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.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 6, 2022.- Kyle Friend and Timothy Brewster of the United States won their third NORCECA Beach Volleyball title in a row after beating Mexicans Gabriel Cruz and Isaías Aguirre 2-0 (21-18, 23-21) during the sixth stage in Hato Mayor.
Kyle Friend and Timothy Brewster won the titles of Punta Cana and Managua and with Hato Mayor, they complete a hat-trick in the NORCECA Tour as a team. Timothy Brewster also won the silver medal of Varadero this year with Travis Mewhirter.
In semifinals, Friend/Brewster and Canadians Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers offered a huge spectacle extending the second set to 41-39, where Friend and Brewster won their ticket to the finals 2-0 (21-16, 41-39).
Mexicans Cruz/Aguirre won the other semifinal beating compatriots Barajas/Galindo in two sets 21-16 even.
Kyle Friend / Timothy Brewster USA
Jorge Barajas alongside Ricardo Galindo of Mexico won their first medal at the NORCECA Tour, finishing in third place over Canadians Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers 2-0 (21-15, 21-18).
In the match for fifth place, Rubén Mora and Dany López of Nicaragua beat Jake Urrutia and John Michael Plummer of the United States 2-0 (21-18, 21-17).
Mora and López came from a tough victory 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-12) against the other Central American team, Edgar Maldonado and Luis García of Guatemala; while Urrutia/Plummer prevailed 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) against Oscar Martínez win Hayerling De Jesús of Dominican Republic.
In other results, Martínez/De Jesús (DOM) won seventh place over Guatemalans Maldonado/García 2-0 (21-19, 21-14). And nineth place went to Dominicans Jorge/Rosario, with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-14) win against González/Quintero of Panama.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 6, 2022.- Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas and María González won the Hato Mayor Beach Volleyball tournament, the sixth stage of the NORCECA Tour, after beating Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom of USA coming from behind 2-1 (13-21, 21-15, 15-9).
This is the first gold medal for Allanis Navas and María González in the NORCECA Beach Tour, second of this season, they won the silver medal in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. While this is the second NORCECA Tour medal for Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom; the first was the gold medal in the previous stage in Managua.
Navas/González reached the gold medal match with a spectacular 2-0 (35-33, 22-20) win over Canadians Amanda Harnett/Marie-Alex Bélanger.
In the other semifinal, Van Gunst/Lindstrom beat Bethania Almanzar/Esmeralda Ramírez of Dominican Republic with great rhythm 2-0 (21-13, 21-15).
María González / Allanis Navas Puerto Rico
Harnett and Bélanger won their third medal in the NORCECA Tour, taking the bronze over Dominicans Bethania Almanzar and Esmeralda Ramírez by a 2-1 (21-15, 16-21, 15-12) score. Harnett and Bélanger won the bronze medal in Punta Cana and the silver medal in Managua.
Mexican duo of Evelyn Ramos and Esperanza Albarran finished fifth place after beating Guatemalans Natalia Girón and Laura Quiñonez 2-0 (21-13, 21-18); while their compatriots Atenas Gutiérrez and María Celeste Ibarra were injured and couldn’t face Canadians Devin Corah and Adriel Goodman who finished seventh.
Earlier, Ramos/Albarrán (MEX) had beaten Corah/Goodman (CAN) 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) and Girón/Quiñonez (GUA) defeated Gutiérrez/Ibarra (MEX) 2-0 (21-19, 22-20).
In the match for nineth place, Nicaraguans López/Lolette defeated Buckner/Almeida-Anz of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) and for eleventh place, Nuñez/Quesada of Costa Rica won 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) against Thompson/Wolfenden of Cayman Islands.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 5, 2022.- Both Mexican teams, Jorge Barajas/Ricardo Galindo, and Gabriel Cruz/Isaías Aguirre advanced to semifinals of the Hato Mayor Beach Volleyball tournament, the sixth stage of the NORCECA Tour.
The Mexican duos will face each other in Sunday’s first semifinal, while Kyle Friend and Timothy Brewster of the United States, who are seeking their third title in a row, will meet Canadian Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers.
To earn their semifinal berth, Barajas and Galindo needed to extend to three sets to beat Jake Urrutia and John Michael Plummer of USA 2-1 (21-16, 22-24, 15-8), the same as Cruz and Aguirre, who recovered from falling in the first set against Nicaraguans Rubén Mora and Dany López 2-1 (16-21, 21-16, 15-9).
Friend and Brewster had no difficulties in beating Edgar Maldonado alongside Luis García of Guatemala 2-0 (21-9, 21-11) and have a shot to reach the medal round. Earlier, the Guatemalan duo defeated Jesario/Santamaria of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-19, 21-10).
While Liam Kopp and Arran Chambers defeated two Dominican teams on their way to semifinals; first they beat Jorge Matos and Jorge Rosario 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) and then prevailed 2-0 (21-17, 22-20) against Oscar Martínez and Hayerling De Jesús.
Sunday’s schedule includes placing matches, the semifinals and finals, starting at 8:30 am (local time).
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 5, 2022.- The four pairs advancing into the women’s semifinals remain undefeated after winning their quarterfinal matches during the second day of competition at the Hato Mayor tournament, the sixth stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour.
In Sunday’s semifinals Van Gunst/Lindstrom of United States goes up against Dominicans Almanzar/Ramirez and Navas/González of Puerto Rico will face Harnett/Bélanger of Canada.
Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom of the United States, alongside Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger are battling to reach the medal matches as they did in the past stage in Managua, where Van Gunst/Lindstrom beat Harnett/Bélanger for the gold medal.
Both teams left behind Mexican duos, Van Gunst/Lindstrom with a solid 2-0 (21-14, 21-7) victory over Katherine Albarrán and Evelyn Ramos, and Harnett/Bélanger beat Atenas Gutiérrez and María Celeste Ibarra 2-0 (21-16, 21-14).
Albarrán/Ramos had beaten earlier Thompson/Wolfenden of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-13, 21-11), while Gutiérrez/Ibarra battled strong to recover from falling in the first set against Nuñez/Quesada of Costa Rica 2-1 (14-21, 21-13, 15-11).
The local tandem of Bethania Almánzar and Esmeralda Ramírez obtained an important victory over Devin Corah and Adriel Goodman of Canada 2-0 (21-17, 21-15), to advance into their first NORCECA Tour semifinal.
While Allanis Navas and María González had no complications to dominate Natalia Girón and Laura Quiñónez of Guatemala 2-0 (21-13, 21-8) seeking to win their second medal of the season; Navas and González finished second in La Paz, Baja California.
On their way to quarterfinals, Corah/Goodman (CAN) battled hard to defeat López/Lolette of Nicaragua 2-0 (21-19, 25-23) and Girón/Quiñónez (GUA) won to Buckner/Almeida-Anz of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-17, 21-14).
