Costa Rica Secures Semifinal Spot After Defeating Mexico

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica, July 23, 2025.– Costa Rica secured a spot in the semifinals of the U21 Women’s Pan American Cup after defeating Mexico 3-0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-23) at the tournament being held at the Profesor Jorge Luis Solera Gymnasium in the Monserrat Sports Complex in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

Costa Rica stunned Mexico in the first set with a dominant 25-6 victory, powered by 16 attack points. Mexico was unable to decipher Costa Rica’s game throughout the set. In the second set, the Mexicans tried to even things out, but after the 13-point mark, the Central Americans pulled away again to take the set.

The third set was the most competitive, with Mexico nearly forcing a fourth set, but Costa Rica closed it out to seal the win.

With the victory, Costa Rica clinched first place in Pool A and now awaits its semifinal opponent for Saturday, July 26.

Mexico will face the Dominican Republic at 7:00 PM (local time) on Thursday, July 24, to determine second and third place in the pool. Both teams will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday, July 25.

Costa Rica dominated the match from start to finish, outperforming Mexico in attacks (43-20), blocks (10-8), and service points (5-4).

Angélica Rodríguez led the Central American offense with 19 points (15 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 ace). Raldisha Barley and Melina Ester Abarca each added 14 points, while Fernanda Moraga also scored in double digits with 11 points.

For Mexico, Mariana del Rocío Hernández was the top scorer with 7 points (4 attacks, 2 blocks, 1 ace).

Costa Rica’s head coach Braulio Godínez, visibly pleased, said, “I’m very satisfied. Playing at home comes with great responsibility. We knew it was a high-level tournament and hoped to get one win, now we have two, so we’ll enjoy this moment. We know that by finishing first in our pool, tougher matches await us, but we’ve done a great job, the fans are happy, and now we’ll aim for an even bigger surprise.”

Mexico’s head coach Héctor Lozano commented, “We started off a bit unfocused. Playing against the home team took a toll (the crowd was very intense). Little by little, we improved our performance. We have the team to do more, and as the tournament progresses, we’ll show the level that Mexico is capable of.”