Tag: 2024 Men Final Four

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 16th, 2024.- Kevin Rodríguez, starter setter from Puerto Rico, was named the Most Valuable Player MVP after Puerto Rico won the gold medal at the NORCECA Men’s Final Four.

Kevin Rodríguez received the MVP recognition from Mayor of the City of Ponce, Mrs, Marlese Sifre Rodríguez, during the closing ceremony at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum. In addition, Rodríguez received the award for best setter of the tournament.

Also from Team Puerto Rico, outside hitter Pedro Molina was awarded best attacker, best server  and best scorer, outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas was selected second best attacker and opposite Klistan Lawrence was awarded best opposite.

From Dominican Republic, middle blocker Rafael Burgos was the best blocker, outside hitter Henry López  was recognized as the best reception and libero Enger Miéses was awarded best defense and best libero of the competition.

From Mexico, middle blocker Víctor Parra was second best middle.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 16th, 2024.- Led by an outstanding performance of Pedro Molina, Puerto Rico bounced back from losing the first set to Mexico and won the NORCECA Men’s Final Four in Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico defeated Mexico 3-1 with scores 23-25, 25-14, 25-22 and 25-21.

Puerto Rico won the gold medal undefeated (3-0), while Mexico ended with one win, two losses and in third place. Dominican Republic with a 2-1 record finished in second place.

Mexico came focused and were in control of the first set involved offensively and defensively to win 25-23. Puerto Rico took the time between sets to adjust the game tactics and overpowered Mexico with their serves and consistent attacks. Mexico tried to battle the home team in the following sets, but Puerto Rico displayed enhanced performance during the rest of the match winning the next two sets 25-22 and 25-21 and winning the gold medal.

Puerto Rico performed better in attacks 49-45, blocks 9-7 and serves 10-2, committing fewer errors than Mexico 28-30.

Outside hitter Pedro Molina from Puerto Rico was the top scorer of the match with 22 points (15 kills, 1 block and 6 aces) followed by teammate and opposite hitter Klistan Lawrence with 19 points (14 kills, 2 blocks and 3 aces). The top scorers for Mexico were captain and outside hitter Mauro Fuentes with 13 points (12 kills and an ace) and middle blocker Axel Tellez Rodríguez with 12 points (9 kills, 2 blocks and an ace).

Head Coach of Puerto Rico – Alberto Jamille Torres: with Mexico it is always a war, we knew it was not going to be easy. I think that in the first set we started a little anxious, making a lot of mistakes, but we managed to clean up our game and get a good result. This is a young group although they have experience at the international level and playing in front of our fans gives you a plus and it was nice to win at home. Now to rest a little and prepare for the Pan American Cup in the Dominican Republic. This was a great stage to test ourselves, see where we are and what things we should improve.

Klistan Lawrence – Opposite of Puerto Rico: It was a difficult match; Mexico came to play well. We felt good about the environment, the fans, the trust and this worked for us. Playing at home helped, we stayed together following the instructions of our coaches and we ended up getting the victory. Now for our next tournament, which is the Pan American Cup, I think the most important thing in order to perform well is to keep practicing and gain more confidence.

Mexico coach – Carlos Schwanke: after three games we started to get to a better level. We began to obtain better results; the boys began to change the strategy of the game and we managed to put a little pressure on Puerto Rico. It was a good game for us and the champions. We must build a pattern and have a little more time to work together plus we need to improve our attack. Soon we will be traveling to China for the FIVB Challenger Cup, which is a very big challenge for us, and this helped us evaluate ourselves.

Axel Tellez Rodríguez – middle blocker from Mexico: as always, the match with Puerto Rico is something you need to see, with high-level players just like us. This time the game was in their favor being at home. We have a lot to improve. We are working with new coaches, and new technical staff. We must move on, see defeats as an experience and move on. We have a lot to improve in all aspects of volleyball, both technically and physically, and be prepared for our next commitment, which is the FIVB Challenger Cup.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 16th, 2024.- Dominican Republic won a five-set thriller 3-2 (25-17, 25-27, 23-25, 25-20, 15-7 in their last match at NORCECA Men’s Final Four in Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Dominican Republic finished the tournament with a record of 2 wins and one loss while Guatemala ended with 0-3.