The semifinals and finals will be held on Sunday, as well as position matches.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 4, 2022.- The American tandem of Kyle Friend and Timothy Brewster had a strong start at the beach volleyball tournament of Hato Mayor, aiming for their third consecutive gold at the 2022 NORCECA Tour.
Friend and Brewster had no difficulties defeating their two opponents in pool B; first against José Miguel Tapia and Jason Omar Quintero 2-0 (21-13,21-12) and then against Liam Kopp/Arran Chambers of Canada 2-0 (21-17, 21-9).
In pool A, Dominicans Oscar Martínez and Hayerling De Jesús beat Morales Monsalve/Tubben of Bonaire 2-0 (22-20, 21-9) and Jesario Ebanks and Case Santamaria of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-7, 21-12).
Both Mexican duos, Gabriel Cruz/Isaías Aguirre in pool C and Jorge Barajas/Ricardo Galindo in pool D, also advanced to the next round.
Cruz/Aguirre defeated Brice/Bosqui of Martinica 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) and then battled strong in the second set to beat Urrutia/Plummer of United States 2-0 (21-18, 27-25).
Barajas/Galindo managed a 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) win over Mark Blake/Owayne Lawrence of Jamaica and recovered from falling in the first set to Nicaraguans Ruben Mora and Dany López 2-1 (21-18, 12-21, 16-14).
The second day of competition at Hato Mayor NORCECA Tour starts at 8:00 am on Saturday.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 4, 2022.- Dominicans Bethania Almánzar and Esmeralda Ramírez advanced to the second round of the sixth stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Hato Mayor.
Almanzar and Ramírez dominated their two outings during the first day of the event that gathers fifteen teams in the women’s field.
In their first performance they beat Heather Thompson and Jessica Wolfenden of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) and then Natalia Girón alongside Laura Quiñonez of Guatemala 2-0 (21-13, 21-15), advancing to quarterfinals as pool D winners.
Meanwhile, the duo of Teegan Van Gunst and Katie Lindstrom of the United States, winners of the fifth stage in Managua, dominated pool A with victories over Socorro López and Lolette Rodríguez of Nicaragua by 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) and against Mexicans Atenas Gutiérrez and María Celeste Ibarra 2-0 (21-12, 21-16).
The winners of pool B were Canadians Amanda Harnett and Marie-Alex Bélanger, who are aiming to win their first gold after finishing third place in Punta Cana and second in Managua, defeated Brenda Allen y Shanicia Dyer of St. Kitts & Nevis 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) and Katherine Albarrán and Evelyn Ramos of Mexico 2-0 (21-10, 21-8).
In pool B, Puerto Ricans Allanis Navas alongside María Gonzalez prevailed against Dominicans Paniagua/Cleto 2-0 (21-11, 21-16) and over Devin Corah and Adriel Goodman of Canada 2-0 (21-17, 21-15).
Day two of the NORCECA Tour in Hato Mayor continues Saturday starting at 8:00 am.
HATO MAYOR, Dominican Republic, November 3, 2022.- Rancho Ecoturístico Doña Callita will host another major event of the Continental NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour the sixth stage “Hato Mayor 2022” to start on Friday, an event that grants ranking points for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024.
The opening ceremony will be chaired by Barceló Salas, president of the Organizing Committee and Cristóbal Marte, NORCECA president.
Thirty-two teams from the North, Central American and Caribbean volleyball Confederation will battle until Sunday for the best positions as part of the qualification process for the Olympic Games of Paris, France 2024, trophies, medals, and cash prizes.
The opening ceremony will be held at 3:00 pm, with members of the Organizing Committee, presided by businessman Juan Barceló Salas, alongside Hato Mayor authorities led by Governor Julia Mery Vásquez, City Mayor Amado de la Cruz and senator Saury Mota, among others.
The competition kicks off at the two beach courts of Rancho Ecoturístico Doña Callita on Friday at 9:00 am.
Welcoming of Panama
Hato Mayor is the sixth leg of nine to be held this year. The five previous events were at Aguascalientes, Mexico; Varadero, Cuba, La Paz, Baja California (Mexico), Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Managua, Nicaragua.
Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts, Guatemala, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands, Nicaragua, Canada, United States, Mexico and Costa Rica will compete in the women’s field; teams from Guatemala, Jamaica, Martinica, Saint Kitts, Islas Caimán, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Panamá, Mexico, Canada, United States and Dominican Republic.
Each stage of the tour offers points from 1 to 16 for beach volleyball ranking and is updated every year on January 1st.
The tour is sponsored by the General Customs Department, Baco de Reservas and the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation, Ciclón, ARS Futuro and Induban of Café Santo Domingo among others.
Other members of the Organizing Committee are businessman Gustavo Santana, executive director Rubén Darío Cruz; Nelson Ramírez, general and technical director of the tournament; Miguel Ángel Peguero, Benery Richardson, Amadito de la Cruz, Indhira Ramírez, Nancy Brea, Orlando Santana, Juan Balbuena, Pedro Reyes, Waddy Reynoso, Glenys Robles, Alexis Vega and Juan Uribe.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, October 30, 2022.cwere crowned Champions of the first edition of the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour defeating Trent Ketrzynski/Rouzbeh Rahnavard of Canada by exciting 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-11) in Cayman Islands.
On their way into the gold medal match, Hurst and Basey defeated the other U.S. pair of Dylan McClung and Caleb Blanchette 2-0 (21-11, 21-11) in semifinals and earlier easily won their quarterfinal match to Declan Van Dam/Jabari Powery of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-4, 21-5).
On the other hand, Canadians Ketrzynski/Rahnavard battled hard to overcome Eddy Toro and Joshua Winklaar of Aruba in semifinals 2-0 (24-22, 22-21).
Thomas Hurst and Gage Basey (USA) NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyall Champions
McClung and Blanchette (USA) did not go home empty handed, they won the bronze medal 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) over Toro/Winklaar (ARU).
In quarterfinals, the Canadian duo had beaten 2-0 (21-10, 21-15) Joshua Persaud and Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, while Toro/Winklaar managed a comfortable 2-0 (21-11, 21-9) victory to Andrew Blake and Andrae Robb of Jamaica.
Joshua Persaud and Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago finished fifth place beating Blake/Robb of Jamaica 2-0 (25-23, 21-16).
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, October 30, 2022.- Ella Connor and Piper Ferch of the United States recovered from losing the first set to Canadians Ruby Sorra and Kaylee Glagau 2-1 (18-21, 21-11, 22-20) to win the first ever NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands.
Connor and Ferch had earned a bye to move into the tournament semifinals where they downed compatriots Alexis Durish and Hailey Hamlett 2-0 (21-17, 21-13).
