Category: Volleyball

Cuba began winning at the Men’s Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 15, 2024.- Cuba achieved its first victory in XVII edition of the Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup after beating Colombia in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21), at the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

Cuba was better in attacks 42-27 and in serves 6-3, while Colombia dominated in blocks 8-6.

Victor Andreu was the most productive for Cuba with 14 points, while Carlos Charles and Bryan Camino contributed with 13 and 12 points respectively. For Colombia Andrés Piza scored 9 points and Jharold Caicedo added 7.

Carlos Charles CUB

Julio Gómez, captain of Cuba: It was an important match for us since it was the first and we did what we were expecting against Colombia, which was to obtain the victory since the last time we faced them we suffered a loss and thanks to that today things went well for us, and we were able to go out with a 3-0 lead.

Leandro Mejía, captain of Colombia: We knew that Cuba was a very strong opponent, they are very physical, that is why it was very difficult for us to serve them since they come out very hard, we do not come with a good rhythm of play, which is one of the things that we must fix in the future.

Mexico beats Costa Rica to remain Undefeated in NORCECA U19

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 15, 2024. – Mexico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-15) to remain undefeated in the Girls’ U19 NORCECA U-19 Continental Championship being held at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Mexico has an undefeated record of 2-0 in pool B, while Costa Rica stands at 1-1.

On Tuesday, Costa Rica (0-2) will conclude pool-play against the Dominican Republic at 2:00 pm, and Mexico (2-0) will face Honduras at 8:00 pm.

Naomi Cruz MEX – Manuela Alcala CRC

Mexico set the pace of the match with advantages in every skill of the game, attacking (37-18), blocking (8-5), and service aces (7-1). Mexico committed one less error than Costa Rica (22-23).

Costa Rica managed to contain Mexico up to point ten in all three sets; from then on, the Mexicans dominated with the offensive play of Naomi Cruz, who led all scorers with 16 points on13 attacks, one block, and two aces, supported by Angélica Torres with 14 points on 10 attacks, one block, and a match-high of three aces.

Opposite hitter Dayna Barrantes and outside hitter Mariela Navarro led Costa Rica with 6 points each.

Nadia Granados CRC

Naomi Cruz, top scorer for Mexico: “Costa Rica managed to contain us at the beginning; we started the sets a bit slow. We gave our best, without pressure, to keep the match from getting complicated. As the sets progressed, our confidence and game intensity increased. We all supported each other, just like our coaches, who always help us improve. There is a lot of unity in the team”.

Dayna Barrantes, top scorer for Costa Rica: “We entered the match knowing Mexico is a tough opponent. We gave our best, especially at the start of each set. Mexico is a team with greater physical capabilities than us, and it motivated us to stay close on the scoreboard until almost halfway through each set. We played well against Mexico. We are waiting for the result of Honduras today and the results of tomorrow’s matches in the group to know if we advance to the quarterfinals”.

Canada debuts with victory in Men’s Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 15, 2024.- Team Canada battled for three sets with Puerto Rico and at the end won with 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) to start the XVII Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup with a victory at the National Volleyball Pavilion.

The Canadians dominated in attacks 48-30, in blocks 7-4 and in serves 7-1.

Jordan Canham and Jesee Elser were the top scorers for Canada with 17 and 14 points respectively. For Puerto Rico, which now has a record of (0-2), Pedro Molina scored 12 points, while Klistan Lawrence contributed another 10.

Canada

Jesee Elser, captain of Canada: It was a very entertaining match, we had a good performance on the court, there was a small delay in the game, but we knew how to keep the team’s spirits up, no one complained, and I think we showed it with our performance.

Dennis Del Valle, captain of Puerto Rico: I think we had a good match despite the result because we were fighting all the sets but after point 20, they knew how to handle the situation better than us and I think that was the difference in the game, we have a young team and we have to learn from those experiences.

Teams Ready for Action in the XX Central American U21 Women’s Championship in Belize

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Belize City, Belize, July 15, 2024 – After completing the mandatory preliminary interviews, the five teams participating in the XX Central American U21 Women’s Championship of AFECAVOL have declared themselves ready to take to the court at the Belize Civic Center gymnasium in Belize City, Belize.

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Belize will compete for the coveted U21 title and a spot in the NORCECA Continental Championship in the contest that will take place from July 16 to 20, with two daily matches.

ÁLBUM ENTREVISTAS PRELIMINARES

Before the start of the tournament, each of the coaches leading the participating teams evaluated their squads and shared their goals for the event.

William Fernández, Coach of Guatemala, stated: “We have a U21 team with a lot of experience. We have players who were here two years ago in Belize, and most of the players who were in the U23 team. Our goal is to be on the podium. This will be a very competitive tournament, even though there are only five teams, all have the chance to win a medal”.

José Fontes, Coach of Belize, commented: “We have a very young team with some experienced players. Our expectations are high to be on the podium, and we always aspire to the highest, that is, to fight for the gold medal for Belize”.

Cristiam Rodríguez, Coach of Honduras, affirmed: “We have high expectations with this group that is very young. Many will make their debut, marking a promising future for volleyball in Honduras. We want to perform well in the tournament, and if things go well, make it to the podium”.

Claudia Noguera, Coach of Nicaragua, expressed: “We have a young team. Nicaragua has already presented many of these players in other events such as the Final Four and the U23, where we achieved first place in both. We will fight to be on the podium. We have the team to achieve a good position”.

Karen Orellana, Coach of El Salvador, commented: “Our team is very young. We are looking to make a generational change in El Salvador for future tournaments. For this event, we expect to compete, for the girls to give their best. It’s a good group, and we truly hope to surprise”.

Costa Rica kicks off NORCECA U19 defeating Honduras in five sets

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 14, 2024. – Costa Rica kicked off the Girls U19 NORCECA Continental Championship defeating host Honduras 3-2 (25-23, 25-27, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13) in pool B of the event, which began on Sunday in Tegucigalpa.

The match was full of ups and downs, with both teams taking turns in the lead. In the end, Costa Rica emerged victorious, leading in attacking points 52 to 50 and in blocking points 8 to 2. Honduras led in service aces 10 to 8. Both teams committed 40 unforced errors throughout the match.

Mariela Navarro CRC

Outside hitter Mariela Navarro was the top scorer for Costa Rica with 15 points (13 attacks, one block, one ace). She was followed by outside hitter Galia Luconi with 14 points (13 attacks, one ace) and middle blocker María del Sol Venegas with 11 points (6 attacks, a match-high of 4 blocks, one ace).

For Honduras, opposite María Fernanda Merino was the best scorer with 14 points (12 attacks, 2 aces). Outside hitter Sasha Kawas finished with 13 points (12 attacks, one ace). Middle blocker Sofía Ghadesi contributed 10 points.

On the second day of the event, Costa Rica (1-0) will play against Mexico (1-0) at 2:00 pm, and Honduras (0-1) will face the Dominican Republic (0-1) at 8:00 pm.

Galia Luconi CRC- Andrea Schmucker HON

In the tie-break, Honduras tied the score at 10 points after recovering from a five-point deficit (5-10) with the offensive efforts of Andrea Schmucker, combined with Costa Rica’s errors. An attack by Galia Luconi and an error by Honduras put Costa Rica ahead, but Honduras tied again at 13 points. An error by Honduras, followed by a kill from middle blocker Nadia Granados, sealed the victory for Costa Rica.

María del Sol Venegas, captain of Costa Rica: “The match got complicated for us; I feel like we got a little too confident. We achieved the result. There were ups and downs. Costa Rica is very mental, but when we are confident, we play a good game, the best we can. Tomorrow we will face a strong opponent, but we are confident in our game”.

Sofía Ghadesi, captain of Honduras: “I am very proud of my team. I am still euphoric about what we were able to achieve. We had a lot of energy. That’s sports; we had good things and made mistakes. We almost defeated Costa Rica. We supported each other throughout the match, had good energy, and were euphoric. We held our heads high”.

Dominican Republic starts with victory in the Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 14, 2024.- The Dominican Republic defeated its counterpart from Peru 3-1 (25-16, 28-30, 25-18, 25-17) scoring its first victory at the XVII Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup.

The Dominicans had a good performance in every skill, with 51-45 advantage in attacks 51-45, 11-10 in blocks and 6-3 in serves.

Héctor Cruz was the best scorer for the Dominican Republic with 17 points followed by Wilfrido Hernández with 12, while Henry Tapia and Luther Rosario added 10 points each. For Peru, Maikel Jaramillo scored 17 points and Sebastián Blanco 12.

Hector Cruz DOM

José Gutierrez, coach of the Dominican Republic: The first game of this competition is the most difficult, the most complicated, I think we continue to build this team trying to maintain a good level throughout the games, that is the task that we have pending to be able to play with any opponent without complicating our lives without need.

Juan Carlos Rodríguez, coach of Peru: Well, after a year without playing I think the team had a lot of ups and downs and we committed too many foolish errors, the Dominican team worked well and I respect all their work, let’s hope that in this competition we can continue improving game by game.

United States Dominant against Cuba at NORCECA U19

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 14, 2024. – The United States defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-21) on the first day of competition in the Girls’ U19 NORCECA Continental Championship in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

United States obtained their first victory in pool A with a dominant performance, using all their players over the course of the match and overpowering Cuba 35-5 in attacks and 13-2 in service points. Both teams scored three blocking points. United States gave away more points from errors than Cuba (30-24).

Hazel Alevok and Elena Hoecke led the United States’ offense with 9 points each. Hazel Alevok scored a match-high of 4 aces.

United States

Cuba’s outside hitter and captain, Yesica Brito, was the top scorer for her team with 4 points.

Cuba (0-1) will face Puerto Rico (0-1) on Monday at 4:00 PM, and the United States (1-0) will play Canada (1-0) at 6:00 PM.

The United States controlled the first and second sets with no difficulty, using their powerful serves and strong kills as their main strengths. In the third set, Cuba managed to surprise the Americans by keeping the score tight and tying at 16 points. In the end, the United States finished strong.

Halle Thompson USA

Aniya Warren, captain of United States: “We played strong. We started the first set, we played our game and performed what we knew how to do, being ourselves. We did good keeping up the entire game, despite it getting kind of rocky in the third. But overall, we kept fighting”.

Yesica Brito, captain of Cuba: “It was a tough start, facing one of the best teams in the tournament, a very strong team. This is only the first game, and for some of the players, it’s their first international tournament. We played well at the end of the match. Tomorrow, we will look to start strong like we did at the end today”.

United States defeats Puerto Rico in  an exciting match

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 14, 2024.- In a match that was full of emotions, the United States defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 29-31, 25 -18), to achieve its first victory in the 27th edition of the Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup, an event that takes place in the “Ricardo Arias” Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

The Americans were better in attacks 50-42, in blocks 11-8 and in serves 12-1.

Gabriel García was the most outstanding offensive player for the United States with 19 points followed by Ethan Chaplin and Michael Marshman with 17 and 12 points respectively. For Puerto Rico, the top scorer was Jamal Carballo with 19 points followed by Klistan Vidal with 11.

Ethan Champlin USA

Andy Read, coach of the United States: I am very proud of the way they played, we had a team from Puerto Rico that responded very well in the third set, but we were able to recover in the fourth and take the victory.

Alberto Torres, coach of Puerto Rico: This is the first game of the tournament, and we knew it was going to be tough going against the United States, but I think we showed that we have the potential to compete with the teams that are in the tournament.

Canada Starts the NORCECA U19 Girls’ Championship with a Victory Over Puerto Rico

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 14, 2024. – Canada started the NORCECA U19 Girls’ Continental Championship with a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-15, 25-21) over Puerto Rico in pool A at Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Canada controlled every skill of the game,  attacks (34-26), blocks (7-3), and service points (8-3). Both teams gave away 26 points on unforced errors.

Two Canadian players scored double digits, opposite hitter Sydney Bell with 13 points on 8 attacks, 3 blocks, and 2 service points, and outside hitter Sol Henson with 11 points on 10 attacks and on service point.

Canada celebrate

Outside hitters Cherisse Atilano and Pamela Agosto led Puerto Rico with 9 and 8 points, respectively.

On Monday, Puerto Rico will face Cuba at 4:00 PM, and Canada will play against the United States at 6:00 PM.

The first set was very close, with both teams sharing the lead until they were tied at 22 points. Canada managed to pull ahead thanks to two errors by Puerto Rico and an attack point by opposite hitter Sydney Bell. Canada looked more comfortable in the second set, benefiting from 9 errors by Puerto Rico, in addition to the offense from Bell and Sol Henson. Canada lost four set points before celebrating the straight-set victory when Puerto Rico’s setter Daniella González came to the service line.

Sofia Zabjek CAN – Jomailee Eyes PUR

Avaya Maga, captain of Canada: “For a lot of us it’s our first international tournament, so getting into the competition and our style of plan took some time in the first set. In the second and third sets we capitalized on our game plan. We stayed aggressive the whole match. Credit to Puerto Rico for serving tough in the last points and got us stuck in that rotation”.

Alana Guibert, captain of Puerto Rico: “I think we lacked defense and communication. There are several players on the team who lack experience, and there was a bit of desperation. We put up a good fight at the end. We will do better in the next match.”

Colombia beats Guatemala in straight sets

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 14, 2024.- Colombia only needed three sets to defeat Guatemala 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) on the opening day of the XVII Pan American Cup Men’s Volleyball.

Colombia was superior in all aspects, in attacks 43-28, in blocks 7-2 and in services 5-1.

Gustavo Larrahondo COL

Leandro Mejía was the best offensive player for Colombia with 12 points, while Gustavo Larrahondo added 10. For Guatemala, their captain Carlos López had 12 points and José Pérez added 8.

Carlos Osorio, coach of Colombia: This match was very important for us and we knew how to handle it very well, the boys were tactically synchronized and the truth was that we knew how to take advantage of the opportunities.

Reider Mora, coach of Guatemala: I must congratulate the Colombian team, they knew how to carry the entire game, they were the ones who always had the difference in the game, they were really very offensive and did not let us play, our reception failed a bit and that made the game easier for them.

Mexico Wins the Opening Match of the NORCECA U19 Girl’s Championship

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 14, 2024. – Mexico won the opening match of the NORCECA U19 Girls Continental Championship, which began in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with a straight-set victory, 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-18) over the Dominican Republic.

In the first match of pool B, Mexico outperformed Dominican Republic 44-26 in attacks, 7-5 in blocks, and 5-4 in serves. The Dominican Republic committed fewer errors (22-28).

Opposite hitter Aylin Ravell led Mexico with 17 points (14 attacks, one block, 2 aces), followed by outside hitter Naomi Cruz with 16 points (14 attacks, 2 blocks) and outside hitter Angélica Torres with 11 points (9 attacks, 2 aces).

Aylin Ravell MEX

Julie Arias was the top scorer for Dominican Republic with 13 points, all on attacks.

On the second day of competition, Mexico will face Costa Rica at 2:00 PM, and the Dominican Republic will play against Honduras at 8:00 PM.

Mexico started a bit slow, with the Dominicans taking an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but Mexico stabilized and closed with a comfortable 25-19 advantage. Mexico imposed their game, reaching 21-18 when three consecutive points from Julie Arias and a precise block from Caroline Rodríguez gave the Dominican Republic a boost. They battled point by point until Mexico continued with the lead. Aylin Ravell and Naomi Cruz led Mexico’s offense to secure the victory in straight sets.

Mexico celebrate

Isabella Ocampo, captain of Mexico: “It was hard for us to start; there were some nerves because it was the first time the team was competing together. We managed to neutralize the Dominican Republic with our strong serves, which helped us control our attack better”.

Yalyn Firpo, captain of the Dominican Republic: “I think everything was a consequence of our attitude. We are a team that sometimes gives up a little when we are behind in the score. Our spirits dropped a lot, and that greatly influenced our performance. I think our blocking was dominant.”

Mexico defeats Chile in five sets in Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 14, 2024.- In a disputed match that lasted a maximum of five sets, Mexico had to work hard to defeat Chile 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 19- 25, 15-25, 15-13) and obtain their first victory in the XVII Men’s Pan American Volleyball Cup at the “Ricardo Arias” Volleyball Pavilion.

The Mexicans surpassed the Chileans in serves 4-2, while Chile dominated in attacks 59-56 and in blocks 14-8.

On offense for Mexico, Franky Milantoni had 24 points, while Mauro Fuentes and Victor Parra added 13 and 10 respectively. For Chile Vicente Parraguirre and Dusan Bonacic finished with 20 points each.

Mexico celebrate

Carlos Schwanke, coach of Mexico: Incredible, we are here to develop a group, we remained aggressive every minute on the court, except in the third and fourth sets  where we lowered the intensity a little but we returned in the fifth and we were able to capitalize on the victory which is very positive for us.

Daniel Nejamkin, coach of Chile: It was a very challenging match but the team played at a good level because although we couldn’t win, after being down 2-0 we were able to extend it to a fifth and decisive set.

Coaches Ready to Face a new journey at NORCECA Girls’ U19 Continental

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 13, 2024.- The coaches of the eight teams that will compete in the NORCECA Girls’ U19 Continental Championship in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, are ready to face a new challenge from July 14 to 19.

The event, which is part of the qualification process for the age-group FIVB World Championship, will be streamed on Facebook Live Federación Hondureña de Voleibol

Gina Schmidt, Head Coach of Canada: ““Our preparation period was fairly short, but we have a great group of athletes, and it will be just a matter of how quickly we can get used to playing together. I can see us improving with each game of the tournament”.

Comité de Control junto a Arateide Caceres, en el Campeonato Continental Norceca Sub 19 femenino en entrevista preliminar con Canadá, que se realiza en Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Norka Latamblét, Head Coach of Cuba: “We are coming with a very young group, U17 players. We have had problems with training, but we are here to play with a good attitude,  hoping that things will turn out as well as possible. We aim for the girls to project themselves for future competitions and for Cuba to achieve a better ranking as in previous years”.