It was an even start of the match for both teams. Dominican Republic started pushing mid first set with their blocks and serves to win 25-17. Guatemala turned up the heat going up 3-0 at the beginning of second set. Dominicans started to push and forcing Guatemala with their serve to take the lead by three points 17-14. Guatemala bounced back and forced extra points to win the set 27-25. Guatemala came inspired in the third set showing a great defense and controlled attacks to win 25-23. Dominican Republic improved in the fourth set with a change in their lineup and forced a tie break. The experience of the Dominican team was shown in the fifth set which they won 15-7.

Dominican Republic led in attacks 66-57, blocks 11-9 and serves 7-3, committing fewer errors than Guatemala 27-29.

Outside hitter Wilfredo Hernández was the top scorer for Dominican Republic with 19 points (16 attacks, 1 block and 2 aces) followed by Adrian Figueroa who came from the bench and scored 17 pts (16 attacks and an ace). For Guatemala the top scorer was José Pérez with 18 points (16 attacks and 2 blocks).

Head coach of Dominican Republic – José Gutiérrez: We showed many ups and downs. I think that having won the first set so comfortably gave us too much confidence and things didn’t start to go as they should. We had to make some changes, give confidence to our young talent which worked for us in the end, giving us the peace of mind we need. Our team has several Under-23 players, and our intention is to continue developing them. Now we will prepare for the Pan American Cup in which we have not had good results but this year we are hosting the event and we want to do the best possible, counting on all our players and strengthening the weaknesses.

Best scorer of the Dominican Republic – Wilfrido Hernández: first I want to congratulate Guatemala, who showed a good game, they surprised us, and I think that our overconfidence was what affected us. Now we have to continue working to improve and learn to never underestimate the rival. Our next commitment is the Pan American Cup in the Dominican Republic, I think that the team is doing well despite everything and with the integration of the player Alexis García, who could not participate in this event, it will strengthen us and help us do a great job.

Coach of Guatemala – Reider L. Mora: This competition has been very useful to us, we have had good preparation, playing from less to more. The first match was more unstable, then against Mexico we were a little better and today we ended up playing five sets with a Dominican team with a lot of experience and level and we are happy that we have been improving over the course of the competition. We have taken great advantage of all the conditions to prepare for our next tournaments.

Best scorer for Guatemala – José Pérez: The truth is that it was a tough game. The Dominican Republic is a very experienced and high-level team. Our team is young, but we gave everything on the court, unfortunately we did not win but we are very happy with the result. Now we will continue preparing to give everything on the court, unite more as a team and continue improving.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 15th, 2024.- Puerto Rico swept Dominican Republic and is still undefeated in NORCECA Men’s Final Four at Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico beat the Dominicans with scores 25-20, 30-28, 25-20.

Puerto Rico holds a 2-0 record in this event while Dominican Republic has one win and one loss.

Puerto Rico had a good start on the first set leading by three points, but Dominican Republic bounced back and tied the set 12-12. Dominican Republic committed consecutive errors and the Puerto Ricans won the set 25-20. It was a nail-biting battle on the second set, where both teams fought point by point and Puerto Rico won in extra points 30-28. Dominican Republic came focused on the third set leading by up to two points, but Puerto Rico fought back to tight the set 17-17 and trusting in their attacks where able to close the set 25-20.

Puerto Rico secured a straight-set victory and will play for first place tomorrow vs Mexico. Dominican Republic will play vs Guatemala looking for the second place.

Puerto Rico led in attacks 47-45, blocks 9-5 and serves 4-2 and committed less errors than the Dominicans 19-20.

Puerto Rico’s top scorer was opposite Klistan Lawrence with 16 points (14 attacks and 2 blocks) and outside hitter Pedro Molina with 14 points (14 attacks). For Dominican Republic the best scorer was captain and opposite Henry Tapia with 19 points (18 attacks and an ace).

Setter of Puerto Rico – Kevin Joel Rodríguez: We knew it was a team we had to play hard all the time. We prepared for this, and I think we had a good game together. We stayed patient and followed the game plan. At first, we failed a little, but we maintained the serves and that’s what worked for us. Now what we must do is rest, tomorrow we will watch videos, prepare, have a good practice and come focused on giving a good show to our audience.

