BELIZE CITY, Belize, August 09, 2023 – An exciting five-set match unfolded in the closing of the 4th day of the XXII AFECAVOL Central American Men’s Volleyball Cup, where Costa Rica defeated Guatemala 3-2 by scores 25-22/18-25/31-29/22-25/17-15.
The top scorer of the match was Andy Blanco, who contributed 31 points for Guatemala, including 21 points from attacks, 7 blocks, and three serves. For Costa Rica, Gilberth Solano scored 24 points, consisting of 17 points from attacks, three from blocks, and four from serves. Close behind, his teammate Ricky Vargas scored 23 points.
The dominance in attacks slightly favored Costa Rica 65-63, blocks were in favor of Guatemala 17-8, and services were led by Costa Rica 7-6. Costa Rica capitalized on 33 points from opponent errors, while Guatemala scored 30 points on their rival’s mistakes.
The event, taking place at the Belize City Civic Center, continues on Thursday, with Costa Rica facing El Salvador at 2:30pm, and at 7:30pm, Guatemala competing against the hosts.
INTERVIEWS
Ricky Vargas, outside hitter of Costa Rica: “A very tough match against an opponent that has always given us trouble and has been growing. In the recent encounters, they’ve complicated things for us; it has been hard to beat them. Today, it worked out for us. We followed the tactical aspects, we were mentally focused, and even though we had some setbacks that caused us to lose two sets, I feel the team is strengthened, and we’re going all out for the upcoming matches”.
Carlos López, first attacker of Guatemala: “A pretty tough, quite lengthy match. Costa Rica did a good job; we had some errors that cost us in closing the sets. We haven’t lost anything; we have half of the tournament left, and we will keep working hard to continue producing results”.
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