Cuba

Alexandre Ceccato, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “Some players competed at the U19 continental and others at the U21, they have been training together for two weeks. The goal is to reach the semifinals and we are focused on doing so”.

Dominican Republic

Marcos Sugiyama, Head Coach of Honduras: “Honduras is very pleased to host another international event. The teams from Honduras for the underage categories are made up of players from a previous category. The team is mostly composed of players from last year’s U17 category. We are very eager to participate in the competition. We are motivated to play in front of our home crowd, for the players to be happy playing with the support of their families, which is an advantage for the team. I believe it will be a very important competition for the players”.

Uniform Honduras

Ignacio Ramírez, Head Coach of Mexico: “We are bringing several U17 players, we want them to gain more experience since they will participate at the World Championship soon. Our expectation is to reach the semifinals to compete for a medal. We trained for 21 days before arriving here and the team has gradually improved. In addition, each match will give us a measure of how we are progressing”.

Mexico

Eduardo Galarza, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “This is a group from a new cycle, and we have only one athlete returning (the team captain). The group is very talented, tall, plays fast, and has great ball control. Our goal is to qualify for the World Championship and win the tournament”.

Puerto Rico

Jamie Morrison, Head Coach of the United States: “This is a learning opportunity for our young athletes that we see having the potential to be in the national team one day. We had a shorter five-day training block during the summer and then a three-day training block leading up to this. I’m proud of our athletes for the amount of dedication they put in this short period of time and how much better they’ve gotten. We’re excited to show the world who we are on the volleyball court in this tournament”.

USA

The arrival of Costa Rica is expected on Saturday night.

Coaches reveal expectations for the XVII Men’s Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 13, 2024.- The ten coaches participating in the XVII Pan American Men’s Volleyball Cup commented on their expectations during the preliminary meeting before starting to compete on Sunday in the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Olympic Center Pablo Duarte.

Andy Read, United States: I think it is an extremely strong tournament and in an Olympic year, there are 10 well-prepared teams here so the United States will have some very competitive matches in this event that is very well organized, and we are very excited to be here.

Mario Izquierdo, Cuba: The Cuban team brings great expectations after not having qualified for the Olympic Games, we began our preparation for the other Olympic Games and this tournament marks the beginning of our new Olympic cycle, that is why we are giving the possibility to athletes of a second line so that they can be in the not too distant future in the national team for the upcoming international events that we have.

Carlos Schwanke, Mexico: We have high expectations, there are several games that are going to make it difficult for us but the more time we spend on the court the better it will be since we have new guys who need to raise the level, that is the first objective here in this tournament.

Glenn Hoag, Canada: I think it’s going to be a very interesting tournament for us, the group we brought is the next generation of Team Canada so they will have the opportunity to compete with highly competitive teams and I think it’s going to be a great learning opportunity.

José Gutierrez, Dominican Republic: Expectations are good for this tournament because we are going with the full team as we would have wanted in Puerto Rico where we couldn’t have it, so we are going to fight to stay in a good place.

Carlos Goicochea, Peru: We have prepared well, we bring a mix of young and veteran players, and we have high expectations even though we have not participated in any tournament for a year, but the most important thing is to see how the athletes perform since our sights is set for 2027 so this tournament is very good for us because there are high quality teams here.

Reider Lucas, Guatemala: We know that it is a high-level event, one of the best played on the continent, we know that there are teams that come with their second group but what we want is for the boys to play and have a good result and try to do the best possible in this event.

Felipe Ozorio, Colombia: Our country comes with great expectations after coming from some very interesting Pan American Games in our performance and our result, now we are trying to incorporate new players so that they acquire the experience of the veterans and I hope that we can be among the first four places in this Pan American Cup.

Alberto Torres, Puerto Rico: The first thing we want is to maintain the level at which we have been playing since the last competition and of course try to win a medal. We believe that we have the group for that. We have had continuity since last summer and we believe that we have a chance to be among the top three in this event.

Daniel Nejamkin, Chile: This is the second tournament we have played in the year so we come with little preparation, without a doubt that for us the Pan American Cup is a very important tournament, we understand that our pool is complicated with the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, so we expect the best performance in the first games to aspire to reach the medal zone.

AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship Returns to Belize

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BELIZE CITY, Belize, July 11, 2024. – Belize City will once again host the AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship, this time in its twentieth edition, to be held from July 16 to 20 at the Belize City Civic Center in Belize City, Belize.

Two years ago, the Belize City Civic Center was also the venue for this age-group Central American Championship, where Guatemala was crowned champion in five thrilling sets 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-11) over hosts Belize.

The XX AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship will feature teams from  Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, who will compete for the AFECAVOL title and qualification for the NORCECA Continental Championship.

Guatemala returns to defend its title, having won the event six times overall. The most successful team in the history of the competition is Costa Rica with nine titles. Panama has won twice, and Honduras once. Costa Rica and Panama will not participate in the event.

Check the Honors here: PALMARES U21 FEMENINO DE VOLEIBOL

The event consists of a round-robin format, with two daily matches starting from July 16.

AFECAVOL U21 FEMENINO

Competition Schedule:

Tuesday, July 16

4:00 pm Guatemala vs El Salvador

6:00 pm Opening Ceremony

7:30 pm Belize vs Nicaragua

Wednesday, July 17

5:00 pm Nicaragua vs El Salvador

7:30 pm Belize vs Honduras

Thursday, July 18

5:00 pm Guatemala vs Nicaragua

7:30 pm Honduras vs El Salvador

Friday, July 19

5:30 pm Guatemala vs Honduras

8:00 pm Belize vs El Salvador

Saturday, July 20

5:30 pm Honduras vs Nicaragua

8:00 pm Guatemala vs Belize

Olympic Volleyball Rosters Finalised

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July 9, 2024.- All final volleyball rosters for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 have now been released. A total of 312 volleyball players are already set to travel to the French capital, where the most prestigious multi-sport event in the world will spark top-caliber volleyball excitement from 27 July to 11 August.

Wide rosters of up to 25 athletes per team were announced in June, but now the number has been narrowed down to 13 (12 + 1). Some of the final squads had already been revealed, but now all 24 stellar line-ups have been unveiled.

NORCECA will be represented by four teams, United States in both women and men, Dominican Republic women and Canada men.

WOMEN

United States Roster

Dominican Republic Roster

MEN

United States Roster

Canada Roster

Find the final team rosters for women here and for men here*.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic volleyball competition, each participating team will be entitled to include one non-competing athlete to serve as a last-minute replacement, if an athlete is unable to compete due to injury or illness. That is why the team rosters have been extended from 12 athletes at previous editions of the Olympic volleyball tournaments to 13 at Paris 2024.

Canada to Defend Title at the Men’s Senior Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 8, 2024. – Canada is set to defend its title at the seventeenth edition of the Men’s Senior Pan American Volleyball Cup from July 14 to 21 at the “Professor Ricardo Gioriber Arias” Volleyball Palace in Santo Domingo.

Last year, Canada won the title for the first time in the Pan American Cup history after defeating Brazil in the gold medal match 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22) in Guadalajara. In the history of the event, Canada had lost the title match three times (2008, 2009, 2022).

Chile achieved its first-ever Pan American Cup medal last year by defeating Mexico in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-22) for the bronze medal.

The Men’s Senior Pan American Cup is part of the qualification process for the 2025 NORCECA Continental Championship, the next edition of the Pan American Cup in 2025, and the 2027 Pan American Games.

Ten teams will take part in the competition, divided into two groups. The winner of each group will advance directly to the semifinals. The second and third placed teams in each group will compete in the quarterfinals.

Group A consists of the current champion Canada, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Group B includes Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Peru, and the host nation, the Dominican Republic.

United States has won the Pan American Cup on five occasions, Cuba four times, Brazil three times, Argentina twice, and Mexico once.

Schedule Preliminary Round

July 14

1:00 pm              Chile vs Mexico

3:00 pm              Colombia vs Guatemala

5:00 pm              United States vs Puerto Rico

7:00 pm              Dominican Republic vs Peru

July 15

1:00 pm              Canada vs Puerto Rico

3:00 pm              Cuba vs Colombia

5:00 pm              United States vs Mexico

7:00 pm              Peru vs Guatemala

July 16

1:00 pm              Chile vs Puerto Rico

3:00 pm              Cuba vs Peru

5:00 pm              United States vs Canada

7:00 pm              Dominican Republic vs Guatemala

July 17

1:00 pm              Mexico vs Canada

3:00 pm              Guatemala vs Cuba

5:00 pm              United States vs Chile

7:00 pm              Dominican Republic vs Colombia

July 18

1:00 pm              Mexico vs Puerto Rico

3:00 pm              Colombia vs Peru

5:00 pm              Canada vs Chile

7:00 pm              Dominican Republic vs Cuba

HISTORIC MEDALS MEN’S PAN AMERICAN CUP

YEARGOLDSILVERBRONZE
2006USAMEXCAN
2007MEXPURCUB
2008USACANDOM
2009USACANDOM
2010USAARGPUR
2011BRAUSACAN
2012USAARGDOM
2013BRAMEXARG
2014CUBUSAARG
2015BRAARGVEN
2016CUBARGCAN
2017ARGPURCUB
2018ARGBRACUB
2019CUBARGMEX
2022CUBCANUSA
2023CANBRACHI

MEDAL COMPOSITION

COUNTRYGOLDSILVERBRONZETOTAL
USA5218
CUB4037
BRA3104
ARG2529
CAN1337
MEX1214
PUR0213
DOM0033
VEN0011
CHI0011

NORCECA U19 Girls’ Championship to be Held in Honduras

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 8, 2024. – The NORCECA U19 Girls’ Continental Championship will take place at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from July 14 to 19, an event that is part of the qualification process for the age-group World Championship.

The participating national teams are eligible to compete in the 2025 NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup; both events are part of the qualification process for the 2025 FIVB U19 Girls’ World Championship.

The last edition of the championship was held in 2018, also in Honduras, when the age-group was classified as U18. The United States won the championship for the eighth time, Canada claimed its first silver medal, having previously won its first bronze medal in 1998, and Cuba made history by securing their first medal since the creation of the event, taking the bronze medal.

The United States has also dominated the U19 Pan American Cup, winning the last two editions (2023, 2022).

Eight teams will compete in the event, divided into two groups. Group A includes Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and United States. Group B consists of Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the host Honduras.

Shcedule Preliminary Round

July 14

2:00 pm              Mexico vs Dominican Republic

4:00 pm              Canada vs Puerto Rico

6:00 pm              United States vs Cuba

8:00 pm              Honduras vs Costa Rica

July 15

2:00 pm              Mexico vs Costa Rica

4:00 pm              Cuba vs Puerto Rico

6:00 pm              Canada vs United States

8:00 pm              Honduras vs Dominican Republic

July 16

2:00 pm              Costa Rica vs Dominican Republic

4:00 pm              United States vs Puerto Rico

6:00 pm              Canada vs Cuba

8:00 pm              Honduras vs Mexico

HISTORIC MEDALS GIRLS’ U19 NORCECA

YEARGOLDSILVERBRONZE
1998USAPURCAN
2000PURUSADOM
2002USADOMPUR
2004USAPURMEX
2006USADOMPUR
2008USAMEXDOM
2010USAMEXPUR
2012USADOMMEX
2014DOMUSAMEX
2016DOMUSAMEX
2018USACANCUB

MEDAL COMPOSITION

COUNTRYGOLDSILVERBRONZETOTAL
USA83011
DOM2327
PUR1124
MEX0246
CAN0112
CUB0011

Historic Attendance for the Gold Medal Match at the NORCECA Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 1, 2024.- Dominican Republic triumphed in thrilling Five-Set showdown against the United States at Ricardo Arias Volleyball Pavilion, Olympic Center Juan Pablo Duarte in Santo Domingo, which drew a record-breaking crowd of 7,000 enthusiastic spectators on Sunday night.

In a remarkable display of volleyball prowess and passionate support, the Dominican Republic captured the gold medal in a nail-biting five-set match against the United States during the fourth edition of the NORCECA Women’s Final Six tournament.

This historic encounter, which drew a record-breaking crowd of 7,000 enthusiastic spectators, highlighted the growing popularity of volleyball in the region and set a new standard for the tournament’s atmosphere and excitement.

The gold medal match, played at the iconic Ricardo Arias Volleyball Pavilion, was a roller-coaster of emotions and athletic excellence. The Caribbean Queens, known for their powerful offense and defensive tenacity, faced off against a resilient United States team that had shown exceptional form throughout the tournament.

Dominican Republic beat the United States 3-2 (25-15, 17-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-11) where the Dominicans came out strong, leveraging their home-court advantage. The crowd’s energy was palpable as every point was fiercely contested.

The United States responded with determination, adjusting their strategy to neutralize the Dominican attack, which set the stage for a fiercely competitive match.

The match not only showcased the high level of competition but also marked a significant milestone for volleyball in the Dominican Republic and the NORCECA Women’s Final Six tournament. The attendance of 7,000 fans set a record, surpassing previous tournaments and demonstrating the sport’s growing appeal in the Caribbean.

Fans filled the Ricardo Arias Volleyball Pavilion, creating an atmosphere that was both electric and supportive. The vibrant energy of the crowd played a crucial role in boosting the home team’s morale and underscored the community’s passion for volleyball.

Brayelin Martínez elected MVP of the NORCECA Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 30, 2024.- The Dominican Brayelin Martínez won the Most Valuable Player award this Sunday in the fourth edition of the NORCECA Final Six tournament that was played in the “Ricardo Arias” Volleyball Pavilion of the Olympic Center Juan Pablo Duarte.

Martínez concluded the event with 70 points from 58 attacks, 9 blocks and 3 serves, helping the Dominican Republic team win the gold medal.

Individual Awards

Canada’s Abagayle Guezen won the distinction of Best Spiker, while Brayelin Martínez also won the award for Second Best Spiker.

Puerto Rican Neira Ortiz was the Best Blocker, while also from Puerto Rico Sarah Venegas was the Best Libero, Paola Santiago Best Receiver and Grace López Best Scorer.

Dominican Lisvel Eve Mejía was the second Best Blocker and her compatriot Alondra Tapia was the Best Opposite.

The best in the serves department was Canadian Emoni Busch and American Kamerynn Miner finished as Best Setter.

Brayelín Martínez guides Dominican Republic to gold medal at NORCECA Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 30, 2024.- Led by a great offensive attack by Brayelin Martínez, the Dominican Republic defeated the United States in a close match that extended to a maximum of five sets with a score of 3-2 (25 -15, 17-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-11) to win the gold medal in the fourth edition of the NORCECA Final Six Women’s Volleyball that took place at the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

The Dominicans were superior in all aspects: in attacks 55-54, in blocks 13-10 and in services 5-2.

USA Silver medal

Martínez led the Queens of the Caribbean with 25 points as the leading scorer of the match, followed by Alondra Tapia with 13, while Bethania De La Cruz and Jineiry Martínez added 11 each. For the United States Merritt Beason had 15 points, followed by Sarah Franklin and Khori Louis who added 11 each.

Brayelin Martinez DOM

Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic: It was a close match, a technically ugly match, we went to the maximum of five sets but at the end the girls did what they had to do, and we won, which is the most important thing, now we have to continue our preparation for the Olympic Games.

Brad Rostratter, coach of the United States: The Dominican Republic has a great team, there is no doubt that they are going with a magnific team for the Paris Olympics, it is a team that works and battles hard. When the United States plays like that with a team of this caliber and in a country like this with this great atmosphere it makes me feel proud.

Brooklyn DeLeye of the United States named U21 MVP 

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TORONTO, Canada, June 30, 2024 – USA’s outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NORCECA Women’s U21 Continental Championship, which concluded this Sunday at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario. 

In addition to winning the MVP award, Brooklyn was also recognized as the Best Spiker of the event. Also from the United States, Ramsey Gary was named the Best Receiver. 

Individual Awards

From Canada, Verónica Dickson received the award for Second Best Blocker. The Best Setter award went to Ella McVittie, and Delaney Watson was honored as the Best Libero and Best Defense.  

Chareika Carrion of Puerto Rico was awarded as the Second Best Spiker and the Best Scorer. 

Mexican Aylin Ravell received the award for Best Opposite, and the recognition for Best Server went to Dominican Ariana Rodríguez. 

The award for Best Blocker went to Krystal Eddy of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mexico takes bronze in the Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 30, 2024.- In a well disputed match, Mexico defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21) to win the bronze medal of the NORCECA Final Six Women’s Volleyball tournament 2024.

Mexico dominated in attacks 58-54, in blocks 11-7 and in serves 6-5.

Karina Flores was the best offensive player for the Mexicans with 18 points, while Sofía Maldonado and Uxue Guereca added 16 and 11 respectively. For Puerto Rico, the most outstanding offensively was Grace López with 29 points, followed by Paola Santiago with 10 and Stephanie Rivera with 9.

Uxua Guereca MEX

Nicola Negro, Coach of Mexico: We are very happy because the girls wanted to win that medal and it was an important game since it awarded ranking points and this will allow us to play important competitions next year with strong teams and thus continue our growth.

Juan Carlos Núñez, coach of Puerto Rico: It was a match in which we had our options, we had our opportunities in that first and second set, but we couldn’t close them. Throughout the tournament we had sets with 3 and even 4 points ahead but we didn´t have that person who at given moments could carry the group and we did not close at the end. For example, in today’s match we depended on a single player offensively and the second person who could have done it wasn’t with us in the last two games and that’s what happened.

