LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 28, 2023.- The FIVB has officially announced the qualification process and competition format for the inaugural editions of the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ and Boys’ U17 World Championships which are set to be held between July and August next year.
2024 will mark the debut of the U17 World Championships, which will be held every two years thereafter, as the FIVB strives to provide more opportunities for talented young volleyball players to participate in world-class, international events.
A total of 16 teams per gender will participate in the first edition of the tournament, with teams able to qualify via the respective Age Group Continental Championships held in 2023. One quota space will be allocated to the host team, while three quota places will be available per Continental Confederation.
The FIVB Volleyball U17 World Championships will be held over eight days, with a rest day on the fourth day of the event. Eight matches will be played per day, resulting in a total of 56 matches throughout the course of the competition.
The preliminary rounds will be played in a round robin format with four pools across days 1-3 of the tournament, with the top teams from each pool advancing to knockout stages. The eighth-finals, quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on the days 5-7, culminating in the finals on day 8.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams in each pool following the preliminary rounds will compete in classification playoffs for positions 9 to 16 of the final results.
TEPIC, Mexico, March 26, 2023.- Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes have been a force in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour since they became partners for the second time in their careers, last November, and the Americans celebrated their fourth title in the last four months on Sunday, at the Tepic Elite16, in Mexico.
The two dropped their first set in the tournament to Brazilians Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos in the gold medal match at the Amado Nervo Auditorium, but still managed to overcome the reigning world champions in the tie-breaker (21-14, 15-21, 15-10) and stand at the top of the podium. Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho took bronze.
All Beach Pro Tour Tepic Elite16 matches are available on demand on VBTV.
Cheng and Hughes have been nearly unstoppable in their second stint as partners, having won four of the six Beach Pro Tour events they competed at since their reunion, including the 2022 Beach Pro Tour Finals.
Champions also at both the Challenge and the Elite16 tournaments held in Torquay, Australia, last year, the Americans have won 29 of the 33 international beach volleyball matches they played in the last four months.
“It’s been amazing,” Hughes reflected. “I’m so happy to be playing with Kelly and just working with our entire team. We’re putting together the right strategies and working as hard as we can. We have all the support back home and that’s what makes a good team.”
Hughes and Cheng dropped only one set in their campaign in Tepic
After a brief point exchange in the first few plays, Hughes started to make a defensive impact in the match and generated and converted several counterattacks, giving the Americans an 11-7 lead. An ace from her increased their advantage to 13-7 right before the technical timeout. Forcing errors from the Brazilians and maintaining their side out steady, Cheng and Hughes remained in control until the end and won the set 21-14 with a kill from Hughes.
The Brazilians started the second set stronger and jumped ahead at 5-2 with a block from Ana Patrícia on Cheng. The two took a 12-9 lead into the technical timeout and improved their advantage to five points at 15-10 when Cheng made an offensive error. More stable, the South Americans had no issues continuing ahead until the end and tied the gold medal match when Duda put the ball down with a tip to make them win the set 21-15.
Both team’s offences started the tie-breaker in a good rhythm and the Americans got the first break at 6-3, with Cheng blocking Ana Patrícia and Hughes digging the Brazilian blocker and putting the ball down in consecutive plays. A transition kill from Duda and a hitting error from Cheng brought the difference down to a single point at 8-7, but the Americans got back-to-back points to get up 10-7 and secured the title with a block from Cheng that ended the set 15-10.
Hughes hits around Ana Patrícia’s block during the gold medal match
Clancy and Mariafe stepped on the podium for the second time this season and the fifth in their last six events by taking bronze in Tepic and repeating the finish they got in the season-opening Doha Elite16, held in February.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalists had to work hard, but downed Italian qualifiers Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi in the tie-breaker (16-21, 21-17, 19-17) to finish third in Mexico.
The Beach Pro Tour continues next week, with a Futures tournament set to take place in Coolangatta Beach, Australia, from Wednesday to Sunday. The next Elite16 event will be played in Uberlândia, Brazil, from April 26-30.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 24, 2023.- The FIVB has revealed a strong lineup of teams for this year’s Age Group World Championships with the world’s rising volleyball stars from all five continents set to showcase their talent on the global stage.
The lineup reveal follows the announcement of the hosts and dates of the FIVB Age Group World Championships in the U19 and U21 categories as the excitement for these events continues to build.
The Drawing of Lots for the women’s edition of the U19 World Championship, the men’s edition of the U21 World Championship and the U19 men’s competition are set to take place on 31 March in Lausanne, Switzerland and will be livestreamed on the Volleyball World YouTube channel. Meanwhile, the U21 women’s event draw will take place in Mexico City on 12 May 2023.
The U21 World Championship for women’s teams will be hosted in the Mexican cities of León and Aguascalientes on 17-26 August with 16 teams participating, including defending champions Italy and runners up Serbia as part of the CEV’s quota. They will join by host nation Mexico, alongside Japan and China from the AVC, Egypt and Tunisia from the CAVB, Brazil and Argentina from the CSV and the USA and Cuba from NORCECA. In addition, the Netherlands, Poland, Dominican Republic, Türkiye and Thailand have qualified via the World Ranking.
The U21 World Championship for men’s teams is set to be staged in Manama, Bahrain from 7 to 16 July with 16 teams battling it out for the gold medals. Italy, the champions of 2021 will be returning, as will bronze medalists Poland. In addition, hosts Bahrain will be joined by Iran and India from the AVC, Egypt and Tunisia from the CAVB, Brazil and Argentina from the CSV and the USA and Mexico from NORCECA. Completing the line-up via the World Ranking are Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia and Thailand.
Moving onto the U19 World Championships, the women’s edition will be co-hosted by Croatia and Hungary in the cities of Osijek and Szeged from 1-11 August. The number of participating teams for this event has also increased from 20 to 24 to facilitate co-hosting.
Italy, runners-up of the 2021 edition, and bronze medalists USA will return for the 2023 edition. They will be joined by hosts Croatia and Hungary, as well as Peru, Nigeria and Canada via the World Ranking. Qualifying via the Continental Confederation’s quotas are Japan, China, Korea and Thailand from the AVC; Egypt and Cameroon from the CAVB; Türkiye, Germany, Serbia, Poland and Bulgaria from the CEV; Argentina, Brazil and Chile via the CSV, and the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico from NORCECA.
Finally, the U19 World Championship for men’s teams will be staged in San Juan, Argentina from 2-11 August with 20 participating teams. Host country Argentina will be joined by Japan, Iran, India and Korea from the AVC; Nigeria and Egypt from the CAVB; Italy, France, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia and Belgium from the CEV; Brazil, Columbia and Chile from the CSV, and the USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica from NORCECA.
TEPIC, Mexico, March 23, 2023.- The last four spots in each gender in the main draw of the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro TourTepic Elite16 were filled on Wednesday, when the qualifier took place in the two sand courts set up at the Amado Nervo Auditorium.
After the completion of the 24 matches of the day, men’s duos from Italy, the Netherlands and USA, and women’s teams from France, Italy, Spain and USA earned the right of competing among the 16 tandems that will fight for the titles in Mexico.
Watch the Beach Pro Tour Tepic Elite16 live or on demand on VBTV.
The main draw begins on Thursday, at 9:00 local time (16:00 UTC) and the first 16 pool matches in each gender will be played. By the end of the day, each team will have played a pair of matches in Tepic.
Americans Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk were among the four men’s teams that succeeded in the men’s qualifier. A new team for the 2023 season, the two are playing in just their second tournament as partners and looking to bounce back from a 19th-place finish last week in La Paz, where they dropped both of their matches.
“Honestly, we didn’t feel at our best out there, but we’re working, we’re a new team,” Schalk remarked. “We’re working through stuff and it was awesome to find that energy and will to make it happen no matter what today. These qualifiers are absolutely gnarly, there are some amazing teams from all over the world here and to get through it was huge for us. We’re hungry and want to make a long run in the tournament.”
The Americans were challenged by a pair of Austrian teams on the qualifier in Tepic, overcoming Martin Ermacora and Philipp Waller in two sets (21-17, 21-15) and Robin Seidl and Moritz Pristauz in the tie-breaker (16-21, 21-19, 15-13).
Bourne and Schalk will be in Pool B in the main draw, where they’re going to face Sweden’s David Åhman/Jonatan Hellvig, Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner and Germany’s Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler.
Their fellow Americans and former partners Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner will complete Pool C, where they will compete with the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, Italy’s Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri and Estonia’s Kusti Nõlvak/Mart Tiisaar. The USA duo moved forward with triumphs over Canada’s Sam Schachter/Dan Dearing and Brazil’s Andre Loyola/George Wanderley.
Among the four women’s teams advancing in the women’s qualifier were USA’s Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, the winners of last week’s La Paz Challenge. After topping Mexico’s Esperanza Albarran/Yeray Vidaurrazaga and Japan’s Miki Ishii/Sayaka Mizoe in the qualifier, they will now have fellow Americans Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, Australia’s Mariafe Artacho/Taliqua Clancy and Mexico’s Abril Flores/Atenas Gutierrez as their next opponents on Pool D.
10 NORCECA teams in the Main Draw
Women Sarah Hughes / Kelly Cheng – USA, Julia Scoles / Betsi Flint – USA, Melissa Humana-Paredes / Brandi Wilkerson – Canada, Sarah Pavan / Sophie Bukovec – Canada, Terese Cannon / Sarah Sponcil – USA, Atenas Gutierrez / Abril Flores – Mexico
Men Juan Virgen / Miguel Sarabia – Mexico, Tri Bourne / Chaim Schalk – USA, Trevor Crabb / Theo Brunner – USA
LA PAZ, Mexico, March 19, 2023.- Second-seeded Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss ended a solid week at the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro TourLa Paz Challenge with the gold medals around their necks as the 25-year-old Americans were the winners of the event held in Mexico.
Kloth and Nuss prevailed in the all-American gold medal match against Savvy Simo and Toni Rodriguez, taking their compatriots down in two sets (21-16, 21-13) to claim the title. Brazilians Tainá Bigi and Victoria Lopes finished third in La Paz.
All Beach Pro Tour La Paz Challenge match replays are available on VBTV.
The Americans were strongly challenged by compatriots Simo and Rodriguez at the start of the gold medal match and trailed until the middle of the opening set, when they found their rhythm, took control and never looked back.
“What a battle,” Nuss reflected. “Hats off to our fellow Americans, what a game and what a tournament they had. We got into the final knowing it was going to be a very tough match and only focused on our side of the net. The atmosphere here in La Paz has been absolutely unreal and this is what beach volleyball is about. We loved it.”
Playing in only their second international season, Kloth and Nuss have already secured their third Beach Pro Tour title, following victories at last year’s Kuşadası Challenge, in Türkiye, and Coolangatta Futures, in Australia. The Americans have played in 11 international tournaments together and never finished outside of the top ten.
“It was a very difficult tournament,” Kloth remarked. “There were so many great teams playing and a lot of three-set matches that could really have gone either way. And the fans were amazing, there was such a great turnout to every single match that we played. It was such a fun tournament .”
Despite their loss in the gold medal match, the 24-year-old Simo and the 26-year-old Rodriguez also leave La Paz with a lot to celebrate. The La Paz Challenge was just their second Beach Pro Tour event and the first in which they got to play in the main draw and they advanced all the way to the gold medal match, winning seven of the eight matches they played in Mexico, starting from Thursday’s qualifier.
The Beach Pro Tour remains in Mexico for another week with the city of Tepic hosting an Elite16 tournament from March 22-26.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 18, 2023.- Tread Rosenthal team captain of the United States earned the Most Valuable Player MVP Award on Saturday after his team won back to back at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup title in Guatemala.
Tread Rosenthal received the MVP recognition during the closing ceremony at the Guatemala City Dome. Tread also won the individual award for the Best Setter in the tournament.
Also from team USA, outside hitter Sean Kelley was the First Best Spiker, middle blocker Joshua Aruya the Second Best Blocker and libero Kallen Larson the Best Receiver.
Individual Awards NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup
From Nicaragua, libero Osmar Peralta was named the Best Libero and Best Digger of the event, and Angelo Guadamuz the award of First Best Blocker.
The award of Second Best Spiker was handed to outside hitter Franco Roark of Puerto Rico.
Costa Ricans Yulius Brown and Stanley Grant received the Best Opposite and Best Scorer awards respectively.
Team captain of Guatemala Adolfo Rivas was granted the recognition of Best Server.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 18, 2023.- United States beat Mexico 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) to win back to back Boys U19 Pan American title on Saturday in Guatemala City.
United States won their second gold medal in a row undefeated (5-0) against Mexico just like last year; in 2011 they won a bronze medal also over Mexico. This is Mexico’s third silver medal in a row and in 2017 they beat Chile for the gold; Mexico ended the event 4-2.
The U.S. held a 47-33 advantage in attacks and a huge 10-4 margin in blocks; both teams scored two points from serves. United States committed 16 unforced errors against 26 from Mexico.
Sean Kelly (USA) top scorer
Outside hitter Sean Kelly of United States scored a match-high of 16 points on 14 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Sterling Foley added 12 points on 9 kills, two blocks and one ace, followed by opposite hitter Finn Kearney collecting 11 points on 10 kills and one ace.
Outside hitter Ines Vargas and opposite hitter Julio Serrano topped Mexico’s scores with 12 points each.
Matthew Fuerbringer (USA) head coach
Sean Kelly, top scorer of United States: “I feel amazing being back here in Guatemala, there’s a lot of fans supporting us, it’s awesome to play with the team again and we felt so connected. We could have been better, but a win is a win. I believe our serving and blocking can still improve”.
Matthew Fuerbringer, head coach of United States: “I expected a battle. The change the coach made by putting Vargas (#7) as opposite was really good for his team, gave them a lot of options in offense, they have a great setter with good ball control; they’re such a tough team and they don’t make mistakes and they battled. I am really proud of my boys, there were a lot of tough moments being close and it got intense, they could’ve hesitated but instead they went harder and made the plays that mattered”.
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “My team battled and battled, but there was a moment when they couldn’t give more, mostly when we reached point 22 in the first two sets they lost energy and in the third at point 18 they couldn’t give more. This happens when you face a powerful team like the United States, we need more elements on the team”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 18, 2023.- Puerto Rico battled five sets against Costa Rica 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 15-12) to win the bronze medal of the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup on Saturday in Guatemala.
After the five grueling sets, Puerto Rico celebrated their second consecutive bronze medal, third bronze medal in the history of the event. They also won a silver medal in 2011. For Costa Rica, this is the first time a Central American team plays for a place in the podium.
Puerto Rico bounced back from a nail-biting first set loss only to keep on battling strong to stop Costa Rica who performed formidably.
Puerto Rico came out on top with a 69-52 advantage in kills and a 5-1 margin in aces; Costa Rica held a slim 10-9 margin in blocks. Puerto Rico committed a sizeable amount of 44 unforced errors against 24 from Costa Rica.
Ricardo Ortiz of Puerto Rico digs
Outside hitter Victor Torres led Puerto Rico with 22 points on 19 kills and three blocks, accompanied by outside hitter Franco Roark who produced 17 points on 16 kills and one ace, while team captain Ramon Rosado added 13 points on 11 kills, one block and one ace.
Costa Rican opposite hitter Yulius Brown scored a match-high of 24 points on 22 kills and two blocks. Also contributing to Costa Rica’s campaign was outside hitter Stanley Grant with 16 points on 15 kills and one block, followed by Julian Araya who tallied 12 points.
Yulius Brown (CRC) spikes, Dylan Velazquez (PUR) blocks
Ramón Rosado, captain of Puerto Rico: “Costa Rica deserves the credit, in my opinion they are the team that has improved the most in this tournament, even from last year. I am glad about the boys’ performance who in moments of pressure responded and did a great effort”.
Carlos De Sevilla, head coach of Puerto Rico: “Costa Rica gave a great performance. We started too slow and things weren’t working out, we had too many attacking errors. We enjoyed it and our intentions were to play the final, but we are taking a medal to the island. We battled up to the last point”.
David Córdoba, captain of Costa Rica: “We had a good presentation, we couldn’t win. We gave a good match to all of Costa Rica and this beautiful crowd supported us the whole game. We’ve had great improvement from last year and we hope someday to win a medal at this type of event.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 18, 2023.- Hosts Guatemala took fifth place over Nicaragua 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup on Saturday.
Guatemala ends with a 4-2 record in fifth place and Nicaragua 2-4 in sixth. This was the second time Guatemala beat Nicaragua in the tournament.
Despite the straight set win, it was a close win for Guatemala who recovered from a three-point deficit (21-24) stealing from Nicaragua’s hands the first set.
Guatemala held a 39-33 advantage in attacks and a 2-0 margin in aces. Nicaragua prevailed in blocks by a huge 15-6 margin. Guatemala scored on 29 Nicaraguan errors and handed out 19.
Outside hitter Pedro Villatora led Guatemala with 12 points on 11 kills and one block, middle blocker Sergio Paz and outside hitter Roberto Recinos chipped in with 9 and 8 points respectively.
Middle blocker Angelo Guadamuz was Nicaragua’s top scorer with 12 points on 7 kills and 4 blocks, followed by outside hitter Evans Solís and middle blocker Wesly Rugama with 9 points each.
Luis Mendizabal (GUA) attacks
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “We were expecting Nicaragua to fight because we had already beaten them in the tournament. It was a match with too many errors from both teams, but we switched our middle in the first set when we were losing and that headed us into the win. The boys did a great job despite the limitations in preparation”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “A team that doesn’t practice doesn’t win. We committed too many errors, in the first set we failed 9 serves, in the second set 7 and not being able to win the first set damaged us. We aren’t finishing last, but this is a learning experience because the boy’s physical condition couldn’t respond”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 18, 2023.- Belize finished seventh place at the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup after defeating Suriname 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-18) on Saturday in Guatemala.
Belize finished the tournament with a 1-4 win-loss record and Suriname 0-5.
Belize prevailed over Suriname in every skill, attacks (36-25), blocks (6-4) and serves (9-2). Suriname committed fewer errors than Belize (24-28).
Outside hitters Preston Smith and Eleazar Mejía led Belize, Smith with 15 points on 14 kills and one block, Mejía with 14 points all from kills.
Suriname’s opposite hitter Meson Anakaba scored 14 points on 12 kills, one block and one ace as their leading scorer.
Daunte Gill (BLZ) defense
Albert Humes, head coach of Belize: “This win is very good for our country and by 3-0 it’s even better. Sadly we couldn’t put this type of playing in yesterday’s game but we are satisfied. I would like to thank NORCECA for the invitation and give us this type of exposure, making it a learning experience for our team so we can go back home and get ready for the Central American Championship Belize will be hosting this year, that will be a good boost for our people to come out and support our men’s program”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 17, 2023.- Female referees were appointed as first referee of all the matches during the penultimate day of competition at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup in Guatemala.
As part of the initiative of gender refereeing equality of the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation, Cristóbal Marte Hoofiz NORCECA president alongside Referee Coach of the event Professor José Luis Jiménez Lao, appointed the four female international referees of the event as First referee in Saturday’s matches as follows:
-Walda Maldonado of Guatemala, semifinal match United States vs Costa Rica
-Cinthya Hernández of Costa Rica, semifinal match Puerto Rico vs Mexico
-María Alejandra Izquierdo of Nicaragua, classification match 5-8 Belize vs Guatemala
-Yeimy Hernández of Dominican Republic, classification match 5-8 Suriname vs Nicaragua
This is complying with one of the decisions taken during a webinar organized by the NORCECA Referee Commission in commemoration of Women’s International Day that seeks for more opportunities for growth and development of female international referees in the region.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 17, 2023.- The United States will play in the NORCECA U19 Pan Am Cup gold medal match with a perfect record after defeating Costa Rica 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-15) in Friday’s semifinal in Guatemala.
United States will battle Mexico in the final for the second time in a row. The U.S. beat Mexico in last year’s title match here in Guatemala. Costa Rica and Puerto Rico will play in the bronze medal match.
United States was successful with a 45-20 margin in attacks, 8-2 in blocks and 6-0 in serves, but they handed out 31 points from unforced errors while Costa Rica only allowed 16. This was the second occasion in the tournament that the U.S. beat Costa Rica.
Outside hitter Sterling Foley of USA led all scorers with 15 points on 14 kills and one block, joined by opposite hitter Finn Kearney with 11 points on 9 kills and two blocks.
Opposite hitter Yulius Brown of Costa Rica scored 11 points all on kills.
Sterling Foley (USA) attacks against Costa Rica
Tread Rosenthal, captain of United States: “We’ve played great the whole tournament and it feels great to be in the final match. Our team chemistry is great even with the limited time we have together. Mexico will bring a lot of energy tomorrow, but hopefully we’ll take care of them doing a good job”.
