MONCTON, Canada, September 15, 2026. – Mexico swept Curaçao on Tuesday at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship to advance to a fifth-place matchup with Puerto Rico.
After a disappointing quarterfinal loss to Dominican Republic Monday, Mexico bounced back with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) win over Curaçao at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, Canada.
Much of the first set was within a margin of one or two points with Mexico not taking its first lead until 15-14 and only pulling ahead for good at 20-19. The Mexicans led comfortably for most of the second set but Curaçao once again put up an early battle in the third, holding a lead at 11-10 and remaining tied at 14-14. Curaçao stayed within two points, trailing 20-18, but Mexico rattled off five of the last seven points to close it out.
Mexico held a slight edge in attacks (42-39) and aces (5-3) and out-blocked Curaçao 10-4. Opponent errors were a difference-maker, with Mexico benefiting from 18 while committing 13.
Tournament leading scorer Diego González Castañeda paced Mexico with 13 points, followed closely by Axel Téllez Rodríguez with 12. Edgar Alejandro Mendoza Burgueño had a match-high 10 running sets.
Curaçao’s Marlison Kleinmoedig was once again the top overall scorer with 14 points. Sharif Gabriel chipped in 11 points, including all four of Curaçao’s blocks, tied with Mexico’s Juan Salvador Garcia Ayala for most in the match. Curaçao’s Ernaldo Mota was the top digger with seven.
Mexico will meet Puerto Rico in Wednesday’s fifth-place match at 1:30 p.m. Atlantic Time, with a spot on the line for the weekend’s final NORCECA qualification stage for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Curaçao will take on Guatemala as both countries look for their first win in the seventh-place game at 11 a.m. Three berths to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland will be confirmed on Wednesday.
Carlos Schwanke, Mexico’s head coach: “I feel better but sad still about yesterday, I didn’t digest the loss. We couldn’t do it and it was important for us. But tomorrow is also important and we will try our best against Puerto Rico to advance to the Olympic qualifier. We have a chance so let’s try to avoid ups and downs, especially in important decision moments, try to keep the level.”
English 
Spanish