While Ruby Sorra and Kaylee Glagau reached the gold medal match winning their semifinal to Britney Choon and Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-9, 21-11).
Ella Connor and Piper Ferch (USA) NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Champions
Alexis Durish and Hailey Hamlett went on to win the bronze medal match 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) over Choon/Selvon (TTO).
Earlier in quarterfinals, Durish/Hamlett (USA) overpowered the local team of Brianna Delapenha/Joanna Robinson 2-0 (21-2, 21-4) and Choon/Tyson (TTO) beat Deajra Tulloch/Chlouie Gaetos of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-13, 21-13).
In the match for fifth place, Deajra Tulloch and Chlouie Gaetos earned the victory to Anjia Delapenha and Lucie Finlason 2-0 (21-12, 21-14); both teams from the host Cayman Islands.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, October 29, 2022.- Alexis Durish/Hailey Hamlett and Ella Connor/Piper Ferch of United States dominated their pools to advance in the women’s field of the first stage of the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour.
Alexis Durish and Hailey Hamlett won pool A easily defeating Deajra Tulloch and Chlouie Gaetos of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-7, 21-8) but then battled strong to beat the Canadian duo of Ruby Sorra and Kaylee Glagau 2-1 (21-17, 20-22, 15-9).
In pool B, Ella Connor and Piper Ferch got three wins starting with a 2-0 (21-5, 21-12) victory over Anjia Delapenha/Lucie Finlason and a 2-0 (21-8, 21-11) against Brianna Delapenha/Joanna Robinson, both teams of Cayman Islands; followed by a 2-0 (21-12, 21-11) win to Britney Choon and Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ella Connor and Piper Ferch earned a bye into semifinals, while Alexis Durish and Hailey Hamlett will face the local team of Brianna Delapenha/Joanna Robinson in quarterfinals.
Canadians Ruby Sorra and Kaylee Glagau beat Deajra Tulloch/Chlouie Gaetos (CAY) 2-0 (21-9, 21-11) in pool A, while Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon of Trinidad and Tobago, who lost to Connor/Ferch (USA) in pool B, beat Delapenha/Robinson (CAY) 2-0 (21-18, 21-8) and recovered from falling in the first set to Delapenha/Finlason 2-1 (13-21, 21-13, 15-10). All advancing to quarters.
Sunday’s program starts with quarterfinals between Durish/Hamlett (USA) vs B. Delapenha/J. Robinson (CAY); followed by Choon Selvon (TTO) vs D. Tulloch/C. Gaetos (CAY) and Sorra/Glagau (CAN) vs A. Delapenha/L. Finalson (CAY).
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman, October 29, 2022.- Thomas Hurst/Gage Basey and Dylan McClung/Caleb Blanchette of United States took over pool-play at the first stage of the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour in Cayman Islands.
Thomas Hurst and Gage Basey topped pool A winning over Trent Ketrzynski and Rouzbeh Rahnavard of Canada 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) and to Eddy Toro Maldonado alongside Joshua Johanne Winklaar of Aruba 2-0 (21-14, 21-10).
Dylan McClung and Caleb Blanchette won pool B beating Jamaica’s team of Andrew Blake and Andrae Robb 2-0 (21-8, 21-19), then defeating Joshua Persaud Joshua/Nicholas Williams of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) and ended the day overpowering Declan Van Dam/Jabari Powery of Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-7, 21-6).
McClung/Blanchette move directly into semifinals and Hurst/Basey will battle in quarterfinals against D. Van Dam/J. Powery (CAY) for their semifinal spot.
In other results, Blake/Robb of Jamaica registered a 2-0 (21-6, 21-13) win to D. Van Dam/J. Powery (CAY) and earned an exciting victory over Persaud/Williams of Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 (22-20, 21-16) who earlier dominated D. Van Dam/J. Powery (CAY) 2-0 (21-10, 21-7).
Ketrzynski/Rahnavard of Canada beat Toro/Winklaar of Aruba 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) in pool A.
Sunday’s schedule starts with the quarterfinal match between Hurst/Basey (USA) vs. D. Van Dam/J. Powery (CAY), followed by Blake/Robb (JAM) against Toro/Winklaar of Aruba, and Ketrzynski/Rahnavard (CAN) facing Persaud/Williams (TTO).
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Saturday, 29 October 2022.- The Cayman Islands leg of the NORCECA Under 23 Beach Volleyball Tour was officially opened today by Honorable Bernie Bush, Minister for Youth, Sports, Culture & Heritage, of the Cayman Islands Government and Mushtaque Mohammed, Vice President of the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation.
The Under 23 Tournament is being hosted by the Cayman Islands for the first time with 14 teams competing (7 male, 7 female) from Cayman, Aruba, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the USA.
Before doing a ceremonial serve, Minister Bush made brief remarks.
“The Ministry of Sports is committed to developing our young athletes and seeing them succeed at the national and international level. We are proud to support the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation as they offer programs and organize tournaments such as this one which give our young volleyballers international exposure and valuable experience,” said Minister Bush.
NORCECA VP and CAZOVA President brought greetings on behalf of the NORCECA President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz and extended best wishes for the success of the event. He complimented CIVF for being the host of the first Continental underage tournament and indicated that the venue is of a world class and has the potential to host an FIVB tournament.
The minister proceeded to make the first serve at the men’s game CAY vs USA to officially open the tournament.
SEVEN MILE BEACH, Cayman Islands, October 28, 2022.- The first edition of the NORCECA Under-23 Beach Volleyball Tour will get underway at Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman on October 29 and 30.
The two-day competition features team representing seven countries from the North, Central American and Caribbean region who arrived in Grand Cayman for the preliminary inquiries and general technical meeting that took place on Thursday.
Mushtaque Mohammed, NORCECA Supervisor for the event addressed the players during the general technical meeting with a message about the importance of developing this category in our Confederation, in accordance with the NORCECA and FIVB focus on beach volleyball for the next two Olympic cycles “these youth athletes are the future of beach volleyball in our region and we are five years ahead of their preparation not only for the Olympic Games but for other major events such as the Central American and Caribbean Games, Pan American Games, Caribbean Beach Games, Commonwealth Games as well as the Youth Olympic Games”.
Mohammed also added that as President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA), “I am very proud that Cayman Islands, part of the CAZOVA Association is the first host of Underage beach volleyball NORCECA Tour”.
Cayman Islands’ U23 Beach Volleyball teams
Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, United States and hosts Cayman Islands registered teams in both genders, while Aruba and Jamaica will only compete in the men´s field.
Teams have been divided into two pools, with pool-play taking place on Saturday and the finals on Sunday.