Yulius Brown, top scorer of Costa Rica: “Against such a powerful team like the USA I believe we did well in attacks, we failed some serves but we made our best effort. We are coming out strong for the bronze against Puerto Rico who had a different path than ours”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 17, 2023.- Mexico outclassed Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 31-29) in semifinals to reach their second consecutive NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup finals in Guatemala.
Mexico managed to advance in the finals with a straight set win after a highly contested and exciting third set. Puerto Rico took on a one-one battle at the end, their effort wasn’t enough to extend the actions further.
Mexico also beat Puerto Rico in last year’s U19 Pan Am Cup semifinals here in Guatemala but in five sets.
Mexico finished with a 54-41 advantage in attacks, a 3-1 margin in aces and committed fewer errors (19-21). Puerto Rico held a slim 4-3 margin in blocks.
Outside hitter Ines Vargas scored an impressive 28 points (26 kills, one block, one ace) in Mexico’s victory, while Brandon Ramirez contributed with 18 points (16 kills, one block, one ace).
Team captain Ramon Rosado led Puerto Rico’s offense with 12 points all on kills.
Karol Murillo (MEX) celebrates
José Adame, captain of Mexico: “This was our goal, to play the final match. We were overconfident in the third set because the score was too low in the second and Puerto Rico took a good advantage, in the first two sets they were silent but in the third they had more energy”.
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “It was a dramatic finish, but a strong win because it was only in three sets. The third set was close and from the start I told the boys not to relax because we still hadn’t won, Puerto Rico almost won the set and who knows what would’ve happened. I am glad to reach the final once again”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 17, 2023.- Hosts Guatemala downed Belize 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-17) to battle against Nicaragua for fifth place of the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup.
Guatemala recovered from a four-point deficit (10-14) to start the first set and move on to control Belize the following sets. On the last day of the event, Guatemala plays against Nicaragua for fifth place and Belize faces Suriname for position seven.
The hosts held a 31-26 margin in attacks and Belize 6-4 in the blocking category; both teams scored one ace. Guatemala scored on 39 Belizean errors and handed out 23.
Guatemala’s best attacker was middle blocker Sergio Paz with 14 points from 13 kills and one block.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejia led Belize with a match-high of 19 points on 18 kills and one block.
Sergio Paz (GUA) attacks
Sergio Paz, top scorer of Guatemala: “We got in cold; we had trouble to gain energy and passion which we are known for, little by little we did it and that helped us. Volleyball is a sport where energy is a crucial factor, even more than skills. We are sore and tired, but we will close with our all”.
Daunte Gill, libero of Belize: “We tried our best, we could have done better in our execution and for next time we will come stronger than ever. For tomorrow we will try to focus, keep our head high and see what it brings”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 17, 2023.- Nicaragua beat Suriname 3-2 (28-26, 20-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-7) to play for fifth place at the NORCECA U19 Boys Pan American Cup in Guatemala City.
Nicaragua will play for fifth place against the winner between Guatemala and Belize; Suriname for seventh place.
It was a party of points in the first set, won by Nicaragua where Suriname lost three set points (24-22), which set the rhythm for the continuing sets. Suriname held a huge advantage in the fourth set only to fall in the tie-break.
The Central Americans held advantages in attacks (58-53) and aces (3-2), Suriname was better in blocking 10-8. In errors, Nicaragua finished with 36 and Suriname with 38.
Opposite hitter Victor Bermudez led Nicaragua’s scorers with 20 points on 18 kills and two aces, accompanied by middle blocker Angelo Guadamez and outside hitter Evans Solis with 15 points apiece.
Suriname´s top scorer was outside hitter Anfernee Lee with 20 points on 16 kills and four points from aces, followed by outside hitter Gianni Ritfeld with 19 points on 17 kills and two blocks, while opposite hitter Meson Anakaba chipped in with 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and one ace.
Evans Solis (NCA) attacks, Gianni Ritfeld (SUR) ready to block
Víctor Bermudez, top scorer of Nicaragua: “We had complications in receiving, lack of concentration and we were overconfident committing basic errors. We were able to win thanks to our coaches’ instructions, how to position and our energy improved”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “This tournament took us by surprise, the boys are doing a great effort, they don’t give up and we reached the goal, we won’t finish last. Some players, like number 3 (Bermudez) today was on fire, he motivated the team and I made some adjustments in the fifth for the win”.
LAUSANE, Switzerland, March 17, 2023.- The Drawing of Lots for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament has now taken place, as the world’s best vie for a spot in Paris 2024 and there is sure to be a lot of conversation in the coming days and weeks from the teams, players and the global volleyball community as to what it means for the teams.
Here are the pools:
Women’s Pools:
Pool A (China): China, Serbia, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Canada, Czechia, Mexico, Ukraine
Pool B (Japan): Brazil, Japan, Türkiye, Belgium, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Perú
Pool C (Poland): Poland, Italy, United States, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, Korea, Slovenia
Men’s Pools:
Pool A (Brazil): Brazil, Italy, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia, Qatar
Pool B (Japan): Japan, United States, Slovenia, Serbia, Türkiye, Tunisia, Egypt, Finland
Pool C (China): China, Poland, Argentina, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Bulgaria
France has already qualified as host of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France has already qualified.
The other 5 countries (per gender) eligible for a spot will be selected after the preliminary rounds of the Volleyball Nations League are completed.
The Women’s OQTs will take place 16-24 September 2023 in China (Pool A), Japan (Pool B), Poland (Pool C) and the Men’s OQT’s will take place September 30 – October 8, 2023 in Brazil (Pool A), Japan (Pool B), China (Pool C).
LA PAZ, Mexico, March 16, 2023.- Thee NORCECA tandems, Savvy Simo/Toni Rodriguez (USA) in women, Sam Schachter/Dan Dearing (CAN) and Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz (CUB) in men from the qualifier matches on Thursday, advanced in the main draw of the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour La Paz Challenge.
American team of Savvy Simo and Toni Rodriguez, was responsible for the elimination of third-seeded Austrians Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig. The 14th-seeded Americans advanced in an empathic way, securing a 21-12, 21-16 win.
Simo and Rodríguez join other four American teams, number one-seeded Sara Hughes/Kelly Cheng and second-seed Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth, Kelley Kolinske/Hailey Harward and Megan Kraft/Emily Stockman, and the Mexican pair of Abril Flores/Atenas Gutiérrez.
Also appearing in the La Paz Challenge main draw (men) will be fourth-seeded Sam Schachter/Dan Dearing of Canada and eighth-seeded Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz of Cuba.
The Canadian team of Sam Schachter and Dan Dearing earned a bye into the second round where they downed Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich of Italy 2-0 (22-20, 23-21) and
Cuban duo Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz eliminated Americans William Kolinske and Hagen Smith 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-13) and Germans Robin Sowa and Lukas Pfretzschner 2-0 (21-15, 21-15).
The other NORCECA men entering the main draw are Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia of Mexico, alongside Americans Trevor Crabb/Theodore Brunner and Chaim Schalk/Tri Bourne.
The main draw begins on Friday, at 9:00 local time (16:00 UTC), and 52 matches are scheduled to take place during the day. The entire pool play schedule will be completed on Friday and only 16 of the 24 teams in each gender will progress for Saturday, when the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals will be held. The semifinals and the medal matches will take place on Sunday.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 16, 2023.- Costa Rica beat hosts Guatemala 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-21) to advance into the semifinals of the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup in the Guatemala City Dome.
Costa Rica will face United States and the other semifinal will be Mexico against Puerto Rico.
Costa Rica left little to none chances for Guatemala to respond to their strong attacks and blocks, dominating the entire match with consistency.
The winners held a huge 13-2 margin in blocks and a 44-33 advantage in attacks, both teams scored two points from serves. Guatemala committed fewer errors (16-18).
Outside hitter Stanley Grant scored a match-high of 22 points on 16 kills, the most blocks of 5 points and one ace, followed by opposite hitter Yulius Brown with 13 points on 10 kills and three blocks, and outside hitter Julián Araya registered 12 points on 11 kills and one block.
Outside hitter Pedro Villatoro topped Guatemala with 9 points and middle blocker Andrés Paz added 8 points.
Yulius Brown (CRC) attacks
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “What made the difference was our pool in the preliminary round, having played against United States, Mexico and Belize helped us gain confidence. We had two experiences last year against Guatemala and we know each other well. Our strength is attacking high over the net, and everything went well. Traveling from Costa Rica our goal was to finish among the first four positions, now we are thinking of reaching the podium”.
Theo Wandel, central de Guatemala: “The team’s concentration wasn’t at its best, we failed in receiving and there was no back row defense, they scored mostly there. We must recover mentally because there are two days of competitions left”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 16, 2023.- Mexico secured their place in the NORCECA U19 Boys Pan American Cup semifinals defeating Nicaragua 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-15) in the quarterfinals on Friday in Guatemala.
Mexico maintained comfortable leads in the first and third sets, but they struggled to recover from a four-point deficit (4-8) in the second while Nicaragua largely improved with a faster game.
Mexico prevailed 35-19 in kills, 9-4 in blocks and 4-1 in serves, while committing 24 unforced errors against 27 from Nicaragua.
The only player with double digits was Mexican outside hitter Ines Vargas with 12 points on 10 kills and two points on serves. Also contributing to the win were opposite hitter Julio Serrano and outside hitter Victor Miranda with 7 and 6 points respectively.
Middle blocker Edu Urbina led Nicaragua with 8 points all on kills.
Victor Miranda (MEX) attacks
Alfredo Vazquez, libero of Mexico: “We were overconfident in the second set after a strong first set, it wasn’t our usual performance, there were confusions and technical errors on our side. We are closer to the goal of reaching the final and winning the tournament.
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “I made several variations in the second set because I need to know how my bench players perform, I made five changes; I saw the opportunity to do it now thinking that our next matches will be more demanding. I was part of the errors; I take the learning”.
Jorge Mena head coach of Nicaragua: “The loss against Guatemala discouraged the team and today it was a dull game. Our goal now is to beat all our opponents and to finish in fifth place, which isn’t a bad position for us in the tournament”.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 15, 2023.- The NORCECA/FIVB Regional Volleyball Development Center conducted a Level I course for Physical Education professors with the joint effort from the Volleyball Association of Santiago, Dominican Republic.
The three-day course, from March 10-12, had a total of 51 Physical Education professors from different schools and public education centers.
Wilson Sánchez and Francisco Lerebours were the instructors, who completed 30 hours divided in theory and practice sessions.
During the closing ceremony José Aybar, president of the Volleyball Association of Santiago, thanked the Development Center in supporting the fulfillment of this course and motivated all the participants to pass on to their students the knowledge they acquired, with the goal of promoting the practice of volleyball in their education centers.
Professor Nelson José Ramírez director of the Development Center congratulated the participants for showing great interest during the course and expressed that the NORCECA Confederation presided by Cristóbal Marte wishes to continue supporting National Federations in carrying out training courses for Physical Education professors.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 15, 2023.- Puerto Rico won a semifinal spot at the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup beating Guatemala 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16) on Wednesday at the Guatemala City Dome.
Puerto Rico topped pool B 3-0 reaching Friday’s semifinals, while the host Guatemala finished second 2-1 and will face Costa Rica in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
Puerto Rico blocked Guatemala the entire match by a huge 12-4 margin, they also led 34-24 in kills and 3-1 in aces. Both committed a similar number of errors, Puerto Rico 24, and Guatemala 26.
Opposite hitter Dylan Velazquez led Puerto Rico with 16 points on 13 kills and 3 blocks, followed by outside hitter Victor Torres with 11 points and outside hitter Franco Roark chipped in with 7 points.
Guatemala’s leading scorer was middle blocker Sergio Paz with 8 points.
Victor Torres (PUR) Serving
Dylan Velázquez, top scorer of Puerto Rico: “This was our best match so far, all our practice paid off, all went well; we defended and served well, putting the ball in. We are now in the semifinals, we are going to give our all and we have a small dispute against Mexico, we want to win if we get to face them”.
Carlos De Sevilla, head coach of Puerto Rico: “We are glad, the boys executed the game plan we practiced today, we felt comfortable compared to other matches. Without taking any merit from Guatemala, we pressured them, the blocking was in position and the boys performed well. Now we must rest and prepare for the next match”.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “Today was our turn to lose, Puerto Rico plays very well and they adjusted their serves well, complicating our reception. The team battled against one of the powerhouse of the area, but we lack experience and practice matches which in the end affects us. We continue to work, now we must focus on tomorrow’s match against Costa Rica”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 15, 2023.- Nicaragua finished third in pool B beating Suriname 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22) and will face Mexico in quarterfinals at the NORCECA U19 Boys Pan American Cup in Guatemala.
Nicaragua with 1-2 record in pool B finished third to move into the quarterfinal round to face Mexico that finished second in pool A. Suriname ended the preliminary round 0-3 and will play for positions 5-8.
Nicaragua controlled the attacks with a 36-31 margin and Suriname held a slim 8-7 advantage in blocks. Both teams scored one ace. Nicaragua committed 22 errors and Suriname a total of 31.
Opposite hitter Victor Bermudez and outside hitter Evans Solis led Nicaragua with 14 points each; Bermudez on 12 kills and two blocks, Evans on 13 kills and one block.
Outside hitter Anfernee Lee led Suriname scoring 12 points on 11 kills and one block, joined by opposite hitter Meson Anakaba who tallied 11 points on 9 kills and two blocks.
Nicaragua celebrates first win
Cristhoper Castillo, captain of Nicaragua: “Today the other outside hitter made the difference, we have made many variations during the tournament and today things worked well. Tomorrow, we face Mexico, a strong opponent and we will give our all”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “It wasn’t an option to lose, we needed the win to be in the next round. We practiced well in the morning session and the players were obedient during the game, they saw that the force isn’t enough and that they have hit against the blocking, that made us win”.
Siryan Meijer, setter of Suriname: “It was a close match but we always make childish mistakes at the end of the sets. We really wanted to win today and play in the quarterfinals, we are disappointed. The team needs to be more enthusiastic, aggressive and communicate better”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 15, 2023.- Mexico defeated Belize 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-15) and finished second in pool A of the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup in Guatemala.
Mexico finished pool-play with a 2-1 win-loss record and will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Belize ends with 0-3 and will play for positions 5-8.
Mexico prevailed over Belize with a 26-20 advantage in attacks, 10-4 in blocks and 6-1 in aces. In errors, Mexico committed 17 against 33 from Belize.
Opposite hitter Julio Serrano topped Mexico attackers with 10 points on 6 kills and 4 blocks, followed by middle blocker Diego Hernández and outside hitter Brandon Ramírez with 8 and 6 points respectively.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejía of Belize led all scorers with 15 points on 14 kills and one block.
Brandon Ramirez (MEX) attacks against Belize (2)
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “The most difficult match of this phase was against United States, we tried, but slowly we will find more opportunities in which we might take advantage and we are a more experienced team than the other teams in this pool. Now we must focus on the quarterfinals, our goal is to reach the semifinals. We are aiming to play for a medal, we have prepared for that”.
Albert Humes, head coach of Belize: “My team got really tired during this phase of the competition, the short time to prepare showed and the longevity wasn’t there, so today they were flat. Mexico did a good job scouting us and they executed well”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 15, 2023.- United States earned a ticket into semifinals winning pool A after defeating Costa Rica 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup on Wednesday in Guatemala City.
United States topped pool A undefeated (3-0) to play in Friday’s semifinals. Costa Rica finishes (1-2) and waits for the result between Mexico and Belize to learn their final pool A position.
The Americans had the opportunity to use new players on the court, finishing with a huge 46-23 margin in kills, 8-1 in blocks and 6-0 in aces. They scored on 31 opponent errors against 15 of their own.
Outside hitter Victor Loiola led the U.S. with 15 points on 13 kills, one block and one ace. Also contributing to the win were opposite hitter Marek Turner and Joshua Aruya with 10 points each.
On Costa Rica side, outside hitter Stanley Grant led with 11 points all on kills.
United States qualifies to smifinals
Victor Loiola, top scorer of United States: “We had some new faces in today, everybody did their job and capitalized on that energy from the start; we played a good match. As a team we need to improve our pre-count checklist, going through what we must see on the other side of the net, what they are going to run and how we are going to stop it”.
Matthew Fuerbringer, head coach of United States: “After the match I spoke to the team about completing our first stage, completing our goal of 3-0 and winning the stage. Now it’s a lot about recovery, we must be smart to recover and get together to watch some video with the guys so everyone can get better, especially those whose first time on the court was today; get as much time as we can in this day and a half to get ready for the medal round”.
David Córdoba, captain of Costa Rica: “United States is a physical team, they are very structured during the game and I believe they weren’t superior the entire match, we couldn’t take advantage of those moments when they weren’t, we were one or two points of catching up with them Now we wait for the result of the next match”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 14, 2023.- Guatemala picked up their second win defeating Nicaragua 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18) at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup on Tuesday night at the Guatemala City Dome.
Guatemala improved their record 2-0 to remain undefeated and will face Puerto Rico (2-0) to decide pool B winner. Nicaragua drops to 0-2 and will close pool-play against Suriname (0-2).
Guatemala recovered from falling in the first set, struggling to catch up from a three-point deficit in the second (15-18) and holding Nicaraguans better blocking to even the scores. From there on Guatemala controlled Nicaragua.
The hosts held huge advantages in kills (50-39) and aces (11-3), while Nicaragua finished with a 10-2 blocking margin. Guatemala handed out 29 points in errors and Nicaragua a total of 33.
Outside hitter Roberto Recinos and middle blocker Sergio Paz led Guatemala’s attackers with 16 and 11 points respectively.
Outside hitter Evans Solís once again topped Nicaragua’s offense scoring a match-high of 18 points and middle blocker Edu Urbina added 12 points.
Adolfo Rivas and Ferdinando Gonzalez (GUA) celebrates
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “The coaching staff is confident of our team and we knew they could recover for the win. The changes turned out well, we were facing a strong opponent and our serves worked better after falling in the first set. It’s important to keep on winning”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “We have many rookies on the team and they can’t keep up with the pressure. Guatemala has a team with more experience and that made us hesitate, we lack consistency which makes us commit too many errors at crucial moments. It’s not an option to lose tomorrow so we can advance into the next round”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 14, 2023.- Costa Rica won a five-set thriller 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 30-32, 25-18, 15-11) over Central American rival Belize at the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup in Guatemala.
This was Costa Rica’s first win in pool A improving their record 1-1, while Belize stands with 0-2.
Belize turned up the heat winning the second set but not before missing two set points. Brayden Richardson put an end to a marathon third set 32-30 with a monster block. Costa jumped to an early 8-0 advantage in the fourth and remained on top to reach a tie-break finish.
Costa Rica led in blocks 15-13, while Belize dominated 53-50 in kills and 3-2 in aces. Costa Rica scored on 49 Belizean errors and handed out 31 points.
Outside hitter Stanley Grant topped Costa Rica with 24 points on 20 kills and 4 blocks, joined by outside hitter Julian Araya with 13 points (12 kills, one ace) and opposite hitter Yulius Brown with 12 points (10 kills, 2 blocks).
Belizean Eleazar Mejía led all scorers with 28 points, the most so far in the tournament, on 26 kills, one block and one ace. Opposite hitter Daniel Musa added 14 points on 9 kills, 4 blocks and one ace; and outside hitter Preston Smith scored 13 points on 11 kills and 2 blocks.
On Wednesday, Costa Rica (1-1) plays against the United States (2-0) and Belize (0-2) faces Mexico (1-1).
Huge celebration of Gabriel Obando (12) of Costa Rica
Stanley Grant, top scorer of Costa Rica: “Belize is a strong opponent, it has very good players that can make the difference during a match. Costa Rica had a lot of courage to recover coming from behind, we were superior. We are happy and hoping for more wins”.
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “Since we saw them at the Central American championship, where they finished third place, we were expecting them to be a tough opponent. We had difficulties in the second and third sets, committing too many errors. We were able to order them giving the necessary instructions during time-out, they understood that they must give the ball to the setter for us to manage the game. I believe Costa Rica still isn’t performing at its level, we must go on learning”.
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize: “Costa Rica had a little more hustle than we did, but the team played well, and we are very proud of our performance”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 14, 2023.- The United States battled to down Mexico 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20) on Tuesday in pool A at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup in Guatemala.
In the first set Mexico remarkably recovered from an eight-point deficit (8-16) to win the first set, challenging the U.S. in every way. United States slowly gained control but still it was a one-on-one clash. This was the U.S. second tournament win (2-0) and Mexico’s first loss (1-1).
United States led 53-39 in kills, 9-6 in blocks and 4-3 in serves. Mexico had fewer errors (32-25).
Opposite hitter Finn Kearney and outside hitter Sterling Foley led United States with 16 points each; Finn on 13 kills and three blocks, Sterling on 15 kills and one block. Outside hitter Sean Kelly also contributed in the win with 14 points on 10 kills one block and the most aces with 3.