USA Wins U21 gold; Puerto Rico silver

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Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  The United States won the gold medal of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The USA swept the final 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-16) over Puerto Rico today.

USA dominated in attacking points 46-24, blocks 9-2, aces 7-3, but USA made two more errors 15-13 than its opponent.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson scored a match-high 14 points; Brookly DeLeye, who was also tournament MVP, contributed 11 points.

Outside hitter Chareika Carrión contributed 13 points for Puerto Rico.

This win is also significant as it gives USA a NORCECA berth to the 2025 U21 World Championships (Women).

Team USA’s head coach, Heather Olmstead, said: “I think our team has done a great job; everyone has been ready to play at any time. Our offense was great all the tournament. It was exciting to see us play well against Puerto Rico. Also, congrats to Puerto Rico, I thought they played a great tournament.

“I’m happy for the USA U21 team to win the gold and get the bid for the World Championships. All these players are eligible for next year’s U21 and they set a great tone. They worked hard and did everything that we asked them to – they were all-in for the team all the time.”

Andi Jackson, USA player, said: “We just did an amazing job coming together and working with our differences … . Our week of training before the tournament was very rigorous but I think everyone handled it really well.  I think the relationships that we built at the training before this really helped lead us to victory. We were one on the court. The relationships that we have and how we support each other as teammates are our foundations.”

Canada obtains fifth place in the NORCECA Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 30, 2024.- Canada defeated Cuba in three sets 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22) to finish in fifth place in the NORCECA Final Six tournament which was played in the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

Canada outscored Cuba in attacks 40-35 and in blocks 9-4, while in serves Cuba had the advantage 10-8.

Abagayle Guezen CAN

For the Canadians, Abagayle Guezen stood out offensively, who also led all scorers of the match, with 18 points, Emoni Busch added 9, while Raya Surinx and Madison Saris contributed with 8 points each. For Cuba, the most outstanding was Dezirett Madan with 14 points, while Alejandra Gómez and Laura Suarez added 9 each.

Carolyn O’Dwyer, coach of Canada: I think it was good that our team was playing better in each game we played, I think that is positive for such a young group, obviously we wanted to play much better and at least advance to the semifinals, but I am satisfied with the experience obtained.

Leivis García, coach of Cuba: I think it was a very well balanced tournament, the countries participated with good teams, some very different in terms of the game system, but the reality is that the Final Six event has been gaining quality.

Dominican Republic wins bronze at U21 Championship

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Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024: Dominican Republic won the third-place match today over host Canada at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

After two very close set battles, Dominican Republic took control of the third set, sweeping Canada 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-16).

Dominican Republic led in attack points, 38-30, blocking was even at 7, serving favored the winning side 11-4, but Dominican Republic made a couple more errors 21-19.

Ariana Rodriguez Fung led all scoring with 17 points, five of those coming from ace serves.

Sophia Hansen, Claire Carter, Ella Piskorz, and Maëli Cormier added 8 points each to Canada’s effort.

Head coach of Dominican Republic’s team, Cristian Cruz, was satisfied with the outcome today: “I’m very happy with the medal, but we could have done even better. We lost to Puerto Rico and in the semifinals, we had to play the United States. But I am happy with third place, and I am proud of this team’s performance today.”

Dominican opposite Ariana Rodriguez Fung said after the match: “I felt we really concentrated on our serve receive and our efficiency on attack. We knew they were a tall team and we wanted to aim high. They blocked us a few times but what mattered is how we recuperated from the point. We stayed concentrated throughout the whole game and came out with the victory. This win means a lot because we’re a small country and we used all our volleyball skills get the job done and represent our country.”

Canada head coach, Olivier Faucher, said: “Dominican Republic team’s profile is one that we haven’t faced in this tournament so far. They are more physical than Puerto Rico and Mexico, so it was a different match-up for us. It was a good battle in the first two sets – we came to play. Block defense was good, but we just couldn’t convert some opportunities. It’s something we have to learn – finding ways to put the ball away when we have the chance.  .. We gave them too many opportunities…. It’s part of the learning process for these athletes in their pathway to competing at a higher level.”

Mexico fifth at U21s after sweeping Costa Rica

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Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  Mexico finishes fifth overall at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

It was a straight set win for Mexico 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-16) today over Costa Rica.

Mexico was more aggressive in their offense leading to 51 versus 19 attack points for Costa Rica. Mexico also dominated in its service points: 7 to 1. Blocks were tied at 4 apiece. Mexico made more errors 18-13.

Aylin Ravell Iglesias contributed 16 points to the Mexican side, and teammate Michelle Lizarraga added 15 points.  Amanda Campos Monge of Costa Rica scored 9 points (including a block and ace her total).

Head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez, said post-match:  “We played well as a team today. We played Costa Rica already in this tournament, so we had some information on them and that helped us today. …  We had hoped to be in the semifinals and make it further in this tournament, but with an injury and other issues we were not able to achieve this goal.”

Outside hitter (Mexico) Michelle Lizarraga said: “I was feeling good the entire tournament and the team was very united. We enjoyed the game played as a team the whole time to win. We trusted in ourselves and stuck together.”

US Virgin Islands earns a win over Suriname

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Toronto, Canada. June 30, 2024:  The US Virgin Islands finishes seventh after a victory over Suriname today the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The final score was 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-16) between these two young teams in the match for places 7 and 8. 

US Virgin Islands came out on top in attack points 39-16, blocks 4-5, and ace serves 13-3, but also made more errors 25-18.

US Virgin Islands team captain and outside hitter Anna Gillens topped the scoresheet with 25 points (21 attacks, 2 blocks, 2 aces).

Chontelle Lisse was Suriname’s top scorer with 8 points.

Head coach US Virgin Islands, Isaac Raphael: “I thought we performed well, we have a young team. Of the 12 girls, eight of them qualify for the U19 category…  so it was a good experience for them and I’m excited for them, and for the future. I’m glad they had a fun final match.

“The competition is high and every game we got a little better… we played Mexico twice and played a lot better the second time. I like to see the development of the team as a whole.”

Anna Gillens #9 US Virgin Islands player: “I think the game went really well. We did very well on offense and we tried to hone in on serve receive. The key to our victory was our teamwork. Throughout the whole tournament we were coming together, trying to figure things out and after figuring things out we were able to get the win.”

Norma Brenes of Nicaragua Named MVP of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 29, 2024.- Nicaragua’s setter, Norma Brenes, was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 6th Central American Women’s U23 Championship.

Brenes received the award during the closing ceremony after Nicaragua won the gold medal, emerging as the undefeated champion of the tournament. They topped the standings, followed by 2nd place Costa Rica, 3rd place Belize, 4th place Guatemala, 5th place Honduras, 6th place El Salvador, and 7th place Panama.

Biz Bronce, NCA gold, CRC Silver

Other individual performance awards, based on statistical data from the event, were also presented.

From Costa Rica, the team that finished in second place, Ana Victoria Rojas was awarded Best Opposite, and Rashanny Solano was named Best Libero. Additionally, Nhya Barley from Costa Rica was recognized as the 2nd Best Blocker.

Individual awards

Belize’s Fatuomata Camara received honors as the tournament’s Top Scorer and Best Spiker, while Nissan Martínez was recognized as Best Blocker.

For Guatemala, María Andrea Santa Cruz was named the 2nd Best Spiker, Ana Granados received the award for Best Receiver, and Jimena Castellanos was honored as Best Setter.

Honduran Natalia Reyes was awarded Best Server, and Salvadoran Mónica Portillo was recognized as Best Defense.

Costa Rica Takes the Silver Medal

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 29, 2024. – Costa Rica defeated Honduras 3-1 with set scores of 25-21, 25-14, 19-25, and 25-13 to secure the Silver Medal at the 6th Central American Women’s U-23 Championship, which concluded at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

With the victory, Costa Rica tied with Belize with 4 wins and 2 losses, accumulating 21 points. However, Costa Rica finished in second place with a better set ratio (2.000 to 1.875) and a better points ratio (1.230 to 1.206). Guatemala finished in fourth place with the same number of wins and losses but with 19 points.

Ana Victoria Rojas CRC

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

ALBUM DE FOTOS DEL JUEGO

Costa Rica dominated the game in attacks, leading 55-32 against Honduras. The teams were tied in blocks with 7 each, while Honduras led in serves, surpassing Costa Rica 8-4.

Costa Rica

Ana Victoria Rojas of Costa Rica was the top scorer of the match with 21 points. Lakysha Thompson added 13, and Krystel Vargas contributed 10 to support the Costa Rican attack. Rocío Duron led the Honduran offense with 20 points.

This was the last match of the 21 played in the 6th Central American Women’s U-23 Championship.

Dominican Republic Reaches NORCECA Final Six Final

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 29, 2024. – The Dominican Republic defeated Mexico in the semifinal match 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-22) to secure their place in the final of the 2024 NORCECA Final Six, taking place at the National Volleyball Pavilion at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The top scorer for the Caribbean Queens was Lisvel Eve Mejía with 12 points, followed by Bethania De La Cruz with 10 and rising star Alondra Tapia who added 9 points. For Mexico, Sofía Maldonado contributed 11 points, while Uxue Guereca and Gracie Castro added 9 and 7 points, respectively.

Mexico outperformed the Dominican Republic in attacks with 32-31, while the Dominicans were superior in blocks with 8-7 and in serves with 6-2.

Bethania de la Cruz DOM

Niverka Marte, captain of the Dominican Republic: I am happy because we achieved today’s goal, and I believe the team has been gradually improving, all of this is part of our team cohesion process. The coach is trying to give all the girls a chance to play as much as possible, so I’m happy we achieved this 3-0 victory.

Jocelyn Urías, captain of Mexico: The Dominican team is well-prepared, they have been improving for many years, showing a higher level each time, this is the result of their participation in numerous tournaments, meanwhile, we are a team with many new players and we managed to recover a bit in the last set but couldn’t close it out.

The NORCECA Final Six concludes this Sunday. In the 5th-6th place match, Cuba will face Canada. Puerto Rico and Mexico will compete for the bronze medal, while the Dominican Republic and the United States will battle for the gold.

Puerto Rico advances to U21 final

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Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024:  Puerto Rico will play in the gold-medal final after beating the host country today the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

After a tight first couple of sets, Puerto Rico managed to sweep Canada 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-16). Puerto Rico led in attack points 42-29, and aces 5-2. Canada led in blocking points 6-2. Canada also made more errors 27-24.

Outside hitter Chareika Carrión had a match-high 19 points and teammate Camila Soto contributed 12 to the winning side.

Opposite Maëli Cormier was Canada’s top scorer with 8 points.

Puerto Rico’s Captain, Chareika Carrión said: “We played united as a team, our passes were always there and we were mentally ready. This team is all about players that are younger than the norm. I’m very happy because we’re going to the finals with such a young and great team. We’re ready for the next game because we’ve already played against the USA and we’re ready to play them again.”

Head coach Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera: “We are really happy we won. Our goal when we came to this tournament was to finish in the top four. This is the first time we have been in the U21 Norceca championship final, so we’re happy and proud we are in the final against USA. They are a really strong, tall team with a lot of discipline.”

Head coach of Canada, Olivier Faucher : “I think tonight we had a lot of missed opportunities. We were right there in the first two sets, we had our chances and we just couldn’t convert. The message I told the players is that they have to learn from this and get ready for the bronze medal match tomorrow.  We need to deliver our best performance tomorrow.

The medal finals will be held on Sunday June 30.

Nicaragua Central American U23 Champion

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 29, 2024.- Nicaragua defeated Guatemala 3-1 with set scores of (11-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19) to claim the title of the 6th Central American Women’s U-23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

The Nicaraguan team finished the tournament with a perfect record of 6 wins and no losses. Guatemala ended with a 4-2 record. With this result, Belize reached the podium, and both teams are now waiting for the outcome of the match between Costa Rica and Honduras to determine their final standings.

Norma Brenes NCA

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

ALBUM DE FOTOS DEL JUEGO

Guatemala outperformed Nicaragua in blocks (8-5) and serves (10-3), while both teams were tied in attacks with 37 points each. The difference in the game was that Guatemala committed 41 unforced errors compared to Nicaragua’s 29.

Nicaragua

Brittany Forbes of Nicaragua led all scorers with 16 points. Samantha Vargas and María José Rivera also scored in double digits for Nicaragua with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

For Guatemala, María Andrea Santa Cruz finished with 14 points, Naomi Monney with 12, and Andrea Michelle Mendizábal with 10.

United States advances to the NORCECA Final Six Final

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 29, 2024.- The United States defeated Puerto Rico in their semifinal match 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-16) becoming the first team to advance to the final of the Women’s NORCECA Final Six Volleyball tournament that is being played at the “Ricardo Arias” Pavilion in Santo Domingo.

The Americans were better in attacks 57-53 and in blocks 9-6, while in serves both teams were tied at 6. In terms of errors, the United States committed the most 24-20.

Sarah Franklin led the United States’ offense with 15 points, while Merritt Beason and Sophia Fischer added 14 and 13 respectively. For Puerto Rico Grace López scored 23 points followed by Diana Reyes with 11 and Paola Santiago with 10.

Sarah Franklin USA

Sarah Franklin from the United States: I think the game was fantastic, we had good communication between us although there were ups and downs but that’s what volleyball is all about and if we are consistent in the game and stay together, we can achieve the goal.

Grace López from Puerto Rico: It was not our best match, we could have played better but the United States closed the sets better and achieved the victory, now we have to prepare to see how we do tomorrow.

This Sunday starting at 3:00 pm (local time) the matches for positions 5-6, followed by the bronze medal match and the grand final will be played.

USA beats Dominican Republic in U21 semifinal

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Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024: The United States U21 team defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-12) in the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

USA led in attack points 42-21, blocks 7-4, ace serves 11-3, but made more errors 17-15 than its opponent.

Dominican player Ariana Rodríguez was the match top scorer with 13 points.

Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, who led her team in scoring with 12 points (10 attack points and 2 aces), said: “We knew they were going to come in strong since we played them once before this tournament. We were expecting their best and I think we just really had to fine tune some things and then work together as a team to come out on top. I’m really excited for the finals. It will be a great game and I think we’re ready for it.”

Coach Heather Olmstead of team USA said: “We’re just trying to play our best style of volleyball.  We’re still working on rotations and fighting hard together. I like that we got a lot of players in the match and we just keep working on our system, as it’s a new group. I thought we did some really good things – we served well, got them in some tough spots and our offense was good, and Bergen (Reilly) set a good match.

“We’re really excited about advancing and we feel grateful for the opportunity to play tomorrow.”

The final will be held on Sunday June 30.

Belize Defeats El Salvador and Enters the Medal Contention

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 26, 2024.- Belize defeated El Salvador 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-20) and could become the runner-up of the 6th Central American Women’s Under-23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

Belize’s comfortable victory leaves them awaiting the results of the matches Guatemala vs. Nicaragua and Costa Rica vs. Honduras to determine their position in the Championship. A loss for Guatemala and Costa Rica could place Belize as the tournament’s runner-up.

Belice

Belize finished the tournament with a record of 4 wins, 2 losses, and 21 points. Guatemala, with one match remaining, is at 4-1 and 18 points, while Costa Rica, playing later tonight, stands at 3-2 with 17 points.

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

ALBUM DE FOTOS DEL JUEGO

Belize was superior to El Salvador in all aspects: 32-16 in attacks, 11-2 in blocks, and 10-2 in serves.

Fatoumata Camara once again led the Belizean team to victory, scoring 16 points. She was supported in the attack by Blessed Omamurhe and Nisaan Martínez, who each scored 10 points. For El Salvador, their best attacker was Allison Naomi Méndez with 9 points.

Nisaan Martinez BIZ

Fatoumata Camara  from Belize said after the match, “I think this has been a very good tournament, despite us starting off really slow because we lost our first two games. But then we ended up winning all the rest of our games which is a good thing. We just decided to finish the tournament strong and for me personally I think I had a great tournament; my team depends on me, so I need to make sure I am aggressive on the court”.

Daniela López, captain of El Salvador, expressed, “I congratulate the Belize team; it was a good game for them. They are quite tall and strong, and we don’t have those qualities. We hope that for the upcoming tournaments, our team can be better prepared; I think that’s what we were missing.”

Mexico advances to 5/6 match at U21 Champs

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Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024: Mexico will have the chance to play for fifth place in the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

On Saturday, the Mexican team defeated the US Virgin Islands 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17) in their classification match.

Mexico held the advantage in attack points 42-20 and serves 10-3, while USVI had a slight advance in blocking 4-3. Errors were 20-19 in favor of Mexico.

Mexican outside hitter Michelle Lizárraga had a match-high 15 points, followed by opposite Aylin Ravell Iglesias with 13 points. Anna Gillens reached 10 points for the US Virgin Islands.

Head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez, commented after the match: “This was an important match and the players came ready to play and in the moment. Tomorrow we’re going to try and win and just play our game like we’re supposed to.”

Isabella Annie Ocampo, Mexican player, said: “Today when they started to push back a little, we came together as a team and talked about what was open on the court and how to help each other with receiving. They are a good blocking team, so we also tried to help each other when it came to hitting and covering and we talked about who to go to. What worked for us was coming together as a team and talking and making sure we kept our energy high.

Tomorrow our mindset is to come out with everything, play our hardest, and to play together as a team.”

Costa Rica beats Suriname at U21 tournament

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Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024:   Costa Rica defeated Suriname in the first classification match of the day at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Costa Rica will get the opportunity to play for positions 5 and 6 on Sunday.

The score was 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-15) with Costa Rica leading in attack points 38-22, block points 5-3 and ace serves 9-2.  Costa Rica also made the most of Suriname’s errors by 23-17 points.

