COLIMA, Mexico, June 17, 2024.- Mexico controlled Guatemala with a significant service advantage of 14 to 2, securing a 3-1 victory (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19) on the opening day of the Boys U17 Pan American Cup in Colima, Mexico.
In pool A, Mexico (1-0) will face Costa Rica (1-0) on Tuesday, while Guatemala (0-1) will play against Canada.
Besides dominating in service points, Mexico also had the advantage in attacks (56-34) and blocks (6-5). Guatemala benefited from 38 Mexican errors and gave away 21 points on their own errors.
Mexican outside hitter Emi Díaz led all scorers with 24 points (20 attacks, one block, and three aces). Oskar De Jesús González contributed 18 points (13 attacks, one block, four aces). Ricardo González and Tomás Villalobos each added 11 points.
Jorge González of Guatemala scored 14 points from 12 attacks, one block, and one ace.
In the first set, the teams were tied several times until Mexico jumped to a four-point lead (19-15) with consecutive attacks and a serve by Oskar González. They tied again at 19 in the second set, but with two errors from Mexico and a block by Jorge González, the Central American team found the necessary boost to level the match after losing two set points. In the third set, Mexico scored 5 points from aces alone. Mexico won the match in the fourth set with a service point by David Preciado.
Daniel Fajardo, Mexico’s captain, said, “We started the match strong and confident. We lost focus in the second set, leading to unforced errors and losing it. We closed the match well. It was a good game to start the tournament”.
Luis Mendizábal, Guatemala’s captain, commented, “We could have won the match. We lacked drive, a bit of attitude, and believing in ourselves. We made many mistakes. We need to come together more as a team to improve”.
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