Mexico’s leading scorer was outside hitter Ines Vargas with 15 points on 14 kills and one ace, followed by Victor Miranda with 11 points on 10 kills and one ace.
United States will face Costa Rica (0-1) and Mexico goes against Belize (0-1) on the last day of the preliminary round.
José Adame (MEX) back sets against USA
Finn Kearny, top scorer of United States: “The difference from the first set from the rest of the match was our energy and passing, when we were able to get in system, we were unstoppable. Once we got a big lead, and we didn’t give up. We expect a lot of wins”.
Matthew Fuerbringer, head coach of United States: “We had a high-level match, Mexico was really good and in the first two sets we weren’t. In system we were great the entire match, so that was a good improvement from our past match. Mexico dig a lot of balls, they kept everything in play, a well-coached team, a very smart team and that’s a great win for us today, they made us compete at a high level the entire match”.
Ines Vargas, top scorer of Mexico: “We were focused and more into the game at the start, we tried very hard, we were confident and we came behind from eight points; if we continue to perform like this we might play the final match against them. United States studied us well, our weaknesses and that’s how they won”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 14, 2023.- Puerto Rico scored their second win at the NORCECA Boys U19 Pan American Cup beating Suriname 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-19).
After a closely contested second set, where Suriname thrilled with longer rallies and reaching an even 24, Puerto Rico came out on top in their second win in pool B.
Puerto Rico led with a huge 40-20 advantage in attacks and 11-2 in serves, they also held a slim 5-4 margin in blocks. Suriname committed fewer errors (20-34).
Outside hitter Victor Torres of Puerto Rico scored a match-high of 17 points on 12 kills, one block and 4 aces. Outside hitter Franco Roark and opposite hitter Dylan Velázquez contributed with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Opposite hitter Meson Anakaba led Suriname with 11 points on 10 kills and one block, joined by outside hitter Leong Lee with 9 points.
Pool-play finishes on Wednesday with Puerto Rico (2-0) facing Guatemala (1-0) and Suriname (0-2) against Nicaragua (0-1).
Víctor Torres, top scorer of Puerto Rico: “Our strength is the hard work we’ve been doing in practice. There are things to improve, everyday we’re doing it better. The second set was close because of some technical errors that shouldn’t be hard to correct during practice”.
Velazquez (PUR) spikes against Suriname double block Lee (3), Sibendi (12)
Mesón Anakaba, top scorer of Suriname: “I think I could have done much better than I did today, I am going to work hard to improve. We had more fighting spirit in the second set, but because of our mistakes we not only lost the set but the match as well”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 13, 2023.- Host Guatemala opened the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup with a strong 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-14) victory over Suriname on Monday night at the Guatemala City Dome.
Guatemala had no complications in their tournament debut in pool B, especially in set two, leaving Suriname with little opportunities to respond.
The home team led by a 27-21 margin in attacks, 6-3 in blocks and a huge 10-0 advantage in serves. Guatemala benefited from 32 opponent errors against 17 on their side.
Middle blocker Sergio Paz led Guatemala with 13 points on 9 kills, two blocks and two aces while opposite hitter Meson Anakaba led Suriname with 12 points on 11 kills and one block.
On day two of competition Guatemala (1-0) faces Nicaragua (0-1) and Suriname (0-1) plays against Puerto Rico (1-0).
Guatemala celebrates
Adolfo Rivas, captain of Guatemala: “Guatemala looked powerful, we showed how much we have trained, but our nerves made us fail serves which we normally don’t. Tomorrow we are going to face Nicaragua and we will give our all”.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “It’s always good to start with the right foot, with a victory. We didn’t know anything about Suriname and they boys did a good job. The fans helped the team control their nerves. One of the key elements today was directing our serves. We will prepare for the game against Nicaragua who plays strong, we have faced them on other occasions”.
Brendan Hiwat, captain of Suriname: “We trained for this tournament, and I think we can do a lot better. The guys were a little bit nervous and that kicked in. Our coach told us just to play. We need to train our pass harder; it wasn’t that good. Tomorrow is another day, and we must figure out where we came short”.
Antoine Vliet, head coach of Suriname: “My guys didn’t play well, I think it was the nerves. I don’t know what happened in the second and third set. We need to come back stronger, this is just the beginning”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 13, 2023.- Puerto Rico recovered from falling in the first set to beat Nicaragua 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20) in their opening match at the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup being held at the Guatemala City Dome.
Nicaragua had a remarkable first set, taking Puerto Rico off balance, forcing the match to go to overtime. Puerto Rico gained confidence ending with a 51-43 advantage in attacks, 10-4 in blocks and 5-2 in serving points.
Both teams committed a similar number of errors, Nicaragua committed one less error (30-31).
Three players led Puerto Rico scorers, starting with opposite hitter Dylan Velásquez with a match-high of 20 points (17 kills, 3 blocks). Outside hitter Franco Roark added 17 points (11 kills, 2 blocks, 4 aces) and outside hitter Victor Torres contributed with 14 points (12 kills, 2 blocks).
Outside hitter Evans Solis scored 15 points all on kills, the only player with double-figures from Nicaragua.
Puerto Rico’s next opponent is Suriname and Guatemala’s is Nicaragua.
Dylan Velazquez (PUR) attacks
Ramón Rosado, captain of Puerto Rico: “This is a new group, we have seven new players and in the beginning we were too nervous. We will go on adjusting slowly, I believe we lost the first set because we were nervous, added to the fact that we play on a much smaller court than this one. We were able to adjust in the second set and we hope to go on improving. With the new rule we were able to pass well with our reception, we have practiced that a lot and it helped us to open the game and attack easily”.
Carlos De Sevilla, head coach of Puerto Rico: “I believe the nerves of the first match and making our tournament debut made things difficult in the first set, without taking away the merit to Nicaragua who came to play strong. We learned that we must always perform well and motivate the team. I liked that we came from behind and recovered from a not so good first set, we are missing a lot, we committed too many errors in blocking and defense”.
Cristhoper Castillo, captain of Nicaragua: “The energy in the first set was better, we started off the second set overconfident after winning the first and we got into Puerto Rico’s system. I believe we were united as a team”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “We came out to win, no matter our opponent. We weren’t able to keep up with Puerto Rico, which is an elite team. We kept on fighting, but the team had ups and downs and Puerto Rico went up, it’s a satisfying result”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 13, 2023.- Mexico won the battle to Costa Rica 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-16) to start the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup in Guatemala City.
Costa Rica surprised Mexico in the opening, evening the score on several occasions up to point 23, but a service error gave Mexico the advantage to take the win and control the rest of the game, earning their first win in pool A.
Mexico led in every skill, 37-28 (attacks), 9-7 (blocks) and 3-0 (serves); and committed fewer unforced errors (24-26).
Outside hitter Antonio Vargas and opposite hitter Julio Cesar Serrano led Mexico attackers; Vargas with 17 points on 12 kills, 2 blocks and 3 aces; and Serrano with 14 on 12 kills and two blocks.
Two players also led Costa Rica’s offense, outside hitter Stanley Grant with 15 points on 14 kills and one block, while opposite hitter Yulius Brown added 10 points on 9 kills and one block.
On Tuesday, Mexico (1-0) will face United States (1-1) and Costa Rica (0-1) will go against Belize (0-1).
José Adame (MEX) celebrates
José Alejandro Adame, captain of Mexico: “We were too hyped, we lost our heads, and we had no control. We were able to win because as Mexicans we are strong, and we never give up. Tomorrow is against the United States and it will be really hard, we hope to give them a scare”.
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “We had no control in the beginning, we made a double-change and that made them lose control even more because of a bad position. Mexico improved in serves, reception, but mostly our blocking was successful and that helped us a lot”.
David Córdoba, captain of Costa Rica: “Our attitude was better in the first set, the team was down after having the first set in our hands and we lost it; that had a bad effect on us in the next two sets. The mental part played a trick on us, more than technique and tactics. Mexico plays at a different rhythm, and we had difficulties in dominating the game to get into our rhythm and not in theirs”.
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “The anxiety killed them, watching that the first set was even and that we should have been calmer, we lost a serve and Mexico moved ahead. We reorganized things in the second set but we weren’t able to play fast, we also made adjustments and it made things even harder. We couldn’t motivate the team. Tomorrow, we face Belize, we saw them against United States, they did well, and we will study our strategy”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 13, 2023.- The United States started the NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup with a straight set win 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-22) in pool A over Belize at Guatemala City Dome.
The U.S. recovered from a three-point deficit (11-14) in set two and struggled to get back on track in the third after Belize pushed harder getting into a better rhythm of play.
United States led by a huge 33-10 margin in attacks and 10-3 in serves; Belize held a slim 6-5 margin in blocks, while committing fewer errors (27-35).
Opposite hitter Finn Kearney of United States led all scorers with 13 points on 11 kills, one block and one ace; followed by outside hitter Sean Kelly with 10 points on 7 kills, two blocks and one ace.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejía and opposite hitter Daniel Musa scored 6 and 5 points respectively for Belize.
On day two of the event, United States faces Mexico and Belize goes up against Costa Rica.
Taliaferro (USA) jump serves against Belize
Tread Rosenthal, captain of United States: “The first set was good, Belize played great the next two sets and we just folded in ourselves a little bit, we lost focus and maybe got too relaxed. We will get better; we have physical players and that will help us later”.
Matthew Fuerbringer, head coach of United States: “Belize did a great job in the last two sets, credit to them. Our serving went down a little bit and even when we did serve well, they (Belize) did a much better job in getting used to the speed of our serves which kept them in play and made a good out of system in swings in plays against us. It was a different type of team to play against; we saw some things we must clean up on our end, but overall, I got everyone in the match today, some of the guys it’s the first time wearing the U.S. jersey of the U.S. I guess that when you win so easily in the first set it sets a mood and when we weren’t beating them early in the second set guys got a bit anxious”.
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize: “In the last two sets the reception and defense was a lot better, allowing us to incorporate our middles more into the game because of the better passing. It was a good start in the tournament, I expect to see some wins later in the games. We’re getting used to the ball and the new rule”.
Albert Humes, head coach of Belize: “The first set we were nervous, the team gave too much respect towards the United States, but they started to gain confidence and the last two sets were o.k. I think we need to work in the last part of the game, it showed our lack of focus. It was a nice beginning”.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 12, 2023.- The Boys U19 NORCECA Pan American Cup will serve for coaches and teams to better prepare for a new volleyball rule that will be implemented and tested as during this year’s age group FIVB World Championship.
NORCECA president Cristobal Marte Hoffiz and Referee Coach of the event Prof. José Luis Jiménez Lao in compliance to the FIVB regulations, explained coaches the details of the rule which states that at the first hit of the team, it is forbidden to make the service reception with an overhand fingers action.
For this matter, coaches were handed out a written description of the rule clarifying that the service reception is only permitted by a digging action or any action that does not involve overhand fingers (setting mode).
The FIVB goal is to reduce the high number of service errors in a match by encouraging variety in the type of service style, to encourage the use of floating serves for those players who are not so consistent using the jump serve, to continue encouraging the spectacular jump serve leading to an “ace” for those players who are very strong in this action and who are consistent in using it, to create longer rallies getting better attack/defence balance and to reduce pseudo rallies and one-attack rallies.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 12, 2023.- Coaches of the eight teams attending the Boys U19 NORCECA Pan American Cupare ready for the event that opens on Monday with United States facing Belize.
On Sunday morning, teams went through the preliminary inquiries where they were explained that all participating teams are qualified and eligible to participate in the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship 2024, the qualifying event to the FIVB U19 World Championship.
The official competition game ball will be MIKASA V200W, marking the formal kick off of the new partnership between the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation and MIKASA Corporation.
Coaches shared their insights prior to compete:
Albert Humes, head coach of Belize: “This is the first time for this youth category in Belize to compete at this level and we are really excited to see what they can do to keep our volleyball progressing. This team is not the same one we competed with in the Central American championship back in September and I believe it’s a better one, so I expect a lot of things. We are not satisfied with just coming to represent Belize, we are here to create hard work”.
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “90 percent of the players are going to this years’ world championship in Argentina. We are glad about the strong competition of our pool in this tournament, alongside United States, Mexico and Belize who showed great level at the Central American championship. This tournament helps us to strive for Argentina. We are here to compete, not to participate and we want to do things well, that’s why we’ve been training hard and it’s not by chance that we are the current Central American champions”.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “Guatemala always comes out to compete the best we can and being the host adds a small pressure to perform better. There are teams of great level and we will face each match the best way possible, aiming for a medal. All the boys are motivated, prepared to battle. We have new members in the process, and we hope they achieve what we expect from them; we have trust in each and every one”.
Oscar Viña, head coach of Mexico: “The goal is to finish in the first two places. We consider the tournament favorite is United States, we know about their quality, so we believe we will have great resistance from Puerto Rico. This is great preparation for our team that will be competing this year in Argentina”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “Nicaragua always goes to tournaments to compete and not to participate. We are prepared for the challenge and we will give our best; we will try to win the most matches possible and learn with each one of them. We will put up a fight against the bigger teams”.
Carlos De Sevilla Ríos, head coach of Puerto Rico: “This is a great opportunity to prepare for the world championship in Argentina, put into practice new things and mostly with the new rule. The group is a bit different than last year; we have more height, and we hope to reach the first two positions to battle for the gold medal”.
Antoine Vilet, head coach of Suriname: “The team is prepared, they are a young and talented group. We have two months preparing for this tournament, we are ready to compete, to hit and score a valuable experience”.
Mathew Fuerbringer, head coach of United States: “We’re here to start the qualification process for the World Championship. We have great competition; every game is going to be a challenge for us. The boys have been working really hard and we’re coming to win, we are excited for the competition and to get better”.
CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA, Guatemala, March 9, 2023. – The National Volleyball Federation of Guatemala welcomed the Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship to be held from March 11-19 during a press conference.
Carlos Enrique Santis Rangel, president of the National Federation, alongside other members of the organizing committee presented details of the competition that has eight participating teams who will battle for two berths to the 2025 FIVB Boys U19 World Championship.
Santis Rangel said “Guatemala has experience in hosting international events, but it’s always a challenge; I want to thank NORCECA and Guatemala’s Sport Confederation for their support in welcoming this important continental event that qualifies two teams to the world championship”.
Guatemalan team captain Adolfo Rivas and head coach Luis Fernando Castañeda were present to answer questions for the local press. Rivas indicated his team is highly motivated to play at home and Castañeda specified that 9 players are from Guatemala’s province and 3 from the Guatemala City.
Inspection visits to the competition and training venues are scheduled for March 11, as well as a joint meeting between the NORCECA control committee and the organizing committee. Teams will go through the preliminary inquiry on March 12.
Pool-play will start on Monday 13, with the first ranked teams from each group advancing directly into the semifinals, while second and third places will play in the quarterfinal round of the event. Medal matches will be played on Saturday 18.
Cuba was crowned champion in the past edition held in 2018 in San José, Costa Rica, facing the United States who finished second place; Puerto Rico took third place after beating Guatemala.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 8, 2023.- In commemoration of Women’s International Day the NORCECA Referee Commission held a webinar on Tuesday for international female referees with the theme of “Sharing Our Stories” to provide helpful information to support their growth and development.
Julie Voeck of the United States, member of the NORCECA Referee Commission, was in charge of moderating an open conversation in which NORCECA female referees had the opportunity to speak about their personal experiences refereeing at an international level.
Guy Bradbury, president of the NORCECA Referee Commission highlighted that the Referee Commission has been working for the equality within our sport and having a better understanding of female referees.
Ariel Sainz, NORCECA First Vice President also took part of the session, alongside other members of the NORCECA Referee Commission.
Beach Volleyball referees Claudia Guerrerro of Honduras and Suzanne Lowry of the United States, and Volleyball referees Cinthya Hernández of Costa Rica and Mary Carmen Durán of Mexico shared their stories of how they decided to become referees and the different challenges they have faced along their path.
One of the discussions during the webinar was how some of them shifted from being an athlete to refereeing, the opportunity they have been provided of meeting fellow referees which have contributed to their career and a better understanding of the rules of the game.
An important conversation came to the attention of the participants, was that in many events they are the only female referee officiating during an event, which has been challenging as on occasions they haven’t felt the same camaraderie when having the companion of another female referee.
The speakers agreed the importance of whistling as many national events as possible, providing them with a better preparation to approach difficult situations, dealing with coaches and players who are constantly questioning their decisions, which in the end helps them to improve with every match and for officiating at an international level.
Some of the challenging situations they have faced are balancing their personal careers and overcoming doubting themselves, but NORCECA has provided the necessary support.
The webinar concluded with the message to continue working hard and setting career goals, to become trustworthy referees and also taking on a teaching role for developing more female referees.
LUSANNE, Switzerland, March 8, 2023.- Volleyball World and the FIVB have confirmed the remaining hosts of the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier events set for later this year with Brazil, China and Poland joining Japan in welcoming the world’s best teams who will be fiercely competing for a place at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
China, Japan and Poland will stage the women’s event from September 16-24, while Brazil, China and Japan are set to host the men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments from September 30 to October 8 2023. These countries will welcome the volleyball elite teams to battle for the highly in demand spots for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The pools will be defined during the Drawing of Lots ceremony which will be hosted in Lausanne, Switzerland at 13:00 CET on March 17 and broadcast live all over the world. The broadcast will be streamed LIVE on Volleyball World’s Youtube channel.
FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° said: “I am delighted to see such a high-profile line-up of hosts secured for the Olympic Qualification Tournaments this year. All hosts have impressive credentials and will warmly welcome the athletes for these highly-anticipated qualifiers. I am sure all six events will serve as a great celebration for our sport and fans with 24 top teams competing for six Olympic tickets.”
Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor said: “Brazil, China, Japan and Poland are huge markets for our sport. We know very well how passionate their fans are about volleyball and we are delighted to bring even more exciting volleyball action to these countries. These events will be hotly contested with the teams bringing their all to the court as they look to book their places at Paris 2024. We are looking forward to witnessing the incredible talent of the athletes and bringing this action to the fans.”
OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION EXPLAINED
Twelve teams per gender will participate in the Olympic volleyball competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. As the host nation, France, the current men’s Olympic volleyball champions, has secured its place in both the men’s and women’s competitions. The other 11 quota places per gender will be allocated via a two-step qualification process that ensures the best volleyball nations can participate at the event while observing the principle of universality.
In particular, six Olympic quota places per gender will be contested during the Olympic Qualification Tournaments where the top 24 teams as per the FIVB Volleyball Senior World Ranking (WR) not yet qualified will be split into three pools of eight teams. The top two teams of each pool will then qualify for Paris 2024.
The remaining five Olympic places per gender will be filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB WR as of the end of the preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League 2024. To guarantee the principle of universality, these teams will be selected as per the following order of priority: 1) The team(s) from a continent(s) without a qualified team(s) and 2) Top team(s) not yet qualified.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 7, 2023.- Thomas Bach, president of International Olympic Committee -IOC- visited the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation facilities whose headquarters are in Dominican Republic.
Thomas Bach, had the opportunity to take a walk around NORCECA headquarters during his official visit in Dominican Republic on the occasion of the opening of the head office of Centro Caribe Sports in Santo Domingo.
NORCECA president Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz accompanied COI president to show him the office in which all volleyball activities for the North, Central America and Caribbean continent take place.
“We are pleased that President Bach gets to visit our headquarters, where he have the mission of governing and promoting volleyball and beach volleyball of the zone, guaranteeing with the rules and regulations established by the International Volleyball Federation FIVB” expressed Cristóbal Marte.
During his visit he had the opportunity to tighten the relations that unite volleyball with the principles of the Olympic movement worldwide.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic,March 7, 2023.- International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach of Germany, said to be highly satisfied that the Dominican women’s volleyball national team has qualified for three Olympic Games, indicating the Project of National teams of Dominican Republic as “very productive”.
Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz, president of the women’s project, Alexis García, president of FEDOVOLI and Nelson Ramírez, director of the men’s team, explained to the IOC president the way they manage the age-group categories of the institution.
“IOC president Thomas Bach had many questions, which we answered, and he claimed to be surprised that a small Caribbean country is ranked number eight in the FIVB world ranking” , said the FEDOVOLI vice president.
Marte Hoffiz introduced Bach to several members of the women’s team, youth, junior, under-23 and some of “las Reinas del Caribe” who are in Dominican Republic, as well as members of the coaching staff. He also learned about the men’s volleyball project and beach volleyball.
Thomas Bach meets “Reinas del Caribe”
“Welcome, Mr. President Bach”, that’ how the IOC president was greeted, who said excited: “very well, how are you, come closer, I like to speak with athletes and get to know how they feel”.
When he spoke with Niverka Marte, captain of the Senior Team, he learned that she speaks several languages, including German, his native language and laughed of joy. He also spoke with one of the girls of the women’s volleyball initiation category and gave them a big hug of encouragement.