Amanda Campos of Costa Rica led scoring with 9 attacks, 3 blocks and an ace. Mariela Navarro and Amelie Jenkins Cruz each had 10 points for the winning side.

Avaira Sengwai of Suriname was that team’s lead scorer with 9 total points.

Costa Rican player Manuela Alcalá Martinez said: “We stuck together as a team and tried to follow our coaches’ instructions. We tried to keep our movement up and not let ourselves down. … We came together really well as a team, we managed to communicate well. We’re really happy with how we played and we’re really excited for the game tomorrow.”

Head coach of Costa Rica, Kareem Richards, said: “Suriname came out strong. We told the girls we needed to reduce the unforced errors that we were committing. The girls were very tactical with their serves and that’s what gave us a little advantage over the game. As I said last time, these are awesome girls, once they’re on the court they give their everything.”

Dominican Republic beats Puerto Rico in electrifying match

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 28, 2024.- In a nail-biting match that went to a maximum of five sets, the Dominican Republic beat Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 28- 30, 23-25, 16-14) on the third day of the 2024 NORCECA Final Six Women’s Volleyball tournament.

Although the Dominicans committed more errors than Puerto Rico 117-112, they were better in attacks 65-62 and in blocks 16-13, while in serves the Puerto Ricans were much superior 12-4.

Brayelin Martínez led the Queens of the Caribbean with 24 points, while Bethania De La Cruz and Lisvel Eve Mejía added 14 and 12 points respectively. For Puerto Rico Stephanie Rivera and Paola Santiago added 21 points each and Neira Ortiz collected 18.

Brayelin Martinez DOM

With the victory, the Dominicans finished first in group B in the preliminary round and will face Mexico which finished second in group A in Saturday’s semifinals starting at 7:00 pm (local time).

Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic: For the fans it was a good game, a close game but clinically it was a bad game, analyzing the numbers it was an ugly game, I think we relaxed in some important moments we believed we were going to win the time that we wanted but it was not like that, on the other side there are also people who play and who study, who work hard, the good thing was that at the important moment the relevant players came out and were able to achieve victory.

Juan Carlos Nuñez, coach of Puerto Rico: We were able to come from behind being down 2-0, we were able to regroup in the game, we extended the game, it was convenient for us to play, it was convenient for us to pick up the pace in the game, we brought some new players from the reserve who could do their job and well we didn’t achieve victory but we are not out and I appreciate the effort the girls made.

Nicaragua Remains Unbeaten and Closer to the Title

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 26, 2024: Nicaragua defeated Honduras 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-20), putting them in a commanding position to win the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

Nicaragua started the game with complete dominance over Honduras. Honduras’ coach, Marcos Sugiyama, called the first technical timeout when they were trailing 2-13. The Honduran team managed to close the gap but couldn’t do enough to win the first set.

Nicaragua

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Nicaragua will face Guatemala on Saturday, and with their victory over Honduras, they are now just one step away from the title. Even losing to Guatemala 3-1 would still secure them the U23 Central American Championship, thanks to the points system in the standings.

Meanwhile, Honduras has a record of 2-3 and will play against Costa Rica in the final match of the tournament.

Nicaragua outperformed Honduras in all aspects of the game: 37-20 in attacks, 10-2 in blocks, and 6-5 in serves.

Brittany Forbes NCA

Masiel Brenes of Nicaragua was the top scorer of the match with 16 points, including 5 blocks. Brittany Forbes added 12 more points to the victory. For Honduras, Andrea Duarte was the top scorer with 8 points.

Nicaragua’s coach, Claudia Noguera, said, “We had many ups and downs during the game, but in the end, the team managed to focus and made fewer mistakes to secure the victory. Tomorrow, we will give our all on the court and try to play at our highest level in the final game.”

Costa Rica Ends Guatemala’s Unbeaten Run

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024: Costa Rica defeated Guatemala 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 26-24), re-entering the race for medals at the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

The victory keeps Costa Rica’s hopes alive and puts Guatemala in a tough spot, as they now no longer solely control their path to the Gold medal match. A loss to Nicaragua tomorrow could even push them off the podium.

Ana Victoria Rojas CRC

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Costa Rica improved their record to 3-2 and will face Honduras on Saturday. Guatemala now stands at 4-1 and will face Nicaragua.

Costa Rica surpassed in serves, leading 6-0, while Guatemala missed 7 serves. The differences in attack and blocking were small, yet still in favor of Costa Rica, at 37-35 and 8-5, respectively.

Ana Victoria Rojas from Costa Rica dominated the game, being the most effective scorer with 19 points. Nhya Barley assisted with 12 points, including 4 on serves and 2 on blocks. For Guatemala, Ivana Sopegno was their best attacker with 12 points, and Naomi Monney contributed 9.

Nhya Barley CRC

Ana Victoria Rojas of Costa Rica said, “Thank God we were able to win 3-0 today. This result puts us back in the competition. We now have the chance to fight for the Silver medal, and that’s what we’ll aim for tomorrow when we play against Honduras. Today, the team had great energy; we worked together, and that helped us secure the victory.”

Guatemala’s coach, William Fernández, commented, “The team did not meet the expectations for this game. They started well in the first set, but after Costa Rica came back, they couldn’t recover psychologically, losing confidence in themselves. Now we have to fight back tomorrow.”

Dominican Republic earns U21 semi spot

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Toronto, Canada. June 28, 2024:   Dominican Republic secured its spot in the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The Dominican team defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-23) in Friday’s quarterfinal match.

The winning side led in attack points (38-32), blocks 4-2 and ace serves 11-1. Mexico also made more errors 22-13.

Dominican player Ariana Rodriguez contributed 18 points, which included 3 aces; and teammate Selanny Puente scored 14 (also including 3 aces).

Middle blocker Arleth Marquez Ceja was the Mexican team’s top scorer with 12 points.

This U21 Dominican team now faces the challenge the United States in tomorrow’s semifinal at 4:30 pm ET.

Head coach of the Dominican Republic, Cristian Cruz, was pleased his team fought off Mexico’s late comeback attempt:  “In the last set we were a little bit confused, but I trusted in the girls,  and I knew they would adjust. Our attitude played the biggest role in the game.”

The United States easily dominates Canada

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 28, 2024.- The United States continues on the victorious path and only needed three sets on Friday to easily dominate the Canadian team with a score of 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-13) in the fourth edition of the NORCECA Women’s Volleyball Final Six that is being held at the National Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo.

United States led 35-27 in kills, 5-3 in blocks and 6-1 in aces. Canada committed more errors (29-18).

For the United States, which now has a record of (2-0), Sarah Franklin was the most outstanding offensively with 12 points, while Carter Booth added another 9. For the Canadians (0-2), the best was Abagayle Guezen with 12 points followed by Emonia Busch with 6.

On Saturday the United States will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals at 5:00 pm (local time).

Brad Rostratter, coach of the United States: It was a good match for us since we played well and were more relaxed regarding the issue of pressure, which in this environment is amazing and obviously it was a great match in which we were able to develop the strategies well and achieve good momentum for the semi-finals.

Carolyn O’Dwyer, coach of Canada: I think we had some good moments in the game, it’s just a matter of keeping our spirits high all the time because during the game we went down a little, but we also had positive things, several good starts that are one of the things we should do more often.

El Salvador Wins 3-0 Against Panama

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 26, 2024.- El Salvador won 3 sets to 0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-18) against Panama in the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

The Salvadoran team secured their first victory on Thursday at the start of the penultimate day of the tournament, bringing their record to 1-4, while Panama concluded their participation in the Central American Women’s Championship with 6 losses and no wins.

Keisy Fuentes PAN

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El Salvador will face Belize on Saturday, in the first game of the final day; Belize had a rest day today.

The Salvadorans dominated the match with 35 attack points compared to Panama’s 24. In blocks and serves, El Salvador also led 6-1 and 5-2, respectively.

El Salvador’s captain, Daniela López, was the top scorer of the match and the only player with double digits, scoring 15 points for her team, including 2 from serves. For Panama, Krisleen González scored 8 points, including 1 block and 1 serve.

Panama’s coach, Donaldo Ureña, commented, “This tournament was a great learning experience. We faced challenges due to our lack of preparation and the technical and tactical aspects we need to improve. These are part of our plan for future tournaments”.

“It was a very good match. We played as a team, and our goal was to win this game, so we are very happy we achieved it. Tomorrow, we aim to give it our all again. We know Belize is a strong and tall team, so we must give it our best with enthusiasm and the right attitude”, said Daniela López, captain of El Salvador.

Puerto Rico sweeps Costa Rica to earn U21 semi berth

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Toronto, Canada. June 28, 2024:  Puerto Rico advances to the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario, after a decisive win over Costa Rica today.

Puerto Rico dominated the scoresheet 3-0 (25-6, 25-10, 25-11).

The winning team led in attack points 39-10, blocks 9-3, and serves 10-0. Costa Rica also lost more points to errors 17-14.

Puerto Rico’s Chareika Carrión again led her team’s offense with 18 points, including 3 aces.

Puerto Rico will face host Canada in the semifinal on Saturday.

Head coach of Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera, said post-match: “In this game we were focused on passing and serving. That was our strategy in practice. For the next game against Canada, we’re focused on doing the same things and the little things so we can move on to the final and play for a medal.”

Opposite player Mariajose Vazquez said: “We played united. The key to this game was to play a happy game with a lot of communication and to do the little things: passing, setting, spiking, and good serving with a lot of enthusiasm. … I’m feeling good (about the semifinal) I bet the girls are feeling great, too. The next game is going to be harder; it’s going to be a better game. I hope we get the win and go to the finals.”

Paris 2024 men’s volleyball pools set

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France, Slovenia, Canada and Serbia go in Pool A; Poland, Italy, Brazil and Egypt compete in Pool B; Japan, USA, Argentina and Germany appear in Pool C

The first round of the Paris 2024 men’s volleyball tournament took shape on Wednesday, exactly one month before the Opening Ceremony, when pools for the Olympic event were drawn ahead of the start of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League Finals, in Łódź, Poland.

The 12 qualified national teams were distributed into three pools of four, with hosts France topping Pool A, FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland spearheading Pool B and second-placed Japan appearing as the first team in Pool C.

Pool A: France, Slovenia, Canada, Serbia

Pool B: Poland, Italy, Brazil, Egypt

Pool C: Japan, USA, Argentina, Germany

In pool play, teams will face each of their three opponents once. Those ranked first and second in each pool will advance, as well as the two best third-placed teams. Teams will be seeded in the Final Phase bracket according to the Teams Combined Ranking System and starting at the quarterfinals, the tournament continues in single elimination format.

The Paris 2024 men’s volleyball tournament will feature 26 matches (18 pool play encounters, four quarterfinals, two semifinals and two medal matches) at the South Paris Arena, from July 27 to August 10. The men’s match schedule will be released shortly.

Guatemala Defeats Honduras and Remains Undefeated

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024. – Guatemala defeated Honduras in straight sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-20), continuing their undefeated streak in the VI Central American U-23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

The Guatemalans won their fourth consecutive match and remain unbeaten. Alongside Nicaragua, they are the only two national teams yet to lose. This Thursday, Guatemala will face Costa Rica and will conclude their participation on Saturday against Nicaragua.

Naomi Monney GUA

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With this loss, Honduras has a 2-2 record. They will play against Nicaragua on Friday and finish the tournament on Saturday against Costa Rica.

Guatemala outperformed Honduras in attacks (36-22) and serves (9-3), with 5 aces by Andrea Mendizábal. Honduras led in blocks, 7-3.

Naomi Monney and Andrea Mendizábal were the top scorers of the match with 13 points each, with Mendizábal scoring 5 aces. María Andrea Santa Cruz added 11 points. For Honduras, the top scorers were Rocío Duron with 7 points and Shantte Siliezar with 6.

Gabriela Gómez HON – Ivana Sopegno GUA

Andrea Mendizábal commented after the game, “Today, we had a great attitude. From the start of the tournament, our goal was to win all the games, and so far, we’re doing well. Today, we defeated the host team, which makes us very happy. I feel confident that we can win the title”.

Reizel Dunechka Bruhier from Honduras said, “The game required a lot of focus. We started the sets well but lost concentration midway through. We got anxious when it came to scoring points.”

Puerto Rico Triumphs Over Cuba in Five Sets

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 27, 2024. – The Puerto Rican team needed the full five sets to defeat Cuba 3-2 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 16-25, 15-6) in their debut at the NORCECA Women’s Final Six tournament being held at the “Ricardo Arias” Pavilion.

The Puerto Ricans (1-0) were led offensively by Grace López, who was the top scorer of the match with 23 points, along with Neira Ortiz and Stephanie Rivera, who each added 14 points. For Cuba, which now holds a 0-2 record, the best performers were Jessica Aguilera with 11 points, and both their captain Laura Suarez and Ivy Vila contributing 10 points each.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico outperformed Cuba in attacks (61-54) and in serves (10-1), while Cuba had a slight edge in blocks (9-8).

Shara Venegas, captain of Puerto Rico:  What I can tell you is that we started with a lot of intensity in the first two sets, then Cuba raised their level and won the third and fourth sets because we let our guard down a bit. This happens to the best teams in the world, and we need to go through these things to keep improving as a team.

Laura Suarez, captain of Cuba: I think we started playing too confident, without the fighting spirit. We played better in the third and fourth sets, but the anxiety to win played against us in the fifth set. It didn’t go our way, and Puerto Rico took advantage of that moment.

Canada manages to overcome Mexico in overtime at U21s

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Toronto, Canada. June 27, 2024: In the first five-set match of the tournament, Canada managed to close the tie-break and now advances directly to the semifinals of the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was Canada 3 Mexico 2 (25-21, 27-25, 15-25, 24-26, 15-10).

Canada led the attack 57-48 and won more blocking points 14-10, but Mexico had 12 aces, compared with Canada’s four. Canada also made more errors (37-31).

Ella Piskorz scored 17 points (including five blocks and two aces) for Canada as that team’s lead scorer, which was equaled by Mexico’s Isabella Ocampo, who had 17 points for her team.

Canadian player Veronica Dickson, who scored 13 points in this match, said: “There was definitely some adversity to overcome in the last couple sets but I believe in each and every single one of our team. I knew we could do it and we get a day off tomorrow so it’s nice to get some rest and be ready for the semifinals.”

Canada’s head coach Olivier Faucher was happy with his team’s performance: “It’s good to have this experience. After two sets, it was a hard battle and we were on top, but then Mexico started to play a lot better. A match like this is an opportunity for us to learn and battle to that fifth set.  A 3-0 would have been nice to get more rest. But with this win, we get the day off tomorrow. The important thing is that we got the win, and we will learn from this. There are two big matches coming up and so it was important for us to face this challenge.”

Keisy Fuentes from Panama, who is 14 years today, Makes U23 Debut

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 27, 2024.- Keisy Janeth Fuentes, born in the province of Veraguas in the Atlantic region of Panama, made her debut for the Panamanian national team at just 13 years old. Today, on June 27, she celebrates her 14th birthday while participating in the VI Central American Women’s Championship,  in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Keisy had never defended Panama’s colors in indoor volleyball before, and her debut at any level in national teams is at the U23 level. She had previously represented Panama in a beach volleyball event in Costa Rica.

Keisy Fuentes PAN

We spoke with her, and through tears of joy, she shared:

“This is my first time on the indoor volleyball national team. I’m much younger than the rest of my teammates, but I feel very happy, and they have all supported me a lot. I am thrilled to represent Panama in a Central American championship.

I started playing volleyball when I was very young because my mom (Janeth Gallardo) played on a court where they would put up a net. Being so little, they wouldn’t let me play, but I loved watching my mom play and decided that I wanted to learn this sport.

Keisy Fuentes PAN

Soon after, my mom began teaching me. Thanks to her academy and her connections in the volleyball community, people saw me play and invited me to train.

Playing in this category with the national team made me a bit nervous at first, but after my first game, my first point, and with the support of the coaches and my teammates, those nerves disappeared.

I want to thank my mom and my dad (Ronald Fuentes) very much for supporting me and giving me the opportunity to be here, to fulfill my dream of playing volleyball, and to represent my country”.

Mexico beats Canada in the Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 27, 2024.- Mexico beated the Canadian team 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 20-25, 26-24) to achieve its first victory in the Women´s Final Six Volleyball Pan American Cup that is being played at the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion.

The best offensive players for Mexico were Uxue Guereca with 16 points, Sofía Maldonado added 14 and Marian Ovalle another 11. For the Canadians Emoni Busch and Madyson Saris scored 20 and 16 points respectively.

Mexico dominated Canada in attacks 52-45 and in serves 13-7, while Canada was better in blocks 7-1.

Mexico

Jocelyn Urías, captain of Mexico: The truth is we knew it was not going to be an easy game, we couldn’t go in at all weak, I feel like we started well only in the third set, maybe we slowed down a little bit and lost that one because the Canadians pushed and we have to learn from it so that the same thing doesn’t happen to us in the next game.

Averie Allard, captain of Canada: I think we started playing well, we have trained very hard, we executed our game plan very well but it is a game of intensity so I think a lot of us need to have more momentum as the game goes on moving forward to overcome bad moments in the match, we came prepared to play a long game which did not go as we expected but I think that tomorrow we will come back stronger and we will learn from this.

Belize with a quick Victory Over Panama

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024. – Belize secured a quick victory over Panama 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-20), extending their winning streak in the VI Central American U-23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium.

After starting the tournament with two losses, the Belizean team has been undefeated since their third match, winning their next three games. Belize now holds a 3-2 record. Meanwhile, Panama suffered its fifth consecutive defeat, remaining winless in all five of their matches.

Belize

Belize will rest this Friday, while Panama will face El Salvador in the opening match of the day.