Women’s Teams
CANADA Ruby Sorra/Kaylee Glagau; CAYMAN ISLANDS Anjia Delapenha/Lucie Finlason; Brianna Delapenha/Joanna Robinson; Deajra Tulloch/Chlouie Gaetos; TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Britney Choon/Tsyan Selvon; UNITED STATES Alexis Durish/Hailey Hamlett; Ella Connor/Piper Ferch.
Men’s Teams
ARUBA Eddy Toro Maldonado/Joshua Johanne Winklaar; Trent Ketrzynski/Rouzbeh Rahnavard; CAYMAN ISLANDS Declan Van Dam/Jabari Powery; JAMAICA Andrew Blake/Andrae Robb; TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Joshua Persaud Joshua/Nicholas Williams; UNITED STATES Thomas Jurst/Gage Basey; Dylan McClung/Caleb Blanchette.
SANTA MARTA. – 16 female pairs and the same number in males will compete in the I Central American and Caribbean Sea and Beach Games, Santa Marta 2022, scheduled for November 19 to 26.
This sport will take place on the fields of the 500-year-old Santa Marta Multisport Park, located in El Rodadero, and will have 21 countries competing, of which 11 have registered in both genders.
Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, US Virgin Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela, are the delegations that will seek the top in men’s and women’s categories.
Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Suriname will compete only for women’s tournament. Meanwhile, Curaçao, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and Saint Kitts & Nevis, will be in the men’s category.
Beach volleyball will be played from November 23 to 26 according to the competition schedule of the games.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 24, 2022.- José Pablo Pérez, opposite of Guatemala was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship, helping his team win the gold medal, the last time was in 2015.
Pérez was the leading scorer of his team with 103 points, 83 on kills, 7 blocks and 13 “aces”. His best match was scoring 26 points against Nicaragua, one of the most challenging matches of the tournament.
Pérez also won the honors of Best Server and Best Opposite; the best receiver was El Salvador’s libero Fernando Navarro, who also was recognized as Best Libero. The Best first blocker was Hakan Godoy of Belize and the Second-Best Blocker, Kevin Acost of Panama.
The First Best spiker was handed to Emanuel Pérez of Panama, and Gabriel Vargas of El Salvador the Second-Best spiker.
The Best defense was Nicaraguan libero Axel Gutierrez, Best setter Adolfo Rivas of Guatemala. The Best scorer Dowshel Smith, of Costa Rica with 126 points.
José Pablo Pérez said that the individual awards are the result of playing as a team. “We see ourselves like a family, not only as a team. Without them I wouldn’t achieve anything. I am glad, I was expecting one individual award, but not three, I’ve worked really hard, and this is result of that work”.
“More than a team we are a family, we are brothers and that’s the key for success, team union”.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 24, 2022.- Guatemala was crowned undefeated champion at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship, while Nicaragua finished second place and Panama in third.
On Monday, the last day of the event, Nicaragua beat Belize 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-12) to finish second place. With five victories and one loss, Nicaragua was overcome by Guatemala who won the gold medal and Panama finished with bronze. In the past tournament in 2019, Nicaragua was gold, Panama silver and El Salvador bronze.
Evans Solís was the best scorer of Nicaragua with 16 points, while Víctor Cruz and Angelo Guadamuz with 6 points each. For Belize, Preston Smith with 9 and Eleazar Mejía with 8 points as well as Hakan Godoy.
Also on the last day of competition, Panama defeated Honduras 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-09) to secure the bronze medal. Emanuel Pérez was the best player for Panama with 12 points, while Víctor Pérez and Víctor Aráuz scored 8 points each. For Honduras, Jonathan Meza and Alejandro Lobo finished with 10 points each.
Panama was better 31-28 in attacks, 9-1 in blocks and 9-7 in serves, committing 13 errors against 28 from their opponents.
While beat El Salvador 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-22) to finish with three wins and three losses.
El Salvador committed 27 errors that cost them the loss because Costa Rica only committed a total of 12, with advantage of 44-41 in kills and 5-2 in serves; both scored 7 in blocks.
Dowshel Smith scored 23 points and Johan Cerdas 12 for Costa Rica, while Gabriel Vargas scored 22 and Abner Cano 12 for El Salvador.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 24, 2022.- Nicaragua beat Belize 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-12) to finish second place at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
With five victories and one loss, Nicaragua was overcome by Guatemala who won the gold medal and Panama finished with bronze. In the past tournament in 2019, Nicaragua was gold, Panama silver and El Salvador bronze.
Evans Solís was the best scorer of Nicaragua with 16 points, while Víctor Cruz and Angelo Guadamuz with 6 points each. For Belize, Preston Smith with 9 and Eleazar Mejía with 8 points as well as Hakan Godoy.
Nicaragua did better in attacks 31-24, both teams scored one point from serves, and Beliz did better in blocks 9-1, four from Godoy, Belize committing 37 errors, against 20 of their opponents.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua: “We accomplished our goal of reaching the podium with a generation who hasn’t won a medal. They wanted to be champions, the boys worked really hard, we failed against Guatemala, but then they recovered and focused in crucial matches like Costa Rica. We are second place, which isn’t bad, we are giving this victory to Nicaragua, we are satisfied and happy”.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 24, 2022.- Panama defeated Honduras 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-09) to win at least the bronze medal at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
With four victories and two losses, Panama will wait for the result between Nicaragua and Belize, if Nicaragua wins, they finish with the silver medal and the Panamanians with bronze, a loss from the host would grant the silver medal to Panama.
In the last tournament in 2019, Panama finished with the silver medal behind Nicaragua; their last gold medal was in 2001.
Emanuel Pérez was the best player for Panama with 12 points, while Víctor Pérez and Víctor Aráuz scored 8 points each. For Honduras, Jonathan Meza and Alejandro Lobo finished with 10 points each.
Panama was better 31-28 in attacks, 9-1 in blocks and 9-7 in serves, committing 13 errors against 28 from their opponents.
David de León, captain of Panama: “We are super satisfied with our performance, thank God for all the blessings, for allowing us to win and reach the podium after so many years of struggles and the sacrifices. We were united up to the end, despite the difficulties, like transportation, but we left all in Gods’ hands, we are thankful for the victory and for Panama. Not everyone knows the sacrifices and they only criticize, but we try not to pay attention, we are here, and we played for a good result”.
Jonathan Caballero, coach of Panama: “I am excited, I have no words, I am proud of the guys, they are warriors, they came to battle for a medal, without saying the color, we wanted to be medalists with young players that are the future, we hope to work to put Panamanian volleyball in high again. The guys told me, we want to take home a medal for our country and work as a team and in the past two days they did a great team effort”.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, 24 de octubre 2022.- Costa Rica beat El Salvador 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-22) to finish with three wins and three losses at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
El Salvador committed 27 errors that cost them the loss because Costa Rica only committed a total of 12, with advantage of 44-41 in kills and 5-2 in serves; both scored 7 in blocks.
