Costa Rica Wins Dramatic Thriller against Cuba to Play for Fifth Place at NORCECA U17

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, November 8, 2025. – Costa Rica outlasted Cuba in a dramatic five-set thriller (25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 19-25, 17-15) to earn a spot in the fifth-place match of the 2025 NORCECA Girls’ U17 Continental Championship, held at the Gimnasio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica.

Costa Rica will battle the winner between Suriname and Canada for fifth place, while Cuba will play the loser for seventh position.

Costa Rica capitalized on 47 Cuban errors compared to 27 of their own, while Cuba held the edge in attacks (57-41), blocks (11-10), and serves (10-9).

Outside hitters Luciana Vargas and Esmeralda Ugalde led Costa Rica’s offense with 18 and 14 points respectively. Vargas scored on 13 kills, one block, and four aces, while Ugalde tallied 13 kills and one block. Yusdely Cabrera of Cuba led all scorers with an impressive 26 points all on kills, followed by Anelys Morales with 19 points (17 kills, 2 aces) and Sahily Prats with 10 points (4 kills, 5 blocks, one ace).

Costa Rica controlled the first two sets, taking advantage of Cuban errors and strong attacking from Vargas and Ugalde. In the third, after being tied at 8 and later leading 21-15, Costa Rica saw Cuba storm back behind Cabrera and Vizcaíno to snatch the set 25-21.

Cuba displayed a new rhythm in the fourth, jumping to a 13-6 lead powered by Cabrera’s spikes and forcing a decisive fifth set.

The tie-break was a fierce back-and-forth battle. Cuba went ahead 11-9 with Morales’ kills and a Costa Rican service error. Costa Rica tied at 12 after Cuban miscues and a kill by Kyara Reyes. Cabrera pushed Cuba to match point (14-12), but Costa Rica refused to give in, tying the score twice before sealing the emotional victory on a Cuban attack error.

Kelliany Rodríguez, captain of Costa Rica, said after the victory: “We’re celebrating this win with joy. I feel that we got too confident in the third set, and then we had to fight with grit. We got angry and fought harder. We hope to play better tomorrow and win as well.”

Carina Menes, head coach of Cuba, said: “The team reacted too late. We have a strong attack, but we need more playing and competition experience. There were too many errors.”