ALAJUELA, Costa Rica, July 22, 2025. – In front of a packed gymnasium and with unwavering home support, Costa Rica delivered the biggest surprise of the opening day by sweeping the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-15) at the U21 Women’s Pan American Cup, at the Professor Jorge Luis Solera Gymnasium in the Monserrat Sports Complex in Alajuela.
Costa Rica started strong in the first set, capitalizing on five unforced errors by the Caribbean side within the first eight points. The early confusion forced Dominican coach Alexandre Ceccato to call a technical timeout at point 11 to settle his team.
The pattern continued in the second set, with nerves again taking a toll on the Dominican players, who committed another 10 unforced errors, paving the way for the home team.
Throughout the match, Costa Rica made the most of the Dominican Republic’s 30 unforced errors and also held the advantage in attacks (35-25), blocks (7-4), and service aces (3-1).
Angélica Rodríguez led Costa Rica’s offense with 14 points, 12 on kills and 2 on blocks. Virelys Shantal Rivera led the Dominican Republic, scoring 12 points (7 attacks, 4 blocks, and 1 ace), and was the top blocker of the match.
Costa Rica’s Angélica Rodríguez said, “They played well, but we’ve been training for this for years, and we’re finally seeing the results. I’m proud of the team and of the work we did together. I’m very happy with the number of points I scored, but it was all thanks to the team.”
Dominican Republic coach Alexandre Ceccato commented, “We made too many mistakes. I think my team felt the pressure from the crowd. They’re very young, but they have what it takes to overcome that pressure and play better. We still have Mexico, who are strong, we’ll see what we can do to challenge them.”
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