“I have seen you on television playing, defending the colors of your country in international competitions and I congratulate you all for being champions at the Pan American and Central American Games”, which filled Niverka Marte with joy.
Thomas Bach and Niverka Marte
Bach also greeted some of the Executive Committee members, as well as volleyball immortal Heyda Joaquín, Cosiris Rodríguez and Milagros Cabral, who is the current General Director of the National Project.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, March 7, 2023. – The 2023 Boys U19 NORCECA Continental Championship will be held in Guatemala from March 11-19 at the Guatemala City Dome with eight teams competing for two berths to the 2025 FIVB U19 Boys World Championship.
The preliminary round will kick off on March 13 with Pool A consisting of Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico and United States, while host Guatemala, alongside Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Suriname will play in Pool B.
The top ranked team from each pool will advance directly into the semifinals, while second and third ranked teams will play in the quarterfinal round of the event.
Cuba is NORCECA’s current champion and will not be in Guatemala to defend their title having won the championship on a record of five occasions, followed by United States and Puerto Rica with two titles each. Dominican Republic and Mexico have won it once.
Cuba and United States have reached the gold medal match in the past three editions, with Cuba winning in 2018 and 2016, while USA won in 2014.
SANTO DOMINGO.- With the presence of the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, the sports leader of Panam Sports, Neven Ilic, and the attendance of the members of the Executive Committee, the head office of Centro Caribe Sports was inaugurated in the Dominican capital.
In a family atmosphere, the office of the oldest regional sports organization in the world was opened, where the President of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), Keith Joseph (SVG), the President of the Dominican Olympic Committee, Garibaldy Bautista, members of the Organizing Committee of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games, Santo Domingo 2026, as well as other sports leaders of the Dominican Republic were present.
During the opening remarks, Luis Mejía Oviedo, President of Centro Caribe Sports, thanked the courtesy of the Vice President of the Republic, Mrs. Peña, the IOC President, Olympic champion, Thomas Bach, and his counterpart from Panam Sports, Neven Ilic, for being present on the historic night of Monday, March 6.
Mejía also emphasized the importance of the opening of the office: “The headquarters of the regional body of Central American and Caribbean sport is installed in the city of Santo Domingo, and its doors are open to the entire region and the continent”.
On his side, Bach addressed those present, valuing the initiative of President Mejía in inaugurating the Centro Caribe Sports office in the Dominican capital, taking into consideration that by 2026, it will be the next venue for the Central American and Caribbean Games, to be held in the capital of the Dominican Republic.
“The venue reflects the innovation that Mejía has always tried for years with the digital world, uniting sport with technology”, were the words of Bach during the event.
Bach presented the IOC President’s trophy, a recognition that represents the birth of an athlete or leader who emerges in a world where the sky is the limit.
The ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the Centro Caribe Sports office was done by Vice President Raquel Peña, followed by the unveiling of two photographs, inaugurating the Centro Caribe Sports Presidents Gallery, with photos of former presidents José Joaquín Puello Herrera (DOM) and Steve Stoute (BAR).
The office of Centro Caribe Sports is located on José Dolores Alfonseca Street, Corporate Building 11.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 5, 2023.- Alondra Tapia, tall and lean junior volleyball player, arrived in Dominican Republic after ending a dream year in Japan, where she was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Collegiate League with Furukawa-Gakuen High School while winning the crown after a 23-year drought, and graduating from high school with honors.
The athlete arrived from Japan with the president of the Women’s Volleyball National team Project, Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz and with director of International Relations of the Project, Milagros Cabral.
“I am very happy to achieved my goal to carry my team Furukawa-Gakuen High School into winning the championship, of being the Most Valuable Player and now to rest before joining practice with the team Reinas del Caribe”, said the Dominican player.
She claimed that studying in Japan for three years was a great experience, mostly by dealing with the language and the Japanese culture. She thanked Cristóbal Marte, Milagros Cabral and the Project for their support.
She also valued Japan’s education, as well as that of the teachings of her coach and teammates who received her with open arms.
Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz, said that Alondra Tapia accomplished an amazing feat, where more than 1,832 schools participated in the national tournament, and she carried her team in becoming champions after 23 years without raising the trophy and for her great performance in being selected the Most Valuable Player.
“We are very happy, I am so proud for her, she was the most brilliant student at school and she was recognized for it, something that fills me with joy”, he added.
Marte said that Tapia wishes to enroll in the Nipon-Tokyo University, level one, among the best in Japan, where she will study Physical Education and they are now negotiating.
Marte added that this will be the first time for a Dominican to study in such a prestigious university.
“Her behavior and results during classes will open doors for more Dominican athletes in Japan when school directors will visit Dominican Republic to offer another scholarship, which is a magnificent” he stated.
Milagros Cabral, the immortal of Sport, explained that she is glad about Alondra Tapia’s personal growth, who shared the great news that she will be present in the 2023 events of las Reinas del Caribe. Her mother was also at the airport to greet with great affection and love.
Hiroshima, Japan, March 3, 2023- MIKASA CORPORATION (MIKASA) and the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) announced a massive 8-year agreement on February 27, 2023. After signing the agreement, both parties shook hands firmly for building a deep relationship.
After signing the agreement, both parties shook hands firmly for building a deep relationship.Attendees for the signing ceremony : From left side : NORCECA General Director Ms. Arateide Caceres Hernandez, President Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, MIKASA President and CEO Mr. Yuji Saeki, Director and Head of Sporting Goods Mr. Hidekazu Iizuka.After the ceremony, Mr. Yuji Saeki gave Mr. Marte a factory tour in the head office to help NORCECA President to better understand MIKASA history, products, and technologies. Mr. Marte also introduced NORCECA and this warm interaction made a wonderful first step to deepen mutual understanding and relationship
ONTARIO, Canada, February 27, 2023.- Beach volleyball athletes Sophie Bukovec and Sam Schachter have been awarded Volleyball Canada’s annual Tom Ng award.
The athletes were chosen based on their performances in 2022. Toronto’s Bukovec had a stand-out year in 2022, winning silver at the World Championships with then partner Brandie Wilkerson. Team veteran Sam Schachter of Richmond Hill, Ontario, along with partner Dan Dearing, took silver at the Commonwealth Games and gold at the NORCECA tour finals.
The Tom Ng Beach Volleyball Athlete Assistance Fund was created in 2013 in partnership with Volleyball Canada and the Canadian Olympic Foundation. Annually, the Fund awards a high-performance beach volleyball athlete(s) an amount to offset training and competition expenses. This is the first time the Tom Ng award has gone to a male and female athlete at the same time.
“Both Sophie and Sam have been great representatives of Team Canada both on and off the court,” said Volleyball Canada’s Beach High Performance Director Ed Drakich. “We are pleased that the Tom Ng fund can assist them on the road to Paris 2024 as they work toward Olympic qualification.”
Bukovec now plays with Sarah Pavan, while Schachter continues to be partnered with Dearing.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, February 27, 2023.- It may be chilly outside, but summer is coming and so is the 2023 USA Volleyball Beach National Championship, which will return to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 18-23.
The USA Volleyball Beach National Championship is the premier annual event for girls and boys beach teams in the 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U age groups. In 2022, more than 300 beach teams competed at the championship in Fort Lauderdale.
“USA Volleyball is excited to bring the Beach National Championship back to Fort Lauderdale,” said USA Volleyball President & CEO Jamie Davis. “This pinnacle junior beach volleyball event brings together the best young players in the country for great competition on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. I’d like to thank Visit Lauderdale for their support in making this a truly special event.”
“Visit Lauderdale is thrilled to once again host the USA Volleyball Beach National Championship in Broward County,” said Glen Allen, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment for Visit Lauderdale. “This event will attract the best beach volleyball athletes from across the United States to compete on one of the most well-known beaches in the world. The abundance of new dollars and the rise in hotel occupancy created by the USA Volleyball Beach National Championships will be welcomed by the hospitality community.”
Teams in the girls and boys 16U divisions and the girls 12U division will compete July 18-20. Boys 12U, 14U and 18U teams and girls 14U and 18U teams will play July 21-23.
The 2023 USA Volleyball Beach National Championship will be the culmination of the 2022-23 USA National Beach Tour, which started in August. Teams earned bids to the national championship by competing in beach national qualifiers and beach regional qualifiers around the country.
The Open and American Divisions require teams to have earned a bid for that division. The Patriot Division does not require a bid and is open to all athletes.
HAVANA, Cuba, February 27, 2023.- The international volleyball workshop for coaches Level I that took place in Havana, concluded successfully this past weekend.
The National Volleyball School hosted the workshop, in which 36 Cuban professors were certified as Volleyball Level I Coaches.
Antonio Rizola, head coach of Colombia’s women team and certified FIVB instructor conducted the intense workshop with teaching and practice sessions.
As the closing ceremony, he expressed his gratitude to the Cuban Volleyball National Federation (FCV) and to the national sports system for allowing him to share his knowledge.
He also highlighted the opportunity to exchange with Cuban volleyball legends such as Gilberto Herrera, Justo Morales and several Olympic champions, members of the “Morenas del Caribe”.
Speaking about the course, he recognized several professors with advanced professional abilities and that they reached their goals.
Ariel Sainz, FCV presidente expressed his inmense gratitude for traveling to Cuba and his work, before he proposed him to repeat the experience at the end of the year.
Saiz explained that just like this course, the next will contribute to strengthen young and experienced Cuban coaches.
The theorical-practice course, had specific evaluations in these two aspects. The best student was a 21 year old member of the national coaching staff, professor
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 27, 2023: St Lucia won both the Male and Female segments of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament that ended here at the Cul de Sac Bay, on February 26.
The pair of Sheldon Descartes and Joseph Clercent copped the Male Division, with the duo of Denila Prospere and Chenao Evans, trumping the Females.
Descartes and Clercent, representing St Lucia Team One beat the experienced St Kitts and Nevis’ St Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes, 2-0 ( 21-14, 21-14) , thus ending the tournament undefeated. It
It was a similar pathway for Prospere and Evans, as they too were unbeaten.
Also representing St Lucia Team One, Prospere and Evans saw off Thornia Mitchell and Renisha Stafford of Grenada 2-1( 21-16, 18-21, 15-11) in the gold medal match.
Speaking after his team’s victory, the much travelled Clercent on behalf of his partner- Descartes disclosed that they had planned for match up versus the Kittians in the final.
“ The final was not that difficult for us because we used more techniques … We knew we were approaching a more experienced team… We watched a few of their games … We didn’t slip or slide because we knew if we did, we would have been punished”, Joseph reasoned.
Meanwhile, relishing the Female title, Team Captain Evans related , “ We have been training hard, about five times per week… We have been active in Tournaments since last November, so we were prepared for this”.
Making the separations between the two teams on the day, Evans analysed, “ We tried to keep the focus our movements, our fitness and our agility were better than the Grenadians …The errors we made were our own errors”.
The Tournament, originally slated for last October, saw participation from seven countries, featuring 32 players.
The participating countries were Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and host St Lucia.
Nine teams contested the Male Division and seven were in the Female Division.
President of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association Glenn Quinlan considers the recently concluded beach volleyball tournament hosted by Volleyball St. Lucia to have been one of the better-staged events he has attended.
Hiroshima, Japan, February 27, 2023- NORCECA and Mikasa Corporation have announced a historical long-term partnership for eight years 2023-2030. The agreement between the governing body for volleyball in the North, Central American and Caribbean Continental Region and one of Japan’s leading manufacturers was signed in a special ceremony held at MIKASA Headquarters in the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
“Mikasa is a long-term and loyal partner for the FIVB, and we are pleased to establish this historical partnership with MIKASA Coorporation said NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, “Mikasa has supplied equipment for the FIVB since volleyball first appeared in the Olympic program, back in 1964. We are delighted to welcome MIKASA to NORCECA’s family, meaning that MIKASA will be the official ball and volleyball equipment provider for volleyball and beach volleyball events until 2030”.
“Mikasa shares our commitment to raising the profile of volleyball, beach volleyball in America, not only at the elite standard, but at the same time ensuring the develop of our sport at the grass-roots level, with a primary focus on those countries where there is still much room for improvement. We will work hard together to ensure the growth and success for our sport,” the NORCECA President added.
President of MIKASA Corporation Mr. Yuji Saeki said: “MIKASA Corporation is extremely honored to establish this important long term partnership with the NORCECA Confederation and to have the opportunity to support the growth of volleyball and beach volleyball in the North, Central American and Caribbean Continental Region. We are also excited to be a part of the sport’s by providing our products for people of all ages and backgrounds to play volleyball and beach volleyball.”
The signing of the agreement took place at MIKASA Headquarters in the city of Hiroshima, Japan, between NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz and Mr. Yuji Saeki, President of MIKASA CORPORATION.
Hiroshima, Japan, February 27, 2023- NORCECA and Mikasa Corporation have announced a historical long-term partnership for eight years 2023-2030. The agreement between the governing body for volleyball in the North, Central American and Caribbean Continental Region and one of Japan’s leading manufacturers was signed in a special ceremony held at MIKASA Headquarters in the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
“Mikasa is a long-term and loyal partner for the FIVB, and we are pleased to establish this historical partnership with MIKASA Coorporation said NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, “Mikasa has supplied equipment for the FIVB since volleyball first appeared in the Olympic program, back in 1964. We are delighted to welcome MIKASA to NORCECA’s family, meaning that MIKASA will be the official ball and volleyball equipment provider for volleyball and beach volleyball events until 2030”.
“Mikasa shares our commitment to raising the profile of volleyball, beach volleyball in America, not only at the elite standard, but at the same time ensuring the develop of our sport at the grass-roots level, with a primary focus on those countries where there is still much room for improvement. We will work hard together to ensure the growth and success for our sport,” the NORCECA President added.
President of MIKASA Corporation Mr. Yuji Saeki said: “MIKASA Corporation is extremely honored to establish this important long term partnership with the NORCECA Confederation and to have the opportunity to support the growth of volleyball and beach volleyball in the North, Central American and Caribbean Continental Region. We are also excited to be a part of the sport’s by providing our products for people of all ages and backgrounds to play volleyball and beach volleyball.”
The signing of the agreement took place at MIKASA Headquarters in the city of Hiroshima, Japan, between NORCECA President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz and Mr. Yuji Saeki, President of MIKASA CORPORATION.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 26, 2023: The pair of Sheldon Descartes and Joseph Clercent confirmed their supremacy as the top team in the Men’s segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
Facing the experienced St Kitts and Nevis’ St Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes, Descartes and Clercent, saw off their opponents, 2-0 ( 21-14, 21-14) to cop the gold, and ended the tournament undefeated.
It was a triumph that pleased, Clercent, who said that they planned for their in the finals.
“ The final was not that difficult for us because we used more techniques … We knew we were approaching a more experienced team… We watched a few of their games … We didn’t slip or slide because we knew if we did, we would have been punished”, Joseph reasoned.
The experienced Joseph added that winning the title on home soil, made it all the more rewarding.
Meanwhile, Clercent’s opposite- Hodge, stated, “ Overall we are happy with our performance… We came through a zone where we weren’t actively pushed and in this the final, we lost some of our focus and made some unforced errors and we didn’t make the adjustments on court and that led to us dropping the championships”.
The two reached the title match with similar victories over their opposing semi- finalists.
As such, Descartes and Clercent eased past Bermuda’s Ryan Davies and Brandon Sousa, 21-12, 21-14, while Hodge and Seabrookes ousted Antigua and Barbuda’s Adrian Constant and Jamarie James, 21-19, 21-17.
Constant and James ensured a podium finish with a 21-19, 21-13 win over Davies and Sousa in the bronze medal match.
Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia Team Two and Team Three competed the lineup of participants.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 26, 2023: Playing unbeaten throughout, St Lucia Team One pouched the gold medal of the Women’s segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
Buoyed by some vocal home support, the pair of Denila Prospere and Chenao Evans thwarted the meticulous play of the Grenadian duo of Thornia Mitchell and Renisha Stafford, 21-16, 18-21, 15-11.
Relishing the title, Evans related , “ We have been training hard, about five times per week… We have been active in Tournaments since last November, so we were prepared for this”.
Making the separations between the two teams on the day, Evans analysed, “ We tried to keep the focus our movements, our fitness and our agility were better than the Grenadians …The errors we made were our own errors
Apart from their presence and abilities on the court, Evans said that playing in the presence of friends and family was boost in their confidence, as well as keeping them focused.
Gracious in defeat, Mitchell said: “ Placing second, we are proud; We are happy with the result… We had good team spirit, we were supportive of each other”.
Mitchell however noted that it was their own undoing that cost them the title.
“We made some simple errors, service errors, hitting the ball into the net”, Mitchell concluded.
Before reaching the final, Prospere and Evans blanked a spirited St Lucia Team Two of Clio Phillip and Jemima Evans , 21-14, 22-20.
In the other half of the semis, Grenada defeated St Kitts and Nevis’ Brenda Allen and Zenelle Edwards 15-21, 21-18, 15-13.
St Kitts went to take the bronze medal, as Allen and Lake registered a 2-1 ( 19-21, 21-13, 15-8) win over Phillip and Evans.
The other competing teams were Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 25, 2023.- Following two days of play, the semi-finalists are known in the Women’s segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
Advancing to the last four from the initial seven team race, are Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, along with St Lucia’s Team One and Team Two.
Grenada, represented by Thornia Mitchell and Renisha Stafford emerged as Pool A winners, after beating St Lucia’s Team Two of Clio Phillip and Jemima Evans 21-14, 19-21, 15-9.
Topping Pool B was St Lucia Team One of Denila Prospere and Chenao Evans, who beat Tamerca Cabey and Nyla Edmund, 2-0 ( 21-15, 21-12).
Prospere and Evans also defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Shanadia Sylvester and Saquanna Duncan, 21-11, 21-7.
Other Day Two Results
St Kitts and Nevis’ Brenda Allen and Genelle Lake beat Sylvester and Duncan, 21-10, 21-14 and Josanne Lewis and Zenelle Edwards of Antigua and Barbuda 21-14, 21-11.
And, St Lucia’s Team Two of Phillip and Evans beat Cabey and Edmund 21-7, 21-14.
The semi-finals pit Grenada against St Kitts and Nevis, with St Lucia One and Two battling in the other.
The winners then go for gold, with the losers seek the consolation bronze.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 25, 2023: St Lucia Team One, Bermuda, St Kitts and Nevis as well as Antigua and Barbuda, are through to the semi-finals of the Men’s segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
The match ups feature St Lucia Team One against Bermuda, while St Kitts and Nevis opposes Antigua and Barbuda.
The four emerged from Pool play and elimination matches decided on day two.
St Lucia Team One , composed of Sheldon Descartes and Joseph Clercent beat Grenada’s Darron Oxford and Isaac Nelson 21- 13, 21-16 , to top Pool A, before gaining a 2-0 win over St Lucia Team Three, who forfeited their elimination match.
The Descartes and Clercent combination meet Bermuda’s Ryan Davies and Brandon Sousa in the semi-finals.
Bermuda, after finishing second in Pool B, with a 1-1 win/loss ratio, crossed path with second place in Pool C, St Vincent and the Grenadines. Davis and Sousa though beat Asmond Franklyn and Jad Martin 2-0 (21-13, 21-16).
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s Adrian Constant and Jamarie James had straight sets win 21-15, 21-9, over the St Lucia’s Team Three, composed of Charles Blair and Mario Victor, to finish Pool C perfect with two wins.
Constant and James then defeated Yhan Florent and Keaun Reefe 2-1( 16-21, 21-19, 15-11), to clinch their semi-final spot.
Similarly, St Kitts and Nevis’ St Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes overcame St Lucia’s Team Three duo of Rio Victor/ Anil Larcher 21- 6, 21-12, to top Pool B .
Hodge and Seabrookes then went on to beat Darren Oxford and Isaac Nelson of Grenada, 21-8, 21-7, to set up their showdown with Antigua Barbuda.
The other result on day two, saw St Lucia’s Team Two of Rio Victor and Anil Larcher defeating St Lucia Team Three of Charles Blair and Mario Victor, 21-18, 21-17.
The two semi-final winners meet in the Gold medal match, before the two losers left to battle for the bronze.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 24, 2023.- Both St Lucia Women’s teams, as well as Grenada, completed day one, with a win apiece in their segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
St Lucia Team Two and Grenada registered wins in Pool A. The combination of Clio Phillip and Jemima Evans was taken to three sets by St Kitts and Nevis’ Brenda Allen and Genelle Lake, but prevailed 9-21, 21-18, 15-13.
Also, in Pool A, Grenada’s Thornia Mitchell and Renisha Stafford got past St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Shanadia Sylvester and Saquanna Duncan 2-0 (21-19, 21-18).
More success came for St Lucia in Pool B, as Denila Prospere and Chenoa Evans, making up Team One, defeated Antigua and Barbuda’s Josanne Lewis and Zellene Edwards, 2-0 (21-17, 21-13).
