Nogales, Mexico, June 13, 2024.- Suriname defeated Nicaragua 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21) to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the U21 Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship in Nogales, Mexico.
Suriname (1-2) finished third in pool A and will face the loser between Cuba and Canada in the quarterfinals. Nicaragua (0-3) will compete in the matches for positions 5 to 8.
Suriname recovered from losing the first set to clinch the victory with a huge 17-7 advantage in blocking points. They also led in attacks 55 to 52 and aces 3 to none. Nicaragua committed one less error than Suriname (22-23).
Gianni Ritfeld led Suriname with 19 points on 16 attacks and 3 blocks. Opposite hitter Mesón Anakaba followed with 17 points on 14 attacks, 2 blocks, and one ace. Middle blocker Jahmit Jambo scored 15 points, including a match-high of 7 powerful blocks.
Evans Solís of Nicaragua was the top scorer of the match with 26 points on 23 attacks and 3 blocks. Victor Bermudez added 13 points on 11 attacks and 2 blocks.
The first set was closely contested. In the second, both teams took turns leading, but with effective blocking (5-1), Suriname leveled the match. Suriname then had little trouble dominating the next two sets, despite Nicaragua scoring four consecutive points (10-17) in the fourth set.
Furgil Ong-A-Fat, coach of Suriname said: “It was a good match. In the first set we gave away a few points at the last moment and we lost it. The rest of the sets I kept the pressure on my guys to continue scoring better; we played a much better game after the first set”.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua, said: “There was no winning attitude. We won the first set, and then the team fell apart. They didn’t want to receive serves, and Evans had no support from the rest of the team. There were easy balls that couldn’t be received; the team that doesn’t defend, doesn’t win”.
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