SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- Puerto Rico outplayed Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) on the second day of competition at the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games.
Defending champion Puerto Rico set the match pace to earn their second Pool B victory against Trinidad & Tobago who is 0-2.
Trinidad & Tobago kept close in the first set 10-11, but Puerto Rico held the advantage the entire set. Puerto Rico quickly jumped to a seven-point lead (11-4) in the second set, keeping a comfortable distance as well as in the third, but Trinidad & Tobago had momentum scoring 4 points in a row (15-23) before their opponent could celebrate at 25-19.
Puerto Rico held advantages in all the elements of the game, 44 to 26 in kills, 6-3 in blocks and 6-2 in points from serves. Trinidad & Tobago committed fewer errors than Puerto Rico (19-23).
Outside hitter and team captain Pedro Molina scored a match-high of 13 points in Puerto Rico’s second win, on 12 kills and one ace. Outside hitter Omar Hoyos and middle blocker Pedro Nieves added 8 points each.
Middle blocker Mikheil Hoyte (Zebra) led Trinidad & Tobago with 9 points, followed by opposite hitter Ryan Stewart with seven.
Puerto Rico (2-0) finishes the preliminary round on Friday against host El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago against CCS (GUA).
Pedro Molina, captain of Puerto Rico: “We were better than yesterday, focused on working on our side and knowledge that we have long days ahead. We face El Salvador tomorrow; the atmosphere will be fun, and we are going to enjoy the moment”.
Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “We tried to gather a group of veterans with younger players for this tournament having in mind the importance of having solutions to this event to reach our goals. These matches help us to understand better which role each player will have because the next matches will be more demanding”.
Mikheil Hoyte (Zebra), top scorer of Trinidad & Tobago: “We need to perform with more effort and have a little more fun. This is a new group of guys who just must figure things out, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow and secure a win with more energy”.
Gideon Dixon, Head Coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “We improved today. We still have more to improve and it’s sad that this tournament is too short in terms of matches, but we hope to get a win tomorrow”.
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