This was after Lewis and Edwards had recorded a 2-1 (21-18, 13-21, 15-10) win over Dominica’s Tarmeca Cabey and Nyla Edmund.
Among Day Two’s matches are Dominica versus St Lucia Team One, St Lucia Team Two against Grenada, as well as St Vincent and the Grenadines versus St Kitts and Nevis.
Also slated for Day Two are three single elimination matches.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 24, 2023.- St Lucia Team One, St Kitts and Nevis, along with Antigua and Barbuda, played unbeaten on Day One, in the Men’s segment of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
Playing in Pool A, St Lucia Team One, composed of Sheldon Descartes and Joseph Clercent beat the Dominican duo of Yahn Florent and Keaun Reefe 2-0( 21-11, 21-15).
Likewise, in Pool B, St Kitts and Nevis, represented by St Clair Hodge and Shawn Seabrookes defeated Bermuda’s Ryan Davies and Brandon Sousa, also 2-0( 21-13, 21-13).
Meanwhile, in Pool C, Antigua’s duo of Adrian Constant and Jamarie James beat St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Asmond Franklyn and Jad Martin 2-0 (21-18, 21-14).
However, it was Franklyn and Martin who got the days proceedings going, as they beat St Lucia Team Three of Charles Blair and Mario Victor, 2-0 ( 21-12, 21-5). The Vincentians thus ended the day, with a 1-1 win/loss ratio.
Also registering one win and one loss were Dominica and Bermuda.
Dominica’s Florent and Reefe beat Grenada’s Isaac Nelson and Darron Oxford 2-0( 21-19, 21-19), with Bermuda’s Davies and Sousa overcoming St Lucia Team Two of Rio Victor and Anil Larcher 2-0 ( 21-16, 21-8).
On Day Two, Saturday, Pool play concludes with Antigua and Barbuda meeting St Lucia Team Three, St Kitts and Nevis plays St Lucia Team Two and St Lucia Team One opposes Grenada.
Also slated for Day Two are five matches in a Single Elimination round.
CASTRIES, St Lucia, February 23, 2023: Nine male teams and seven female outfits, will battle for honours in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Tournament here at the Cul de Sac Bay.
Making up the nine male teams are pairs from Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Grenada, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and host St Lucia will feature three teams. They are stashed in three pools.
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines , St Kitts and Nevis and two teams from St Lucia, make up the female lot. The females are placed in two pools.
Ahead of the opening matches, teams are eagerly looking forward to show their wares on the courts.
St Clair Hodge- St Kitts and Nevis’ Male team
“ We are truly happy that the tournament is back. Our goal is to come out on top, but we are also looking at developing the sport, because we have some young players who we are mentoring so it is important that we do well”.
Asmond Franklyn- St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Male team
“ We are here to do well and play some hard Volleyball. I know that we have some experienced players, some I have played against, so my partner and I are up to the challenge”.
Brandon Sousa- Bermuda Male team
“We are relatively new to this. We had our first Norceca Tournament in the Cayman Islands last November. Despite this, our expectations are high as we have been training hard for this and do well”.
Tonya Mitchell – Grenada Female team
“ I expect us to perform well because we have been in training for a while and we have been playing together for sometime now, having attended some major tournaments before. In saying so, we know that others are well prepared, but we are here to do our best and make our country proud”.
Joseann Lewis – Antigua and Barbuda Female team
“My expectation for this tournament is for us to go out and play hard and have a lot of positive energy. We have been training hard for this and I believe that we will do well and go home with the first- place trophy”.
Clio Phillip- St Lucia Female Team Two
“ My partner and I have been training for this tournament for the past six weeks. We plan to play well, because we normally play well together and do our best and hopefully win the tournament”.
The Tournament’s format shows that the males will have nine matches in pool play, along with five matches in the single elimination round, while the females host seven matches in the pool play, three matches in the single elimination round.
In both genders, four teams will emerge to the semi-finals, before the finalists are determined.
The Tournament serves off on Friday, February 24, with six matches in Men’s play, with four matches scheduled among the females.
HAVANA, Cuba, February 23, 2023. – As part of a project to improve and categorization of the Cuban Volleyball Federation (FCV), an international workshop for Level I Coaches was inaugurated with 36 professors from different provinces of Cuba and of the Municipality for Youth of the Island.
Ariel Sainz Rodríguez, Vice President of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) and President of the FCV, welcomed the participants expressing that their purpose is to expand the technical knowledge in technique and improve the competition profile of each professor.
Level I Volleyball Coaches Workshop
He highlighted that Antonio Rizola Neto, FIVB Instructor will share his knowledge and experiences since 1978 while conducting the Brazilian women national team, a strong opponent for the Islands’ teams. He currently prepares the Colombian women national team, that has shown a significant progress.
Sainz said the largest island of the Antilles is interested in working with reserve coaches throughout the country, therefore they have searched for young coaches less than 35 years old, graduated in physical education, with five years of experience and with results.
“We consider this as an investment in knowledge of our Federation as a necessary result in transforming minds and actions of international volleyball” he underlined.
Level I Volleyball Coaches Workshop
He also spoke about the content and objectives of the workshop to be shared with the professors who have been chosen.
“This is the first time we hold an event like this in Cuba. In the future we intend to develop others every year, but we already have one in the works for October”, the INDER Vice President expressed.
During the workshop that will conclude on Sunday, new rules of the game of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) will be discussed; ne work trends; projections of volleyball, the dynamics of modifications in the rules of the game and the consequences of the preparation of athletes, among others.
Also taking part in the workshop is Dominican Raiza Morel, coordinator of the FIVB Development Center in Santo Domingo.
Among the speakers is also the prominent Cuban coach Gilberto Herrera.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, February 20, 2023.- The NORCECA/FIVB Regional Volleyball Development Center in Dominican Republic in a joint effort with the Dominican Volleyball National Federation (FEDOVOLI) conducted this past Saturday a Sports Medicine Workshop with 48 doctors and physical therapists.
The workshop’s main subjects were the treatment of injuries, physical therapy and first aid for high performance volleyball athletes, conducted by Dr. Lissett Sánchez from the Sports Medicine Federation, Dr. Juan Núñez specialized in Orthopedics, Dr. Emilio Villanueva specialized in Sports Medicine, Dr. Víctor Figueroa specialized in Physical Therapy and member of the FIVB Medical Commission, Psychologist Luis Verges, Dr. Julio Miñoso member of the NORCECA Medical Commission and Physical Therapists Jesús Solverio and Dalvel De Los Santos.
Practical session Sports Medicine Workshop
Ramón A. García president of FEDOVOLI, Fernando Teruel of the Ministry of Sports, Prof. Nelson José Ramírez director of the NORCECA/FIVB Regional Volleyball Development Center and organizer, as well as Dr. Heyda Joaquín president of the FEDOVOLI Medical Commission and coordinator of the working sessions.
Ramon García expressed that the Dominican Volleyball Federation has set the goal to give more support and medical treatment for athletes and to provide medical assistance during the tournaments to be held throughout the entire country; hence, medical personnel will now carry an ID that allows them to be part of these tournaments.
LAUSANE, Switzerland, February 16, 2023-The women’s national teams of Germany and the Netherlands will get the fifth season of the Volleyball Nations League underway on May 30. The two European teams will meet in a Pool 2 match in Nagoya, Japan, starting at 16:10 local time (07:10 UTC) to begin the race towards the Finals.
The VNL 2023 match schedule is now available, and you can find out when your favorite teams will play. During the Preliminary Phase, each team will play a total of 12 games over three competition weeks. The top seven teams will then join the host teams, the United States for women and Poland for men, at the Finals.
Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule
The week one women’s pool in Nagoya will also feature an exciting Asian Classic between hosts Japan and China, which will take place on June 4 at 19:10 (10:10). The pool also includes Bulgaria, Croatia, the Dominican Republic and three-time VNL silver medalists Brazil.
On the same dates, the national teams of Canada, Italy, Korea, Poland, Serbia, Thailand, the United States and hosts Türkiye will start their campaigns in Pool 1 in Antalya.
During the second competition week, from June 13 through 18, the women’s teams will be split between Pool 3 in Hong Kong and Pool 4 in Brasilia. The pool in Asia will culminate with hosts China taking on defending VNL champions Italy in the last match on the program, at 20:30 (12:30) on June 18. The fans in the Brazilian capital will be able to see their home favorites play against reigning world champions Serbia on June 15 at 21:00 local time (00:00 UTC on June 16) and against reigning Olympic champions USA on June 18 at 10:00 (13:00).
USA v Brazil in VNL 2022
In the last week of the women’s Preliminary Phase, the two pools will take place in Asia, in Korea and Thailand. Two-time VNL bronze medalists China will play some big matches in Suwon, while the charismatic Thai team that made headlines by upsetting a number of strong opponents in 2022 will entertain their faithful fans in Bangkok with games against the Netherlands on June 27, against four-time semifinalists and two-time medalists Türkiye on June 29, against Asian rivals Japan on July 1, and against mighty Brazil on July 2, always starting at 20:30 local time (13:30). Last year’s finalists Italy and Brazil will meet on June 28, also at 20:30 (13:30) in Bangkok.
The women’s Finals in Arlington, Texas will start on July 12 with the first two quarterfinals. The gold medal match is scheduled at 17:30 (22:30) on July 16.
The men’s VNL will also begin in Nagoya, but exactly a week after the women’s first pools, on June 6 at 16:10 local time (07:10 UTC). China will take on Bulgaria, before hosts Japan play Asian powerhouse Iran. In what is likely to be the most anticipated match that week in Nagoya, defending VNL titleholders France will meet three-time medalists Poland on June 7 at 18:00 (09:00).
Ottawa will also see plenty of VNL action during the first week of men’s competition. Hosts Canada will open their campaign against rookies Cuba on June 6 at 20:00 local time (00:00 UTC on June 7). The North American duel with their neighbors from the United States is scheduled on June 10 at the same time. Three-time medalists USA will also engage in top-level battles with Italy on June 8 and with Brazil on June 11.
The second week of men’s competition will be held from June 20 through 25 and will be played in Europe. The Dutch city of Rotterdam will host the first remake of last year’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship final between Italy and Poland on June 25 at 12:30 (10:30). Four and a half hours later, the fans in Orleans will get to cheer on Olympic champs France as they finish their home campaign with a game against Brazil.
Italy v Poland in VNL 2022
The last week of Preliminary Phase action will open with another big game, between Italy and Brazil, who will lock horns in Pasay City in the Philippines on July 4 at 11:00 (03:00), followed by an all-Asian battle between Japan and China. Poland and Brazil will meet three days later, at 11:00 (03:00).
Meanwhile, Pool 5 competition in Anaheim will be highlighted by a number of unpredictable matches, with a particularly exciting day coming up on July 8, when the program begins with a clash between Balkan neighbors Bulgaria and Serbia at 13:30 (20:30), continues with a duel between Olympic bronze medalists Argentina and Asian champions Iran at 17:00 (00:00 UTC on July 9), and reaches a climax with hosts USA battling against France at 20:30 (03:30 UTC on July 9). The Finals showdown in the northern Polish city of Gdansk will start with the first two quarterfinals on July 19 and end with the trophy game on July 23 at 20:30 (18:30).
LAUSANE, Switzerland, February 10, 2023.- Volleyball and Beach Volleyball will be present at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with stylish new visual identities. The organizers revealed the 47 different sports pictograms, each of which is meant as “a badge of honor”, representing not only a sporting discipline but also a family, a sense of pride, a set of values and a community. It is a symbol of each wearer belonging to a chosen sporting family, and a sign of affinity with a great and beautiful sporting community.”
Each pictogram is composed of three graphical elements: an axis of symmetry, a depiction of the ground and a representation of the sport that it illustrates.
In beach volleyball, 24 teams per gender, or a total of 48 pairs, will compete at Paris 2024. The competition format for the beach volleyball tournaments at Paris 2024 will remain the same as the one applied at Tokyo 2020. In each gender, the 24 teams will be split into six pools of four, with the top two in each pool plus two best ranked third-placed teams directly advancing to the round of 16. The four lowest ranked third-placed duos will have to go through an additional “lucky losers” round to reduce the teams in contention to 16. Single-elimination round of 16 matches, quarterfinals and semifinals will follow before the two medal matches determine the spots on the podium.
Beach Volleyball Pictogram
Paris 2024’s beach volleyball events will take place between 27 July and 10 August at a spectacular 12,000-capacity temporary stadium to be built at the foot of the iconic Eiffel Tower.
The men’s team of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway and the women’s team of April Ross and Alix Klineman of the United States are the reigning beach volleyball Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020.
Meanwhile, the volleyball tournaments, will be played under a new format. The pool phase will consist of three pools of four teams rather than two pools of six teams in each gender. The top two teams in each pool and the two best third-placed teams will progress to the final phase of the tournament, which will remain the same as at Tokyo 2020, with quarterfinals, semifinals and then the bronze and gold medal matches.
Volleyball Pictogram
The volleyball competition at Paris 2024 will be held between 27 July and 11 August. The matches will be played at the 12,000-capacity South Paris Arena #1, part of the Paris Expo, built in 1923 to host the Paris Trade Fair.
As representatives of the host country, the French men’s national team will compete at Paris 2024 in an attempt to defend the Olympic title they earnt at Tokyo 2020. To be able to defend the gold they earned in Japan, the current women’s Olympic champions, the USA, will have to progress through the Olympic qualification process first.
The sports pictograms were first introduced at the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964, which corresponds to the first time volleyball featured in the Games as an Olympic sport.
Lausanne Switzerland, February 8, 2023.-Volleyball legend and the FIVB Executive Vice-President Mireya Luis Hernandez has been named among the 10 best Cuban athletes of all time.
Cuban sports journalist and blogger Javier Rodriguez included the name of the three-time Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion among those of iconic athletes like chess player Jose Raul Capablanca, high jumper Javier Sotomayor, long jumper Ivan Pedroso, boxers Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon, fencer Ramon Fonst, baseballer Martin Dihigo, judoka Driulis Gonzalez and wrestler Mijain Lopez in his entry on the country’s top athletes in history.
Mireya Luis is one of only two females in this iconic company.
“With greatest respect to the splendid Regla Torres, chosen as the best player of the 20th century by the FIVB, my vote for this team, after an intense mental debate, goes to the lady from Camaguey,” Rodriguez wrote. “Captain of the lucidly named Espectaculares Morenas del Caribe, who achieved unprecedented achievements with that triple Olympic crown, she was a true offensive and motivational leader. Without the ideal height for a volleyball player, she was able to jump flawlessly more than three meters in attack and blocking. Her tremendously brutal shots earned her the Best Attacker award at several top-level events. Inducted to the FIVB Hall of Fame, a few experts place her as the greatest in history.”
The blogger then went on to list Luis’ top results:
• Three-time Olympic champion (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000)
• Two-time world champion (Brazil 1994 and Japan 1998)
• Three-time World Cup gold medallist (1989, 1991 and 1995, always in Japan)
• Two-time Grand Prix title-holder (Hong Kong 1993 and Philippines 2000)
• Four-time Pan American Games champion (Caracas 1983, Indianapolis 1987, Havana 1991 and Mar del Plata 1995)
Born in 1967, the legendary Cuban outside hitter also won gold at the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup in 1993 and at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship in 1985, as well as several North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Championship titles. Her collection of Most Valuable Player awards includes those from the FIVB Volleyball World Cup in 1989 and 1995, the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix in 1993 and the Junior World Championship in 1985. Luis’s club career led her to domestic trophies from top national competitions in Japan and Italy. The Cuban standout also won the European Champions Cup with Italy’s Volley Bergamo in 1999 and 2000.
Just about a year ago, ESPN also chose Mireya Luis among the five unforgettable names in Cuban women’s sports.
DOHA, Qatar, January 29, 2023.- Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States are the first-ever Beach Pro Tour champions, winning the gold medal match of the Doha Beach Pro Tour Finals 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) over reigning world champions and world’s top-ranked team Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) and Ana Patricia Ramos of Brazil.
Shortly after reuniting as a team some three months ago, the two 27-year-old Americans won gold at the first AVP Tour event together and followed up with trophies at their first two appearances on the Beach Pro Tour, November’s Challenge and Elite16 events in Torquay. They received a wild card to compete at the season Finals in Doha and mad it pay off.
Hughes and Cheng climbed to the top of the historic podium, which means they have already won four high-level tournaments in a row since teaming up.
Sunday’s gold medal match started better for ninth-seeded Hughes and Cheng. They quickly built up a four-point lead, which Duda and Ana Patricia just as quickly wiped out. For a short while, the Brazilians even stepped in front, but the Americans regained control in the money time of the first set to claim it after two consecutive swings by Hughes, for the set point and for the set winner. They broke away with an early 3-0 lead in the second set and then just kept pace until Hughes again shaped up the final 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) with a successful spike. Cheng and Duda shared the top scorer honors of the final with 20 points apiece.
Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng Gold Medal at Beach Pro Tour (The Finals) in Doha
“Kelly and I are so happy! That was just such an amazing finish!” Hughes exclaimed after the last whistle. “I am so proud of her! She was absolutely perfect, and I think we are very steady as a team. We are so excited to come out with a win, and we are also looking forward to next week.”
“I am speechless right now. I’m really proud of our team,” Cheng added. “We have another tournament next week, so we are probably going to get some ice cream from the mall and then sleep for like 12 hours tonight. We’ll sleep and recover as best as we can and then get out and fight next week.”
In semifinals, Hughes and Cheng recovered from losing the first set to Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon of the Netherlandsam with a 2-1 (24-26, 21-19, 15-10) victory. Cheng was on fire in attack and delivered the math high of 30 points, including two kill blocks. Stam and Schoon went on to win the bronze-medal.
The other two NORCECA teams competing, Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth and Sarah Pavan with Sophie Bukovec of Canada finished in fifth and ninth place respectively.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, January 18, 2023.- AFECAVOL President Félix Sabio held an important working session in Guatemala with AFECAVOL General Secretary Carlos Enrique Santis Rangel to present several proposals for the improvement of volleyball in the Central American zone.
The objective of Sabio’s two day visit in Guatemala was to discuss several details about AFECAVOL 2023 activities to develop and improve the sport in Central America.
Among the topics discussed were the actions of the Central American Volleyball Association legal status in Guatemala.
The 2023 events were another matter discussed, prior to the AFECAVOL General Assembly that will be held in Guatemala City at the end of February or beginning of March.
Felix Sabio AFECAVOL President in working session with Enrique Santis AFECAVOL General Secretary and other AFECAVOL members
Also, the working commission meetings were scheduled, where information will be prepared for discussion at the General Assembly.
In another project for this year that President Felix Sabio presented, is the agreement with new strategic allies that will contribute to his objectives set for the region.
MONTERREY, Mexico, January 4, 2023.- The Mexican Volleyball Federation announced that Italian Nicola Negro has been hired as the new coach for their women’s volleyball team.
Nicola will be virtually introduced to the players, since he is currently coaching the Brazilian Super League and is expected to arrive in Mexico in April alongside an assistant coach and a physical trainer, to begin the preparation of the national team for the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, to be held in June and October, respectively.
“I am very happy and honored to be the new coach of the Mexican women’s team, we are going to live a great adventure together; see you later everyone,” Negro said yesterday in a brief message sent from Brazil.
Nicola Negro with a 22 year trajectory as a coach, made an agreement with the Mexican Volleyball Federation and the FIVB as part of the Volleyball Empowerment Program this past Saturday.
“We continue betting big”, commented Jesús Perales Navarro, President of the Mexican Volleyball Federation. “Negro is an experienced coach and has excellent results where he has directed, we have great expectations for him” he added.
Up to 2013, Negro served as an assistant in the top leagues in Turkey, Italy, Poland and Azerbaijan, with more than 200 games. That year he began his head coaching career in Poland, later moving on to Italy, Romania and Slovenia.
In 2019 he moved to Brazil to coach Itambé Minas, ranked number four in 2021 and fifth in 2019 at the Club World Cup. He received the “Best Coach” trophy of the Brazilian league in 2020 and 2021.
Between 2020 and 2022 he won two Brazilian championships and one cup, two South American and one Mineiro, all with Itambé Minas. As of May 10, 2022, he led 600 official series, 291 of them as head coach, winning 206 games and losing 85.
Dear NORCECA National Federation Presidents, Members of NORCECA Excecutive Committee & Board of Administration, Members of NORCECA Commission and Technical Staff.
At the end of a very fruitful year 2022, as President of NORCECA we are pleased to render our 2022 NORCECA Activities Report covering all the events held by NORCECA during the year.
The extraordinary results and participation of our National Federations made more attractive our events during the year, created the necessary conditions for our continental sponsor to support NORCECA and at the same time taking advantage to promote their products and activities through a very dynamic marketing strategies.
In summary, 2022 has been definitively the recovery year for NORCECA going back to normal after two painful years that impacted our events and activities due to the Global Pandemic of the COVID19.
