SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 3, 2026. – Mexico maintained its perfect record in Pool A of the women’s volleyball tournament at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 with a straight-set 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-19) victory over Venezuela.
The win improved Mexico’s record to 2-0 and set up a decisive showdown with fellow unbeaten Colombia for first place in the pool and a spot in the semifinals. The second-place team will advance to the quarterfinals. Venezuela, now 0-2, will look to keep its hopes alive when it faces Trinidad and Tobago on the final day of pool play.
Mexico controlled the match from the opening set. Behind a dominant blocking performance, the Mexicans cruised to a 25-9 victory in the first set. They remained in command in the second, although Venezuela showed better offensive rhythm to stay closer on the scoreboard before Mexico closed it out 25-17.
The third set was the most competitive of the match. Venezuela stayed within striking distance for much of the set, but Mexico responded effectively in the decisive moments, once again relying on its blocking to complete the victory with a 25-19 finish.
Mexico held a 41-30 advantage in attacks, an emphatic 11-2 margin in blocks, and a 3-1 edge in aces. Mexico also limited its unforced errors to just 12, while Venezuela committed 20.
Sofía Maldonado led Mexico with 18 points, followed by Uxue Guereca with 13 and Jocelyn Urías with 10, including a match-high seven blocks. Mariangel Vivas was Venezuela’s leading scorer with nine points.
Following Mexico’s second consecutive victory, Sofía Maldonado highlighted the team’s improvement from its opening match and looked ahead to the decisive clash with Colombia for first place in the pool.
“Yesterday’s match was about adjusting and seeing where we were. Today I think we looked much more cohesive, and everything worked a little better. We knew Venezuela had played very well, so we stayed focused on our side of the court, and the result came. We’re very excited about tomorrow’s match against Colombia. The last time we played them was at the World Championship, and it was a great match. We know they’re a strong team, so we have to stay focused on our game, on ourselves, and continue working together as a team.”
Venezuela’s Mariangel Vivas acknowledged that the result was not what her team had hoped for but expressed confidence heading into its final pool match, where her team will fight to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive.
“It wasn’t the result we expected, but we move forward. Tomorrow is a new day and a new match. We have to step onto the court with a clear mind because it’s the last match of the preliminary round. We’re a very young team, we still have things to improve, and we need to keep playing and growing.”
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