SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, December 14, 2024.- El Salvador triumphed in a hard-fought battle against Nicaragua, winning 3-2 (17-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-22, 21-19) to claim fourth place in the XV AFECAVOL U19 Central American Men’s Volleyball Championship.
This match marked the conclusion of the tournament, with El Salvador finishing in fourth place with a 3-3 win-loss record, while Nicaragua settled for fifth with a 2-4 record.
El Salvador maintained composure during crucial moments, leveraging their offensive edge to outscore Nicaragua 66-55 in attacks and leading slightly in blocks, 11-10.
Nicaragua failed to capitalize on the 38 unforced errors committed by El Salvador, while committing only 22 themselves.
Rafael Vargas led El Salvador’s offense with an impressive 38 points, supported by Lorenzo Sánchez with 11. For Nicaragua, Devin Hooker stood out with 20 points.
After the match, Rafael Vargas, captain of El Salvador, shared: “For us, this experience helps us improve. We wanted to be on the podium, but it wasn’t possible. We managed to win a very tough match against Nicaragua, and the key to victory was our focus, we never lost concentration throughout the game. Above all, we thank God for being with us”.
On the other side, Félix Palacios, captain of Nicaragua, reflected: “We gave our best on the court. Overall, we made too many mistakes and couldn’t secure crucial sets. We got confused at times, but these things happen. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and keep training to do better next time”.
English 
Spanish