2022, set forward the necessary conditions for fruitful 2023 as a Pre-Olympic year for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Wishing you all, your families and our worldwide volleyball community a Merry Christmas and a Fruitful and happy New Year 2023, our best gift, so please enjoy our 2022 NORCECA Activities Report.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, December 12, 2022.- the NORCECA-FIVB Regional Volleyball Development Center in Dominican Republic in a joint effort with the National District Volleyball Association held this past saturday a workshop for coaches from their affiliate clubs.
The workshop was held at the volleyball national training center at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, conducted by Dr. Jaime Caonabo Terrero vice rector of the caribbean university and director of the school of law, by dr. Jeovanny Montero, medical-sociologist of the women’s volleyball national team and coaches Wilson Sanchez and Romulo Quiroz.
Dr. Jaime Caonabo Terrero presentation was focused on the children’s law and how coaches and club authorities must treat them as well as that of youth and junior players, in order to avoid breaking the law.
Dr. Jeobanny Montero spoke about the relationship between coaches and athletes, goals during training, characteristics and qualities of successful coaches, as well as the athletes origins.
While coaches Wilson Sanchez and Romulo Quiroz were in charge of the practice clinics, teaching about the latest coaching techniques for children and young players.
Angel Rivas, president of the national district volleyball association was in charge of the closing words to the 50 participating coaches in the workshop, motivating them to put into practice what they learned and informed them that starting in january they will receive their id as coaches, which will be a requirement to participate in the association’s tournaments.
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 11, 2022.- Samuel Schatcher and Daniel Dearing of Canada won the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals in an extended 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-12) to Noslen Díaz and Luis Alayo of Cuba on Sunday in Punta Cana.
Samuel Schatcher scored an ace to celebrate with Daniel Dearing their gold medal win against a strong Cuban duo and the rough wind in Punta Cana.
Sam and Daniel lost to Díaz and Alayo in pool-play which added an extra pressure in the anticipating final match.
After winning the gold, Daniel explained the difference between their previous match against Cuba “watching painful video of losing a match and readjusting, making corrections; it’s painful to watch your mistakes and try to do better. Cuba is such a good team that it still came down to a slim difference”.
Sam said “it was very difficult and exciting, Cuba is extremely talented. I’m so blessed to have such a talented partner that did so well and steady the entire time. It was windy out here and the conditions were difficult to play in, the level was very high”. About scoring an ace for the win he added “when it comes down to the wire, we are very aggressive, we can live with our mistakes, and I went for it”.
Samuel Schatcher and Daniel Dearing of Canada
Schatcher and Dearing reached the title match winning their semifinal to Chaim Schalk and Theodore Brunner of the United States 2-0 (21-19, 21-17). While Díaz and Alayo came into the gold medal match after a rough three-set win 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 16-14) to Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia of Mexico.
Schalk and Brunner won the bronze medal to Virgen and Sarabia 2-0 (21-15, 21-18).
In fifth place, Andy Blanco/Luis García of Guatemala defeated Jhostin Varela/Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-14, 21-19). Earlier Varela and Dyner beat Dominicans Oscar Martínez and Hayerling De Jesús 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) who ended the event in seventh place.
Bryce Mayer and Travis Lee of the U.S. Virgin Islands beat Franklin Flores and Pepe Vargas of El Salvador 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) for ninth place; while eleventh place went to Mark Blake and Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica defeating Puerto Ricans Franco Roark/Lorenzo Rivera 2-0 (21-17, 15-21, 15-7).
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 11, 2022.- Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles of the United States were crowned champions of the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals winning the gold medal match to Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) on Sunday in Punta Cana.
Tournament first seeded Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles commanded the actions despite Navas and González efforts of keeping the scores close and missing two match points (20-17) before their gold medal victory.
“It’s exciting winning the gold. It was a battle of who was going to be better in the win and we are excited to get this experience together as a team; and just put the pressure on them” said Betsi.
Julia said that going into the finals you never know how it’s going to fall “both teams have gone through a lot of teams to get to that point, so you are prepared for a battle; Puerto Rico gave us a great fight, I’m thankful we were able to pull it out”.
In their semifinal match, Flint and Scoles defeated the duo of Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores of Mexico 2-0 (21-11, 21-19), while Navas and González came from behind 2-1 (14-21, 21-13, 15-13) against Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger.
Betsi Flint USA spikes
In the bronze medal match, Harnett and Bélanger recovered from falling in the first set to defeat Mexicans Gutiérrez/Flores 2-1 (18-21, 21-10, 17-15) to win their third consecutive bronze medal of the season.
For fifth place, Cubans Nahomi Charlot and Dayani Zerqueira defeated the local team of Bethania Almanzar and Crismil Paniagua recovering from falling in the first set 2-1 (20-22, 21-13, 15-7).
Earlier Charlot/Dayani dominated Angel Williams and Kianny Quesada of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) and Almanzar/Paniagua beat Amber Bennett and Taylor Buchner of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (27-25, 21-18).
In other positions, Costa Ricans Williams and Quesada prevailed 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) against Bennett/ Buchner of the U.S. Virgin Islands for seventh place.
While Socorro Lopez and Lolette Rodriguez of Nicaragua took ninth place over Yvonne Soler and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador 2-0 (21-16, 21-16).
Guatemala’s Girón and Monney finished eleventh place over Smith and Chauna of Jamaica 2-0 (21-19, 21-17).
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 10, 2022.- Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the United States reached the men’s semifinals of the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals after winning their quarterfinal matches in Punta Cana.
Sunday’s men’s semifinals feature Samuel Schatcher and Daniel Dearing of Canada against Chaim Schalk and Theodore Brunner of the U.S. and Mexicans Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia facing Cubans Noslen Díaz and Luis Alayo.
The first team to reach the semifinals was Samuel Schatcher and Daniel Dearing of Canada taking down Dominicans Oscar Martínez and Hayerling De Jesus 2-0 (21-17, 21-11).
Earlier, Scatcher and Dearing finished second in pool B falling 0-2 (16-21, 20-22) to Cubans Noslen Díaz and Luis Alayo who recovered from a five-point deficit (15-20) in the second set stealing their opportunity to play a tie-break.
Later, Díaz and Alayo prevailed 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) against Guatemalans Andy Blanco and Luis García to move into the semifinals.
Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia of Mexico defeated Ruben Mora and Jefferson Cascante of Nicaragua 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) to advance to semifinals. Previously, Virgen and Sarabia topped pool C over Dominicans Martínez/ De Jesus 2-0 (21-12, 21-12).
Juan Virgen of Mexico
Americans Chaim Schalk and Theodore Brunner defeated Jhostin Varela and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-11, 21-18), who came from beating Franklin Flores and Pepe Vargas of El Salvador 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) to advance into the play-offs.
Earlier in pool-play, Schalk and Brunner finished first in pool A beating Nicaraguans Ruben Mora and Jefferson Cascante 2-0 (21-19, 21-19), while Blanco/García of Guatemala took third place over Franco Roark and Lorenzo Rivera of Puerto Rico 2-0 (21-13, 21-12).
Third place in pool B went to Flores/Pepe (ESA) who defeated Bryce Mayer and Travis Edward Lee of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-16, 21-17).
In pool C, Dominicans Oscar Martínez and Hayerling De Jesus won 2-0 (21-16, 21-12) to Mark Blake and Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica; while Jhostin Varela and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica also beat Jamaicans 2-0 (21-10, 21-16).
In matches for positions 9/12 Flores and Pepe of El Salvador dominated Puerto Ricans Roark/Rivera 2-0 (21-19, 22-20) and Mayer/Lee (ISV) defeated Blake/Lawrence (JAM) 2-0 (21-15, 21-19).
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 10, 2022.- Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada and the United States advanced to the women’s semifinals of the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals in Punta Cana.
Mexicans Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores were challenged by Dominicans Bethania Almanzar and Crismil Paniagua in a three-set quarterfinal battle 2-1 (21-11, 19-21, 15-10).
Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger of Canada prevailed 2-0 (21-17, 21-11) in quarterfinals against Cubans Nahomi Charlot and Dayani Zerqueira 2-0 (21-17, 21-11), who earlier defeated Petal Smith and Kelly Chauna of Jamaica 2-0 (22-20, 21-13) in their last pool A match.
On their way to semifinals, Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico started the day winning pool C to Bethania Almanzar and Crismil Paniagua of Dominican Republic 2-0 (21-8, 21-8) and then in quarterfinals they beat Angel Williams and Kianny Quesada of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-12, 21-12).
Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles of the United States, who topped pool A on Friday, earned an easy 2-0 (21-8, 21-8) quarterfinal win to Amber Bennett and Taylor Buchner of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Amanda Harnett of Canada
On Sunday’s semifinals, Americans Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles will face Atenas Gutierrez and Abril Flores of Mexico, followed by Allanis Navas and Maria González of Puerto Rico against Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger.
In other results, Bennett/Buchner (ISV) won to Yvonne Soler/Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador 2-0 (22-20, 21-13) and then played an extra match to advance to the quarterfinals, working hard to defeat Socorro López and Lolette Rodríguez of Nicaragua 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 15-10) who earlier prevailed 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) against Natalia Girón and Naomi Monney of Guatemala.
In classification matches for position 9/12, Nicaraguans Lopez/Lolette defeated Smith/Chauna of Jamaica 2-1 (22-20, 15-21, 15-13) and Soler/Velásquez of El Salvador beat Girón/Monney of Guatemala 2-0 (21-19, 21-16).
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 9, 2022.- United States and Canada booked their tickets to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals on Friday at Punta Cana.
First seeded Betsi Flint and Julia Scores of the United States won two matches to top pool A on day one of the event.
Flint and Scores started with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-10) victory over Cuban duo of Nahomi Charlot and Dayani Zerqueira and then they prevailed against Angel Williams and Kianny Quesada of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-13, 21-6), who earlier beat Petal Smith and Kelly Chauna of Jamaica 2-0 (21-7, 21-17).
Williams and Quesada landed second place in pool A and also progressed into the quarterfinals.
Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger won pool B defeating Yvonne Soler and Sofía of El Salvador 2-0 (21-12, 21-9) and recovering from losing the first set to Mexicans Atenas Gutiérrez and Abril Flores 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-11) in what was the most challenging match of the day.
Julia Scores of USA
Gutiérrez and Flores beat Amber Bennett and Taylor Buchner of the U. S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-6, 21-9), finishing second place in pool B and reaching the quarterfinal round.
In pool C, Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico managed a comfortable 2-0 (21-11, 21-14) victory against Nicaraguans Socorro López and Lolette Rodríguez. While Dominicans Bethania Almanzar and Crismil Paniagua struggled in the second set to beat Natalia Girón and Naomi Monney of Guatemala 2-0 (21-14, 22-20).
Pool C winner will be decided on Saturday with the match between Puerto Rico’s tandem Navas/Gonzalez and Almanzar/Paniagua of the Dominican Republic.
Pool-play resumes on Saturday to complete the final eight moving into the knockout round.
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 9, 2022.- Five men’s teams had a successful start at the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals on Friday at Punta Cana.
Rubén Mora alongside Jefferson Cascante of Nicaragua were the first to hit the sand winning to Andy Blanco and Luis García of Guatemala in exciting overtime 2-1 (22-20, 17-21, 15-13) in pool A, while Chaim Schalk and Theodore Brunner of the United States prevailed 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) against Franco Roark and Lorenzo Rivera of Puerto Rico.
Pool A top finisher will be decided between Mora/Cascante of Nicaragua and Americans Schalk/Brunner.
In pool B, Cubans Noslen Díaz and Luis Alayo had no difficulties in beating Franklin Flores and David “Pepe” Vargas of El Salvador 2-0 (21-10, 21-15).
Daniel Dearing of Canada
On the other hand, Samuel Schatcher and Daniel Dearing of Canada downed Bryce Mayer and Travis Edward Lee of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-8, 21-12).
First place in pool B will be the winner between Diaz/Alayo and Schatcher/Dearing.
The only match played in pool C was won by Mexican duo of Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia over Jhostin Varela and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-9, 21-16).
Pool play will be completed on Saturday to then play the quarterfinals.
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 8, 2022.- The 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals, the beginning of the Olympic Qualification System of NORCECA to Paris 2024 kicks off on Friday with the preliminary pool-play.
The Beach Volleyball Director of the Dominican Republic Volleyball Federation, Amos Anglada, welcomed the 24 participating teams on behalf of NORCECA President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz during the General Technical meeting on Thursday, that opened with a minute of silence in memory of Dr. Roosevelt Comarazamy, NORCECA Press Officer who recently passed away.
Amos Anglade, was accompanied by Oscar De La Cruz, representative of the Dominican Ministry of Tourism.
Julio Martínez, Competition Director explained that teams are distributed in three pools of four, starting with the modified pool-play round on Friday at 9:00 am (local time).
In women, United States registered Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles who won the silver medal a few days ago at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Torquay, Australia.
As well as Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas and María González winner of the first Central American and Caribbean Games of Sea and Beach in Santa Marta, one gold medal and two silvers in this NORCECA Tour season.
Also Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger of Canada will aim for their first gold medal after winning three bronze medals and a silver this year.
In the men’s division Cubans Noslen Díaz and Luis Alayo opened the tour winning the first stop in Aguascalientes, and winning a silver and a bronze, as well as finishing champions in Santa Marta.
Juan Virgen returns with teammate Miguel Sarabia of Mexico, this 2022 they won a silver and bronze.
While Andy Leonardo and Luis García of Guatemala finished second place in Managua and Cayman Islands.
Women’s Pools: Pool AUnited States, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Cuba; Pool B Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, U.S. Virgin Islands; Pool C Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Guatemala.
Men´s Pools: Pool A United States, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico; Pool B Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, U.S. Virgin Islands; Pool C Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica.
Women’s Teams
CAN Amanda Harnett/Marie-Alex Bélanger; CRC Angel Williams/Kianny Araya Quesada; CUB Charlot Deroncele Nahomi/Dayani Zerqueira Morera; DOM Bethania Almanzar/Crismil Paniagua; ESA Yvonne Soler/Sofía Velásquez; GUA Natalia Girón/Naomi Monney; JAM Petal Smith/Kelly Chauna; MEX Atenas Gutiérrez/Abril Flores; NCA Socorro López/Lolette Rodríguez; PUR Allanis Navas/María González; USA Betsi Flint/Julia Scoles; ISV Amber Bennett/Taylor Buchner
Men’s Teams
CAN Samuel Schatcher/Daniel Dearing; CRC Jhostin Varela/Daniel Dyner; CUB Noslen Díaz/Jorge Luis Alayo; DOM Oscar Martínez/Hayerling De Jesús; ESA Franklin Flores/David Vargas; GUA Andy Leonardo Blanco/Luis García; JAM Mark Blake/Owayne Lawrence; MEX Juan Virgen/Miguel Sarabia; NCA Ruben Mora/Jefferson Cascante; PUR Franco Roark/Lorenzo Antonio Rivera; USA Chaim Schalk/Theodore Brunner; ISV Bryce Mayer/Travis Edward Lee
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, December 5, 2022.- Twelve countries have registered for the 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour Final to be held from December 9-11 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The first stage of the road to Paris 2024 starts on Friday in Punta Cana, marking the beginning of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification System, which consists of a series of three NORCECA Tour Finals (2022, 2023 and 2024).
After completing the three Finals, eight National Federations per gender will qualify for the 2024 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualification Finals to be held in June 2024, where the winning National Federation in each gender will qualify directly for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Each NORCECA Beach Tour Finals (2022, 2023 and 2024) consists of 12 National Federations per gender with a maximum of one team per National Federation per gender, according to the NORCECA Continental Beach Volleyball ranking.
The teams competing this weekend will go through the preliminary inquiry and the general technical meeting on Thursday where pool distribution and competition schedule will be confirmed.
CAN Samuel Schatcher/Daniel Dearing; CRC Jhostin Varela/Daniel Dyner; CUB Noslen Díaz/Jorge Luis Alayo; DOM Oscar Martínez/Harllen De Jesús; ESA Franklin Flores/Armando Guatemala; GUA Andy Leonardo Blanco/Luis García; JAM Mark Blake/Owayne Lawrence; MEX Juan Virgen/Miguel Sarabia; NCA Ruben Mora/Jefferson Cascante; PUR Franco Roark/Lorenzo Antonio Rivera; USA Chaim Schalk/Theodore Brunner; ISV Bryce Mayer/Travis Edward Lee
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 26, 2022.- Allanis Navas and María Gonzalez of Puerto Rico dominated the women’s gold medal match of the first Central American and Caribbean Games of Sea and Beach 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) over Cubans Amanda Armenteros and Jennifer Rivera.
From start to finish, Allanis and Maria controlled the actions against a timed Cuban team who couldn’t respond to the experienced Puerto Rican duo.
After winning the gold, Allanis said “we feel super proud, thankful for the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico once again and glad to give them happiness with a gold medal”.
Maria Gonzalez added “thankful for the crowd’s support, watching them on the stands, they were the third player that helped us to want this victory”.
Allanis Navas Puerto Rico spikes
Allanis and María have had a couple of weeks of victories at the 2022 NORCECA Tour, winning the gold in Hato Mayor and the silver in Cayman Islands.
In semifinals, Puerto Rico beat Abril Flores and Katherine Albarran of Mexico 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) in a challenging first set, but then in the second they jumped to a huge five-point advantage (10-5) which the Mexicans couldn’t catch up with.
Armenteros and Rivera (CUB) advanced to the gold medal match in a dramatic semifinal win of 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, 20-18) against Venezuelans Luisana Linares and Yhonnielis Camacho. Linares and Camacho performed with great skills managing the game, but Armenteros and Rivera came out on top with strength over the net.
Flores and Albarran of Mexico won the bronze medal, with a comfortable 2-0 (21-8, 21-15) victory over Linares and Camacho of Venezuela.
Women’s Results Saturday
SEMIFINALS PUR d MEX 2-0 (21-19, 21-11); CUB d VEN 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, 20-18)
SILVER MEDAL MEX d VEN 2-0 (21-8, 21-15); GOLD MEDAL PUR d CUB 2-0 (21-8, 21-9)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 26, 2022.- Cubans Luis Alayo and Noslen Diaz needed three sets to beat the home team of Juan Noriega and Yefferson De La Hoz 2-1 (21-17, 20-22, 15-10) for the gold of the first Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games in Santa Marta.
The crowd filled up the stands of the Multisports Park “500 años” to support the Colombian team who were able to stop Cuba’s offensive thanks to Yefferson De La Hoz serves and Juan Noriega’s defense.
Diaz kept his serenity and Alayo with his explosive game shut the crowd that enjoyed a challenging match.
Luis Alayo spoke after the game “it was a nice final, as expected. The first set was productive for Cuba and the second set was tense, I lost focus in the technical part and Colombia took advantage. We went out looking to win the third set for the gold medal for Cuba”.
Luis Alayo Cuba in semifinals vs El Salvador
Noslen Diaz expressed “it was a demanding match, we expected it from Colombia as host of the event, they had great strength. We were able to adjust all the steps we needed to come out with the victory”.
Alayo and Diaz progressed to the gold medal match winning their semifinal without difficulties over siblings Yoel and Cristopher Guardado of El Salvador 2-0 (21-11, 21-9), while Colombians De La Hoz and Noriega dominated Mexicans Alexis Galicia and Oziel Aguirre 2-0 (21-16, 21-19).
The match for the bronze medal was very close, won by Mexico with Galicia and Aguirre 2-0 (25-23, 21-19) against the Guardado team of El Salvador.
Men’s Results Saturday
SEMIFINALS CUB d ESA 2-0 (21-11, 21-9); COL d MEX 2-0 (21-16, 21-19)
BRONZE MEDAL MEX d ESA 2-0 (25-23, 21-19); GOLD MEDAL CUB d COL 2-1 (21-17, 20-22, 15-10)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 25, 2022.- Cubans Luis Alayo and Noslen Díaz the only undefeated team to reach the men’s semifinals of the first Central American and Caribbean Games of Sea and Beach in Santa Marta.
Alayo and Noslen have proven to be the strongest team of the tournament reaching the semifinals without losses; in quarterfinals they defeated Venezuelans Luisangel Vargas and Willian Perez 2-0 (21-11, 21-14). Vargas and Perez came from beating Dimanche Elsevijf and Timothy Van Henneigen of Curacao 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) in playoffs.
Also reaching semifinals were Cristopher and Yoel Guardado of El Salvador who continue to surprise while managing a comfortable 2-0 (21-9, 21-9) quarterfinal victory over Joshua Persaud and Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago.
Persaud and Williams (TTO) earlier beat Lorenzo Jn Pierre and Rio Jaden Victor of St. Lucia 2-0 (21-16, 21-15).
Colombians Juan Noriega and Yefferson De La Hoz were determined to be a finalist showing a consistent performance during their two outings of the day. In playoffs, they beat Franco Roark and Lorenzo Rivera of Puerto Rico 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) and then won their quarterfinal match over Nicaragua’s duo of Cristopher and Jefferson Cascante 2-0 (21-15, 21-15).