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Belize outperformed Panama in all aspects of the game, leading in attacks (47-20), blocks (3-1), and serves (9-1). It was a match with few unforced errors, with Belize committing 16 and Panama 12.

Avianka Avila BIZ

Avianka Ávila, setter of Belize said, “Our win today was a very important one because we won it in three sets, and it helps us get a step closer to hopefully being able to bring a medal home. Tomorrow, we have a rest day so we are going to take that time very wisely, we’re going to rest and prepare ourselves for our last game against El Salvador, which we will work very hard to win. A medal for third place is possible”.

Lurianis González of Panama stated, “Belize is a very good team, and their players are quite tall. We played a good game, but we didn’t get the desired results. However, we know that with a lot of training, we have great potential. We still must play against El Salvador, and we have high hopes that we can secure the victory.”

Nicaragua Triumphs Over Costa Rica, Keeping Undefeated Streak Alive

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 26, 2024.- Nicaragua defeated Costa Rica 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 25-21, 25-20), maintaining their unbeaten record and strong chances of winning the VI Central American U-23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

The Nicaraguan team rebounded after a challenging second set, where they were overpowered by Costa Rica’s offensive, to secure a victory that edges them closer to a medal.

Brittany Forbes – Masiel Brenes NCA

The match was closely contested. Nicaragua narrowly led in attacks, outscoring Costa Rica 48-47. Costa Rica, however, led in blocks (9-6) and serves (5-2). The 33 unforced errors by Costa Rica significantly contributed to their defeat.

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With this win, Nicaragua now has a 4-0 record. They are set to play against Honduras on Friday and will wrap up their schedule on Saturday against Guatemala. Costa Rica, with a 2-2 record, will face Guatemala on Friday and conclude their participation against Honduras on Saturday.

Brittany Forbes led Nicaragua with 13 points, while Brisa Pérez contributed 12 points. The top scorer of the match was Costa Rica’s Ana Victoria Rojas, who scored 14 points, followed by Ester Abarca with 11 points.

Melina Ester Abarca CRC

Reflecting on the game, Brittany Forbes from Nicaragua said, “Costa Rica is a very tough opponent. We knew they were coming strong, but we were determined to win, and in the end, we did it. We still have two games left, and we know they will be tough, against Guatemala and Honduras”.

Ester Abarca of Costa Rica remarked, “It was a very challenging game for both teams. I feel we gave our best, but we made too many mistakes which weakened us. However, I am confident that we will go all out in the next matches and aim to climb back up the standings”.

USA remains undefeated at U21 tournament

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Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024: USA remained in control of Group A with another win at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15) today over Puerto Rico.

USA has not dropped a set so far in the tournament and advances directly to the semifinals. Puerto Rico’s record is 2-1. 

Against Puerto Rico today, it was 42-14 in attack points; 6-1 in block points and USA shut out Puerto Rico in service aces 7-0.

Middle blocker Andi Jackson had a match-high 13 points for USA.

Setter and captain Bergen Reilly said post-match: “Puerto Rico’s a good team and they proved it yesterday against Dominican, they had a really good game. We came in ready for them to be firing on all cylinders and we just executed our side but they played a really good match.”

Head coach USA, Heather Olmstead said: “I love the energy and focus we came out with at the beginning of the match. I thought we stuck to the game plan. I thought we had a lot of fun. I think we put pressure on Puerto Rico. Our offense was fantastic, and our defense did a good job at holding them to a low number.”

Costa Rica gets first U21 win over US Virgin Islands

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Toronto, Canada. June 27, 2024: Costa Rica defeated US Virgin Islands in their final group match today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario, at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

The score was 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20). This was Costa Rica’s first win and US Virgin Islands is still winless in this tournament.

US Virgin Islands led in attacking 33-27 and blocks 6-4. But Costa Rica’s service pressure was effective 12-5 and the Virgin Islands’ team made more errors – 32-16.

Amanda Maria Campos Monge led the winning team in scoring with 13 points; and Anna Gillens also had 13 points, but for US Virgin Islands.

Head coach of Costa Rica, Kareem Richards, expressed his views on today’s game: “It was a very interesting game against a difficult team. The girls were awesome. We gave them a strategy and they followed it perfectly. We knew it would be a game with a lot of errors, so we tried to keep our unforced errors to a minimum. I’m thankful for this wonderful group, the coaches I have with me and we’re looking forward to continuing in this tournament.”

Dominican Republic’s U21 team sweeps Suriname

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Toronto, Canada. June 27, 2024: Dominican Republic overwhelmed Suriname today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Ontario.

It was the final group A match for both teams – and the score was 3-0 (25-9, 25-3, 25-5).

Attack points were 40-3, blocking at 2 each and serving at 17-2. Errors were 16-10 in favor of the winning team.

Opposite Julie Arias led all scoring with 13 points for the Dominican team.

Teammate Crismeily Paniagua Hinojosa, who served during a 20-0 run for her team in the second set, said: “I felt really good about my serve. We were practicing serves in our practice last night, that’s what we were concentrating on and that’s what I executed today.”

Suriname is winless, while the Dominican squad is 1-2 after pool play and awaits to see who they will play in the next round.

Head coach Dominican Republic Cristian Cruz said: “Today’s game was good. Our team also had a good game with the United States but a bad game with Puerto Rico so going into the playoffs could be a little difficult for us, but I believe in my team. We’re waiting for Canada and Mexico’s game to know who we will face but I know we can get a medal.”

United States begins with victory in Pan American Cup Final Six

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 26, 2024.- The United States beated the Mexican team 3-0 (33-31, 27-25, 25-15), thus achieving its first victory in this fourth edition of the Pan American Cup Final Six held at the “Ricardo Arias” National Volleyball Pavilion.

The United States attack was led by Jessica Mruzik with 15 points, while Sophia Fischer and Eva Hudson contributed 14 and 11 points respectively. For Mexico, the best were Uxue Guereca with 19 units and Marian Ovalle with 9.

Jessica Mruzik USA

The Americans outnumbered the Mexicans in attacks 47-44 and in blocks 14-5.

Brad Rostratter, coach United States: This was the first international event for this group of girls, unfortunately not all of them were able to play today but those who had the chance did excellent which is wonderful.

Nicola Negro, coach of Mexico: We played the first two sets very well, the serve, block and defense phase, we had a chance to win them since they were well fought but we lacked lucidity in the attacks. In the third set the quality of our serve fell and that allowed the United States to play more calmly since they have an enormous attacking capacity that was very difficult for us to control.

Belize Secures Its Second Win in the Tournament

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024.- Belize defeated Honduras 3 sets to 1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-21, and 25-22) in the final match of the fourth day of the VI Central American U23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

In the second set, Honduras made a comeback from a 13-21 deficit to win the set 25-23. In the third set, history almost repeated itself as Honduras quickly closed the gap with Belize, but the Belizeans managed to secure the final points to close out the set.

Fatoumata Camara BIZ

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Belize found their rhythm and secured their second consecutive victory, now holding a record of 2 wins and 2 losses. Meanwhile, Honduras lost their undefeated record and ended the day with 2 wins and 1 loss.

This Thursday, Belize will play against Panama, and Honduras will face Guatemala.

Belize outperformed Honduras in all areas of play, 52-33 in attacks, 9-6 in blocks, and 9-3 in serves.

For Belize, three players scored in double digits, Fatoumata Camara with 23 points, Nisaan Martínez with 18 points, and Gareth Bruce with 13 points. For Honduras, Rocío Duron and Andrea Aceituno each scored 10 points.

“In the second set I think we got comfortable the game, we were up a lot, we had it in the bag and that’s why we lost in the second set. Our coaches talked to us very well and told us we shouldn’t lose our confidence in ourselves no matter what is happening. We’ve trained so hard for a good outcome and that was what motivated us to come back in the third and fourth set and fight really hard”, said Gareth Bruce of Belize.

Rocío Duron from Honduras expressed, “We lacked that extra push in the game; we were giving it our all, but we still fell short. We have tough matches ahead, and we’re going to fight and achieve our goal”,  she emphasized.

Dominican Republic gets off with a good start in the Pan American Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 26, 2024.- The Dominican Republic team dominated the Cuban team 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18), to begin their participation undefeated in the Final Six Pan American Cup of Women’s Volleyball that takes place in the “Ricardo Arias” Volleyball Pavilion.

After a very disputed first set, the Dominicans led by Brayelin Martínez and Alondra Tapia with 13 and 11 points respectively, easily dominated the Cubans who had their captain Laura Suarez as the best scorer with 8 points, while Ivy Vila added 7.

Bethania de la Cruz DOM

In attacks both teams were equal with 39, while the Dominican was better in blocks, beating Cuba 7-3.

Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic: It was the first game of the tournament in which one is always more nervous but I think the girls did excellent, they worked well, we managed to establish our rhythm of play, we started strong and we did not lose concentration, that is the most important.

Leivis García, coach of Cuba: As always, you cannot give balls to the Dominican, you cannot make many mistakes, and regardless of the third touches or the balls that you cross to your court without any strong point intention, they recover it and turn it into point I think it was basically more delivery than errors.

Canada finds success against Virgin Islands

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Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024:  Canada swept its second Pool B match in a row at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship on home ground in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-7) over the US Virgin Islands.

Attacking favored Canada 40-11, as well as blocks 3-2, and aces 18-3. Canada, however, did make more errors 20-14.

Mary Healy of Canada had a match-high 17 points; followed in scoring by teammates Veronica Dickson (10) and Claire Carter (8).

US Virgin Islands opposite Mya Brown led her team with 7 points (4 attacks, 2 blocks and an ace)

“The main thing is that all the players have had a chance to be involved in these two first games, so obviously the rust is gone. Since everyone has had a chance to see the court it gives us more options moving forward, and that’s very important in preparing us for the next round,” said Canada’s head coach, Olivier Faucher.

Pool action continues on Thursday, with playoffs on the weekend.

Costa Rica Returns to Victory After Defeating El Salvador

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024.- The Costa Rica National Team returned to the victory path after defeating El Salvador 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-22) in the second match of the fourth day of the VI Central American U23 Women’s Championship at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

Following yesterday’s painful defeat against Belize, Costa Rica is back on track and remains in contention for the top position in the tournament. The Ticas now have a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. On the other hand, El Salvador suffers its fourth consecutive defeat, remaining winless with a 0-4 record.

Costa RIca

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This Thursday, Costa Rica will face Nicaragua in the first match of day five, a crucial game for the tricolor team if they want to keep their title hopes alive. El Salvador will rest on that day.

Costa Rica outperformed El Salvador in attacks 34-18 and was much more effective in serving with a 14-3 advantage. El Salvador held their ground well at the net and was better in blocking with a 5-4 edge.

Allison Méndez ESA

Ester Abarca of Costa Rica was the top scorer of the match with 11 points, two of them from serves. Ana Victoria Rojas and Bennet Blackwood supported the attack with 10 points each. For El Salvador, their captain Daniela López was the top scorer with 8 points, and Silvia Inés Juárez assisted with 7 points.

“Today, the team was very good. After yesterday’s match, it brought us closer together and motivated us to focus on each game and keep winning the remaining matches to achieve our ultimate goal, which is the title,” said Bennet Blackwood from Costa Rica after the match.

Meanwhile, Daniela López, the captain of El Salvador, commented: “We congratulate Costa Rica on the victory. In the first sets, we were a bit unfocused and weren’t fulfilling our roles on the court. It wasn’t until the third set that we started scoring points. I hope we can continue like this for the rest of the tournament.”

Guatemala Claims Victory Over Panama

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 26, 2024.- Guatemala secured a 3-0 victory over Panama a score of 25-22, 25-15, and 25-12, kicking off the fourth day of the VI Central American U23 Women’s Championship at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

With this win, Guatemala achieves its third consecutive victory, remaining undefeated. In their next match, they will face the host team, Honduras. Meanwhile, Panama is still searching for its first win, with a 0-3 record, and will play against Belize on day five.

Jimena Castellanos GUA

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Guatemala outperformed Panama in attacks, blocks, and serves. They were dominant in attacks with a 42-20 lead, had a comfortable 4-0 advantage in blocks, and also led in serves 5-3.

María Andrea Santa Cruz was the top scorer of the match with 12 points, followed by Andrea Mendizábal with 10 points. For Panama, Ekaterina Ureña was the leading scorer with 6 points.

Guatemala

“We are very united and have worked hard to aim for the title. We are strong and determined. Panama is a team that defends a lot and well, and we had to adapt to their game,” said Ivana Sopegno from Guatemala.

Breyska Pinzón, Panama’s libero, commented, “It was a very close game. We gave it our all on the court. Our biggest strength is our defense, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on to improve as a team. We’re going to keep giving our best; we want to win and we are working towards that.”

USA 2-0 in group play at U21 Championship

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Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024:  USA earned its second group phase win today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship with a 3-0  (25-10, 25-5, 25-9) victory over Suriname.

USA led in attack points 36-7, blocks 11-2 and blanked its opponent with 19-0 points from the service line. Errors were 15-14 in favor of Suriname. Middle blocker Favor Anyanwu led all scoring with 18 points for USA. 

USA’s head coach Heather Olmstead said: “Suriname did a great job… We’re always just looking at how we can play USA volleyball, how we can play within our systems, and how we can communicate and get better playing with each other as the tournament goes on. That’s what we are looking forward to – how we can be our best.” 

Suriname’s head coach Miquel Misidjang was realistic about the match: “We knew upfront that it was going to be a difficult game and what we’ve learned is that we need to work on physicality and skills, as well as the mindset of the game. The girls are young and it’s a learning process for them. I am proud of them.”

Puerto Rico sweeps Dominican Republic on Day 2 of U21 Championship

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Toronto, Canada. June 26, 2024: Puerto Rico had a strong start and was able to maintain momentum to defeat Dominican Republic today at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-23).

Puerto Rico was particularly strong from the service line, leading 7-1 in aces, they also led in attack points 43-30 and blocking points 7-4.

Chareika Carrion led all scoring with 16 points for Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico’s head coach Jose Ricardo Rivera was very pleased with his team’s performance: “For me it was a good and important game, to be able to meet the goals we have and fight for a medal with the aim of staying among the best four in the tournament. We previously had some matches against the Dominican team where we were not able to close the sets and lost the advantage, but today they came focused, and we were able to win the match in three sets.”

Huge Win for Honduras over El Salvador

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 25, 2024.- Honduras earned a huge win over El Salvador 3-0 (25-15, 25-19 y 25-12) on Tuesday, to remain undefeated in two matches at the VI U23 Women’s Central American Championship at Gimnasio Jorge Galeano in Tegucigalpa.

Honduras fought every point against El Salvador, who continued to show their great defense. With this result, Honduras has 2 wins and no losses, while El Salvador lost their third match and has yet to know victory.

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Honduras dominated every area of the game, they led El Salvador in attacks 35-17, i blocks 4 to 1 and in serves 8 to 6.

Andrea Aceituno of Honduras led all scorers, with 15 points, on 2 blocks and three serves. Also from Honduras, Andrea Duarte and Marcela Laguardia supported Aceituno and their team with 7 points each.

From El Salvador, Daniela Lopez was their top scorer with 9 points and Monserrat Joachin reached 5 points.

Daniela Lopez ESA

Andrea Zúñiga, libero of Honduras commented, “We ended up winning the match, but we were a bit low, I think we can perform better on court, we can play better, more successful. I hope tomorrow will go differently and have better results”.

Gabriela Portillo, libero of El Salvador said “We started off slow, we got together, but in the third set we lost focus and Honduras took advantage of our mental errors. In the next matches we are going to try more unity and work as a team to improve in each match”.

Nicaragua defeat Panama in straight sets

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras. June 24, 2024.- Nicaragua defeated Panamá 3-0  (25-11, 25-14, 25-20) in the second match of day three at the VI U23 Women’s Central American Championship at Gimnasio Jorge Galeno in Tegucigalpa.

Once again Panama showed to have one of the best defenses in the tournament, Nicaragua prevailed thanks to their experience and smart play on the court. In the last set, Nicaragua had to make a great effort to finish the match in three sets.

Nicaragua

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Nicaragua benefited from Panama’s unforced errors (28) to finish the match in their favor, in addition to dominating every skill of the match, 32-24 in attacks, 5 to 2 in blocks and 10 to 3 in service aces.

Ekaterina Ureña of Panama led all scorers with 11 points, among them one block and one ace. Six players led Nicaragua’s offense, with 8 points Masiel Brenes and Marcela Martínez; and  Norma Brenes, Samantha Vargas, María José Rivera and Brittany Forbes with seven points each.

Lurianis González PAN – Valentina Martínez NCA

Masiel Brenes of Nicaragua explained “Panama worked hard in defense and receiving, that made the match difficult, but we were able to reach the result we were aiming for, not like we expected, but we won. We think we are still on time to keep improving and doing things better in every match”.

Ekaterina Ureña of Panama said “the match was well disputed, but our errors didn’t allow us to win sets. Little by little we are improving. Nicaragua is a great team; we have good players”.

Belize Stuns Costa Rica in Four Sets

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 24, 2024.- Belize surprised Costa Rica at the start of the third day of the VI Central American U-23 Women’s Championship, winning 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16).

The Belizean team showed strength in blocking and serving throughout the game. After taking a 2-0 set lead, they relaxed, allowing Costa Rica to take one set. In the fourth set, Belize again displayed their attacking and serving power and blocking skills to secure the match.

Nisaan Martínez BIZ

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Belize dominated Costa Rica in blocks, 9 to 5, and slightly edged them in serves, 11 to 10. Although Costa Rica led in attacks, 45-40, Belize capitalized on the 36 unforced errors committed by the Costa Rican team.

