Category: Volleyball

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 2, 2023.- The outstanding display in defense of Cuban Yonder García was recognized naming him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Men’s Volleyball at the twenty fourth edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 on Sunday.

Cuba, in addition to the MVP recognition, dominated four of the 12 individual awards to take back home the following distinctions: 1st Best Blocker for José Masso, Best Setter for Lyvan Taboada and Best Server for Javier Concepción.

Mexico, also stood out with three individual awards: Josué López as 2nd Best Spiker and Hiram Bravo as Best Libero and Best Defense.

Puerto Rico was granted the awards of 1^st Best Spiker for Pelegrin Vargas and Best Receiver for  Dennis Del Valle.

The awards for 2nd Best Blocker and Best Opposite went to  Rafael Brugos and Henry Tapia of Dominican Republic respectively.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Daynte Stewart received the recognition of Best Scorer.

Individual Awards

MVP, Yonder Garcia (CUB)

1^st Best Spiker, Pelegrin Vargas (PUR)

2^nd Best Spiker, Josué López (MEX)

1^st Best Blocker, José Masso (CUB)

2^nd Best Blocker, Rafael Brugos (DOM)

Best Setter, Lyvan Taboada (CUB)

Best Opposite, Henry Tapia (DOM)

Best Libero, Hiram Bravo (MEX)

Best Receiver, Dennis Del Valle (PUR)

Best Digger, Hiram Bravo (MEX)

Best Server, Javier Concepción (CUB)

Best Scorer, Daynte Stewart (TTO)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 2, 2023.- Cuba was crowned Champion of the twenty fourth Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 after winning the gold medal match to Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-22) at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Cuba won their eleventh Central American and Caribbean title undefeated (5-0) and remains the top winner of all time in Men’s Volleyball at the CAC Games. Since 1998 that Cuba hasn’t won the championship and the last occasion they reached a title match was in 2006 when they finished second.

For Dominican Republic, this is their third bronze medal in the history of the Games (1962, 1998). Dominicans finished second with a 3-2 record.

Cuba was dominant over their opponent, despite coming from behind in the third set from a four- point deficit (9-13).

Cuba’s serves were powerful and was their key element to win the gold medal match with an 11 to two advantage. Points from attacks were balanced, Cuba scoring with 33 and Dominican Republic totalizing 27. Cuba also led in blocks 9-3.  In errors they too were similar, Dominicans committing fewer, 22 against 24.

Cuba’s middle blocker Javier Concepción and  teammate outside hitter Miguel Angel López shared as top scorers with 12 points each. Concepción scored the most points from serves with 4 aces. Middle blocker José Masso added 11 points.

Outside hitter Hector Cruz topped Dominicans offense with 10 points, followed by team captain Henry Tapia collecting 9 points.

Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “Our goal was clear, to win the Central American and Caribbean Games. Since 1998 that we haven’t been champions, and we won. Now we will continue to work for our next international competitions. Once again we showed that Cuba dominates all the elements of the game”.

Alexander Gutiérrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “We are close to a higher level of play, that last set is proof of that. We are going to continue to execute, to go on improving and play against teams of the level of Cuba to reach that same level, if we don’t do that, it will be harder to reach. We are aware that we must continue to work. We took an important step, we improved our position at the Central American Games, soon we will consolidate what we’ve been doing”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 2, 2023.- Puerto Rico won the Bronze Medal at the twenty fourth Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-14) victory over the representatives of Centro Caribe Sports -Guatemala- at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández on Sunday.

Puerto Rico finished third place with a 4-1 win-loss record, to win their fourth bronze medal in the history of the Games (1950, 1959, 1986). For CCS (Guatemala),  with a 2-3  record and fourth place is their best finish in Central American Games.

Puerto Rico set the pace in the first and third sets, while CCS couldn’t keep the advantage, they held the entire second set reaching a close 25-23 finish for Puerto Rico.

Middle blocker Johathan Rodriguez led his team to victory with 10 points from 9 kills and one ace. Outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas and opposite Jamal Ellis produced 8 and 6 points respectively.

On the CCS (GUA) side, team captain Carlos López scored a match-high of 13 points on 12 kills and one ace. Opposite Erik Flores contributed with 7 points.

Puerto Rico secured their victory with 37 points from kills against 28, a 7-3 margin in blocking points and a 4-2 advantage in aces. Both teams handed out a similar number of points from unforced errors, Puerto Rico (23) and Centro Caribe Sports (27).

Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “On this occasion our performance put us in the position to battle for third place in the Games; yesterday in semifinals, Dominican Republic performed well, organized, and disciplined, they have worked well. Our team must continue to grow, giving continuity to our young players and creating an identity. It will take us some time to get over the loss in semifinals. Today we responded”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of Centro Caribe Sports: “I am glad we reached as far as we could and I think the guys played well, performing the volleyball we have worked on. Having lost the second set that we could have won, affected the team emotionally in the third set”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 2, 2023.- Mexico defeated El Salvador 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15) to finish fifth place of the Men’s Volleyball tournament at the twenty fourth Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 on Sunday at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Mexico finished the tournament with a 4-1 win-loss record and fifth place. Host El Salvador ended  sixth place, their best historic position in CAC Games with 2-3.

Mexico prevailed with a huge 48 advantage in attacking points against 16. They were also more effective in blocks 8-6 and in points from serves 5-2. El Salvador committed fewer errors than Mexico (14-25).