Colombia vs Nicaragua
Alexis Galicia and Isaías Aguirre of Mexico also reached the semifinals winning a thrilling quarterfinal match in a tie-break 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 15-14) against Dominicans Hayerling De Jesús and Oscar Martínez. Isaías Aguirre needed medical assistance due to a minor cut, that made it even more nail biting.
Galicia and Aguirre advanced to quarterfinals after previously beating Crifforth Lobo and José Pablo Fernández of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-15, 21-12).
Saturday’s semifinals feature Cristopher and Yoel Guardado of El Salvador against Luis Alayo and Noslen Díaz of Cuba, and Colombians Juan Noriega and Yefferson De La Hoz against Mexicans Alexis Galicia and Isaías Aguirre.
Men’s Results Friday
PLAYOFFS TTO d LCA 2-0 (21-16, 21-15); VEN d CUR 2-0 (21-14, 21-17); COL d PUR 2-0 (21-11, 21-10); MEX d CRC 2-0 (21-15, 21-12)
QF ESA d TTO 2-0 (21-9, 21-9); CUB d VEN 2-0 (21-11, 21-14); COL d NCA 2-0 (21-15, 21-15); MEX d DOM 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 15-14)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 24, 2022.- Women’s top four teams of Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico remain as finalists after winning the I Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games quarterfinals at the Santa Marta Multisport “500 años” in El Rodadero.
Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico kept their strong defense display over Gabriela Funes and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador 2-0 (21-10, 21-11), who earlier won their playoff to Chlouie Gaetos and Deajra Tulloch of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-10, 21-11).
Venezuelans Luisana Linares and Yhonnielis Camacho dominated Nahima Silva and Alejandra Rosales of Nicaragua 2-0 (21-15, 21-11). Previously, Silva/Rosales beat Suriname’s Shaniva and Sharon Balkaran 2-0 (21-12, 21-15).
Amanda Armanteros and Jennifer Rivera of Cuba needed a stronger effort in the first set to beat Colombians Ana Fernanda Beltrán and Vanessa Buenañoz 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) who came from an easy victory against Dei Padmore and Serena Edwards of Barbados 2-0 (21-9, 21-9) in playoffs.
Camacho – Venezuela
Mexicans Abril Flores and Katherine Albarran downed Kianny Araya and Ximena Nuñez of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-11, 21-10). Earlier in playoffs, Araya and Nuñez defeated Britney Choon and Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-11, 21-13).
The first semifinal on Saturday is between Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico against Abril Flores and Katherine Albarran of Mexico, followed by the semifinal between Cubans Amanda Armanteros and Jennifer Rivera against Luisana Linares and Yhonnielis Camacho of Venezuela.
Medal matches are scheduled to start at noon.
Friday’s Results Women
PLAY OFFS ESA d CAY 2-0 (21-10, 21-11); CRC d TTO 2-0 (21-11, 21-13); COL d BAR 2-0 (21-9, 21-9); NCA d SUR 2-0 (21-12, 21-15)
QF PUR d ESA 2-0 (21-10, 21-11); MEX d CRC 2-0 (21-11, 21-10); CUB d COL 2-0 (21-19, 21-13); VEN d NCA 2-0 (21-15, 21-11)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 23, 2022.- Cuban duo Amanda Armenteros and Jennifer Rivera were challenged by Gabriela Funes and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador in a close 2-0 (27-25, 21-17) win on day one of the I Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games in Santa Marta.
Amanda and Jennifer had communication difficulties in their pool C debut, but pocketed their first win, while Funes and Velásquez had an exciting first performance. Also in pool C, Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago beat Alexandria Ashman and Chevonna Lewis of Jamaica 2-0 (21-6, 21-18)
Hosts Ana Fernanda Beltrán and Vanessa Buenañoz, as well as Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico, showed powerful performances in pool A. Beltrán and Buenaños overpowered Khrysti Rosa and Tia Kim Hughes the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-7, 21-13) and Navas/Gonzalez defeated Suriname’s Shaniva and Sharon Balkaran 2-0 (21-8, 21-8).
In pool B, Dei Padmore and Serena Edwards of Barbados handled well Antigua and Barbuda of Jossanne Lewis and Nia Serena 2-0 (21-14, 21-10) and Venezuelans Luisana Linares and Yhonnielis Camacho managed a comfortable 2-0 (2-12, 21-14) victory over Kianny Arraya and Ximena Nuñez of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica
Mexicans Abril Flores and Katherine Albarrán celebrated opening pool D with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) victory against Alejandra Rosales and Nahima Silva of Nicaragua, followed by Chlouie Gaetosand and Deajra Tulloch of Cayman Islands winning 2-0 (21-18, 21-20) to Chenoa Evans and Clio Phillip of St. Lucia.
Pool-play will conclude on Thursday with sixteen matches; the winners of each pool advance into Friday’s quarterfinals, while second and third placed teams play the eight finals.
Wednesday’s Results Women
POOL A COL d ISV 2-0 (21-7, 21-13); PUR d SUR 2-0 (21-8, 21-8)
POOL B BAR d ANT 2-0 (21-14, 21-10); VEN d CRC 2-0 (21-12, 21-14)
POOL C CUB d ESA 2-0 (27-25, 21-17); TTO d JAM 2-0 (21-6, 21-18)
POOL D MEX d NCA 2-0 (21-14, 21-12); CAY d LCA 2-0 (21-18, 21-20)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 24, 2022.- Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico win their pools and advance into the women’s quarterfinals of the I Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games in Santa Marta.
Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico remain unstoppable, becoming a tournament favorite to win the gold after winning pool A upsetting the home team Ana Fernanda Beltrán and Vanessa Buenañoz 2-0 (21-6, 21-12). Earlier, they had no resistance in beating Khrysti Rosa and Kim Hughes of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-3, 21-4).
Beltrán and Buenañoz finished second in pool A, earning a 2-0 (21-12, 21-9) win over Shaniva and Sharon Balkaran of Suriname who finished third after defeating the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-19, 21-16).
Venezuelans Luisana Linares and Yhonnielis Camacho dominated pool B with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) victory against Jossanne Lewis and Nia Benjamin of Antigua and Barbuda.
Kianny Araya and Ximena Nuñez of Costa Rica, with two victories, 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) over Dei Padmore and Serena Edwards of Barbados and 2-0 (21-8, 21-10) against Lewis/Benjamin of Antigua and Barbuda, finish second in pool B.
In pool C, Cubans Amanda Armanteros and Jennifer Rivera had to focus to prevail in their two outings of the day, first against Alexandria Ashman and Chevonna Lewis of Jamaica 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) and then against Britney Choon and Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-17, 21-15).
Vanessa Buenañoz Colombia
While Gabriela Funes and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador, second in pool C, also beat Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. First, they came on top of Choon/Selvon 2-0 (21-17, 21-7) and then over Ashman/Lewis 2-0 (21-15, 21-12).
Abril Flores and Esperanza Albarrán of Mexico topped pool D without difficulties dominating Chlouie Gaetos and Deajra Tulloch of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-6, 21-4) and Chenoa Evans and Clio Phillip of St. Lucia 2-0 (21-4, 21-4).
Also in pool D, Nicaraguans Alejandra Rosales and Nahima Silva joined the winning teams beating Evans/Phillip of St. Lucia 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) and Gaetos/Tulloch of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-10, 21-7).
In Friday’s knockout round starting at 9:00 am, El Salvador faces Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago go up against Costa Rica, Barbados against Colombia and Nicaragua meets with Surinam. Winners advance into the quarterfinals.
Thursday’s Results Women
POOL A PUR d ISV 2-0 (21-3, 21-4); PUR d COL 2-0 (21-6, 21-12); COL d SUR 2-0 (21-12, 21-9); SUR d ISV 2-0 (21-19, 21-16)
POOL B VEN d ANT 2-0 (21-11, 21-10); CRC d BAR 2-0 (21-12, 21-8); CRC d ANT 2-0 (21-8, 21-10)
POOL C CUB d JAM 2-0 (21-13, 21-17); ESA d TTO 2-0 (21-17, 21-7); CUB d TTO 2-0 (21-17, 21-15); ESA d JAM 2-0 (21-15, 21-12)
POOL D MEX d CAY 2-0 (21-6, 21-4); NCA d LCA 2-0 (21-12, 21-14); NCA d CAY 2-0 (21-10, 21-7); MEX d LCA 2-0 (21-4, 21-4)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 24, 2022.- Twin brothers Cristopher and Yoel Guardado of El Salvador topped pool A in a triple tie over Colombia and Costa Rica at the I Central and Caribbean Games of Sea and Beach in Santa Marta.
All three teams, El Salvador, Colombia and Costa Rica completed pool-play with a 2-1 win-loss record, but Cristopher and Yoel held higher point ratio (1.16) to finish first place, followed by Colombians Juan Noriega and Yefferson De La Hoz (1.15), and Crifforth Lobo alongside José Pablo Fernández of Costa Rica (1.08).
The Guardado duo started the day defeating Lobo/Fernández of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) followed by a 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) over Asmond Franklyn and Enrico Louraine of St. Vincent and the Granadines.
Noriega and De La Hoz also prevailed against Franklyn/Louraine of St. Vincent 2-0 (21-11, 21-17), but Lobo/Fernández of Costa Rica surprised defeating them with smart moves and a great blocking defense 2-0 (21-18, 21-15).
Dominicans Hayerling De Jesús and Oscar Martínez had a busy day, recovering from falling in the first set to its both opponents to top pool B. De Jesús and Martínez first beat Puerto Ricans Franco Roark and Lorenzo Rivera 2-1 (20-22, 21-13, 15-8), and then prevailing 2-1 (14-21, 21-14, 15-10) against Juliangel Vargas and Willian Pérez of Venezuela.
Dominican Republic vs Venezuela
Nicaraguans tandem of Cristopher and Jefferson Cascante finished first in pool C with a 2-0 (21-10, 21-4) victory to Andreas Bump and William Shaw of the U.S. Virgin Islands and 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) against Dimanche Elsevijf and Timothy Van Henneigen of Curacao.
Second in pool C, Joshua Persaud and Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago beat Bump/Shaw 2-0 (21-10, 21-17).
In pool D, Luis Alayo and Noslen Díaz of Cuba remained strong taking down Clarique Ward/Zendal Richards of St. Kitts and Nevis 2-0 (21-6, 21-4) and Lorenzo Jn Pierre and Rio Jaden Victor of St. Lucia 2-0 (21-6, 21-4).
On the other hand, Alexis Galicia and Isaías Aguirre of Mexico had no difficulties in finishing second in pool D defeating Jn Pierre/Victor of St. Lucia 2-0 (21-13, 21-7); and Ward/Richards of St. Kitts and Nevis 2-0 (21-6, 21-11).
Friday’s single elimination round starts at 10:30 am with Trinidad and Tobago against St. Lucia, followed by Curacao vs. Venezuela, Puerto Rico facing Colombia and Mexico against Costa Rica.
Men’s Results Thursday
POOL A ESA d CRC 2-0 (21-17, 21-13); COL d VIN 2-0 (21-11, 21-17); CRC d COL 2-0 (21-18, 21-15); ESA d VIN 2-0 (21-12, 21-16)
POOL B DOM v PUR 2-1 (20-22, 21-13, 15-8); DOM d VEN 2-1 (14-21, 21-14, 15-10)
POOL C NCA d ISV 2-0 (21-10, 21-4); NCA d CUR 2-0 (21-11, 21-13); TTO d ISV 2-0 (21-10, 21-17)
POOL D CUB d SKN 2-0 (21-6, 21-4); MEX d LCA 2-0 (21-13, 21-7); CUB d LCA 2-0 (21-6, 21-8); MEX d SKN 2-0 (21-6, 21-11)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 23, 2022.- Solid wins marked the first day of competition in the men’s field at the I Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games at the Santa Marta Multisport Park “500 años” in El Rodadero.
Curacao and Nicaragua opened the men’s actions win victories in pool C. Dimanche Leonard Elsevijf and Timothy Justin Van Henneigen of Curacao beat Andreas Bump and William Shaw of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-9, 21-12), while Nicaraguans Cristopher and Jefferson Cascante worked harder in the second set to overcome Joshua Persaud/Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-8, 24-22).
Juliangel Zaid and Willian Pérez of Venezuela earned their first win in pool B defeating Puerto Ricans Franco Roark and Lorenzo Rivera 2-0 (21-18, 13).
In pool D, Lorenzo Jn Pierre and Rio Jaden Victor of St. Lucia won 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) to Clarique Tefali Ward and Zendal Vishawn Richards of St. Kitts and Nevis. Also, in pool D Cubans Luis Alayo and Noslen Díaz beat Alexis Galicia and Isaías Aguirre of Mexico 2-0 (21-19, 21-15).
Cuba vs Mexico
Colombia’s duo of Juan Noriega and Yefferson De La Hoz prevailed 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) against twins Yoel and Cristopher Guardado of El Salvador in pool A. In the last match of the day, also in pool A, Criforth Fallas Lobo and José Pablo Fernández of Costa Rica won 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) to Asmond Franklyn and Enrico Louraine of St. Vincent and Grenadines.
Pool-play resumes on Thursday. The winners of each pool advance to the quarterfinals while second and third placed teams will play the eight finals.
Wednesday’s Results Men
POOL A COL d ESA 2-0 (21-13, 21-19); CRC d VIN 2-0 (21-15, 21-19)
POOL B VEN d PUR 2-0 (21-18, 13); DOM d HAI 2-0 (21-0, 21-0)
POOL C CUR d ISV 2-0 (21-9, 21-12); NCA d TTO 2-0 (21-8, 24-22)
POOL D LCA d SKN 2-0 (21-15, 21-15); CUB d MEX 2-0 (21-19, 21-15)
SANTA MARTA, Colombia, November 22, 2022.- Beach Volleyball of the inaugural Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games Santa Marta 2022 are set to start on Wednesday at the Santa Marta Multisport Park “500 años” in El Rodadero.
The tournament will be played from November 23 to 26 with sixteen teams per gender representing 21 countries, divided into four pools.
Pool composition in the women’s division
POOL A Puerto Rico, Suriname, U.S. Virgin Islands, Colombia;
POOL B Costa Rica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Venezuela
POOL C Cuba, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica
POOL D Nicaragua, Mexico, Cayman Islands, St. Lucia
Pool composition in the men’s division
POOL A Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, St. Vincent and Grenadines
POOL B Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Haiti
POOL C Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands, Curacao
POOL D Mexico, Cuba, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia
On the eve of the competition, teams were officially registered during the preliminary inquiry conducted by three-time Olympic Champion Mireya Luis, NORCECA Executive Vice President and International Technical Supervisor for the event.
Mireya Luis explained that she has no doubt the most attractive sport of the Santa Marta Games will be Beach Volleyball, “our sport always attracts spectators, thanks to its energy and beach volleyball players spectacular performance”.
Mireya Luis during the preliminary inquiry
The preliminary pool-play round will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with pool winners advancing to the quarterfinals. Second and third placed teams will play the eight finals on Friday, the winners advance to quarterfinals that same day. Quarterfinal winners advance to Saturday’s semifinals and finals.
Wednesday´s schedule of sixteen matches (eight per gender) begins with two women’s simultaneous pool C battles between Cubans Amanda Gisel Armanteros and Jennifer Rivera facing Gabriela Funes and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador and Alexandria Victoria Ashman with Chevonna Aliya Lewis of Jamaica against Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago.
ANT Jossanne Lewis/Nia Serena Benjamin; BAR Dei Padmore/Serena Edwards; CAY Chlouie Gaetos/Deajra Tulloch; COL Ana Fernanda Beltrán/Vanessa Carolina Buenañoz; CRC Kianny Araya/Ximena Nuñez; CUB Amanda Gisel Armanteros/Jennifer Rivera; ESA Gabriela Funes/Sofía Velásquez; JAM Alexandria Victoria Ashman/Chevonna Aliya Lewis; MEX Abril Cristina Flores/Esperanza Katherine Albarrán; NCA Alejandra Rosales/Nahima Silva; PUR Allanis Navas/María González; LCA Chenoa Lucy Evans/Clio Isabelle Phillip; SUR Shaniva Shaya Balkaran/Sharon Shivani Balkaran; TTO Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon; ISV Khrysti Rosa/Tia Kim Hughes; VEN Luisana Nazareth Linares/ Yhonnielis Ariagna Camacho.
Men´s Teams
COL Juan Noriega/Yefferson De La Hoz; CRC Crifforth Fallas Lobo/José Pablo Fernández; CUB Luis Alayo/Noslen Díaz; CUR Dimanche Leonard Elsevijf/Timothy Justin Van Henneigen; DOM Hayerling Francisco De Jesús/Oscar José Martínez; ESA Cristopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado; HAI Olando Joseph/Rony Fleridor; MEX Alexis Alfredo Galicia/Isaías Oziel Aguirre; NCA Cristopher Cascante/Jefferson Cascante; PUR Franco Ignacio Roark/Lorenzo Antonio Rivera; LCA Lorenzo Richard Jn Pierre/Rio Jaden Victor; SKN Clarique Tefali Ward/Zendal Vishawn Richards; VIN Asmond Franklyn/Enrico Louraine; TTO Joshuea Persaud/Nicholas Williams; ISV Andreas Bump/William Shaw; VEN Juliangel Zaid Vargas/Willian José Pérez.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, November 14, 2022.- The NORCECA Volleyball Confederation is in mourning for the loss of one of the best sports journalists of the Dominican Republic and a member of our family.
Our dearest Roosevelt, Dominican journalist legend, was inducted to the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, with more than 50 years of professional career and who began his history in sports as a basketball athlete where he excelled in the starting team of the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1966.
Comarazamy stood out as baseball journalist and narrator, broadcasting pioneer of Dominican basketball and volleyball. He was a Doctor of Law graduated with “Cum Laude” honors from the Santo Domingo University and professor of journalism at the Central East University in Dominican Republic.
He was the current FIVB Press Officer for the North, Central American and Caribbean region NORCECA since 2002, where he was appointed as press director for multiple continental and Pan American championships, standing out his appointment as volleyball Press Supervisor for the Olympic Games of London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, as well as the World Championships of Japan 2010 and Italy 2014.
Comarazamy, respected in volleyball worldwide, leaves us at the age of 74.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 13, 2022.- Ian Satterfield and Jake Urrutia of the United States beat Andy Blanco and Luis García of Guatemala 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) for the men’s title of the seventh stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands.
In semifinals Ian Satterfield and Jake Urrutia beat Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada 2-0 (21-13, 21-17), finishing the event undefeated.
In the other semifinal, Andy Blanco and Luis García of Guatemala won the Central American battle to Criforth Lobo and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-14, 21-13).
Ian Satterfield / Jake Urrutia
Things were different this weekend for Canadians Kopp/Chambers who took the bronze medal over Costa Rican Lobo and Dyner 2-0 (21-13, 21-13); last weekend they lost the bronze in Hato Mayor.
In the match for fifth place, Jorge Barajas and Gabriel Cruz of Mexico defeated Martin Blake and Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica 2-0 (21-10, 21-15).
Earlier, Pepe Vargas and Armando Guatemala of El Salvador defeated Marc Lomeli/Daniel Samuelson of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) for seventh place.
Rony Fleridor/Olando Joseph of Haiti won the match for nineth place 2-0 (22-20, 23-21) to Casey Santamaría/Jesario Ebanks of Cayman Islands.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 13, 2022.- Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom of United States won the Gold Medal over Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas/María González 2-1 (21-19, 13-21, 15-11) at Cayman Islands beach tournament, the seventh stage of the NORCECA Tour.
Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom finish the season with three medals, two golds (Managua and Cayman Islands) and a silver medal in Hato Mayor where they lost to Navas/Allanis. The Puerto Rican duo end the season with one gold and two silvers (La Paz and Cayman Islands).
On their way to the gold medal match, Van Gunst and Lindstrom beat Dominicans Bethania Almanzar and Crismil Paniagua 2-0 (21-9, 21-19).
Teegan Van Gunst / Katie Lindstrom
Allanis Navas and María González prevailed 2-0 (21-6, 21-10) in semifinals over Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger who then went on to win the bronze medal to Almanzar/Paniagua 2-0 (21-12, 21-18).
Harnett/Bélanger won back-to-back bronze medals (Hato Mayor and Cayman Islands), their third bronze of the season (Punta Cana); they finished second in Managua, for an overall four medals in a row.
In other results, Molley McBain/Lea Monkhouse of Canada finished fifth over Yvonne Soler/Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) and Ileann Powery/Jessica Wolfenden of Cayman Islands beat Ximena Núñez/Isabela Rodríguez of Costa Rica 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) for seventh place.
