SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, July 14, 2026. – Costa Rica secured its place in the gold medal match of the third edition of the AFECAVOL Men’s Final Four by defeating Nicaragua in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) in the match that concluded the tournament’s preliminary round.
Costa Rica will face Belize for the title after both teams finished with identical 2-1 records. However, Belize claimed first place in the standings thanks to a superior points ratio (1.062 to 1.017). Nicaragua, meanwhile, will face Panama in the bronze medal match.
Costa Rica controlled the match from the opening set, and although Nicaragua kept both the first and third sets close, the hosts responded with a solid offensive performance and managed their advantage in the decisive moments to seal the victory in straight sets.
Costa Rica dominated offensively (44-26) and held the edge in service aces (4-2). Nicaragua had a slight advantage in blocks (7-6), but committed 28 unforced errors, eight more than Costa Rica, a difference that proved decisive in the outcome.
The addition of Stanley Grant strengthened Costa Rica’s offense after his participation in the seventh stop of the NORCECA Beach Tour in Roatán, Honduras. Grant contributed 12 points, while Gilberth Solano led all Costa Rican scorers with 18.
For Nicaragua, Axel Gutiérrez once again led the team’s offense with 16 points.
After the match, Costa Rica’s leading scorer Gilberth Solano said: “We achieved our goal of reaching the final. We’ve improved match by match throughout this tournament, and now that our full squad is together, we have more offensive options, and that showed against Nicaragua, who certainly didn’t make things easy for us.”
Nicaragua’s Denis López commented: “Costa Rica is a very strong team. Things didn’t go our way against them. We wanted to win and reach the final, but now we’ll fight for the bronze medal, and we’ll go into that match with the best attitude.”
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