The only two players that finished with double digits were Mexicans opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez with 13 points on 8 kills, four blocks and one ace, and outside hitter Josué López who scored 10 points on 8 kills and two blocks.

Opposite hitter Gustavo Ortiz led El Salvador with 9 points on 7 kills and two blocks.

Pedro Rangel, Captain of Mexico: “We were mentalized in a different presentation. We had difficulties in technical aspects, and we must analyze what failed, adjust, and improve. We had too many things going wrong, but the team has talent to work with”.

Gabriel Linares, Head Coach of El Salvador: “Mexico was aware that we are a team that battles hard, and they needed to impose their authority; they attacked us with serves and we couldn’t respond. We had a good tournament despite the limitations during the process, we got into the top six in the event, a feat we didn’t have in the past 20 years. Now we must prepare for the Senior Central America Cup”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 2, 2023.- Suriname finished seventh place after defeating Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24) at the Men’s Volleyball tournament of the twenty fourth Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023.

Suriname in seventh place ends the event 1-3 and Trinidad & Tobago 0-4 in position eight.

Suriname was superior in points from attacks 65-46 and in aces 7-1; both teams scored on six blocks. Suriname handed out less points from unforced errors (6-17).

Keven Sporkslede, team captain of Suriname scored a match-high of 20 points (19 kills, one ace). Middle blocker David Pinas added 19 points (18 kills, one block) and opposite Zefanio Brienburg contributed with 14 points (12 kills, one block, one ace).

Outside hitters Daynte Stweart and Brandon Legall led Trinidad & Tobago with 19 points and 13 points respectively.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Suriname: “I am happy, still, I wanted to win yesterday as well. For Suriname this was a good tournament, they learned a lot which for me is the most important thing. In the future we are going to perform better because they know the level of play at the Central American Games”.

Gideon Dickson, Head Coach of Trinidad & Tobago:  “We started a bit too late, and the momentum was on Suriname’s side. We know what to work on, we have two weeks ahead of our Senior Zonal Championship and we will get it right”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 1, 2023.- Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico in semifinals in a five-set thriller 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11) on Saturday to battle for the Men’s Volleyball Gold Medal Match of the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games against Cuba

Dominican Republic has reached the CAC Games title match in other three occasions (1962, 1986, 2014) winning it only once, at the 2014 Veracruz Games in Mexico when they beat Puerto Rico.

Dominican Republic will battle Cuba, who earlier won their semifinal to the representatives of Centro Caribe Sports -Guatemala-.

Puerto Rico started off strong and controlled the actions in the first set but missed two set points before reaching 25-21. Dominican Republic turned it around, winning the next two battled sets. In the fourth, Puerto Rico trailed up to an even 21 to play a tie-break which had to be delayed for over an hour due roof leak. Dominicans stormed past Puerto Rico after reaching an even 9 where team captain Henry Tapia scored the final point on a kill.

Outside hitter Wilfrido Hernández was Dominican Republic’s top scorer with 19 kill points. Team captain, opposite Henry Tapia and outside hitter Hector Cruz both scored 17 points.

Puerto Rico’s team captain, outside hitter Pedro Molina scored a match-high of 22 points on 17 kills, three aces and one block. Other three players also finished with double-digits, outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas (17), middles Pedro Nieves (14) and Jonathan Rodriguez (11).

Henry Tapia, Captain of Dominican Republic: “I can’t express enough the joy I feel, we are concluding a difficult task. Being on court isn’t easy, there are moments when the opponents’ coordination changes our game structure, and you must make quick decisions. We lost the fourth set and we thought we were defeated; we were well coordinated to come back and win the fifth set. As of this moment we already have a medal on our neck, with my necklaces”.

Alexander Gutierrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “Since the Final Four in Mexico we were focused on the Central American Games and today we are reaching the finals. Things have been planned, systemized, in order but above all patiently. The Dominican men’s volleyball is growing, we have many young players that need to mature, take decisions during the game, but this is the way. We have secured a medal”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 1, 2023.- Cuba became the first team to book their ticket the Gold Medal Match in Men’s Volleyball at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games after winning their semifinal 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-17) to the representatives of Centro Caribes Sports -Guatemala- on Saturday.

The last time Cuba played for gold was in 2006 in Cartagena, Colombia when they lost to Puerto Rico. This is the fourteenth occasion that Cuba reaches the gold medal match of the CAC Games, winning an overall of ten titles.

Cuba will face the winner of the other semifinal between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. CSC (GUA) is going for the bronze medal for the first time in the history of the Games.

Cuba was dominant over CCS, giving its starters a rest and using Miguel Angel Lopez in the libero position. Cuba led by a huge 40-29 advantage in attacking points, as well as in blocks by a 10 to one difference. Both teams scored four points from serves. Cuba benefited from 21 opponent errors against 13.

Jose Miguel Gutierrez of Cuba scored a match-high of 15 points, on 13 kills, one block and one ace. Middle blocker Endriel Pedroso added 11 points on 6 kills, a match-high of four blocks and one ace.

Middle blocker Andy Leonardo led Guatemala with 9 points on eight kills and one ace. Team captain Carlos Lopez and opposite Erik Flores contributed with 8 points each.

