SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, September 26, 2025.- Costa Rica got off to a strong start in the AFECAVOL Women’s Central American Final Four Championship, defeating El Salvador 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-20) at the San Francisco de Dos Ríos Gymnasium.
The home team controlled the first set with a comfortable margin (25-15). In the second, Costa Rica’s offense kept setting the pace to extend the lead with a clear 25-13. In the third, El Salvador improved and forced a tighter finish, but Costa Rica stayed composed to close the win 25-20.
The stats reflected Costa Rica’s dominance, with 44 points on attacks compared to El Salvador’s 27, along with a 7-2 advantage in blocks and 6-0 in aces. El Salvador only capitalized on 18 points from Costa Rica’s errors, not enough to offset the home team’s offense.
Individually, middle blocker Mariela Rojas led with 14 points, 11 from attacks and 3 from blocks. Also standing out were outside hitter Tania Carazo with 12 points, opposite Lakisha Thompson with 12, and outside hitter Tatiana Sayles with 11. For El Salvador, middle blocker Evelyn Ramírez led with 12 points, followed by outside hitter Gabriela Funes with 7.
On the second day, Saturday 27, Costa Rica will face Nicaragua at 6:30 p.m., while El Salvador will look to bounce back against Honduras at 4:00 p.m.
Braulio Godínez, Costa Rica’s coach: “The first match is to break the ice. We managed the first and second sets more solidly. The middle part of the match was more challenging. Some changes were made in the third set to give some players minutes, and that complicated things a bit; it was more even. El Salvador played a bit more freely, but I think we always kept control of the match, and this helps us for tomorrow’s game.”
Dennisse Rogel, El Salvador’s assistant coach: “In this match against Costa Rica, we had the lead in the last set, but we missed a couple of plays to close it out. We are developing as the tournament progresses, and we are watching how our players perform.”
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