Nisaan Martínez of Belize was the top scorer of the game with 18 points, including 2 blocks and 1 ace. She was supported offensively by Gareth Bruce with 16 points, who also contributed significantly with 5 service aces, and by Fatoumata Camara with 13 points.

For Costa Rica, the top scorers were Ana Victoria Rojas with 16 points and Nhya Barley with 12 points.

Lakysha Thompson CRC

After the game, Nisaan Martínez of Belize said, “Honestly, I am super proud of my team for the win.  Ultimately what we did was watch the blocking because they are around the same height as us, so we just tried to get around the block and make block touches. Our service-receive was what got us through the game.  Overall, I am very excited about what we have in store because we started the tournament slowly, but we have the potential to finish this tournament very strongly. We are a strong team; we are a big blocking team, and I am excited to show what we have in store for this tournament”.

Ana Victoria Rojas of Costa Rica explained, “Belize is a very tall team and quite strong in attack and blocking. At the beginning, we were a bit low in attitude, but we managed to take the third set as our attitude improved. We have the mentality to defend the championship. We need to keep preparing; maybe we didn’t win today, but the tournament is not over yet, and we still have a chance”.

Puerto Rico beats young Suriname squad

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Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024.-  In the opening match of the Women’s U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Puerto Rico dominated Suriname 3-0 (25-10, 25-4, 25-11) in 46 minutes.

Captain and outside hitter Chareika Carrión was the match’s top scorer with 22 points for the winning side. Included in her total were eight aces. 

Puerto Rico dominated in attacking 38-8; and had an impressive 14-0 ace record. Blocking was 3-4 in favour of the losing side.

Suriname has a very young squad, looking to gain experience, with an average age of around 16 years old.

Canada’s U21 team shines at home against Costa Rica

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Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024: Canada impressed its home crowd in its opening match of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament beating Costa Rica 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-17).

Canada led in attack points (42-18), blocks (7-1) and aces (10-4). Megan Hawkins and Mary Healy tied as top scorers with 10 each for Canada.

“We’re still figuring out how we’re working together as a team. We have a lot of new faces and we’re really excited about that. And I think we did a good job of taking care of the little things and we’re just really excited to see how it plays out in the next few matches,” said Mary Healy, also Canada’s team captain.

Danna León Gamboa and Joselyn Fernanda Moraga Arroyo contributed five apiece for Costa Rica.

Canada next plays US Virgin Islands on Wednesday night at 7 pm ET in its next Group B match at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

Mexico defeats US Virgin Islands at U21 Champs

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Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024:  Mexico saw early success at the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship with a decisive 3-0 (25-13, 25-7, 25-15) win over US Virgin Islands.

Mexico dominated in attack (34-15) points, blocking (7-2) and aces 9-1. As well, Mexico made fewer errors (25-17).

Mexico’s Isabella Ocampo was the match top scorer with 12 points; Anna Gillens of Virgin Islands contributed nine points to the losing effort.

“I liked the match. It’s always good to start a competition with a victory and we did it today. We don’t have a lot of information on ISV, but we played well. We had a job to do for Mexico and I like the hard work from my players,” said head coach of Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez.

USA takes first match at U21 Women’s Continentals

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Toronto, Canada. June 25, 2024: The United States had a solid start to the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship tournament beating the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-11).

USA led in all skills: Attacking 44-24, blocking 12-7, and serving 6-1. Dominican Republic did make fewer errors 13-18.

USA’s Brooklyn DeLeye had a match-high 20 points (17 attacks, 2 blocks and an ace.)

“I just think it was a great match… first match of the tournament to play together, get some people in and I thought Dominican played well and pushed us and we really got challenged and that was good,” said Heather Olmstead, USA’s head coach.

“Bergen [Reilly] did a great job setting the right people at the right time. I thought our middles were great, I thought they took great swings. Brooklyn played fantastic; she really took big rips on the outside. I thought our passing was pretty settled after the first couple points. Ramsey [Gary] did a good job in the back row helping our passers set up early.”

Ariana Rodriguez Fung was the top scorer on the Dominican side with 13 points.

USA in in Group A and plays Suriname next on Wednesday.

Coaches comment on their teams in the Final Six Women’s Cup

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 25, 2024.- This Tuesday the preliminary meeting of the Women’s Final Six Tournament was held and during it the coaches of the six participating teams commented on their expectations for the event.

Leivis García, coach of Cuba:

In this specific tournament we made some modifications to the roster and now we have a greater interrelation between experience and youth, we bring girls from a new cycle in projection for the next four years and we see a well-focused team where motivation is the greatest success that they have had until now.

Brad Rostratter, United States coach:

We bring a young and promising team, it is a group of athletes that will hopefully represent the United States with dignity in the future and I am excited that this group of girls will have their first experience in a senior competition.

Juan Carlos Núñez, Puerto Rico coach:

We are going to take the tournament very seriously in the sense that it will be the preamble to next week in which we have to go to the Philippines to try to qualify for the Nations League next year, we have just played a tournament in Puerto Rico to try to pick up the pace again with the young group we have for this tournament.

Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic:

We have just arrived from a difficult trip but we have very high expectations because it is the tournament prior to the Olympic Games so we have to try a few players, give them the opportunity to win their position and obviously we are at home so we are going to fight for a medal.

Nicola Negro, coach of Mexico:

 Expectations to continue our preparation in this season, which is a transition because we have not had major events and we want to guarantee our participation in the 2025 World Cup. In this tournament, the first two games do not count for us in the ranking, but we hope to be able to reach the semifinals. and have the chance to play games that give us points and thus guarantee that participation.

Carolyn O’Dwyer, Canada coach:

 Our expectations are high since although we brought a young team there are many players who have already participated before so we hope to fight for medals and demonstrate the talent that is rising in Canada.

Round Robin Schedule:

June 26, 2024

17:00 United States vs Mexico

19:00 Dominican Republic vs Cuba

June 27, 2024

17:00 Canada vs Mexico

19:00 Puerto Rico vs Cuba

June 28, 2024

17:00 United States vs Canada

19:00 Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico

Guatemala Defeats El Salvador in Straight Sets

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 24, 2024. – Guatemala defeated El Salvador 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, and 25-23) in the final match of the second day of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

The Salvadoran team maintained strong defensive play, forcing the Guatemalans to give their maximum effort to secure the victory.

Daniela López ESA

Guatemala outperformed El Salvador in attacks, with a 32-24 advantage, and in serves, leading 6-1. However, El Salvador excelled in blocking, leading 5-2.

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Daniela Alexandra López from El Salvador was the top scorer of the match with 12 points, including 2 blocks and 1 service ace. For Guatemala, Naomi Monney and Andrea Mendizábal both reached double digits, each scoring 10 points.

Naomi Monney GUA

William Fernández, the coach of Guatemala, said “Today, we weren’t perfectly in sync, but we gave the new players an opportunity, and I believe all of them managed to score at least one point, which was our goal for this game. Tomorrow, we rest, then we face Panama, and we finish with tough matches against Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua”.

Noe Fabian, the coach of El Salvador, expressed “Congratulations to Guatemala, they are a very strong opponent and made it a great match for us. We started a bit nervous, but we improved our reception and by the end, we were playing much better. There is still some inexperience among our players, as this is their first tournament, but we hope to continue improving throughout the rest of the tournament”.

Fourth Edition of the Women’s Final Six Tournament is About to Begin in Santo Domingo

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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 24, 2024. – The fourth edition of the NORCECA Women’s Final Six Tournament is about to begin at the “Prof. Ricardo Gioriber Arias” Volleyball Palace in the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, in Santo Domingo, from June 26 to June 30.

The NORCECA Women’s Final Six Tournament is a competition that is part of the qualification process for the 2025 NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup and the 2025 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

Dominican Republic has won the event twice and will aim to recover the title after losing it to the United States in 2023.

The six competing teams are divided into two groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals scheduled for June 29.

Pool A consists of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Pool B includes Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

Pool-play Schedule

June 26

5:00 pm  United States vs Mexico

7:00 pm  Dominican Republic vs Cuba

June 27

5:00 pm  Canada vs Mexico

7:00 pm  Puerto Rico vs Cuba

June 28

5:00 pm  United States vs Canada

7:00 pm  Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico

Year by Year medalists

YEARGOLDSILVERBRONZE
2021DOMMEXUSA
2022DOMUSAPUR
2023USADOMCUB

Nicaragua Defeats Belize in Four Sets

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 24, 2024. – Nicaragua needed four sets to defeat Belize, with scores of 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, and 25-15, in the fifth match of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

The first two sets saw alternating dominance between the teams, but from the third set onward, Nicaragua managed to control Belize’s attacks, securing victory in both sets and the match.

Brittany Forbes NCA

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Nicaragua outperformed Belize in attacks with a 50-38 lead and in serves with a 6-2 advantage. Belize was stronger in blocking, leading 10-5, despite committing 22 errors.

Brittany Forbes of Nicaragua was the top scorer of the match with 20 points, including one block. María José Rivera supported the attack with 12 points. For Belize, Fatoumata Camara led the scoring with 15 points, followed by Nisaan Martínez with 14 points, including 3 blocks, making her the top blocker of the game.

Nisaan Martínez BIZ

Claudia Noguera, head coach of Nicaragua, explained “It was a significant victory for us. Belize is a strong team in attack and blocking, so it was a game that required a lot of focus, and the players executed the strategy perfectly. Defense was crucial in this game”.

Lawrence Bennett, assistant coach of Belize, said “We lost our fundamentals, especially in blocking. We were not blocking properly, and our defense fell a little weak at the end of the game. I know we could have done better, but we are here to try and improve every day we play”.

Comfortable Victory for Costa Rica over Panama

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 24, 2024.- Costa Rica secured a comfortable 3-0 victory (25-14, 25-8, and 25-11) over Panama at the start of the second day of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

After a first set where Panama tried to challenge the Costa Rican team, Costa Rica managed to maintain effective net attacks to comfortably overcome Panama in the 2nd and 3rd sets.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica dominated Panama in all aspects of the game, with a 41-13 advantage in attacks, 4-1 in serves, and 7-1 in blocks. The match saw few unforced errors from both teams, with Panama committing 23 and Costa Rica 15.

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Mariluz González PAN

Nhya Barley from Costa Rica commented: “I think we played quite well and were very motivated. We had a lot of strength in our attacks and achieved our goal of starting the championship with a win. The Panamanian team is very tenacious; they don’t give up and always fight for every point until the very end”.

Keisy Janeth Fuentes from Panama said: “The game was a bit intense; we started off playing well but gradually dropped our level of defense, which affected us. The Costa Rican team is taller, stronger, and has more experience than us. I think it was a good match.”

Head coaches looking forward to U21 tournament

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TORONTO, Canada, June 24, 2024 – Eight teams are set to compete for the U21 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship title from June 25 to 30 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

The head coaches expressed their thoughts on their teams at this tournament today:

Head coach Puerto Rico, Jose Ricardo Rivera

“The expectation for this tournament is to finish in one of the top four places. We have been preparing for 12 weeks for this event, training very hard and coming together as a team. “

Head coach Canada, Olivier Faucher

“We have high expectations. We have a good group of players who have had a decent amount of training, and we will play the best volleyball we can this week. Moving forward, we should expect good matches and results on our end.  For some of our players, it’s the first time representing Canada, so there will be some nerves, which is expected. … it’s an honour to represent Canada and having this opportunity at home in front of friends and family is extra special.” 

Head coach Costa Rica, Kareem Richards

“It’s an honour to be here; amongst the best teams in the region.  Our expectation is to gain a lot of experience. We have a young team that we are trying to develop, and the girls are very excited to continue their process of learning from the best…  including myself learning from the other coaches here. We are here to share, learn and grow.  We have some players as young as 15 and 16 and some older players. We see this tournament as a great opportunity and we’re looking forward to it.”

Head coach US Virgin Islands, Isaac Raphael

“We are excited to be here. We have a young team, and we are looking forward to seeing them perform at this level. It’s going to be a tough competition, but I believe that is the way you improve. We’re going to play some hard volleyball and have a good time.

We spent a couple of weeks at a training camp in Orlando and we are hoping that will be enough. It should show what we have done in the last couple of weeks.”

Head coach Mexico, Luis Leon Lopez

“Our first goal is to qualify for the next round and then the semifinals and finals.  Most of our players come from other national programs and we’ve been training together for three weeks for this tournament. We are looking forward to competing here.”

Head coach USA, Heather Olmstead

“We’re excited to be representing United States of America at this tournament – we’ve had a great week of training, and we have a good young group with us and we’re excited to play all the teams here. We are going to give it our all and compete … every match is a battle and we expect to play really well at this tournament.”

Head coach Suriname, Miquel Misidjang

“Our expectations are not too high because we have a team in development, a very young selection with an average age of around16. We are using this opportunity for the girls to have experience for the future. We are coming to compete, but we are realistic about the expectations. We’ve been training as a team for a couple of weeks now and worked with the team of Trinidad at a training camp there.”

Head coach Dominican Republic Cristian Cruz

“We know this will be a very strong competition with strong teams such as USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. We think this is a strong competition for us and we will fight very hard in each match. We start training earlier in the year, but we have also had some players in college in the United States as well as one player who was in VNL with the senior team, so we are just coming together as a team and we know this is a good team.”

Eight Teams to Compete for U21 NORCECA Women’s Title

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TORONTO, Canada, June 23, 2024.- Eight teams are set to compete for the U21 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship title from June 25 to 30 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

This event is a part of the qualification system towards the FIVB U21 Women’s World Championship in 2025.

United States is the defending champion and the most successful team in the event’s history, having won seven NORCECA titles.

The competition will begin with a preliminary round of pool play. Pool A includes Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and the United States. Pool B features Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Group winners will advance directly to the semifinals, while the teams finishing second and third in their groups will compete in the quarterfinals. The medal matches are scheduled for June 30.

Preliminary Round Schedule

June 25

11:00 am  Puerto Rico vs Suriname

1:30 pm     United States vs Dominican Republic

4:30 pm     U.S. Virgin Islands vs Mexico

7:00 pm     Canada vs Costa Rica

June 26

11:00 am  United States vs Suriname

1:30 pm     Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic

4:30 pm     Mexico vs Costa Rica

7:00 pm     Canada vs U.S. Virgin Islands

 June 27

11:00 am  Dominican Republic vs Suriname

1:30 pm     United States vs Puerto Rico

4:30 pm     Costa Rica vs U.S. Virgin Islands

7:00 pm     Canada vs Mexico

 Year By Year Podiums

YEARGOLDSILVERBRONZE
1998USAMEXCAN
2000CUBUSAMEX
2002PURUSACUB
2004USADOMPUR
2006USADOMPUR
2008USADOMCUB
2010USADOMCUB
2012DOMMEXUSA
2014USACUBDOM
2016DOMUSACUB
2018USADOMMEX

Composite Medal Table

COUNTRYGOLDSILVERBRONZETOTAL
USA73111
DOM2518
CUB1146
PUR1023
MEX0224
CAN0011

Hard-Fought Victory for Honduras Over Panama

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 23, 2024.- The Honduran Women’s National Team secured a challenging 3-0 win (25-11, 25-14, 25-11) against Panama in the VI Central American U23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

Despite the wide point margins in each set, Honduras had to work diligently for every point as Panama’s defense improved throughout the game.

Honduras

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

A highlight for Panama was when Janeth Fuentes, just 13 years, 11 months, and 27 days old, scored her first point in the U23 category, making her the youngest athlete to play in this tournament. Fuentes finished the game with 2 points, one from a spike and the other from a block.

Honduras capitalized on Panama’s 30 unforced errors while committing only 15 themselves. They led in every statistical category, in attacks (29-16), blocks (6-3), and serves (10-2).

Andrea Aceituno of Honduras was the only player to reach double digits, scoring 10 points, including 3 from serves. Other significant contributors for Honduras were Natalia Reyes with 9 points and Shantte Siliezar with 7 points.

Janeth Fuentes PAN

For Panama, the top scorers were their captain Ekaterina Ureña and Lurianis González, each with 6 points.

After the match, Andrea Aceituno, captain of Honduras, commented, “It was a game where we could show our strengths. Panama is a team that defends very well. We managed to overcome that and gave our best. I hope we can continue winning; the tournament has just started, and starting with a win is good for us”.

Ekaterina Ureña, captain of Panama, remarked, “The game was very close. We made errors that helped Honduras win the match. Gradually, we improved, and it was evident in the consistency with which we ended up playing.”

Nicaragua Defeats El Salvador in Three Sets

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 23, 2024. – The Nicaraguan Women’s National Team secured a decisive 3-0 victory (25-15, 25-12, 25-12) over El Salvador in the VI Central American U23 Women’s Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

Nicaragua dominated El Salvador across all aspects of the game, leading in attacks (37-19), blocks (6-0), and serves (7-4). El Salvador committed 25 unforced errors compared to Nicaragua’s 16.

María José Rivera NCA

Brittany Forbes of Nicaragua was the top scorer of the match with 14 points, while María José Rivera contributed 10 points. Naomi Méndez was the only Salvadoran player to reach double digits, scoring 10 points.

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

María Marcela Roa, libero and captain of Nicaragua expressed, “We saw El Salvador as always, very tenacious. They possibly struggled to find their rhythm today, but I believe they will improve with each game. Our team includes eight players who just won the Final Four last week, bringing the excitement and enthusiasm from that title. We also have new generations joining with very high skill levels”.

Marcela Roa NCA

Daniela Alexandra López, the captain of El Salvador, commented, “I congratulate the Nicaraguan team on their victory. They are a strong team. Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve the win today, but I hope we perform better in the next match. We are a young team, not as experienced as Nicaragua”.