In the match for nineth place, Mexicans Abril Flores/Esperanza Albarran defeated Heather Thompson/Stefania Gondolfi of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-13, 21-10), while eleventh place went to U.S. Virgin Islands of Amber Bennett/Cristina Almeida-Anz 2-0 (21-17, 21-8) against Allen/Lake of St. Kitts and Nevis.
PANAMA CITY, Panama, November 13, 2022.- Angel Williams and Kianna Araya won 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) to Paola Alvarado/Ana Sofía Arévalo of Guatemala, winning the XIV Under 21 Beach Volleyball Central American title.
Paola Alvarado couldn’t keep the title she won last year, up against Williams/Araya superior level of play shown during the entire tournament.
In the semifinal Williams/Araya prevailed 2-0 (21-8, 21-14) against Sofía Vega and Aliza Aguilar, also from Costa Rica.
While Paola Alvarado/Ana Sofía Arévalo of Guatemala beat Karla Tovar/Daniela Soza of El Salvador 2-1 (18-21, 24-22, 15-4) in the other semifinal.
In the match for third place, Vega/Aguilar of Costa Rica beat a difficult El Salvador of Tovar/Soza 2-1 (21-11, 19-21, 15-13).
PANAMÁ CITY, Panama, November 13, 2022.- Julian Araya/Jhostin Varela (CRC 1) were crowned Under 21 Central American Champions after beating twin brother Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado of El Salvador 2-0 (23-21, 26-24) in a great final at the XIV Under 21 Beach Volleyball Central American Champion of AFECAVOL.
Araya/Varela left behind in semifinals Luis Cascante/Deyner López (NCA 2) 2-0 (21-12, 21-11), a rematch of last year’s semifinal.
While the Guardado twins beat Nicaragua-1 of Cristopher Cascante/Evans Solís 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) in the other semifinal.
The Guardado brothers, fell last year to Nicaragua, and this year they came close to the crown but Araya’s good defense and Varela’s effective blocking took over El Salvador.
In the all-Nicaraguan match for third place, Luis Cascante/Deyner López beat Cascante/Solís 2-0 (21-16, 21-18).
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 12, 2022.- Central American duos Andy Blanco/Luis García of Guatemala and Criforth Lobo/Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica will face in the men’s semifinals of the seventh stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands.
In the other semifinal, Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada meet with Ian Satterfield and Jake Urrutia of the United States.
Andy Blanco and Luis García of Guatemala surprised winning over Mexicans Jorge Barajas and Gabriel Cruz 2-0 (26-24, 21-15) to qualify into the semifinals. Blanco/García will aim for their second final of the season, in Managua they finished second place.
The other Central American duo, Criforth Fallas Lobo and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica will play their first NORCECA Tour semifinal after defeating Marc Lomeli and Daniel Samuelson of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-11, 21-15).
USA Satterfiled scoring high cross
Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada, once again advance into the Tour’s semifinals just like they did in Hato Mayor. Kopp/Chambers dominated their quarterfinals over Salvadorians David “Pepe” Vargas and Armando Guatemala 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) who earlier defeated Sanatamaria/Jesario of Cayman Islands 2-0 (2-15, 21-10)
Ian Satterfield and Jake Urrutia from the U.S. reached the semifinals after beating Matin Blake and Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica 2-0 (21-9, 21-16) who came from a three-set duel win 2-1 (14-21, 21-17, 15-11) against Isaacs/Wilmott of Bahamas.
Earlier, Blanco/García (GUA) beat Rony Fleridor/Olando Joseph of Haiti 2-0 (21-12, 21-8), while Lomeli/Samuelson (ISV) defeated Seabrookes/Nage de San Kitts and Nevis 2-0 (21-15, 21-16).
Sunday begins with classification matches 5/8, followed the semifinals.
PANAMÁ CITY, Panama, November 12, 2022.- Costa Rica ensures a berth in the women’s finals at the XIV Under 21 Beach Volleyball Central American Championship with its teams facing in semifinals, while Guatemala and El Salvador will play for the other ticket.
Sofía Vega and Aliza Aguilar will face Angel Williams and Kianna Araya, both teams from Costa Rica, while Paola Alvarado/Ana Sofía Arévalo of Guatemala will meet Karla Tovar/Daniela Soza of El Salvador.
Vega/Aguilar won two matches on Saturday to finish second in pool A, which Paola Alvarado/Ana Sofía Arévalo of Guatemala won.
First, they beat Alexandra Reyes/Carmen Alvarez of El Salvador 2-0 (25-15, 21-11) and then they qualified after a 2-0 (21-16, 21-13) win to Nahima Silva/Alejandra Rosales of Nicaragua.
While Alvarado/Arévalo won 2-0 (21-8, 21-10) over Karla Ortiz/Yeilin Hernández of Panama and then prevailed 2-0 (21-7, 21- 12) against Reyes/Alvarez (ESA 2).
In pool B, Williams/Araya (CRC) won 2-0 (21-10, 21-07) to Danna Aguilar/Sofía Rodríguez of Guatemala and then they beat Panama of Krisleen González/Ekaterina Ureña 2-0 (21-14, 21-9).
Second place went to Salvadorians Tovar/ Soza, who lost 1-2 (18-21, 21-17, 12-15) against Aguilar/Rodríguez (GUA) and finished with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) victory over Nicaragua’s Ella Daniele Resau/Yulimar Alvarado.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 12, 2022.- Women’s semifinals of Hato Mayor this past weekend between Puerto Rico and Canada, as well as USA against Dominican Republic will repeat in Cayman Islands, the seventh stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour.
Allanis Navas and María González of Puerto Rico will face Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger once again in Sunday’s first semifinal. This past weekend Navas and González came on top and won the title of Hato Mayor.
In the other semifinal, United States will meet Dominican Republic, Teegan Van Gunst/Katie Lindstrom against Bethania Almanzar/Crismil Paniagua; Almanzar played with Esmeralda last weekend.
The gold medal match could be a repeat between Navas/González and Van Gunst/Lindstrom.
Lindstrom USA
Navas/González won pool B to Van Gunst/Lindstrom 2-0 (21-19, 26-24) and then they went on to beat Ivone Soler and Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador by a comfortable 2-0 (21-7, 21-8) in the quarterfinal round.
Van Gunst and Lindstrom resolved well their quarter final match by a 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) win against Molley McBain/Lea Monkhouse of Canada who earlier beat Gutiérrez/Ibarra of Mexico 2-0 (21-10, 21-16) to win pool A.
Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger beat Ileann Powery/Jessica Wolfenden of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-14, 21-17) in quarterfinals. Earlier they finished first place of pool C after defeating Alexandria Ashman/Chevonna Lewis of Jamaica 2-0 (21-8, 21-6).
While Dominicans Bethania Almanzar/Crismil Paniagua, pool D winners, dominated their quarterfinal match without difficulties against Ximena Núñez/Isabela Rodríguez of Costa Rica 2-0 (21-8, 21-5).
Sunday’s schedule starts at 9:00 am with placing matches followed by the semifinals.
PANAMA CITY, Panamá, November 12, 2022.- Teams from Nicaragua will meet El Salvador and Costa Rica in the men’s semifinals of the XIV Under 21 Central American Beach Volleyball Championship on Sunday.
Luis Cascante/Deyner López (NCA 2) beat Rafael Vargas/Gabriel Vargas (ESA 2) 2-0 (21-10, 21-19) in the first quarterfinal match to advance into the semifinals against Julián Araya/Jhostin Varela (CRC 1), who finished first in pool C.
Last year Araya/Varela lost the bronze medal to another Nicaraguan team and now they’ll try to advance into the final.
While, pool A winners, Cristopher Cascante/Evans Solís of NCA 1, prevailed 2-0 (21-12, 21-13) over José Miguel Izaguirre/Mario Ventura (GUA 2) in quarterfinals and in semifinals will face twins Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado of El Salvador who won pool B.
Cascante faced Guardado twins in last year’s final match, after they eliminated the number one team of Nicaragua.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 11, 2022.- Puerto Rico, United States and both Canadian tandems dominated their opponents in day one of the seventh stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands.
Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas and Maria Gonzalez and Teegan Van Gunst alongside Katie Lindstrom of the United States, will meet on Saturday to decide pool B winner; they won the gold and silver of Hato Mayor respectively.
Navas/González beat Heather Thompson/Stefania Gondolfi of Cayman Islands without difficulties 2-0 (21-10, 21-5) and Amber Bennett/Cristina Almeida-Anz of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-8, 21-12).
On the other hand, Van Gunst/Lindstrom started off with a 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) win against Thompson/Gondolfi (CAY) and then a 2-0 (21-8, 21-10) over Bennett/Almeida-Anz (ISV).
In pool A, Molley McBain and Lea Monkhouse of Canada, silver medalists in Punta Cana, finished the day with three victories, beating 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago, 2-0 (21-14, 21-7) against Yvonne Soler/Sofía Velásquez of El Salvador and 2-0 (21-13, 21-7) against Allison Settle-Smith/Lisa LeBlanc of Bermuda.
Canada day 1 action
The other Canadian team, Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger, easily beat 2-0 (21-7, 21-4) over Deajra Tulloch/Anjia Delapenha of Cayman Islands in pool C and 2-0 (21-12, 21-6) against Ximena Núñez/Isabela Rodríguez of Costa Rica who came from a 2-0 (21-12, 21-11) victory against Alexandria Ashman/Chevonna of Jamaica.
In pool D, Dominicans Bethania Almanzar/Crismil Paniagua defeated Cayman Islands’ duo of Ileann Powery/Jessica Wolfenden 2-0 (21-17, 21-12) but fell against Mexicans Abril Flores/Esperanza Albarran 0-2 (12-21, 7-21).
In other results, Atenas Gutiérrez and María Celeste Ibarra of Mexico won 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) to Choon/Selvon (TTO) and recovered with a great effort from losing the first set to Soler/Velásquez (ESA) 2-1 (12-21, 21-15, 15-12).
Pool play will resume on Saturday to determine the quarterfinals.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 11, 2022.- The duos of Mexico, United States, Canada and Costa Rica advanced to the quarterfinal round of the seventh stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands after winning pool-play.
Mexicans Jorge Barajas and Gabriel Cruz in pool A, won 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) over Martin Blake and Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica, who defeated Shawn Seabrookes and Nage Hendrickson of St. Kitts and Nevis 2-0 (21-16, 23-21).
In pool B, Americans Ian Satterfield and Jake Urrutia beat two Central American teams; first Pepe Vargas and Armando Guatemala of El Salvador 2-0 (21-17, 21-15) and then they had a tough first set against Andy Leonardo Blanco alongside Luis García of Guatemala 2-0 (29-27, 21-13).
Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers of Canada won pool C with victories over Jon Isaacs and Donavain Wilmott of Bahamas 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) and Marc Lomeli/Daniel Samuelson of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-8, 21-19).
ArranChambers Canada
Finishing first place in pool D was for Criforth Fallas Lobo and Daniel Dyner of Costa Rica who beat Ian Bucci and Brandon Sousa of Bermuda 2-0 (21-9, 21-14) and Casey Santamaría with Jesario Ebanks of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-10, 21-17).
In other results, Blanco/García of Guatemala and Pepe/Guatemala of El Salvador defeated Davies/Hamilton of Bermuda 2-0 (21-15, 21-10) and 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) respectively in pool B.
In pool C, Lomeli/Samuelson (ISV) beat Barrozo/Wright (CAY) 2-0 (21-10, 21-10) and Bahamas of Isaacs/Wilmott also beat Barrozo/Wright, but in three sets (16-21, 25-23, 13-15).
Lastly, in pool D Casey Santamaría/Jesario Ebanks (CAY) defeated Rony Fleridor/Olando Joseph of Haiti 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) who then went on to win 2-0 (21-15, 22-20) against Bucci/Sousa of Bahamas 2-0.
On Saturday, Blanco/García (GUA) will play Fleridor/Olando (HAI), Lomeli/Samuelson (ISV) go up against Seabrookes/Nage (SKN), Santamaría/Jesario (CAY) face Pepe/Guatemala (ESA) and Blake/Lawrence (JAM) meet Isaacs/Wilmott (BAH) to advance to quarterfinals.
PANAMA CITY, Panama, November 11, 2022.- El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica showed strength at the beginning of the XIV Under 21 Central American Beach Volleyball championship being held at Ciudad Deportiva Irving Saladino in Panamá City.
In pool A, Cristopher Cascante/Evans Solís won 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) over Gherson Ortiz/ Kevin Acosta (PAN 1), while Rafael Vargas/Gabriel Vargas (ESA 2) beat Panma in three sets.
Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado of El Salvador in pool B, started with two victories, against Daniel Delgado/Roberto Recinos (GUA 1) and Yulius Brown/José Fernández (CRC 2), but Brown/Fernández grabbed an important win 2-1 (25-23, 17-21, 18-16) over Luis Cascante/Deyner López (NCA 2).
In pool C, Julian Araya/Jhostin Varela (CRC 1) beat Panama of Denzel Arboine/Rommy Santos 2-0 and then they won 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-8) to Ernest Broaster/Eugen Benguche of Belize.
First places of each pool will be decided on Saturday, followed by the quarterfinal round, while first place of pool B and C will advance directly to the semifinals to be held on Sunday.
PANAMA CITY, Panama, November 11, 2022.- Guatemala and Costa Rica dominated their pools in the start of the women’s tournament of the XIV Under 21 Central American Beach Volleyball championship.
In pool A, Guatemala 1 with Paola Alvarado/Ana Sofía Arévalo, won in their two outings. First they beat Nahima Silva and Alejandra Rosales (NCA 1) 2-0 (21-15, 22-20) a Nahima Silva y Alejandra Rosales (NCA 1) and then against Sofía Vega y Aliza Aguilar (CRC 2) 2-0 (21-16, 21-18).
Silva/Rosales won 2-0 over Alexandra Reyes/Carmen Alvarez, of El Salvador, who also beat Panamanians Karla Ortiz/Yeilin Hernández 2-0.
In pool B, Angel Williams and Kianna Araya of Costa Rica, won 2-0 (21-10, 21-9) over El Salvador (Karla Tovar/Daniela Soza), and then they beat Nicaragua (Ella Daniele Resau/Yulimar Alvarado) 2-0 (21-10, 21-12).
The second ticket to semifinals will be a tough battle and will be decided in Saturday’s matches. In pool A, Silva/Rosales (NCA 1), Ortiz/Hernández (PAN 1) and Vega/Aguilar (CRC 2) with one victory each could advance.
In pool B, Aguilar/Rodríguez (GUA 2) and Resau/Alvarado (NCA 2) will play a decisive match to advance against El Salvador and Panama respectively.
PANAMA CITY, Panama, November 10, 2022.- XIV Under 21 AFECAVOL Beach Volleyball Central American Championship will have 11 teams of six countries competing in three pools at Ciudad Deportiva Irving Saladino.
In men, Nicaragua has defending champion Cristopher Cascante playing with Evans Solís, and their second team of Luis Cascante/Deyner López.
2021 runner up, twins Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado of El Salvador, has another strong pair with Rafael Vargas/Gabriel Vargas.
Costa Rica with two duos: Julian Araya/Jhostin Varela, and Yulius Brown/José Fernández, who will try to improve fourth place in the past edition of the tournament. From Belize, Ernest Broaster/Eugen Benguche.
Guatemala is competing with Daniel Delgado/Roberto Recinos, and José Miguel Izaguirre/Mario Ventura. Panama has Gherson Ortiz/Kevin Acosta and Denzel Arboine/Rommy Santos.
Pool A: Cristopher Cascante/Evans Solís (NCA 1), Rafael Vargas/Gabriel Vargas (ESA 2), Gherson Ortiz/ Kevin Acosta (PAN 1).
Pool B: Christopher Guardado/Yoel Guardado (ESA 1), Daniel Delgado/Roberto Recinos (GUA 1); Luis Cascante/Deyner López (NCA 2), Yulius Brown/José Fernández (CRC 2).
Pool C: José Miguel Izaguirre/Mario Ventura (GUA 2), Denzel Arboine/Rommy Santos (PAN 2).
First places from pool B and C advance directly into semifinals, while the first place from pool A will face second of pool C, second of pool A will face second of pool B to win their spot in the semifinals.
PANAMA CITY, Panama, November 10, 2022.- The women’s field of the XIV Under 21 AFECAVOL Beach Volleyball Central American Championship starts Friday at Ciudad Deportiva Irving Saladino with 10 teams from five countries.
From Guatemala, defending champion Paola Alvarado will compete this time with Ana Sofía Arévalo, who finished fifth in last year’s edition, the team is expected a great level from the experience of both players. Danna Aguilar and Sofía Rodríguez is Guatemala’s second team.
From Costa Rica, features last year’s runner up Angel Williams and bronze medalist Kianna Araya, also Sofía Vega and Aliza Aguilar.
Nahima Silva and Alejandra Rosales is the number one team of Nicaragua, and Ella Daniele Resau and Yulimar Alvarado is the second team.
Karla Ortiz will play with Yeilin Hernández, while Krisleen González alongside Ekaterina Ureña, represent Panama. El Salvador with Karla Tovar/Daniela Soza, and Alexandra Reyes/Carmen Alvarez.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, November 10, 2022.- The NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour last stage is underway at Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman, from November 11 to 13, with teams representing sixteen countries.
The event features seventeen teams per gender, divided into four pools. The preliminary pool-play round is being held this Friday, quarterfinals on Saturday and semifinals along with the finals on Sunday.
Bermudas, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States are competing in both genders, while Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago are only in the women’s field, and Haiti with Bahamas and Guatemala compete only in the men’s division.
The women’s trio medalists from the sixth stage held last weekend in Hato Mayor, Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas and María González, Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom of the United States and Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger are here in Cayman Islands, expecting to reach the finals.
Preliminary inquiry
In the men’s division, Mexican Gabriel Cruz, silver medalist in Hato Mayor is teaming up with Jorge Barajas who finished third; Guatemalans Andy Leonardo and Luis Garcia, silver medalists in Managua and Liam Kopp with Arran Chambers of Canada fourth in Hato Mayor are also here in Cayman Islands.
Women’s Teams
BER Allison Settle-Smith/Lisa LeBlanc; CAN Amanda Harnett/Marie-Alex Bélanger; Molley McBain/Lea Monkhouse; CAY Ileann Powery/Jessica Wolfender; Deajra Tulloch/Anjia Delapenha; Heather Thompson/Stefania Gondolfi; CRC Ximena Núñez/Isabela Rodríguez; DOM Bethania Almanzar/Crismil Paniagua; ESA Yvonne Soler/Sofía Velásquez; JAM Alexandria Ashman/Chevonna Lewis; MEX Atenas Gutiérrez/María Celeste Ibarra; Abril Flores/Esperanza Albarran; PUR Allanis Navas/María González; SKN Amanda Allen/Genelle Howell; TTO Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon; ISV Amber Bennett/Cristina Almeida-Anz; USA Teegan Van Gunst/Katie Lindstrom
Men’s Teams
BAH Jon Isaacs/Donavain Wilmott; BER Ian Bucci/Brandon Sousa; Ryan Davies/Kyle Hamilton; CAN Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers; CAY Casey Santamaría/Jesario Ebanks; Jesper Barrozo/Tarek Wright; CRC Criforth Fallas/Daniel Dyner; ESA David Vargas/Armando Guatemala; HAI Rony Fleridor/Olando Joseph; JAM Martin Blake/Owayne Lawrence; MEXJorge Barajas/Gabriel Cruz; GUA Andy Leonardo/Luis García; SKN Shawn Seabrookes/Nage Hendrickson; ISV Marc Lomeli/Daniel Samuelson; USA Ian Satterfield/Jake Urrutia.
Mexico, November 7, 2022- The triple Olympic and world medalist, Brazilian Ricardo Santos, formally joined the women’s national beach volleyball teams today.
The coach arrived last night in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, where the beach volleyball teams meet, and today he was welcomed by the Mexican Volleyball Federation, by its President, Jesus Perales Navarro.
“It is a great challenge to be here, I appreciate the reception. There is a good group of players who can be at the international level.
“It is a challenge to make sure that these players have the opportunity to represent Mexico in the Olympic Games,” said the coach, who as a player won three Olympic medals and another three in World Championships.
Brazilian coach Ricardo Santos
Santos will be in charge of training tomorrow at CARE Ninos Heroes and on Wednesday he will travel with the group to the Cayman Islands for the last stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, which will take place from 11 to 14 this year.
“First I am going to have training sessions and be able to get to know the players a little better, if something has to be changed it will be over time,” added Santos.
On the last date of the NORCECA Tour, which closed yesterday in Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic, Evelyn Ramos and Katherine Albarran finished in fifth place after beating Nicaraguans Natalia Giron and Laura Quinones 21-13 and 21-18.
Atenas Gutiérrez and Celeste Ibarra did not come out of the game for seventh place as the player Gutiérrez was injured. In the Managua stage, Nicaragua, on October 9, Abril Flores and Albarran achieved third place.
English 
Spanish