Tegucigalpa, Honduras. June 24, 2024. – Nicaragua needed four sets to defeat Belize, with scores of 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, and 25-15, in the fifth match of the VI Central American Women’s U23 Championship, at the Jorge Galeno Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.
The first two sets saw alternating dominance between the teams, but from the third set onward, Nicaragua managed to control Belize’s attacks, securing victory in both sets and the match.
Nicaragua outperformed Belize in attacks with a 50-38 lead and in serves with a 6-2 advantage. Belize was stronger in blocking, leading 10-5, despite committing 22 errors.
Brittany Forbes of Nicaragua was the top scorer of the match with 20 points, including one block. María José Rivera supported the attack with 12 points. For Belize, Fatoumata Camara led the scoring with 15 points, followed by Nisaan Martínez with 14 points, including 3 blocks, making her the top blocker of the game.
Claudia Noguera, head coach of Nicaragua, explained “It was a significant victory for us. Belize is a strong team in attack and blocking, so it was a game that required a lot of focus, and the players executed the strategy perfectly. Defense was crucial in this game”.
Lawrence Bennett, assistant coach of Belize, said “We lost our fundamentals, especially in blocking. We were not blocking properly, and our defense fell a little weak at the end of the game. I know we could have done better, but we are here to try and improve every day we play”.
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