Dominican Republic Setter – Francisco Arredondo: Puerto Rico had a better game and better distribution of the serve that hurt us, and we couldn’t close on the counterattacks, which I think was what affected us the most in being able to close the sets. We should have been more decisive and finished the points on the counterattack, we had many opportunities to score the points, but we could not finish with our attacks. We know that Guatemala gives its best in every match, but I think that if we focus and correct today’s mistakes, we can come out victorious tomorrow.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 15th, 2024. Mexico had to battle a motivated Guatemala to get the win in the NORCECA Men’s Final Four at Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Mexico defeated Guatemala with scores 27-25, 25-23, 25-17.

This is the first victory for Mexico (1-1) in this tournament while Guatemala records two defeats (0-2).

Mexico started a solid 4-0 lead on the first set, but Guatemala began getting confidence point by point and tied the set 9-9. The set was tight all the way to the end but two blocks from Mexico closed the set in extra points 27-25. Mexico and Guatemala battled the second set, but errors from Guatemala gave the advantage to Mexico up to 4 points mid set (20-16).  Guatemala kept fighting and with two attacks and an ace tied set 23-23. Two errors gave the set to Mexico 25-23. Determined to finish the game in three sets, Mexico came back strong and started pressuring with their serve-attack combination which Guatemala was not able to overcome. The set ended 25-17 for Mexico.

Mexico led in kills 39-32, blocks 8-6 and serves 9-3 but also committed more errors than Guatemala, 24-21.

Best scorers for Mexico were captain and outside hitter Mauro Fuentes with 14 points (11 kills, 1 block and 2 aces) and Franky Hernández Milantony with 10 points (6 kills, 1 block and 3 aces). For Guatemala José Pérez was the top scorer with 14 points (12 kills, 1 block and ace).

Mexico setter – Edgar Mendoza: playing with Guatemala is always a difficult game since they have a very different game system and adapting to their game is complicated if you get carried away with their rhythm. We came from a process of changes in the players and technical team. We have been working well on the games, technical-tactical things, but we must have more confidence in ourselves. Tomorrow against Puerto Rico, they play at home, and we know they are strong but we have to come and give 100%.

Guatemala Setter – Adan Ruano: We are happy with what we are doing but it is a little frustrating to be fighting and not be able to close the sets as we would like. We are always happy to be in these type of tournaments, competing with people who are used to playing on other continents. We lacked a bit of grit to close the sets, our team has been training a little and we must finish getting together to be able to close the sets. Tomorrow we are going to go out to fight with everything like we have done since the beginning.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 14th, 2024.- Puerto Rico outplayed Guatemala in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-10) in their debut at in the NORCECA Men’s Final Four in Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Guatemala kept close in the first set 12-14 but three consecutive blocks from Puerto Rico helped  them jump to a 5-point lead (17-12). Guatemala kept pushing at the end of the set, but it was not enough, and Puerto Rico won 25-19. Puerto Rico kept their concentration and pushing with their serve-block combination in the second set to win 25-17. Guatemala’s reception suffered in the third set and Puerto Rico took advantage with their high and powerful attacks and won the set 25-10.

Puerto Rico held advantages in all the elements of the game, 44 to 29 in attacks, 6-1 in blocks and11-2 in points from serves, while committing fewer errors than Guatemala (14-18).

Outside hitter Pedro Molina was the top scorer of the match with 13 points, on 7 attacks, 2 blocks and 4 aces. Outside hitter Pelegrín Vargas and Opposite Klistan Lawrence added 9 points each.

Captain and outside hitter Carlos López led the offense in Guatemala with 9 points (9 attacks) followed by opposite Andy Leonardo Blanco with 8 points.

Alberto Jamille Torres, coach of Puerto Rico: today’s game was the result of teamwork, and we achieved what we wanted, which was to test all the players, have everyone fresh and prepared for a great game tomorrow against the Dominican Republic. We are betting on our serve; we know that if our serve is good, we have a good chance of winning and creating a service-defense system.

Pedro Molina, best scorer of Puerto Rico: it was the match to start off the tournament. This is practically a new team, but a super motivated one and we did well, thank God. We are warming up for the season, we have two more competitions ahead and we are preparing for much more, this is just the beginning. All the teams that came to the Final Four are good, our team has a lot of chemistry, and we are like a family and that helps us a lot when it comes to playing. A strong game tomorrow against Dominican Republic, but we are focusing day by day, on our game and on improving each point.