Osniel Mergarejo, Captain of Cuba: “We are satisfied to battle in the gold medal match, our goal is to win it, we are going with our all. The most difficult part of the tournament has been that we are a little tired from performing at the VNL. We are here to compete, to do things well and then return to VNL”.

Carlos López, Captain of CSC: “It’s a historic feat to play for a medal, the fact of competing here and facing a team like Cuba is a success for us, we learn, we improve. Today we weren’t afraid of Cuba, we played with character and good attitude, that gives us confidence that we will battle hard for third place”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of CSC: “Performing at this level benefits our team. We went out to compete, we made errors, but that is part of the game; the guys have grown and aren’t scared of competing against teams of a higher level”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 1, 2023.- El Salvador defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-22) and will face Mexico for fifth place in Men’s Volleyball at the Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023.

Host El Salvador came from behind in the last two sets to earn the straight set victory in a classification match for positions 5 to 8 of the event.

On Sunday, El Salvador goes up against Mexico, who earlier beat Trinidad & Tobago, for position five, while Suriname will face Trinidad & Tobago for seventh place.

Points from attacks were balanced, El Salvador with 36 and Suriname with 33. The host country led 11-9 in blocks and held a slight 5-4 margin in points from serves, allowing 18 points from unforced errors while scoring on 23 from Suriname.

Team captain Keven Sporkslede was the top scorer for Suriname with 13 points (9 kills, 4 blocks), joined by outside hitter Jonovan Wijngaarde who collected 10 points (9 kills, one serve).

Diego Guidos, middle blocker of El Salvador: “We are making history. Never before El Salvador had gone this far in recent tournaments. I am excited and proud of my team and its performance. Despite that in the preliminary round we didn’t get the results we wanted, we haven’t stopped fighting and keep on moving forward as a team, as a family helped by these spectacular supporters. Our warrior spirit didn’t allow us to give up”.  

Gabriel Linares, Head coach of El Salvador: “Our opponent changed their serves and that got us in trouble in the second and third set, but we coordinated better our receiving line, and we came back slowly. It’s the first time El Salvador will play for fifth place at CAC Games”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 1, 2023.- Mexico beat Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-12) and will play for fifth place at the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Mexico outperformed Trinidad & Tobago in a classification match for positions five to eight on Saturday, with a huge 42-25 advantage in attacking points, 12-4 in blocking points and 2-0 in aces. Both teams committed a similar number of unforced errors, Mexico with 15 and Trinidad & Tobago with 19.

Mexico will wait for the winner between Suriname and host El Salvador; Trinidad & Tobago will play for position seven.

Yasutaka Sanay topped Mexico with 8 points and Daynte Stewart of Trinidad & Tobago led all scorers with 10 points.

Enrique Sandoval, outside hitter of Mexico: “In the first and second sets we analyzed our opponents and in the third we scored easier. Tomorrow we close and we will give our one hundred percent for the best place”.

Marley Davidson, libero of Trinidad & Tobago: “The energy of the team wasn’t there. We tried to push the team to get as many points as possible or even take a set, but unfortunately we didn’t execute well”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 30, 2023.- Puerto Rico beat El Salvador 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-17) and will face Dominican Republic in the Men’s Volleyball tournament semifinals of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games.

The defending champions of Central American Games won Pool B undefeated and will face Dominican Republic, who finished second in Pool A, in Saturday’s semifinals. El Salvador (1-2) will play for positions 5 to 8, starting Suriname.

In the other semifinal, Cuba will meet the team of Centro Caribe Sports CSC -Guatemala-

In the second set, El Salvador reached a four-point advantage with good defense over the net and on the court, forcing Puerto Rico to commit consecutive errors. Puerto Rico eventually tied at point 18 to extend the set to a 28-26 finish.

Puerto Rico finished with a huge advantage of 52 points from attacks against 32, as well as in blocks 6-1 and a 5-2 margin in aces but allowing 24 points from unforced errors against 15 from El Salvador.

Opposite Klistan Lawrence led Puerto Rico with 18 attacking points, joined by outside hitter Peligrin Vargas who added 16 points on 12 kills and a match-high of 4 points from serves. Omar Hoyos added 11 points.

Two players of El Salvador finished with double digits, outside hitter Rodrigo Chávez with 11 points in kills and opposite Gustavo Ortiz with 10 points from kills.

Klistan Lawrence, top scorer of Puerto Rico: “We almost lost the second set after a series of consecutive unforced errors, we relaxed, but we found the strategy to balance our performance and the result in our favor. In the semifinals we must improve, Dominican Republic will demand more of us, we are going in for the win”.  

Oswald Antonetti, Head coach of Puerto Rico: “El Salvador is the host, and this was the most important match for them in a long time, it was symbolic. We are going to jump from one level of play to a different one in only a day and it will be challenging. We are eager to continue competing. The semifinal will be a great match, we are going in prepared and to keep a positive mind”.  

Gustavo Ortiz, opposite of El Salvador : “In the second set we improved in defense-block, we closed their outside, unfortunately they scored from the middle, but we were able to face Puerto Rico and reach an advantage. It was a good match, and we benefited from the opportunity”.  