Dowshel Smith scored 23 points and Johan Cerdas 12 for Costa Rica, while Gabriel Vargas scored 22 and Abner Cano 12 for El Salvador.
Costa Rica finished with 19 points in three victories and three losses and will have to wait for the result between Panama and Honduras to decide the bronze medal. El Salvador ended with a record of 2-4 for fifth position.
Alberto Blanco, coach of Costa Rica: “We were playing at a strong level, but we had a rare set back against Panama, but I believe the teams’ position goes in relation to their work; Guatemala and Nicaragua are working well, Panama and we are going one step at a time. We’ve had difficulties in putting together a national team for the past years because our players are studying abroad, they’ve been playing in other countries and it’s hard to have a good team”.
Alexander Polanco, coach of El Salvador: “This has been a bitter experience, we didn’t have a setter to manage the players, but he’s young, he only has one tournament, and it wasn’t too demanding. In general, the team could’ve given more, we lost close matches and that discouraged the group and they fell, not because they are capable. The team is young, and we are satisfied with their projection”.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 23, 2022.- Nicaragua earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) victory over Honduras to stand with four wins and one loss, securing the bronze medal at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Nicaragua dominated 41-26 in attacks and 3-2 in serves but was outblocked 7-6 and Honduras committed more errors 24-19.
Evans Solís was the best attacker for Nicaragua with 16 points, while Víctor Cruz finished with 10. Alejandro Lobo of Honduras scored 13 tallies and Jonathan Meza 9.
Rafael Hernández, captain of Nicaragua: “Tomorrow we’ll come out to change the color of the medal, at the beginning we played at Honduras rhythm, committing some errors, but then we recovered and got the result. Tomorrow we’ll come strong, trying to keep our rhythm and look for the victory”.
Victor Cruz, outside hitter of Nicaragua: “We secured the bronze medal, thanks to God and tomorrow we’ll play with everything for the silver medal. Personally, I have given a lot and as a team we’ve performed well, and I hope to continue like that. Thanking God, we haven’t been injured”.
On Monday, Honduras and Panamá play at 4:00 p.m. and Nicaragua faces Belize at 6:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 23, 2022.- Panama beat Costa Rica 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-16) on day six of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Panamá earned their third victory against two losses, reaching 14 points, to overcome Costa Rica who stands with 2-3, but with also 14 points.
David de León team captain of Panama ended with 17 points and Emanuel Pérez with 15, plus 11 by Víctor Pérez. For Costa Rica, captain Dowshel Smith had one of his lowest performances with 9 points.
Panama was better in attacks 46-23, in service 6-1, and Costa Rica led in blocking 5-4, committing 19 errors, against 11 from the winners.
David de León, captain Panama: “Panama never gives up and always goes forward. An opponent so difficult like Costa Rica, with high leveled players, we did a good effort, focused because they are very strong. We are going forward and Panama has more”.
Emanuel Pérez, outstanding player of Panama: “Thank God the team came out with the result, we effort ourselves with all our heart, we wanted this victory, and we did. Now we are closer, we the possibility to win a medal, we have one more match and we hope to close well, strong and with Gods’ help”.
On Monday, Costa Rica faces El Salvador at 2:00 p.m, Honduras and Panamá play at 4:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 23, 2022.- Guatemala left no doubts, and despite falling in the first set, they recovered for a 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18) victory against El Salvador to win the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship undefeated.
With six wins and no losses, Guatemala won their eighth Central American title; their previews one was in 2015, stopping Nicaragua’s winning streak of two title in a row in 2017 and 2019.
Team captain Javier Lucero topped Guatemala with 20 points, including four blocks, José Pablo Pérez added 17 and Francisco Gamboa 11. For El Salvador, Gabriel Vargas scored 12 points.
Guatemala was better in attacks 43-26, in blocks 11-8 and in serves 6-5, committing 43 errors against 35 from El Salvador.
Javier Lucero, captain of Guatemala: “We reached our goal, which we set since day one; we thank God for making this possible. Today we were a bit confident, but we stopped El Salvador. Personally, it’s a great achievement, even more because it’s undefeated and it motivates me to keep on fighting”.
Germán Ramos, libero of Guatemala: “We feel highly motivated, we’ve been preparing since the under 23 y we feel comfortable as a team, we are united, and we are doing well as a team. At the beginning it took time to adjust, after that we’ve performed well, I think we gave a good spectacle and wining each game”.
On Monday, El Salvador plays Costa Rica at 2:00 p.m., while Guatemala has finished the event.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 22, 2022.- Nicaragua won epic five-set battle (27-25, 22-25, 32-30, 17-25, 15-10) to Costa Rica in the closing match of day four at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Neither one wanted to give in because the winners would be closer to a medal and Evans Solis, Denis Espinoza and setter Cristhoper Castillo carried Nicaragua to victory.
Nicaragua won the first set 27-25, delayed for over an hour due to weather conditions. Costa Rica was tougher in the second set, jumping to a five-set lead at mid-set.
The third set was a roller coaster, with set points for both sides, until Nicaragua’s serves helped finishing with the advantage. In the fourth, Costa Rica improved in blocking and spiking were unstoppable, mostly team captain Dowshel Smith.
Nicaragua’s 3 point lead reaching the first technical time-out (8-5) helped them close the fifth set and earning their first victory against one loss.
Nicaraguan Evans Solis scored 33 points, while Denis Espinoza contributed with 29, with Castillo coming off the bench moving pieces for his team. For Costa Rica, Dowshel Smith ended with 26 and Jenher Denis 13 as well as Johan Cerdas.
Nicaragua was better in attacks 70-55, in serves 10-2, while Costa Rica was superior in blocking 14-5; Nicaragua committed 28 errors, against 44 from their opponents.
Evans Solis of Nicaragua spikes
Cristhoper Castillo, setter of Nicaragua: “I am excited, I came off the bench, did mi job, I contributed with blocks and mostly I followed my coaches’ insctructions. The game was difficult, but we won; I am in the junio team and Costa Rica beat us 3-0 and now we are even”.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua: “I always say that the winner is that who’s strategy is best, not the one who strikes harder. We made a change in the fifth set which Costa Rica missed, and it worked well. You can also win with the bench, Denis Espinoza was outstanding during todays’ practice, and I decided to put him as a starter, also the change in setter helped us well”.
On Sunday, Costa Rica faces Panama at 4:00 p.m. and Nicaragua plays Honduras at 6:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 22, 2022.- Guatemala continues undefeated in five outings and is one step away to the title after defeating Panama 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-12) at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Guatemala remained calm despite Panama´s pressure in the second set and reaching an even 19 and with effective blocks by the middle to win the set in route to victory.
