NOGALES, Mexico, June 16, 2024.- Guatemala defeated Nicaragua 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-22) to claim seventh place in the U21 Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship in Nogales, Mexico.
Guatemala finished the tournament with a 1-4 record, for seventh position. Nicaragua ended in eighth place with a 0-5 record.
Guatemala topped Nicaragua in attacks (41-36) and blocks (12-9). Nicaragua held a slight advantage in serves (3-2). Guatemala committed 23 errors, while Nicaragua had 22.
The top scorer of the match was Luis Mendizábal from Guatemala, with 20 points on 15 attacks, 4 blocks, and one service point.
Evans Solís led Nicaragua in scoring with 15 points on 13 attacks and 2 service points. Taushaun Hooker added 13 points.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, Coach of Guatemala, said, “The team consists of young players who are still developing. We knew we were entering a tough competition. We started strong against Cuba and then gave Canada a good fight, but the inexperience of some of our players started to show. We brought athletes from a lower age category. Today, Luis Mendizábal, who is U17, had a great tournament and has a lot of potential. We earned the victory today. We thought we could have finished in a higher position, but we will keep working hard”.
Jorge Mena, Coach of Nicaragua, said, “There are players who don’t play as a team; there is too much individuality. I think we missed the opportunity to extend the match in the second set with just a small touch. We need to keep improving and set aside individual play. It was a challenge to beat Guatemala; we defeated them in Cuba, and now they have beaten us here. We should have performed better against Guatemala. We know we were missing some players, but we didn’t expect a 3-0 result”.
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