Gabriel Linares, Head coach of El Salvador: “Unfortunately experience in these tournaments is crucial, we faced teams with more baggage than ours. It’s a great experience and we’ve improved our position from the last Games we played. We have matches left to play and we will battle to finish in the best position possible, adding ranking points”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 30, 2023.- Cuba defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 25-18) to win Pool A and move into the Men’s Volleyball semifinals at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games on Friday at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Cuba undefeated 3-0 will play in Saturday’s semifinals against second place in Pool B, most likely the representatives of Centro Caribe Sports, as there’s still one match left of that pool.

Mexico with 1-2 record will play for positions 5 to 8.

Mexico was more effective winning the third set, the only occasion they were on top of Cuba and kept momentum while playing longer rallies to force a fourth set.

Cuba’s advantage in blocking (13-2) and points from serves (7-1) made the difference to come out on top. Both teams scored a similar number of points from attacks, with Mexico leading 47 to 43.  Cuba committed 29 unforced errors and Mexico 31.

Middle blocker Javier Concepción led Cuba with 12 points, leading in blocks with 4 points, as well as in points from serves with 3.  Outside hitter Marlon Yant contributed with 10 points and opposite Jesus Herrera, performing only in the first two sets, added 8 points.

Mexico’s top scorer was middle blocker Victor Parra with 11 attacking points. Outside hitter Josué López and opposite Luis Hernández score 9 points each.

Javier Concepción, top scorer of Cuba: “We were too relaxed in the third set because we thought we had already won the match, that cost us the set and we shouldn’t be overconfident against any team, no matter who the opponent is. We haven’t reached our goal; we are going for the gold. People say we are the tournament favorites, and we hope to prove it”.

Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “This is one step more for winning the Central American Games, this group hasn’t been champions. We lost the third set because the guys are used to getting relaxed, they lose concentration, just like they did against the Dominican Republic; they think their opponent won’t play, we lose focus and that makes us commit more errors”.

Said Bravo, libero of Mexico: “We have the potential; we have to work harder and believe we can be at the level of play as a team like Cuba”.

Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “Our result in the competition is because of our first performance against Dominican Republic, that’ the reality. We must evaluate because we aren’t attacking nor serving; we don’t score from kills, and we don’t put difficulty with our serves. We must work harder and make a serious evaluation; we aren’t performing orderly”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 30, 2023.- The representatives of Centro Caribe Sports -Guatemala- in Men’s Volleyball of the Central American and Caribbean Games earned their second victory after defeating Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 (25-23, 25-27, 25-19, 25-21).

CCS (Guatemala) won their last outing in Pool B to finish the preliminary round 2-1 with great possibilities of moving into the semifinals. Trinidad & Tobago with 0-3 will play for positions 5 to 8.

Both teams battled strongly but set two was the most competitive one with CCS pressing in the closing points which Trinidad & Tobago dominated but missed three set points before their 27-25 set win.

The representatives of Centro Caribe Sports finished with a huge 72-54 advantage in attacking points. They also led 5-4 in blocks and 2-1 in aces. Trinidad & Tobago handed out 21 points from unforced errors and Guatemala totalized 31.

Team captain and outside hitter Carlos López was the most productive player in the match, with 24 points for CCS on 22 kills, two blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Brandon Chinchilla joined in scoring 12 points on 9 kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Wagner Chacon, who came off the bench in the third set, contributed with 11 kill points.

Outside hitter Daynte Stewart finished with 23 points (21 kills, two blocks) as Trinidad & Tobago’s top scorer.  Mikheil Hoyte (Zebra) added 12 points (11 kills, one block).

Carlos López, Captain of CCS: “The goal coming here was clear, to advance into the next round; a historic feat if it’s official. It was an important win to think about the semifinals, we had to secure our last match”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of CCS: “When we learned about the schedule of competition, we were aware of the possibility of moving into the next round, understanding that it was going to be hard because all the teams here came well prepared. We reached our goal, we are in another phase of competition, a more complex one”.

Ryan Stewart, Opposite of Trinidad & Tobago: “Guatemala is always a tough competition for us, over the past two years we have yet to get a victory against them, they play defense well and are very consistent, which we need. For what’s left of the competition we need to pass the ball well and be more current in offense, which is a little shaky”.

Gideon Dixon, Head Coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “Congratulations to Guatemala, they were a little bit more consistent than us. Today we had an improved performance by our guys, which is great because our zonal championship is in the next two weeks. We still have two more games to play and we are going to push it hard”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 30, 2023.- Dominican Republic defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) to finish Pool A with a 2-1 win-loss record at the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games on Friday.

Dominicans with 2-1 will wait for the result between Cuba (2-0) and Mexico (1-1) to learn if they advance into Saturday’s semifinals, while Suriname (0-3) ends in fourth place.

The winners jumped to huge advantages in the first and second sets. In the third set, Suriname jumped to an early three-point lead 10-7 which Dominicans battled to recover up to an even 16-16 and closed 25-21.

Dominican Republic gave a rest to its starters during the match, where both teams scored similar points from kills, 37 to 32 for the winning side. Dominicans also held advantage in blocks (3-1) and scored on 35 opponent errors against 14. Suriname led in points from serves (0-2).

Opposite Gerson Toribio of Dominican Republic led all scorers with 12 kill points. Also contributing to the win were outside hitters Henry Lopez and Wilfrido Hernández with 8 and 7 points respectively.

Suriname’s middle blocker Ethan Asimia led his team with 9 points, followed by opposite hitter Meson Anakaba with 5.