Guatemala’s leading scorer was José Pablo Pérez with 16 points, Francisco Gamboa and Javier Lucero ended with 10 each. David de León was the best scorer for Panama with 12 points and Emanuel Pérez with 11.
Guatemala was better in attacks 38-29, in serves 6-1 and both scored 5 points on blocks; but Panama committed 26 errors against 18 from their opponents.
Adolfo Ariel Rivas, setter of Guatemala: “I am happy for the win, we just need to do well tomorrow to be the champions. Today we played well, I trust my team and things went well. Defending is really important for me to do my job, it’s a team effort, because the attack needs the rest, and we have all been doing a good job”.
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala: “We haven’t reached our goal, we are still in the competition, nothing is decided, we have our last game tomorrow against El Salvador. Our goal was to battle one match at a time and that’s what we’ve doing. The boys have been able to win, which is important, despite losing focus on occasions and their energy”.
On Sunday, Guatemala meets El Salvador at 2:00 p.m and Panamá plays Costa Rica at 4:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 22, 2022.- Belize (1-4) earned their first tournament win defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) on day five at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Eleazar Mejía led Belize with 23 points and Preston Smith with 9. For Honduras, Alejandro Lobo scored 12 points, in one of the lowest performances in the tournament.
Despite battling every set, Honduras fell to Belize’s strength in attacks to close every set. Belize led in kills 39-21, in blocks 7-3 and Honduras was better in serves 6-5, committing 24 errors against 29 from the winners.
Eleazar Mejía, best scorer of Belize: “Some of us were in the tournament in Copan (U19), which was different. Here we started slow, we advanced little by little and earned today’s victory. Two players couldn’t come, it would be better with them, but without them we must take the responsibility and do a better job with what we have here. I am satisfied with my performance, but we can do better. We have one match left, against Nicaragua and we will put up fight, we will come out to look for the win”.
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize: “It feels good to win, thanks to our team’s unity. That’s what helped us win, unity and good energy as a team. The previous games were difficult, we did everything to win, we just need a bit more and today we were able to do so”.
On Sunday, Panama plays Costa Rica at 4:00 p.m. and Belize rests.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 21, 2022.- Guatemala (4-0) kept their undefeated streak after a 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-14) win over Nicaragua (2-1) to close day four at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Guatemala’s effective blocking stopped Nicaragua’s attacking with a 15-blocking margin against five.
After winning the first set 25-23, Guatemala gave in with a 14-22 deficit in the second set and pressured to move 21-22 but Nicaragua won 22-25.
In the third and fourth sets, Guatemala reached the second technical time-out 16-10 advantage, thanks to their effective blocking, mostly by José Pérez who finished with 26 points, 5 from blocks; captain Javier Lucero ended with 19 points (3 blocks), Yeferson Zavala included 4 blocks from his 10 points total, as well as Franciso Gamboa.
Nicaragua’s best scorer was Evans Solís with 22 points, Josué Blandón with 13 and 12 from Víctor Cruz.
Guatemala was better in kills 59-50 but scored fewer serves 2-3, committing 19 errors against 21 from Nicaragua.
José Pablo Pérez, best scorer of Guatemala: “Today’s key was our attitude, we were motivated as a team, and everything turned out perfectly. We did well in blocking, we observed they were spiking only diagonally, and we adjusted. We achieved to win two of the most difficult matches, we still have Panama and El Salvador to finish, and we hope to win”.
Javier Lucero, captain of Guatemala: “It was an important match for our goals, we continue to battle, and we had great energy to win. The key was over the net, blocking, we put on a mark, and we remain battling the rest of the tournament. The coaching staff pointed out their weaknesses and we executed what they had planned”.
On Saturday, Guatemala plays Panama at 4:00 p.m. and Nicaragua faces Costa Rica at 6:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 21, 2022.- Panama (2-1) left all on the court in an exciting 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 10-25, 26-24, 15-11) victory over El Salvador (2-2) at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
El Salvador was on its way to a solid win after taking the third set by a 25-10 huge margin, after a roller coaster first two sets, but the Panamanians battled with courage in winning the fourth to a close 26-24. In the tie-break, Panama controlled by a slim advantage despite the pressure from El Salvador.
Emanuel Pérez was crucial for Panama with 20 points, with teammates David de León scoring 19 and Victor Pérez with 14 to the winning cause; as well as the great performance in defense by libero Jeremy Casasola in the final sets.
For El Salvador, Gabriel Vargas topped with 22 points, Abner Cano with 20 and Julio Jiménez added 11.
Panama led by one point 54-53 in attacks and 13-12 in blocking, with De León and Kevin Acosta with five effective blocks. Panama dominated in serves 4-1, committing 36 errors against 27 from its opponent.
David de León, captain of Panama: “We are glad for the victory against a team like El Salvador; I have no words to explain our opponents’ game level and what we lived today. This is just the beginning; we must continue to effort ourselves. Thank God, this puts us in a better position and we must continue improving”.
Emanuel Pérez, top scorer of Panama: “I am super excited, I thank God for this victory and to my team who left everything on the court. The last points were exciting, and we thank God all he has given us. We had a great connection as a team, we are improving every day, we are elevating”.
On Saturday Panama faces Guatemala at 4:00 p.m. and El Salvador has the day off.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 21, 2022.- Costa Rica earned their second victory while overcoming a resilient Belize (0-4) in consecutive sets 3-0 (25-15, 29-27, 24-23) on day four of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
The game was decided in the second set because both teams had a chance to win the set, but Costa Rica benefited with their blocking strength. In the third, Belize never stopped pressuring, Costa Rican serves marked the difference complicating their opponents’ attacks, allowing them to counterattack more effectively.
Costa Rica’s captain, Dowshel Smith ended with 21 points and Johan Cerdas with 12. For Belize, Eleazar Mejía continued to be effective with 15 points and Prestin Smith with 12.
Belize held advantage in kills 37-32, 8-7 in blocks and both teams scored on 3 serves; but Costa Rica scored 37 points on Belizean errors against 17.
Johan Cerdad, outstanding player of Costa Rica: “It was hard, but we are very happy, I hope we continue like this in the rest of the tournament and have good results. This is my first time in the national team, I am happy because I’m performing well; with every match we’re looking more like a team, unfortunately we didn’t have many games to prepare, but we are trying to do our best”.
Juan Calderón Chanto, setter of Costa Rica: “It’s a great experience, in 2019 I had a similar experience, and you learn a lot. It’s the first time for many, we prepared to do the best we can, and I believe we’re doing well. The sets were too close, we lacked concentration in some moments, but in the end, we won”.