Reider Lucas Mora, coach of Guatemala: A game in which Puerto Rico always led the pace. They have a fairly solid team, and we think they are the most solid team in the competition, they served very well, and it made it very difficult for us to receive. Our pace of play sometimes makes it difficult for us to close a game, and it is a bit difficult for us to face a team like Puerto Rico. Tomorrow we will go out and play like we did today, hoping that things will turn out a little better for us.

Carlos López, best scorer of Guatemala: I think we are going from better to less in the game. We knew they were going to play a tough match since Puerto Rico is a great team. I think we should concentrate a little at the end, which is what failed us when they pushed the serve. For the next game we must improve our reception and get in with greater confidence, which was what made the difference in this game. Our spirits are very good since we understand that we have nothing to lose, but a lot to win and we are going to enjoy the competition.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 14th, 2024.- Dominican Republic is off to a good start in the NORCECA Men’s Final Four after defeating Mexico in straight sets in the opening match at the Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico with scores 26-24, 25-18 and 25-13.

A very tight beginning of the match with both teams fighting point by point but Mexico started committing unforced errors and Dominican Republic won the first set in extra points 26-24. The Dominicans started putting pressure with the serve since the beginning of the second set, forcing Mexico to make substitutions in their line up looking for a momentum. The set finished in favor of Dominican Republic 25-18. In the third set Dominican Republic took an early lead by 5 points (6-1) forcing Mexico to take a time out. They had control of the whole set with good serves – block combination to win the set 25-13.

The best scorers for Dominican Republic were outside hitters Wilfredo Hernández with 19 points (16 attacks and 3 aces) and Henry López with 13 points (7 attacks, 2 blocks and 4 aces) and for Mexico outside hitter Mauro Fuentes with 13 points (11 attacks and 2 aces) and outside hitter Jorge Hernández with 9 points (9 attacks).

Dominican Republic led in attacks 37-25, blocks 8-5 and serves while Mexico committed a total of 20 unforced errors against 11 by Dominican Republic.

Coach of the Dominican Republic – José Gutiérrez: I think it was a good and complicated first set. The first match is always difficult for all the teams, and we had a slight lead in the middle of the first set, they tied the set, but we managed to win it and that gave the boys peace of mind and came out with confidence in the next sets. We complicated their reception with our floating and jump serves, that helped us a lot. Today we are going to enjoy this victory a little and then we are going to evaluate and create the tactics that we will use tomorrow against Puerto Rico.

Captain of the Dominican Republic – Henry Tapia: A very good game. We did a good job, and we hope to do better tomorrow. Today was a very important victory for us because it is a Final Four in which we must immediately execute and win. We had consistency in serving, attacking and receiving, which were the elements that led us to victory and tomorrow we will go all out against Puerto Rico.

Mexico Coach – Carlos Schwanke: It’s my first match with the Mexican team and we don’t have much to discuss with just a month of work. I must congratulate the Dominican team that played a good game. We must keep working and continue training and acquire aggressiveness. We must attack a little more and to play better. It is our first match, and we must continue playing to be more aggressive and improve in attacks.

Captain of Mexico – Luis Sánchez: I think it was a match where we started slow and that was reflected when closing the sets; we cannot give ourselves the opportunity to start this way because the start of the sets in this match was very important. We struggled a lot in the reception since the Dominican Republic began to press a lot on the service line and it was something that we did not know how to adjust. We must get back to our game and concentrate. Leave what happened today in the past and work on the next game to get into the rhythm and go all out against Puerto Rico.

Nogales, Mexico, June 14, 2024. – Cuba will face the United States in Saturday’s semifinals of the Men’s U21 NORCECA Continental Championship, being played in Nogales, Mexico.

Cuba advanced to the semifinals after defeating Suriname in straight sets 25-18, 25-22, and 25-22 in their quarterfinal match. Suriname will compete for positions 5-8.

Cuba dominated all match statistics, leading with 43-31 in attacks, 9-4 in blocks, and 4-2 in aces. Suriname committed 19 errors compared to Cuba’s 25.

The leading scorer of the match was Cuba’s opposite hitter Daniel Martínez, who stands at 2.15 meters tall, capitalizing on 13 attack points, 2 blocks, and 4 aces for a total of 19 points. Kelly Oviedo also reached double figures, contributing 11 attack points.