Gerson Toribio, top scorer of Dominican Republic: “This match helped the team adjust better for what is coming, today we finish the first phase. Everyone had a chance to play, and our regular players rested. I felt well with the team, to compete and support my team’s win”.

Alexander Gutiérrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “We showed how much the team has grown, the good level we have reached and try to keep it. The match we played against Cuba proved we can compete at that level, and the challenge is to keep it the most we can, which will help us to have better results, this is our fourth victory in the year and last year, from 14 matches we only had 3 and in Barranquilla we finished sixth, we have given an important step”.

Meson Anakaba, top scorer of Suriname: “In the first and second sets we were playing too safe, but in the last set we stayed together, we could have won it, but we committed errors in serves”.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Suriname: “I was aware that our opponents were at a superior level. But I am satisfied, against Cuba we reached a set to point 20, against Mexico 21 and today against Dominican Republic, playing with my bench players we reached a set to point 21”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- Cuba is undefeated after their 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18) win over Dominican Republic in the Men’s Volleyball Tournament at the 2023 San Salvador Central American Games being played at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernandez.

With a combination of its regular players and subs, Cuba recovered from falling in the first set to earn their second victory in Pool A; Dominican Republic now has a 1-1 mark.

Dominican Republic took Cuba by surprise reaching a six-point lead (18-12) in the first set up to an even 21; Rafael Burgos-Guntin and Juan De Jesus ended the set blocking Miguel Angel Lopez. Middle blocker Jose Masso alongside opposite Jesus Herrera and team captain Osniel Mergarejo, were consistent in set two as Cuba evened the score with a strong resistance by the Dominicans captain Henry Tapia and Hector Cruz. Sets three and four were similar but with Cuba giving its subs a time on court in the fourth and final set.

Cuba held advantages in kills (57-49) and in blocks (8-6), Dominicans led 3-2 in points from serves.

Both teams committed 30 unforced errors.

Three Cuban players finished with double digits, opposite Jesus Herrera with 17 points (15 kills, two blocks), middle blocker José Masso with 14 points (10 kills, four blocks) and outside hitter Osniel Mergarejo with 11 points (10 kills, one ace). Herrera and Mergarejo didn’t perform in the fourth set.

Dominican captain Henry Tapia was the match leading scorer with 23 points on 21 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Hector Curz added 15 points (14 kills and one ace).

On the last day of the preliminary round, Cuba (2-0) plays Mexico (1-1) and Dominican Republic (1-1) faces Suriname (0-2).

Yonder García, Libero of Cuba: “I came from the VNL with a small injury, but I am ready to support my team. We lost the first set because we weren’t focused, we came back in the second and we won the match, it was our goal. Tomorrow against Mexico will be a similar match like today, with a lot of energy, but we must start focused and I am sure it will be a great match”.  

Wilfrido Hernández, Outside hitter of Dominican Republic: “I think our serve and our performance over the net were more consistent in the first set, and Cuba didn’t use all their force; we were more aggressive than Cuba. We close the pool-play of the preliminary round against Suriname, and we must win from the beginning, we can’t be overconfident”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- Mexico earned their first victory in Men’s Volleyball at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games after defeating Suriname 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-13) on Thursday at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Mexico stands 1-1 in Pool A and will face Cuba to conclude the preliminary round on Friday. Suriname 0-2 goes up against Dominican Republic.

Mexico started off the strong 6-0 moving forward to a comfortable first set win. In the second set, Suriname had more energy up to an even 12-12 scoring on kill points and opponent errors, still Mexico recovered advantage with line-up changes to a close finish. Mexico dominated the third set.

Two Mexican players ended up scoring 11 points each, outside hitter Josué López and opposite Diego González. Suriname’s team captain Keven Sporkslede scored a match-high of 13 points.

Mexico held a 37-23 advantage in attacks, outblocking Suriname 6-4 and with a 4-2 margin in serve points. Suriname scored 28 points from Mexico’s unforced errors and allowed 19.

Pedro Rangel, Captain of Mexico: “Yesterday was a tough loss, we didn’t perform like we’ve been performing, it mentally affects the team. We were aware that Suriname was coming to battle strong, they had nothing to lose, they showed their talent today and yesterday against Cuba. We solved against them and ourselves as well”.

Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “Today the goal was a 3-0 win, with the lowest score possible. Tomorrow we are going out to die against Cuba”.

Meson Anakaba, Opposite hitter of Suriname: “This wasn’t how we wanted to perform today. We must take the loss and see what comes in the next matches. Tomorrow, we hope for a better match against Dominican Republic, our serves are strong”.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Suriname: “Today my players did their best. Our passing didn’t work in the first and third sets, it was better in the second set which we lost close; this is a problem I detected since my arrival to Suriname. We have potential, the players want to win but they need to learn more. We have faced Cuba and Mexico; two high level teams and it serves as a learning experience; it will help us for our zonal championship. I am happy with their performance”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- The team of Centro Caribe Sports -Guatemala- beat El Salvador 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18) in their first win at the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games.

The CCS team managed to stop El Salvador who yesterday won against Trinidad & Tobago in Pool B. Both teams stand with 1-1 win-loss record.