Guatemala Struggles to Defeat Belize

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 23, 2024.- The Guatemalan National Team struggled to overcome Belize, winning 3 sets to 2 (17-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, and 16-14), in the opening match of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

ALBUM FOTOS JUEGO 1

Gareth Bruce BIZ

The first set was quite balanced up to the 6-point mark, after which Belize took control, doubling Guatemala’s points 16-8. In the second and third sets, the Guatemalan team regained control. In a thrilling fourth set, Belize once again dominated, but ultimately, in another gripping set, Guatemala secured the game.

Guatemala outclassed in attack points 51-37, while Belize outperformed Guatemala in blocks 15-10 and in aces 10-8.

María Andrea Santa Cruz and Naomi Monney were the offense leaders of Guatemala’s attack, each scoring 22 points. Santa Cruz’s points included one block and 3 aces, while Monney contributed 3 blocks and one ace.

María Santa Cruz GUA

For Belize, Gareth Bruce and Nisaan Martínez scored 13 points each. Martínez was spectacular with 5 blocks, while Bruce had 3 successful serves.

María Andrea Santa Cruz said, “The game was very close; we didn’t expect to play 5 sets, but in the end, we made it. It was a team effort; we were all ready to help each other. Belize  is very strong; they are quite tall players and have a very tight block, which complicated things for us a lot. Thank God we managed to get the victory”.

Gareth Bruce from Belize commented, “I think both teams played very well, played very hard. We’ve played Guatemala a couple of times, and they have a faster game than us. I think our team fought to the end and we did our best”.

Gustavo Alvarez of Puerto Rico Grabs MVP Award at Boys U17 Pan American Cup

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 22, 2024.- Gustavo Alvarez of Puerto Rico grabbed the Most Valuable Player Award at the inaugural Boys U17 Pan American Cup that concluded on Saturday at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico.

Gustavo Alvarez was key leading his team with 27 points over Mexico in the gold medal match.

Puerto Rico also earned the awards for second Best Spiker to Adrian Carrillo, the first and second Best Blocker to Jorge Suarez and Dylan López.  Ignacio Cruz was granted the Best Libero and Best Digger awards.

From Mexico, Emi Diaz was named the first Best Spiker and Eduardo Escoto de Best Setter.

The awards for Best Receiver and Best Server went to Cuban Samuel Rodríguez.

Luis Mendizabal of Guatemala was named the Best opposite and Canadian Tyson Dezutter the Best Scorer with 113 points.

Puerto Rico Claims Gold at U17 Pan American Cup in 5-Set Thriller

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 22, 2024. – Puerto Rico captured the gold medal at the first-ever Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup with a thrilling five-set victory (25-10, 23-25, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12) over host Mexico at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima.

Puerto Rico finished the tournament undefeated with a 4-0 record. Mexico took the silver medal, ending with a 4-1 record. Last year, Puerto Rico also beat Mexico for the U17 NORCECA Continental title.

Puerto Rico dominated Mexico with an impressive 20-6 advantage in blocks and outscored them 62-52 in attacks. Both teams had 4 service aces. Puerto Rico committed one more error than Mexico (28-27).

Puerto Rican captain and outside hitter Gustavo Alvarez led all scorers with 27 points (24 attacks, 3 blocks). Outside hitter Adrián Carrillo added 24 points (23 attacks, one ace), and middle blocker Dylan López contributed 12 points, 8 of them from blocks. Middle blocker Jorge Suárez also contributed with 6 blocking points.

For Mexico, outside hitter Emi Díaz led his team with 16 points, all from attacks, while Oskar González scored 10 points.

Puerto Rico started strong, dominating Mexico in every aspect to take the first set with a significant lead (25-10). The second set was tightly contested, with the score tied at 14, 18, 20, and 22 points. Mexico managed to tie with an attack by Emi Díaz, an ace from Tomás Villalobos, and another attack by Oskar González. After multiple ties in the third set, Mexico reached set point with an attack from Raúl Silva, but Gustavo Alvarez evened again for Puerto Rico. Mexico eventually won the third set due to a Puerto Rican error.  Puerto Rico controlled the fourth set thanks to the offensive contributions of Adrián Carrillo, Dylan López, and Gustavo Alvarez. In the decisive tiebreaker, the score was tied at 10, but two crucial points from Alvarez gave Puerto Rico the lead. They closed the set and match at 15-12 with a kill from Alvarez and a block by Dylan López.

Ignacio Cruz, Puerto Rico’s libero, said, “Mexico lost their rhythm but then regained it. This motivated us to push harder and speed up the pace of our game”.

Carlos De Sevilla, Puerto Rico’s coach, commented, “At this level, ups and downs are normal. Mexico came back from behind many times, and all credit to them, they are an excellent team. I’m very proud of my boys. In crucial moments, we were able to close out the sets. Mission accomplished”.

Cuba Wins Bronze Medal at Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 22, 2024. – Cuba clinched the bronze medal at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup by defeating Canada 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19) at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico.

Cuba recovered from losing the first set to secure third place in the event, finishing with a record of three wins and two losses. Canada ended with a 3-3 record.

Cuba dominated in attacks (55-46) and service points (3-1), while Canada led in blocks (9-7). Cuba committed 25 errors compared to Canada’s 33.

Cuban captain and opposite hitter Yosdani Medina led all scorers with 23 points, all from attacks. Key contributions also came from outside hitter Andy Marrero, who scored 15 points (14 attacks and one service ace), and Samuel Rodríguez, who added 12 points (11 attacks and one service ace).

For Canada, Tyson DeZutter led with 19 points (18 attacks and one block), followed by Seth Brunoro with 14 points (12 attacks, one block, and one service ace), and William Clarmo, who contributed 12 points (11 attacks and one block).

The first set was closely contested, but Canada reached set point with two consecutive points from William Clarmo, a block and a kill. Andy Marrero denied them with a powerful attack, but ultimately, Tyson DeZutter clinched the set for Canada with an attack. In the second set, Cuba finished strong, scoring the last three points with kills from Andy Marrero and Yosdani Medina, followed by a Canadian error. In the third set, Cuba dominated in attacks (11-6) and finished it  after a Canadian service error led to the final points by Medina and Samuel Rodríguez. Cuba reached match point in the fourth set thanks to a reception error by Canada, and two powerful attacks from Medina sealed the victory.

Lian Sem Estrada, head coach of Cuba, said, “In the final sets, we made adjustments, especially in our serves, changing their direction and placement. I think that was key to our victory. Given the experience gained, we should advance from our current position. I’m pleased because we have little time training, and the players followed the instructions well. I believe we’ll continue to grow as we prepare for the World Championship”.

Dan Ota, head coach of Canada said “Cuba is a very strong attacking team, and they were able to play with their style a little more than we were. We knew it was going to be a very difficult match and a difficult team to beat, I think our guys fought. Overall, our guys made too many mistakes in little things during the games. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the result. I am very proud of my team for getting better every day and they all have a very bright future in the game”.

Costa Rica Takes sixth place over Nicaragua

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 22, 2024. – Costa Rica claimed sixth place over Nicaragua with a 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-15, 25-15) victory at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Colima, Mexico.

Costa Rica finished the event with a 1-3 record, while Nicaragua ended with 0-5.

Derek Farley CRC

Costa Rica led the match with a 51-46 advantage in attacks, a 13-8 margin in blocks, and a 4-3 lead in aces. They also benefited from Nicaragua’s 25 errors compared to their own 17.

The top scorers for Costa Rica were Derek Farley, who scored 17 points on  13 attacks, 3 blocks, and 1 ace; followed by Ethan Smith with 15 points on 13 attacks and 2 aces; and Deymian López with 11 points on 10 attacks and 1 ace.

For Nicaragua, Joaquín Padilla scored 18 points on 16 attacks, 1 block, and 1 ace. Keneth Urtecho contributed 15 points on 12 attacks and 2 blocks.

Joaquin Padilla NCA

Eladio Vargas, Coach of Costa Rica, said, “We had ups and downs with the players; at some point, we had to place them in different positions. These are kids whose morale fluctuates, which is natural at this age. Today, the player who won us the match didn’t have the same spirit yesterday”.

Jorge Mena, Coach of Nicaragua, said, “We lost our spirit. We played better yesterday and definitely with more enthusiasm. We have a team that knows how to play. Yesterday’s five-set match exhausted them physically, and we need to keep working on getting the athletes committed to training”

Honduras Ready to Host the 6th Central American U23 Women’s Championship

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 22, 2024. – Honduras is set to host the 6th Central American U23 Women’s Championship from June 23 to 29 at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium, following the preliminary meetings and registration of the seven Central American teams.

All the coaches agree that the level of all the teams is quite balanced, and they anticipate a highly competitive tournament with a high standard of play.

Here are the insights shared by the coaches regarding the tournament and their teams and competitors.

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

Álbum fotos Entrevista Preliminar

José Donaldo Ureña, Coach of Panama commented, “We have very high expectations for the tournament. Our team is a young group that we have been preparing for competitions more aligned with their age. We are very happy to be competing again in such tournaments to continue growing in our area”.

Panama

Laurence Bennett, Assistant Coach of Belize, said, “We have been working hard for this tournament. Our goal is to guide the players. We want them to develop and achieve good results”.

Belize

Noe Fabian, Coach of El Salvador, expressed, “I want to thank Honduras for resuming the U23 tournament, allowing the athletes to maintain their competitiveness. Regarding El Salvador, we come with great enthusiasm and the desire to perform our best”.

El Salvador

Claudia Noguera, Coach of Nicaragua affirmed, “We believe it will be a very close competition. We’ve seen that some teams have a very good level. It’s going to be a strong contest at the Central American level with several teams vying for the podium. Our team is quite young; we have refreshed some players and consider we have a team to contend for the title”.

Nicaragua

Carlos Quezada, Coach of Costa Rica, explained, “We are very happy to be in Honduras. It’s a new opportunity to compete. It’s good to have these chances for the girls to stay active. Our team has worked very well. I feel our team is strong. We have a lot of hope, and we aim to do our best to represent well”.

Costa Rica

Marcus Sugiyama, Coach of Honduras, stated, “Thank you for the invitation to the U23 Championship. Our team is prepared because it will be a very tough competition. We will take it step by step, as there are very strong teams in the tournament. We aim to achieve our goals”.

Honduras

William Fernández, Coach of Guatemala, said, “I thank Honduras for hosting this event, which is the foundation for the senior teams. It will be a very even tournament in terms of level, as everyone has prepared extensively for this event. We come to fight for a place among the top positions”.

Guatemala

Mexico Mastered a 3-1 Semifinal Victory against Cuba

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 21, 2024.- Mexico mastered a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-18, 25-17) victory against Cuba  in the semifinals of the Boys U17 Pan American Cup being held in Colima, Mexico.

On Saturday, Mexico will face Puerto Rico, the winner of the other semifinal, for the championship. Cuba will compete for the bronze medal against Canada.

Mexico dominated in attacks (42-31) and service points (7-1). Both teams recorded 13 blocks. Mexico benefited from 35 Cuban errors while committing 27 of their own.

Mexico celebrate

Mexican outside hitters Oskar González and Emi Díaz contributed 17 and 16 points respectively. Oskar scored on 14 attacks, one block, and two aces. Emi tallied 10 attacks, 5 blocks, and one ace. Opposite hitter Ricardo González also added 11 points to the victory.

Cuban captain and opposite hitter Yosdani Medina was the only player on his team to reach double digits, leading the match with 21 points. Medina made 20 successful attacks and one block.

Mexico controlled the first set completely, scoring 6 blocks that unsettled the Cuban team’s system. Cuba adjusted well in the second set, staying tied at 16 points and maintaining the lead with Medina steering their offense. Mexico bounced back in the third and fourth sets, quickly achieving a solid six-point lead (11-5) with Oskar and Emi putting pressure on Cuba, which committed a significant number of errors, especially in the third set (a total of 12), paving the way for Mexico to advance to the championship match.

Puerto Rico Advances to the U17 Pan American Cup Final Over Canada

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 21, 2024.- Puerto Rico advanced to the Boys U17 Pan American Cup  final after defeating Canada 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20) on Friday’s semifinals in Colima, Mexico.

On Saturday, Puerto Rico will face the winner between Mexico and Cuba in the gold medal match. Canada will compete for the bronze medal against the losing team.

Puerto Rico led in attack points (55-44) and aces (7-3), while Canada held advantage in blocks (17-13). Canada also conceded fewer points on errors (22-25).

Puerto Rico

Gustavo Alvarez of Puerto Rico led all scorers with 26 points, on 24 kills, one block, and one ace. Outside hitter Adrián Carrillo contributed 14 points on 10 attacks, one block, and three aces. Middle blocker Dylan López scored 12 points, including 8 attacks, 3 blocks, and one  ace. Middle blocker Jorge Suarez added 6 points from blocks.

Canadian captain Tyson Dezuter led his team with 19 points on 13 attacks and 6 blocks. Outside hitter Seth Brunoro registered 11 points on 8 attacks and 3 blocks. Middle blocker Brayden Long also tallied 11 points, with 5 attacks, 4 blocks, and 2 aces.

In the first set, Puerto Rico managed to pull ahead by reaching the 20-point mark, closing it with an ace from setter Yael De Jesús. In the second set, Canada surged to a 4-1 lead, capitalizing on a Puerto Rico error and three consecutive blocks. Canada tied the match when Puerto Rico missed a serve (23-22), followed by a block from Brayden Long on Jorge Suarez. Key contributions from Maximiliano Aponte, Adrián Carrillo, and Jorge Suarez helped Puerto Rico secure the third set. Despite a comeback by Canada in the fourth set from a 14-19 deficit, which included an ace by Brayden Long, a block by Liam Ulrich, and kills by Brunoro and Clarmo, Puerto Rico scored three consecutive points to clinch the victory.

Puerto Rico’s coach, Carlos De Sevilla, remarked, “Credits to Canada; they are a tall and very strong team. I trusted my players because they have always shown resilience under pressure. We played a tremendous match and had a good result. Now it’s time to rest and fight until the end tomorrow”.

Guatemala With a Comeback Win in Five-Sets Takes Fifth Place

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 21, 2024.- Guatemala came from behind to secure a 3-2 (18-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-14, 15-13) victory over Nicaragua, clinching fifth place at the first edition of the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico.

Guatemala rallied from a two-set deficit to finish the event with a 2-3 record and in fifth place. Nicaragua will face Costa Rica on Saturday in the match for positions 6-7.

Guatemala held advantage in kills (64-56) and committed fewer errors than Nicaragua (28-31). Nicaragua held an advantage in blocks (13-10) and service points (4-1).

Luis Mendizabal GUA

Guatemala’s captain and opposite hitter, Luis Mendizábal, scored 19 points (15 attacks, 3 blocks, and one ace). Outside hitter Juan Menéndez added 17 points (16 attacks, one block). Middle blocker José Asencio finished with 15 points (11 attacks and 4 blocks).

Nicaragua’s middle blocker Keneth Urtecho was the top scorer of the match with 25 points on  22 attacks and 3 blocks. Outside hitter Joaquín Padilla and middle blocker Antonio Márquez each scored 12 points.

Luis Mendizábal led his team to match point, and Menéndez scored the final point with a powerful kill when it seemed Nicaragua might take the win after tying the score at 13 and coming back from 11-13.

Juan Mendez GUA – Joshua Rivas NCA

After Guatemala’s victory, Luis Mendizábal commented, “I thought it wouldn’t be that hard, but it was. Nicaragua put pressure on us the whole time. We showed courage as a team, and that wore Nicaragua down. We fought for Guatemala and united as a team in the last three sets for the victorious result”.

Keneth Urtecho, the leading scorer of the game, said, “We had the point to win, but we couldn’t make it. Guatemala is undoubtedly a good team, and their best attacker scored several key points against us. We always sought victory, but unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain our advantage. We made mistakes, as anyone can”.

Canada Battles to prevail over Nicaragua and reach Semifinals

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 20, 2024. – Canada fought hard to defeat Nicaragua 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-20) and reach the Boys U17 Pan American Cup semifinals in Colima, Mexico.

Canada will face Puerto Rico in Friday’s semifinals. In the other semifinal, Cuba will compete against Mexico.

Nicaragua will play in the classification match for positions 5 to 7 against Guatemala; the winner will finish the event in fifth place, and the loser will play for positions 6-7 against Costa Rica on Saturday.

Canada

Canada managed to control Nicaragua thanks to their advantage in attacks (40-29) and blocks (11-4); they also held a comfortable margin in serves (4-2). Canada gave away 26 points on errors, while Nicaragua gave away 22.

Canadian outside hitter Danilo Skipina scored 17 points, including 11 kills, a match-high of 5 blocks, and one serve. Opposite hitter William Clarmo registered 11 points on 9 kills and two blocks.

Nicaraguan outside hitter Joaquin Padilla led his team with 16 points on 15 kills and one serve. Middle blocker Keneth Urtecho scored 9 points.

Joaquin Padilla NCA

Canada and Nicaragua faced off in an exciting first set where Nicaragua came back from a 13-17 deficit to tie the game, thanks to middle blocker Keneth Urtecho. Service errors from both Canada and Nicaragua extended the set to a thrilling 27-25, with a block from Canadian Kaysen Flaman securing the final point. Canada jumped to an early 10-4 lead in the second set and kept the lead throughout the set. In the third set, with Canada holding set point at 24-18, a kill from Axel Arbizu and three consecutive Canadian errors brought the score to 24-20. However, the winning point came when Nicaragua committed a service error.

Canada’s leading scorer Danilo Skipina said “Coming off the bench it was a rusty start, but it was a really good game, near the end I started to pick up on the reception on hitting. Both teams came together towards the end, it was a good experience. About the semifinals, Puerto Rico is a great team as ours; we’re just going to play together as a team and make sure we have good block-defense, in addition to do whatever we can to hit the ball and win on offense, make them work for it”.

