Belize City, July 13, 2022.- Guatemala defeated Honduras 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 15-11), achieving its first victory (1-0) of the XIX U21 Central American Women’s Volleyball Championship that takes place at the Belize Civic Center.
Honduras won the first set and looked like they were headed for their second win of the event, but were met by a very battle-hardened Guatemalan team led by captain Naomi Monney with 24 points and Maria Santa Cruz with 20, six of them on serves
Andrea Aceituno, from Honduras, was the best for the second game in a row with 19 points, six on serves, and 11 from Rocío Durón, four through blocks.
Honduras led in serves 15-10, but Guatemala was unstoppable in attack 49-33 and blocking 14-8, especially in the second and third sets, which they largely dominated, and was also favored with 38 points due to errors by their opponents, committing 27.
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “We feel very good since we were able to get the job done, although it was a bit complicated for us, we knew how to be united and confident that we were going to get the match. We have a team in which we all contribute and that keeps us excited, it costs us a bit to serve, but today we were good and we are working for that. We expected a complicated Honduras, it was our first game, we had to see how we got along, especially on a new field.”
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “It was a very difficult match, especially because in the last tournament we faced Honduras, they beat us in three sets and in a very easy way. We worked on the mental part, they at the time adjusted their defense and blocking, we also made changes because we needed to improve tactics and give some players rest because we knew that more than three sets could be played. In the critical moments the service worked, we made many “aces”, especially with strong serves… in the third set with a lot of disadvantage we managed to recover and get the set thanks to the service”.
Gabriela Gómez, captain of Honduras: “The Honduran team has always had problems with mentality, we have a great team, just nerves, anxiety, some who have little experience, in their first tournament, that took its toll on us in the end and the truth are things that are going to help us improve and climb to the top”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “We have been dragging a problem with the receipt, I feel that we have improved a lot, but just like yesterday against El Salvador, a single player did us a lot of damage. As had been pointed out before the tournament started, this is very even, we couldn’t keep our serve, I imagine that due to tension, nervousness… just as the game was closed, a couple of errors made the difference”.
This Thursday, Honduras has a rest and Guatemala plays against Nicaragua at 5:00 p.m.
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