Setter Daniel Ralon of CCS was a key element helping his team from the service line to close the first and second sets. El Salvador was patient in the third set and Middle blocker Diego Guidos forced their opponents into committing consecutive errors to extend the match to a fourth and final battled set that went to CCS.

Centro Caribe Sports led 61 in points from kills against 53, but their huge 11-4 margin in blocks made a difference to stop El Salvador. They also led 5-2 in service points but committed 24 unforced errors against 18 from their opponents.

Outside hitter and CCS team captain Carlos López led all scorers with 24 points from 21 kills and three blocks. Middle Andy Leonardo, who also competed in beach volleyball, followed with 15 points on 9 kills, three blocks and one ace. Opposite hitter Erik Flores added 13 points.

On El Salvador’s side, outside hitter Rodrigo Chavez produced 19 points on 17 kills and two blocks as their leading scorer. Opposite Diego Navarro contributed with 18 points also on 17 kills, but with one ace.

On Friday, CCS (1-1) ends the preliminary round against Trinidad & Tobago (0-2) and host El Salvador (1-1) faces Puerto Rico (2-0).

Rodrigo Carrillo, opposite of CCS: “Our coach makes changes to help our blockers and improve our defense, it’s to have more effectiveness in front. Our team effort was crucial, and we knew this was an important match to win”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of CCS: “We were aware that this match was going to be difficult because El Salvador is the host, and they were highly motivated after yesterday’s win. My team was anxious, and we calmed them because things don’t always come out right. We were able to relax them, make changes and we got the match”.

Diego Chávez, top scorer of El Salvador: “We lacked experience and had better focus to close the sets. We must improve the attitude of the younger players; several are competing for the first time with the senior team. We must continue to train because Guatemala showed to be superior”.

Gabriel Linares, Head Coach of El Salvador: “We were facing the Central American champion. We stopped attacking and our opponent made some damage in the middle. We couldn’t block; it was small details. The set we won we were able to control our serves and succeed in blocking”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- Puerto Rico outplayed Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) on the second day of competition at the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games.

Defending champion Puerto Rico set the match pace to earn their second Pool B victory against Trinidad & Tobago who is 0-2.

Trinidad & Tobago kept close in the first set 10-11, but Puerto Rico held the advantage the entire set. Puerto Rico quickly jumped to a seven-point lead (11-4) in the second set, keeping a comfortable distance as well as in the third, but Trinidad & Tobago had momentum scoring 4 points in a row (15-23) before their opponent could celebrate at 25-19.

Puerto Rico held advantages in all the elements of the game, 44 to 26 in kills, 6-3 in blocks and 6-2 in points from serves. Trinidad & Tobago committed fewer errors than Puerto Rico (19-23).

Outside hitter and team captain Pedro Molina scored a match-high of 13 points in Puerto Rico’s second win, on 12 kills and one ace. Outside hitter Omar Hoyos and middle blocker Pedro Nieves added 8 points each.

Middle blocker Mikheil Hoyte  (Zebra) led Trinidad & Tobago with 9 points, followed by opposite hitter Ryan Stewart with seven.

Puerto Rico (2-0) finishes the preliminary round on  Friday against host El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago against CCS (GUA).

Pedro Molina, captain of Puerto Rico: “We were better than yesterday, focused on working on our side and knowledge that we have long days ahead. We face El Salvador tomorrow; the atmosphere will be fun, and we are going to enjoy the moment”.

Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “We tried to gather a group of veterans with younger players for this tournament having in mind the importance of having solutions to this event to reach our goals. These matches help us to understand better which role each player will have because the next matches will be more demanding”.

Mikheil Hoyte (Zebra), top scorer of Trinidad & Tobago: “We need to perform with more effort and have a little more fun. This is a new group of guys who just must figure things out, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow and secure a win with more energy”.

Gideon Dixon, Head Coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “We improved today. We still have more to improve and it’s sad that this tournament is too short in terms of matches, but we hope to get a win tomorrow”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 28, 2023.- Host El Salvador defeated Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) in their opening match at the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

After winning a strong first set, the home team El Salvador had a stronger resistance from Trinidad & Tobago who pulled off three match points (20-24) before their three-set finish in their first match of Pool B.

Both teams scored 34 points from attacks. El Salvador held a 5-0 advantage in serves, while Trinidad & Tobago led by a one point (5-4) in blocks. Trinidad & Tobago’s 33 unforced errors definitely made a difference against 17 from El Salvador.

The two players who finished with double digits were outside hitter Rodrigo Chavez who topped El Salvador with 14 points on 13 kills and one ace; and opposite Ryan Stewart from Trinidad & Tobago on a match-high of 17 points from 16 kills and one block.

El Salvador (1-0) meets on Thursday with Central American rival of team Centro Caribe Sports (Guatemala) 0-1, and Trinidad & Tobago (0-1) goes against defending champion Puerto Rico (1-0).

 Juan Carlos Vargas, captain of El Salvador: “We had a notion of how Trinidad & Tobago performs. We were disciplined following our coaches’ instructions and we got our first result. Our goal in these Games is to be in the semifinals, this victory is the first step. Tomorrow, we have a strong match against CCS (GUA), a team that we know well because we are from the same area, and we will give our all”.