Joaquín Padilla, top Scorer for Nicaragua, commented, “In general, we played well. We needed better reception. It was an exciting game. Canada had better block and serve. Tomorrow, we’ll give it our all against Guatemala”.

Cuba swept Guatemala to face Mexico in Semifinals

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 20, 2024.- Cuba defeated Guatemala 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-12) to advance to the semifinals of the U17 Men’s Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico, where they will face Mexico.

Guatemala will compete in the classification matches for positions 5 to 7, starting against the loser between Canada and Nicaragua.

Cuba celebrate

Cuba was dominant, outscoring Guatemala 42 to 16 in attacks and 14 to 3 in aces. Both teams scored two points from blocks. Guatemala benefited from 29 Cuban errors while conceding 17 of their own.

Cuban outside hitter Samuel Rodríguez was the top scorer with 14 points, including 9 attacks and a match-high 5 aces. Andy Marrero added 13 points on 10 attacks and three aces. Julio Acosta contributed 10 points on 8 attacks and 2 service points.

Samuel Rodriguez CUB

In the first set, Guatemala rallied from a 17-23 deficit, scoring four consecutive points from Cuban errors and with a kill from José Quintana and an ace by Luis Mendizábal. Cuba led the second set entirely, scoring 6 aces, with 3 of them from Samuel Rodríguez. In the third set, Guatemala quickly jumped to a 3-0 lead, but Cuba rapidly evened the score.

Cuban libero Luis Paumier said, “We achieved the result in straight sets, but we relaxed too much, and Guatemala took advantage. The coach used the entire roster, preparing us for tomorrow’s very important match. Today, the opponent didn’t challenge us much, so I didn’t have to defend as much. I support my team in every moment from the court”.

The VI AFECAVOL U23 Women’s Championship in Honduras is Approaching

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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 20, 2024.- The VI Central American U23 Women’s AFECAVOL Championship is fast approaching. The event will take place at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in the Tegucigalpa Sports Complex, Honduras, from June 23 to 29, 2024.

This is the second consecutive occasion that Honduras hosts this age-group championship, where Costa Rica has dominated since its inception in 2012.

In the previous edition held in 2022, Costa Rica clinched their fifth consecutive title defeating Honduras, with both teams progressing into the final match of the event undefeated.

AFECAVOL 2024 U23 FEMENINO

Throughout the history of the Central American U23 Women’s Championship, Guatemala has won two silver and two bronze medals. Honduras and Nicaragua are tied, each having one silver and one bronze medal. Belize reached the podium in 2022, earning the silver medal. El Salvador has secured one bronze medal.

The sixth edition of the tournament will feature all seven countries in the region, competing in a round-robin format starting Sunday, June 23.

Year by Year Podium

Year      Gold      Silver     Bronze

2012      CRC        GUA        HON

2014      CRC        NCA        GUA

2016      CRC        GUA        ESA   

2019      CRC         BIZ          NCA   

2022     CRC        HON      GUA

Competition Schedule

June 23

2:30pm               Guatemala vs Belize

5:00pm               Nicaragua vs El Salvador

8:00pm               Honduras vs Panama

June 24

2:30pm               Costa Rica vs Panama

5:00pm               Nicaragua vs Belize

7:30pm               Guatemala vs El Salvador

June 25

2:30pm               Costa Rica vs Belize

5:00pm               Nicaragua vs Panama

7:30pm               Honduras vs El Salvador

June 26

2:30pm               Guatemala vs Panama

5:00pm               Costa Rica vs El Salvador

7:30pm               Honduras vs Belize

June 27

2:30pm               Costa Rica vs Nicaragua

5:00pm               Belize vs Panama

7:30pm               Honduras vs Guatemala

June 28

2:30pm               El Salvador vs Panama

5:00pm               Costa Rica vs Guatemala

7:30pm               Honduras vs Nicaragua

June 29

2:00pm               El Salvador vs Belize

4:30pm               Guatemala vs Nicaragua

7:30pm               Costa Rica vs Honduras

USA and Dominican Republic rosters for women’s Olympic volleyball released

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June 19, 2024.- Just hours before the drawing of lots for the women’s volleyball tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the wide team rosters for USA and Dominican Republic were released, along with the other competing teams.

The list of names, from which the head coaches will make their final selections of 13 players for Paris, promises a solid stellar presence and plenty of electrifying action on the volleyball court at the South Paris Arena in the French capital from July 27 to August 11.

The roster of defending Olympic champions USA features not only Tokyo 2020 Olympic MVP Jordan Larson, but also Tokyo Dream Teamers Jordyn Poulter, Haleigh Washington and Justine Wong-Orantes.

United States Roster

In its fourth Olympic Games, Dominican Republic’s features stellar libero Brenda Castillo, siblings Brayelin and Jineiry Martinez and young opposite Alondra Tapia who recently became one of just four players to score 37 points or more in a VNL match.

Dominican Republic Roster

Check out the wide team rosters (subject to eligibility check to be conducted by the FIVB) here.

The 12 qualified teams are divided into three pools of four:

Pool A: France, USA, China, Serbia

Pool B: Brazil, Poland, Japan, Kenya

Pool C: Italy, Türkiye, Netherlands, Dominican Republic

Olympic Games Paris 2024

Mexico moved into Semifinals with a Five-Set Win over Canada

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 19, 2024.- Mexico won a hard-fought battle against Canada in five sets, securing a 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 15-13 victory to advance to the semifinals of the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico.

Mexico topped pool A with a perfect 3-0 record. Canada finished second with a 2-1 record and will face Nicaragua in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Mexico led in attacks (62-43) and service points (9-7). Canada had a significant advantage in blocking points, leading 18-7, and committed 26 errors compared to Mexico’s 38.

Ricardo Gonzalez MEX

The leading scorer of the match was Mexican opposite hitter Ricardo González, who tallied 23 points from 21 attacks, one block, and one ace. Outside hitter Oskar González also scored  double digits, contributing 21 points from 18 attacks and 3 aces. Emi Díaz added 12 points to the victory.

For Canada, outside hitters Seth Brunoro and Tyson DeZutter each scored 16 points. Middle blocker Brayden Long contributed 15 points, including a match-high of 7 blocks. Opposite hitter William Clarmo added 5 blocks to his total of 13 points.

Canada made a tremendous effort, recovering from a two-set deficit to push the match to a dramatic fifth set, where they initially led 6-4. The teams were tied at 10, 11, and 13 points. Oskar González then pushed Mexico to match point with a powerful kill, and the winning point came from Eduardo Escoto, who blocked Canadian captain Tyson DeZutter.

Kade Funk CAN

Mexican head coach Denis Omar Rivera said, “The victory came from the heart. Canada was very disciplined on the court and knew how to adjust against us. We will review the mistakes we made with the players, study the match, and be prepared for what comes next”.

Dan Ota, head coach of Canada said, “We know how to fight. We knew that we could recover from 0-2 if we made some good adjustments, and we did. Going into the fifth set anything could happen, we had chances to win and obviously they had a couple more points at the end. It’s a very good learning experience for us and that’s the number one thing. This environment, with the fans, was incredible and it makes things very special for this young group, it’s an experience that our players will never forget”.

Puerto Rico Makes it into Semifinals Winning Pool B to Cuba

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 19, 2024.- Puerto Rico advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural Boys U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, after defeating Cuba 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-17) to secure the top spot in Pool B.

With a 2-0 record in the preliminary round, Puerto Rico earned a direct ticket to Friday’s semifinals. Cuba will face Guatemala in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Puerto Rico outperformed Cuba in attacks (40-34) and service points (7-2). Cuba led in blocks by a narrow margin of 7-6. Errors were balanced, with Puerto Rico committing 21 and Cuba 23.

Three Puerto Rican outside hitters scored in double digits. Maximiliano Aponte led the team with 14 points (9 attacks, 2 blocks, 3 aces), followed by Gustavo Alvarez with 13 points, all on kills, and Adrián Carrillo with 10 points (9 attacks, one block).

For Cuba, Samuel Rodríguez was the top scorer of the match with 15 points (12 attacks, 2 blocks, one ace).

Cuba started strong, jumping to a five-point lead (18-13) in the first set but couldn’t maintain it. Puerto Rico came from behind with attacks from Gustavo Alvarez and blocks by Maximiliano Aponte. Middle Julio Acosto with a kill, prevented Puerto Rico from winning at 24-23, but a kill from Adrián Carrillo and an ace from Jose Soriano secured the set for Puerto Rico. In the second set, Puerto Rico and Cuba tied several times, but from point 18 onwards, Puerto Rico held the lead. Puerto Rico opened the third set with a 3-0 run, extended their lead to 17-9, and sealed the victory at 25-17 with an attack by Adrián Carrillo.

Puerto Rico

Maximiliano Aponte, Puerto Rico’s top scorer, said, “The game was tough. Cuba has tall players and strong attackers, but with what we’ve practiced, we managed the match and got the victory. We kept our spirits high and executed well in defense, blocking, and serving”.

Cuban outside hitter Byron Herrera commented, “We started strong, but we relaxed because we had the lead in the first set, and Puerto Rico took full advantage of that. I think we need to improve our mental game. The more we play, the more opportunities we have to get better.”

Guatemala Defeats Costa Rica to Advance to Quarterfinals

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 19, 2024.- Guatemala defeated Costa Rica 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 27-25) in their final pool-play match, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Boys U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico.

Guatemala concluded pool A with a 1-2 record, while Costa Rica finished 0-3. Guatemala will await their quarterfinal opponent for Thursday’s match. Meanwhile, Costa Rica will compete in the classification matches for positions 5 to 7.

Guatemala capitalized their win with significant advantages in attacks (61-51), blocks (11-7), and service points (6-0). Despite benefiting from 23 Costa Rican errors, Guatemala also conceded 35 points from their own errors.

Jorge Gonzalez GUA

Guatemala’s captain and outside hitter, Luis Mendizábal, led all scorers with 23 points (20 attacks, one service point), followed by Juan Carlos Menéndez with 21 points (18 attacks, 2 blocks, one service point). Jorge González also contributed to the victory with 14 points, all from kills.

For Costa Rica, the leading scorer was Ignacio Morales with 18 points (16 attacks, 2 blocks). Deymian López added 13 points, all from attacks, and Ángel Monge finished with 10 points, also all from attacks.

Guatemala dominated the first set and reached set point in the second set (24-22). However, two attacks from Deniz Vargas tied the score at 24. Guatemala regained set point at 26-24 with a kill by Carlos Menéndez, and Juan Zúñiga closed the set with a block. Costa Rica extended the match by winning the third set, led by Ignacio Morales and Deymian López. In the fourth set, Costa Rica rallied from a three-point deficit (17-20) to tie in the final points. Luis Mendizábal secured the victory at 27-25 with a kill and a block.

Ignacio Morales CRC

Juan Carlos Menéndez, Guatemala’s outside hitter, commented, “The key to our victory today was our setter’s intelligence; he read the opponent well. We wouldn’t be in the next round without him. We lost a very tight set that could have gone either way. In the fourth set, we managed to stay calm and played with strong attacks”.

Costa Rica’s coach, Jenkins Cruz, said, “We couldn’t recover our setter for this match. We came prepared with a strategically established plan, but you can’t anticipate injuries, especially not to the setter who distributes the whole game. The substitute player did well, but he hasn’t been with the team for long. The physical integrity of the setter is more important, and we hope he can play for the rest of the tournament”.

Paris 2024: Women’s volleyball pools drawn

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June 19, 2024.- In a much-anticipated moment, the single round-robin pools for the first stage of the women’s volleyball tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were drawn in Bangkok on Wednesday, a day before the start of the women’s 2024 Volleyball Nations League Finals in Thailand’s capital.

The 12 qualified teams were drawn into three pools of four:

Pool A: France, USA, China, Serbia

Pool B: Brazil, Poland, Japan, Kenya

Pool C: Italy, Türkiye, Netherlands, Dominican Republic

Olympic Games Paris 2024

The Olympic volleyball tournaments at Paris 2024 will be conducted under a new format, starting with three round-robin pools of four. The pool winners, the pool runners-up and the two best ranked third-placed teams will advance to the quarterfinals for the start of the single elimination bracket that will lead to the semifinals and eventually to the medal matches to determine the Olympic podium.

The Paris 2024 volleyball matches will be held at the South Paris Arena in the French capital from July 27 to August 11 to produce the 16th Olympic volleyball champions in each gender.

Mexico with Second Consecutive Victory

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 18, 2024. – Mexico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-16) to claim their second consecutive win at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup, being played at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico.

Mexico (2-0) will face Canada (2-0) on Wednesday to determine who advances directly to the semifinals from pool A. Costa Rica (0-2) will play against Guatemala (0-2) for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Mexico led Costa Rica with a significant advantage in attacks (56-24) and a comfortable lead in service points (5-1), although they conceded 27 points from errors compared to Costa Rica’s 12. Costa Rica outperformed in blocks (7-5).

Oskar Gonzalez MEX

Mexican outside hitter Oskar González led all scorers with 21 points (20 attacks and one ace). Emi Díaz contributed 19 points (15 attacks, one block, and 3 service points).

Costa Rican opposite hitter Derek Farley scored 7 points.

After a grueling first set, which Mexico won with a block by middle blocker Raúl Silva, Mexico came out stronger in the second set, quickly establishing a huge lead (20-10) that Costa Rica couldn’t overcome. Late in the third set (22-13), Costa Rican captain and setter Gabriel Córdoba suffered an ankle injury after a bad fall. Mexico sealed the victory with two kills from Emi Díaz.

Leading scorer of Mexico, Oskar Gonzalez, said “The first set was dramatic because we lacked concentration and our errors, it wasn’t about Costa Rica’s scoring more points. We were able to control the situation to take the lead. In the next two sets, we were decisive because we elevated our level of play, with strength in every element of the game, including in defense”.

Opposite hitter Derek Farley of Costa Rica said, “We couldn’t keep up the courage we had in the first set. We fell and we could have done things better today, like yesterday. I hope my teammate recovers soon. We followed our coaches’ instructions, but we lacked courage. We had trouble in not committing errors”.

Cuba Kicks Off U17 Pan American Cup with Victory Over Nicaragua

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 18, 2024. – Cuba opened the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup with a decisive 3-0 win (25-14, 25-17, 25-12) against Nicaragua at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico.

With a dominant performance in kills (38-22), blocks (8-3), and service points (13-3), Cuba secured their first victory in pool  B. Cuba committed 15 errors while Nicaragua had 16.

Cuba (1-0) will wrap up the preliminary round on Wednesday against Puerto Rico (1-0); the winner will advance directly to Friday’s semifinals. Nicaragua finished pool B with an 0-2 record and will compete in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Cuba

Three Cuban outside hitters led the offense with double-digit points. Byron Herrera scored 14 points from 10 attacks, 2 blocks, and 2 aces; Andy Marrero contributed 12 points from 10 attacks and 2 blocks; and Samuel Rodríguez added 12 points from 6 attacks and a match-high of 6 aces.

Nicaragua’s middle blocker Keneth Urtecho scored 9 points for his team.

In the second set, Nicaragua surprised Cuba by tying the score at 12 points thanks to the efforts of Joaquín Padilla and Ismael Martínez, but Cuba closed strong.

Julio Acosta CUB

Cuban team captain Yosdani Medina said, “We were more decisive at the start. We are getting into rhythm as we prepare for the World Championship, and today everyone had the chance to play and get warmed up. Tomorrow we will come out strong against Puerto Rico. We are very united and combined with our attacking power”.

Nicaraguan setter Axel Aribzu commented, “We had ups and downs; we lacked defense and better cohesion because we just joined from playing in the U21 tournament. We know we will do better; we are already in the quarterfinals and need more consistency in our attack.”

Canada Defeats Guatemala in Second Win

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COLIMA, Mexico, June 18, 2024. – Canada won over Guatemala 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 26-24) in their second victory at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup being held in Colima, Mexico.

After losing the first set, Canada came back strong to improve their record to 2-0 in pool  A, while Guatemala remains winless at 0-2.

Canada concludes pool-play on Wednesday against Mexico, while Guatemala will face Costa Rica.

Tyson Dezutter CAN

Canada’s dominance in blocking (10-4) and service points (10-4) was crucial for their victory. Guatemala committed fewer unforced errors (22-36).

Canadian captain and outside hitter Tyson DeZutter was the leading scorer in the match with 24 points, on 18 attacks, 2 blocks, and a match-high of 4 aces. Opposite Kade Funk, who came in as a substitute in the first set, added 13 points on10 attacks, 2 blocks, and one ace. Outside hitter Seth Brunoro also contributed with 12 points.

For Guatemala, captain Luis Mendizábal led his team with 16 points from 14 attacks and 2 blocks.

Luis Mendizabal GUA

Guatemala led throughout the first set, but Canada returned with greater confidence to take the second. In the third set, Canada quickly built a commanding 18-9 lead. Despite Guatemala rallying from a six-point deficit (14-20) in the fourth set, thanks to a series of Canadian errors and strong offense from Mendizábal, Canada regained control and reached match point at 24-23, which Guatemala managed to stave off twice. Tyson DeZutter ended the match with a powerful spike.

Cruz Chittick, libero of Canada said “Our team relied on each other to recover from falling in the first set. Our resiliency was better than Guatemala’s, when they came down they couldn’t bounce back, while we bounced back in every sense”.

Edvin López, Guatemala’s coach, commented, “I think the boys were too anxious. We made mistakes, but we need to work more as a team. Some players are also overloaded from the U21 competition. We’ll aim for a win against Costa Rica to advance to the next round”.

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