Once again, Mesón Anakaba led Suriname’s scoring with 9 points from kills.

Suriname took an early lead in all three sets. In the first set, with the score tied at 7, two serves by Martínez and two attack points by Larrea and Morejón allowed Cuba to pull ahead. In the second set, Suriname reached a four-point advantage on kills from Ritfeld and Lee A Leong, but after the second technical timeout, Cuba never trailed. In the third set, the teams were tied at 21 points, but two errors from Suriname gave Cuba the necessary push, ending with the win on a kill point by Martínez.

Daniel Martínez, Cuba’s top scorer, said, “The team played to Suriname’s level, but we won with strength. We trust  our game despite some players lacking court time; there are those who haven’t had international competitions, and those of us with experience are supporting them. Everyone had the chance to play today to be better prepared for tomorrow and come out stronger against the United States”.

Middle blocker Jahmit Jambo or Suriname said, “Today we played slow, we weren’t at our full potential, and we needed to pass the ball better. They were tall and it was hard. We made a lot of mistakes in blocking, we could have done better”.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 13th, 2024.- Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico is ready to host the 2024 NORCECA Men’s Final Four this weekend and coaches came with high expectations to kick off the 2024 season.

Coach of Dominican Republic – José Gutiérrez: We came with the goal of competing and giving the best possible show knowing that we are incomplete, but the commitment of the players who are here is to give their best. Our players are a base of four veterans plus athletes from our under-23 team that are making the transition to the senior team. Our biggest rivals in this tournament are current champs Mexico and Puerto Rico since our level is equal to theirs. It is a tournament that will be defined by whoever does the best and makes less mistakes.

Coach of Puerto Rico – Alberto Jamille Torres: Very excited to play in Puerto Rico and my expectations are quite high. It is the first time we have brought together the entire group, including athletes who play in Europe and programs in the United States. We have been making changes in the past few years and we have a young team mixed with some experienced players. The goal is to win, representing our flag in our country is something great and we are going to give everything to win the championship.

Coach of Mexico – Carlos Eduardo Schwanke: First of all, I am happy to be here with Mexico, it is the first time that I am in charge of this team, and I have very high expectations of the level that we are going to show in this championship, and we hope to perform better than we did previously. I’m getting to know my players now, we’ve only been training together for a month and although we have some athletes with injuries, we are here with our best team and we hope they understand the new game system and feel comfortable on the court, improving every moment.

Coach of Guatemala – Reider Lucas Mora: We have only three weeks working with this group, but we believe that we can compete well in this first international commitment. I think the boys are going to play and have a good result in this competition. We have a team in which we have included youth athletes who we believe can help a lot with the strength of the group. This year we have Central American and international events, and we hope that this event will also serve as preparation for us.

The NORCECA Men’s Final Four will award FIVB World Ranking Points for Volleyball Nations League.

PONCE, Puerto Rico, June 11, 2024.- Action continues from Salvador Dijols Coliseum in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with the 2024 NORCECA Men’s Final Four that runs from June 14-16.

The three-day round robin competition features hosts Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Guatemala.

Mexico won the past edition of the event qualifying to the last edition of the Volleyball Men Challenger Cup (VCC) to take place in Linyi, China from July 4-7.

The FIVB Volleyball Nations League will expand to 18 teams in 2025, therefore no team will be relegated at the end of the VNL 2024 season, while the winners of the 2024 Volleyball Challenger Cup and the highest-placed teams in the FIVB Men’s and Women’s Volleyball World Ranking not yet qualified will join the VNL 2025 action.

As of the 2025 edition, the core and challenger team statuses will be abolished and the bottom-placed team in the competition’s final standings in each gender will be relegated, to be replaced by the respective highest-ranked team in the world for the following VNL season.

Consequently, the 2024 NORCECA Men’s Final Four will grant FIVB World Ranking Points to the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.

Competition Schedule:

June 14

18:00    Mexico vs Dominican Republic

20:00    Puerto Rico vs Guatemala

June 15

18:00    Guatemala vs Mexico

20:00    Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico

June 16

18:00    Dominican Republic vs Guatemala

20:00    Puerto Rico vs Mexico