Akim Bushe, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “It was a rollercoaster. We came with a game plan however, a lot of unforced errors on our end had us on the losing side of this match. We need to decide as a group to get over it, come back all fresh for our early game tomorrow. We need to have better communication on the court and a bit more energy and we should be fine for our match tomorrow”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 28, 2023.- Defending champion Puerto Rico began the 2023 San Salvador CAC Games with a win 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) over the team of Centro Caribe Sports (Guatemala) on Wednesday at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Puerto Rico was in control of the action in their first Pool B performance, still, the team of Centro Caribe Sports (CCS) jumped to a 10-7 lead in the second set and reached the third to an even 18 score.

The CAC title holders produced 38 points from kills, against 24 and were more consistent in blocking (10-2) and in aces (8-1). CCS benefited from Puerto Rico’s 24 unforced errors, while committing 14.

The leading scorer of the match was Puerto Rican opposite hitter Klistan Lawerence with 18 points on 12 kills, three blocks and three aces. Team captain Pedro Vargas followed with 12 points on 9 kills, one block and two aces.

Opposite Erik Flores led CCS with 10 points from 8 kills and 2 blocks.

Puerto Rico’s next opponent is Trinidad & Tobago, Centro Caribe Sports (Guatemala) faces the host country El Salvador.

Pedro Molina, Captain of Puerto Rico: “There was a little of everything, they improved, and we slowed our intensity, Guatemala is a good team. We are focused on our side, in our errors, going point by point to improve. Our goal is to defend our title, it’s a big weight on our shoulders, but we are working towards it”.

Oswald Antonetti, Head coach of Puerto Rico: “The team was a bit tense in the beginning. Our younger players did well, they got into a good pace. We lacked a better rhythm, but we were consistent emotionally and in our performance. Guatemala is a good team, they serve well, they play orderly”.

Carlos López, Captain CCS: “We lacked concentration at the beginning, we failed in scoring points we could have won and for moments we came back, then we were stopped by Puerto Rico’s strength, they are an experienced team. Now we think about tomorrow’s match”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of CCS: “Fue un juego muy inestable, cometimos muchos errores y esperamos resolverlos. Este (Puerto Rico) es el equipo más fuerte en nuestro grupo, con mucho nivel y experiencia. Vamos empezando la competencia, a ver qué sucede”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 28, 2023.- Cuba started their 2023 CAC Games campaign defeating Suriname in straight sets 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-19) in Pool A of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernandez in San Salvador.

Cuba, who finished week 2 at the Volleyball Nations League, rested some key players in their first performance while Suriname battled stronger in the first and third sets.

Cuba outplayed Suriname with 30 points from kills against 21, with a 9-6 advantage in blocks and a 5-0 margin in points from serves. Cuba allowed 31 points from unforced errors and Suriname 24.

Opposite Miguel Gutierrez and team captain Osniel Mergarejo led Cuba’s offense with 13 and 10 points respectively. Gutierrez scored from 10 kills and 3 aces, while Mergarejo had 8 kills, one block and one ace.

Suriname’s leading scorer was Zefanio Breinburg with eight points on 6 kills and two blocks.

On thursday Cuba (1-0) will face Dominican Republic (1-0) and Suriname (0-1) meets with Mexico (0-1).

Osniel Mergarejo, captain of Cuba: “The Central American Games are very important for us. Some players rested today because we’re coming from VNL, and other bench players played so we can prepare as a team to reach the final. Suriname was excellent, they are improving and it was a good match, their coach is Cuban and we respect them”.

Zefanio Breinburg, top scorer of Suriname: “It was a good performance for us, we started great. We came to leave it all on the field, show what we got and to play hard, let’s see where we stand against Cuba. The team had good kills; it was a good start”.

Nicolás Vives, Head coach of Cuba: “I made some variations to preserve our libero who had a small injury in France, and we want him to be well for the final matches here. The game had a good Flow, our opponent didn’t ask much of us, but the guys did well. We are focused on improving some skills to have better results. We are coming for the gold; this group has never been Central American Champion”.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Suriname: “I told my guys that they had nothing to lose against Cuba, on the contrary, they had a lot to win. The team performed well against Cuba that has a better game level than ours. This team is amateur, facing a professional team and they did well, showing they can win one or two matches”.  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 28, 2023.- Dominican Republic beat Mexico 3-1 (25-17, 29-31, 25-20, 18-25) to open the Men’s Volleyball tournament at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Dominican Republic started off strong jumping to a four-point lead (4-0) that went on growing the entire first set. Mexico came back to take the second set but with difficulties while Dominican Republic reached set point on four different occasions until Mexico won by a thrilling 31-29. It was Dominican Republic who kept their rhythm to beat Mexico in four sets.

Dominicans scored on Mexico’s 41 unforced errors against 16. Blocking also made a difference with Dominicans leading 14-6, in addition to a 4-2 margin in aces. Mexico led in kills 62-45.

Dominican Hector Cruz emerged as the leading scorer in the match with 22 points. The outside hitter scored on 17 kills, 3 blocks and two aces. Other standout players were opposite hitter and team captain Henry Tapia with 16 points (15 kills, one block) and outside hitter Henry López with 14 points, including a match-high of five blocks.

Outside hitter Mauro Fuentes topped Mexico with 18 kill points, followed by opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez with 16 points (15 kills, one block) and outside hitter Josué López with 11 kills points as well.

Dominican Republic’s next match in pool A is against Suriname and Mexico goes against Cuba.  

