MONCTON, Canada, September 16, 2026. –Mexico took an important step towards Olympic qualification with a win in Wednesday’s fifth-place match at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.
Mexico’s 3-0 (26-24, 33-31, 25-16) victory over Puerto Rico clinched the fourth spot in the weekend’s final NORCECA qualification stage for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The team was pleased to keep its Olympic goal in sight after a disappointing quarter-final loss to Dominican Republic Monday cost them a chance to qualify for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland.
Puerto Rico jumped out to an early 7-3 advantage in the first set at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, Canada, but the lead went back and forth in a tight set all the way to 24-24. Mexico then got a big kill from tournament top scorer Diego González followed by a block from Juan Garcia to win 26-24. In the second set, Mexico had a 24-22 lead but could not convert either set point. The teams went on to trade points until Garcia delivered the deciding attack for a 33-31 set win. Mexico then cruised to a comfortable victory in the third, leading to loud cheers from the bench as they ran on the court to join their teammates for a boisterous on-court celebration and team photo.
Mexico held a modest edge up and down the stats sheet, leading in attacks (49-44), blocks (10-6), aces (3-2) and taking advantage of 22 opponent errors to Puerto Rico’s 19.
Mauro Fuentes led Mexico with 16 points, followed by Franky Milantony (14). González and Axel Rodriguez added 12 each, with five of Rodriguez’s coming on blocks to lead all players. Mexican libero Jesus Izaguirre kept rallies alive all over the court with a match-high 16 digs.
Pelegrin Vargas (18 points) was the match’s top scorer in a losing cause for Puerto Rico, which settled for sixth place in the eight-team tournament.
Carlos Schwanke, Mexico’s head coach: “Hell to heaven in two seconds, you know the sports feeling. This team’s recovery was really important. We fought so hard for world championships (but fell short). Now we are going to be fighting for something else so let’s go. The team spirit makes the difference.”
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