On Saturday Belize faces Honduras at 2:00 p.m. and Costa Rica against Nicaragua at 6:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 20, 2022.- Costa Rica defeated Honduras 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-16) on day three at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
With difficulties and recovering from two-set points, Costa Rica won the second set thanks to blocking and Doswel Smith powerful kills, that made the difference the entire match.
Smith scored 23 points, 10 of them in the third set, and Johan Cerdas contributed with 12. For Honduras, Alejandro Lobo registered 14 points a Jonathan Meza 12.
Costa Rica’s attacks produced 42 points against 30 from their opponents; both scored 6 in blocks and Honduras did better in serves 5-4, while committing 26 errors to 22 from their opponent.
Dowshel Smith, captain of Costa Rica: “Yesterday’s match was in our hands, but small details stopped us from winning, but we corrected what we were lacking, and we were able to win today. We were relaxed, things were a bit difficult, but we were focused on improving errors in our past performance and played more calm, less stressed”.
Alberto Blanco, coach of Costa Rica: “The team had no preparation matches back in Costa Rica, so we are improving some aspects with each game. Tomorrow will be another “practice” against Belize and we’ll go on improving little by little. We must add with each match, we still have options to fight for the gold medal, anything can happen”.
On Friday, Belize faces Costa Rica at 2:00 p.m. and Honduras has the day off.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 20, 2022.- Guatemala prevailed 3-1 (25-21, 25-11, 19-25, 25-10) against Belize to start day three at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Guatemalan Francisco Gamboa and José Pérez collected 12 points each and Javier Lucero 11; for Belize, Eleazar Mejía finished with 13 tallies and Preston Smith with 10.
Guatemala was better in attacks 36-25 and 8-7 in serves; Belize did better in blocks 8-4, mostly in the third set, Hakan Godoy was effective with three blocks. Belize committed 46 errors and Guatemala 27.
Francisco Gamboa, top scorer of Guatemala: “We are doing well, in the end the team recovered from falling a set to Belize, with good energy, always high. I think the five sets we played against Costa Rica affected our physical condition a little and we’ve been performing coming from behind, because we are tired”.
José Pérez, outstanding player of Guatemala: “We finished with victory, but we aren’t happy because it wasn’t 3-0, earning five points was important, but that’s done, now we must continue adding points. We were too confident; things didn’t go well in the third and we lost it”.
On Friday, Belize faces Costa Rica at 2:00 p.m. and Guatemala meets with Nicaragua at 6:00 p.m.
Managua, Nicaragua, October 19, 2022.- Guatemala gave another demonstration of courage recovering from a two-set deficit to win 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17, 15-13) to Costa Rica in the last match of the second day of competition at the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
After a two-set lead, Costa Rica conceded to Guatemala who scored 5 consecutive points in the third set moving ahead 19-14 and onward to win the set and catch their breathe to win the match.
Javier Lucero finished with 18 points, Francisco Gamboa with 16 and Jose Perez 15, while Costa Rica Dowshel Mc Donald added 24 points despite suffering an injury and not performing in the fifth decisive set. Johan Cerdas finished with 11.
Guatemala was better in attacks 55-48 and serves 5-2, but Costa Rica overwhelmed in blocks 15-1, but committed 44 errors against 30 from their opponents.
Javier Lucero, captain of Guatemala: “We’ve been taught to come from behind, I am excited of what we’ve achieved, we showed we can execute what we’ve taught. We lacked attitude in the first two sets, then we gained confidence and recovered. We gave a huge step and we continue to fight”.
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala: “It was a nice display of volleyball, ups and downs from both teams and kudos to Costa Rica, a combative team. They started strong, with great rhythm, we had difficulties in the first two sets. At the beginning they didn’t commit much less errors, they had a stable performance, but we were able to win the third with less errors, and it was crucial that the boys were able to improve their attitude”.
On Thursday, Guatemala faces Belize at 2:00 p.m. and Costa Rica meets Honduras at 4:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 19, 2022.- Panama swept Belize (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) on day two of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Víctor Pérez scored 15 points for Panama and Emanuel Pérez ended with 10, while Eleazar Mejía finished with 13, four on aces and Smith Preston with 10, for Belize.
Panama led 28-22 in attacks but was overcame with a 6-4 margin in blocks and 6-2 in serves; Belize committed 41 errors against only 18 by the winners.
David de León, captain of Panama: “I am very happy because we came out on top a difficult opponent like Belize who has a great level. We continue to put pressure, this is just starting, I believe we have more to give and with a three-set victory we are in a higher position”.
Jonathan Caballero, coach of Panama: “First I want to congratulate Belize, a tough team and I am super happy with my team that’s been working hard for these results, which are good for our country, this victory motivates us a lot”.
On Thursday, Guatemala faces Belize at 2:00 p.m. Panama rests.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 19, 2022.- El Salvador recovered from losing the first set to win 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-14) over Honduras in the first match of day two of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
In the first set, Honduras was better in attacks and serves, jumping ahead which the Salvadorians couldn’t catch up, but everything changed from the second set on when El Salvador improved in attack as well as in blocks.
Team captain Abner Cano for the second match in a row was El Salvador best scorer with 24 points on 21 kills, followed by Gabriel Vargas with 15 points. Alejandro Lobo scored 15 points for Honduras, with 12 from Jonathan Meza.
El Salvador was better in attacks 43-32, both teams scored 3-3 on serves and Honduras led 6-5 in blocks but committed 44 errors against 35 from their opponents.
Ricardo Navarro of El Salvador and Jonathan Meza of Honduras battle the ball over the net
Abner Cano, captain of El Salvador said “unfortunately we didn’t start the match well, our energy was low, but thank God we recovered our force as a team to beta a tough opponent Honduras. Normally we fight every match, with Honduras we are similar, but now we have a 3-0 and a 3-1 win, which motivates us to reach the podium”.
Alexander Polanco, coach of El Salvador: “There are no small team in this category, it’s a close competition and every match is different. We must continue to work; we have to correct what we failed today for a better match tomorrow against the home team”.
On Thursday, Honduras will face Costa Rica at 4:00 p.m. while El Salvador meets Nicaragua at 6:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 18, 2022.- Guatemala’s national team showed their strength beating Honduras 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-12) in the opening match of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
With an 8-2 advantage in the first set, Guatemala impressed their opponents and never stopped pressuring to earn their first victory thanks to the performance of Jose Perez who scored 17 points, six from serves and 11 on kills. Team captain Javier Lucero finished with 9 points. For Honduras, Alejandro Lovo scored 9 points.
Guatemala was superior in attacks with a 34-16 margin, and 9-1 in serves, but Honduras was better in blocks 5-4; however, they committed 28 errors against 17 from the winners.