Henry López, outside hitter of Dominican Republic: “There were many emotions starting from the very first point. We have prepared hard, and we knew we could beat Mexico. We focused on blocking, and we kept our serves under control, that’s how we contained their leading players (López and González) far from the net”.

Alexander Gutiérrez, Head coach of Dominican Republic: “In this pool (the death pool) one match can make the difference to advance into the semifinals. For us this was an early semifinal match. Since the Final Four in Durango, I’ve been saying that our goals were the Central American Games, and today we capitalized what we did in Mexico, that gives us truth. The team kept their game level from start to finish, they didn’t lose concentration and that is really important because if you lose your head for an instant, you can lose the match”.

Mauro Fuentes, outside hitter of Mexico: “We failed to concentrate from the beginning, and we were too overconfident and in addition to that, Dominican Republic had a great performance”.

Jorge Azair, Head coach of Mexico: “We played badly, we didn’t attack, we didn’t score points from kills, and we must watch the video to analyze the game. Dominican Republic did their game, they didn’t make variations in what they usually do”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 27, 2023.- The Men’s Volleyball Tournament at the 24th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023 is ready to kick off on Wednesday June 28 at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

On the eve of the competition, members of the NORCECA control committee were divided in two groups to carry out the competition hall inspection, the practical clinic and the preliminary inquiries.

The general technical meeting took place at University of El Salvador (UES) where the seven of the eight coaches commented about their expectations. Cuba was expected to arrive later during the day.

Alexander Gutiérrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “We are going to continue showing how much our team has improved and try to finish in the best position taking into account that we are in the toughest group of the tournament”.

Gabriel Linares, Head Coach of El Salvador: “Our gymnasium was being remodeled for the Games, so we had some difficulties to start training at the same court. We had friendly matches against teams that improved our development, in Colombia and Costa Rica. We are with great energy and optimism to give a step forward in improving El Salvador’s’ volleyball”.

Reider Lucas, Head Coach of Centro Caribe Sports (GUA): “This is a highly competitive tournament, the Central American and Caribbean Games is huge, and we want to advance with the group that was able to prepare a little more, our goal is to qualify to the next round, looking for the best possible result for Guatemala”. 

Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “The goal is the gold medal, yes it will be hard, but we’ve worked, and the guys have improved their level of play and gained more confidence. The team is motivated, happy. Pedro Rangel is the only player who has been at the Central American Games, so they are all excited for their first time. This tournament is different, the players socialize with other sports and countries, the surroundings are motivating”.

Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “We are coming to defend our title, to keep on improving; it’s a long tournament. We are going to work on our unity, stress the importance of team effort and practice all the tactical-technical skills that we must improve during this tournament. We are bringing only two players from the generation that won in 2018, this is a group who we trust, and we are going to work to forge it”.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Surinam: “We are coming to play but most of all to learn from more experienced teams here, but we have some goals as well, winning at least two or three matches, maybe against  El Salvador or Guatemala. This is a new squad, their first time here at CAC Games. It’s important that we are going to learn for the future and to prepare for our Caribbean Championship”.

Gideon Dickson, Head Coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “We had a four-month preparation cycle in expectation to come here and be competitive in every match, but we are also preparing for our most important tournament, the CVC Championship (CAZOVA Senior Championship) in one month’s time. This tournament will be a great first to measure where we are and where we want to go. Our guys are excited to be here”.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 26, 2023. – Puerto Rico aiming to defend their title at the Men’s Volleyball tournament of the 24th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador to be played at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández from June 28 to July 2.

Puerto Rico is one of the eight teams competing in men’s volleyball, who recovered their title in the past edition of the Games held in Barranquilla, Colombia in 2018. Puerto had Rico lost to the Dominican Republic in 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico, coming from winning three titles in a row (2002, 2006, 2010), for an overall of five titles.

Defending champion Puerto Rico will play in Pool B alongside the team of Centro Caribe Sports (Guatemala), Trinidad &Tobago, and host country El Salvador. Pool A consists of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Suriname.

The winners from each pool will advance directly into the tournaments’ semifinals, while teams place in second and third place will compete in the quarterfinals.

Speaking about the historic winners of the Games, Cuba has won on ten occasions, including nine in a row from 1966 to 1998; in the past edition of 2018 they finished fourth falling to Mexico in the bronze medal match. Mexico follows Cuba with six titles.

Four daily matches are scheduled and the opening match is set to start at 10:30 local time on Wednesday June 28, between Mexico and Dominican Republic, followed by Cuba and Suriname at 13:30. Current champion Puerto Rico will follow at 17:00 against Guatemala, and host El Salvador will face Trinidad & Tobago at 20:00.

Preliminary pool-play round schedule:

June 28

10:30    Mexico v Dominican Republic

13:30    Cuba v Suriname

17:00    Puerto Rico v Guatemala

20:00    El Salvador v Trinidad & Tobago

June 29

10:30    Puerto Rico v Trinidad & Tobago

13:30    El Salvador v Guatemala

17:00    Mexico v Suriname

20:00    Cuba v Dominican Republic

June 30

10:30    Dominican Republic v Suriname

13:30    Guatemala v Trinidad & Tobago

17:00    Cuba v Mexico

20:00    El Salvador v Puerto Rico

Men’s Year by Year Podiums at CACG

Men’s Volleyball Composite Medal Table