Tegucigalpa, Honduras, June 14, 2024. – Once again, Nicaragua bounced after losing the first set to defeat Costa Rica 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17), remaining unbeaten in the first AFECAVOL Senior Women’s Final Four Championship.
Costa Rica managed to win the first set, but not without a tough fight. In the second set, Nicaragua reached a 21-15 lead, and although the Costa Ricans leveled the score, they ended falling 25-23.
In the third and fourth sets, the Nicaraguan dominance was evident from the start of each set, leading to a victory in the match.
Nicaragua now holds a 2-0 record and will face El Salvador this Saturday. A win would secure them the Gold Medal in the tournament. Meanwhile, Costa Rica, with a 1-1 record, will play against Honduras in the final match of Saturday.
Nicaragua outperformed Costa Rica in attacks (62-57) and blocks (7-4), while Costa Rica was more effective in serving (5-4).
Tatiana Sayles of Costa Rica and Dalia Conto Calero of Nicaragua were the top scorers of the match, each with 20 points. Tamara Espinoza of Costa Rica tied with Brittany Forbes of Nicaragua, each scoring 18 points.
Dalia Conto Calero of Nicaragua said, “I am very excited about the victory; it’s something we’ve been striving for since previous tournaments where we came close to beating them. It was a very tough game. Costa Rica is a very good team and quite tactical, but in the end, we did it, and now we need to focus on tomorrow’s match”.
Tamara Espinoza of Costa Rica commented, “It was a very complicated match for us. Nicaragua gave us a lot of trouble with their defense. The defeat is definitely a credit to the great game played by Nicaragua. Volleyball is a team sport; if we are struggling with spikes, serves, and receptions, it’s very hard to win”.
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