COLIMA, Mexico, June 18, 2024. – Mexico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-16) to claim their second consecutive win at the Boys’ U17 Pan American Cup, being played at the Multifunctional Auditorium in Colima, Mexico.
Mexico (2-0) will face Canada (2-0) on Wednesday to determine who advances directly to the semifinals from pool A. Costa Rica (0-2) will play against Guatemala (0-2) for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Mexico led Costa Rica with a significant advantage in attacks (56-24) and a comfortable lead in service points (5-1), although they conceded 27 points from errors compared to Costa Rica’s 12. Costa Rica outperformed in blocks (7-5).
Mexican outside hitter Oskar González led all scorers with 21 points (20 attacks and one ace). Emi Díaz contributed 19 points (15 attacks, one block, and 3 service points).
Costa Rican opposite hitter Derek Farley scored 7 points.
After a grueling first set, which Mexico won with a block by middle blocker Raúl Silva, Mexico came out stronger in the second set, quickly establishing a huge lead (20-10) that Costa Rica couldn’t overcome. Late in the third set (22-13), Costa Rican captain and setter Gabriel Córdoba suffered an ankle injury after a bad fall. Mexico sealed the victory with two kills from Emi Díaz.
Leading scorer of Mexico, Oskar Gonzalez, said “The first set was dramatic because we lacked concentration and our errors, it wasn’t about Costa Rica’s scoring more points. We were able to control the situation to take the lead. In the next two sets, we were decisive because we elevated our level of play, with strength in every element of the game, including in defense”.
Opposite hitter Derek Farley of Costa Rica said, “We couldn’t keep up the courage we had in the first set. We fell and we could have done things better today, like yesterday. I hope my teammate recovers soon. We followed our coaches’ instructions, but we lacked courage. We had trouble in not committing errors”.
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