ALAJUELA, Costa Rica, July 27, 2025. – Puerto Rico claimed sixth place at the Women’s U21 Pan American Cup after defeating Mexico 3-2 (25-11, 26-28, 21-25, 25-13, 15-9) at the Gimnasio Profesor Jorge Luis Solera of the Monserrat Sports Complex in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The match began evenly, with Mexico committing several unforced errors early on (six by the first technical timeout), while Puerto Rico gradually built confidence and gained the lead point by point. The second set mirrored the first, with Mexico reacting after the 12th point and managing to take the set in a tight finish. Mexico then forced a fourth set by winning the third, but Puerto Rico dominated the fourth with a wide margin to push the match to a tie-break, where they sealed the victory.
Puerto Rico was more effective in attacks (61-44) and service aces (9-3). Mexico led in blocks (12-10) but committed more unforced errors (32-27).
Puerto Rico’s Chareika Carrión set a tournament record for most attacks in a single match, scoring 31 points, including 26 kills, 2 blocks, and 3 aces. Valeria Núñez also scored in double digits for Puerto Rico with 15 points (10 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces).
For Mexico, Mariana del Rocío Hernández led the scoring with 15 points (14 kills, 1 block), followed by Dariana Rodríguez with 12 points. Diana Sofia Favela and Brenda Sofia Esquivel each contributed 11 points.
Puerto Rico’s assistant coach Karmari Vélez stated, “Winning this match was extremely important for the girls’ confidence and for learning to handle tough situations. We came with high expectations and now we’re heading straight to the World Championship. We need to keep working and preparing even more.”
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