Rica to respond. In the second set, Costa Rica improved their game, which allowed them to limit errors and force Canada to lose three set points (16-24) with the attacks of Nadia Granados and the serves of Manuela Alcalá. Canada finally closed the set 25-19 with a kill from Sol Henson. In the third, Canada quickly advanced to a large lead to secure the victory.
Avaya Maga, Canada’s captain: “In the first set we started off with really tough serving and they (Costa Rica) were stuck in a rotation that we capitalized on. In the second set we gave them a lot of points off of our unforced errors and then in the third set we were able to limit our errors and control the game. We are excited to be in the semifinals”.
Nadia Granados, Costa Rica’s setter: “I feel that in the second set we trusted ourselves more and improved our attitude. I am satisfied with our performance in the second set. In the first set, we didn’t give one hundred percent of our capability because we were afraid”.
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