Javier Lucero, captain of Guatemala: “We feel well prepared, we’ve made a great effort to be here, we’ve trained a lot, it was a good match that will help us to continue battling to reach our goal”.
José Pérez, top scorer of Guatemala: “I have worked for a long time to be in good conditions, it’s good that everything went well, even more because we won five points. Now we must rest for our next match, we adapted well to the court, and all went well”.
Guatemala will face Costa Rica on Wednesday, the second day of competition, at 6:00 p.m. while Honduras has committed against El Salvador at 2:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 18, 2022.- Nicaragua defeated Panama 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 16-25, 25-13) in the last match of the first day of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Evans Solís, with 19 points was Nicaragua’s best scorer, and Victor Cruz added 10 points. For Panama, Víctor Pérez finished with 14 points, David Leon and Emanuel Perez with 12 points each.
Nicaragua was better in serves 5-0, with 3 aces from Solis, crucial at the beginning of the fourth set. Panama led in attacks 37-35 and 15-7 in blocks, but they committed 44 errors against 23 from their opponents.
In the third set, Panama registered 12-8 in attacks and 6-0 in blocks, committing fewer errors (7-8) than in the previous sets, but in the fourth set Nicaragua’s serves were lethal, which in the end made a difference.
Rafael Hernández, captain of Nicaragua: “We hope for more victories like this one, we will continue to work hard to make it happen. In the third set we were too confident, without energy, not wanting to do anything, we lost concentration. In general, we did well, and we’ll improve little by little during the tournament”.
Evans Solís, top scorer of Nicaragua: “It was a tough match, we hope for a more effective result in three sets, but we were too confident. We had problem in receiving, on of the most important elements and we lost energy. Thank God we came out on top, and we are glad, but we hope to do better”.
On Wednesday, Panama will play against Belize at 4:00 p.m. while Nicaragua rests.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 18, 2022.- El Salvador defeated Belize in straight sets 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) in the second match of opening day of the XIX AFECAVOL Men’s U21 Central American Championship.
Abner Cano, captain of El Salvador, led his team to victory scoring 13 points, 12 on kills, joined by Julio Jimenez Hunter with 11. For Belize, Preston Smith ended with 10 and 8 by Eleazar Mejía.
El Salvador scored on a 28-22 advantage in attacks, 6-3 in blocks and were down 1-3 in serves, but they also scored 40 points on opponent errors, committing 23 errors.
Abner Cano, captain of El Salvador: “I am proud of my team, of the victory we achieved, and we have high expectations in the tournament. We want to be among the medalists, we are aware we must defeat the other teams, but we are strong, with young but experienced players”.
Julio Jiménez, top scorer of El Salvador: “I am happy because it was what we came to do, we are aware this is one step at a time, in the end we reached the first goal, six more to go, so we must continue forward. We trusted our abilities with respect to our opponents (Belize), but we knew we could win”.
El Salvador will face Honduras at 2:00 p.m., while Panama will play against Belize at 4:00 p.m.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 17, 2022.- The seven Central American countries are in Managua to compete at the nineteenth U21 Men’s AFECAVOL Central American Championship that starts on Tuesday at Alexis Argüello Gymnasium.
Nicaragua has won two consecutive titles (2017, 2019) and everyone says they are the opponent to beat, while hosting the event, but they concur it will be a tournament with strong battles and none of them will be easy.
“We are continuing with the U19 program, we have a good young team, we are mentally prepared for the tournament, I believe we can have a good result and reach the podium”.
Miguel Pagoaga, coach of Honduras
“We have a young and enthusiastic group that have been preparing during the year in different tournaments. We are here to work and battle to reach the podium, we have prepared for that, and we hope we can do it”.
Reider Lucas, coach of Guatemala
“We will try to have a good competition; our boys eager to play. It’s a category in development and we believe some players will have a good performance. We will play with a positive attitude and will battle one game at a time”.
Alexander Polanco, coach of El Salvador
“We are coming to give a fight, good games, hoping for excellent results and to battle for a medal. We have several experienced players that have played in under 23 national teams, where we finished third place, and we have three youngsters who are competing for the first time and others who were in Honduras for the under 19”.
Jorge Mena, coach of Nicaragua
“We are going to try to top the podium, or finish among the top three places and climb positions. We are the current champions, and we will defend the title with our soul, life and heart, even more because we are at home”.
Alberto Blanco, coach of Costa Rica
“This is a tournament we take seriously; we have prepared well, we are aware it wont be easy, the teams have prepared strongly, better than previous years, especially Nicaragua who competed at the Pan American Cup in Cuba, and despite knowing every team is difficult, Nicaragua is the one to beat”.
Jonathan Caballero, team manager of Panama
“We have boys with a lot of courage, eager to win a place at the podium. They are young players, with high expectations and motivated to do things well and represent our country well”.
The tournament starts on Tuesday at 2:00 pm with the match between Honduras and Guatemala. At 4:00 pm Belize faces El Salvador, at 6:00 pm the opening ceremony, followed by Nicaragua against Panama.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 16, 2022.When St. Lucia returns home from the ECVA championship with their luggage overloaded with seven individual awards from the twelve total handed out during the closing ceremony.
Kerin Neptune of St. Lucia was recognized as the Most Valuable Player MVP. She played in the outside hitting position and was also judged the best in that category as well and featured as the best server and best receiver, for a total of four individual awards.
Also from St. Lucia, the second outside hitter was Amalia Louis and Tyna William one of the middle blocking awards. Chenoa Evans was granted the best opposite.
Shoranda Pickering picked up two awards for BVI, best scorer and best middle blocker.
Tivona Trotman was the one to get two awards for St. Maarten, best Libero and the best digger.
The remaining award went to Jomelar Billy of Grenada as the best setter.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 16, 2022.- St. Lucia team left the best game until last winning in straight sets over contenders BVI (25-17, 25-10, 25-13) to retain the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association female championship title and remained undefeated throughout the tournament.
At the onset of the second, St. Lucia seemed to have switched gears to a different level and BVI had no answer. They literally had their way in all facets of the game.
In attack, Louis 9, Neptune 9 and Chenoa 5 contributed the most to the overall tally of 29 points from kills. On the other hand, BVI could only manage 7 kills. St. Lucia also led at the net in blocks 7 to 4. Service points were also in St. Lucia’s favour 14 to 4. Altogether this was the “Lusha” pressure that BVI succumbed to. Eventually Neptune ended with the most individual points (17) on the night whereas BVI did not get their attack going and no one had double figures in points.
Kendall Challery coach of St. Lucia was overjoyed, “I am very happy that we got the job done the girls stuck to our game plan by thwarting their main attack once we did that we gained momentum on that and never looked back. Finally, the girls start was playing the way we ought to. We have a tendency to drop our level but that did not happen tonight. So I feel very proud and I know the fans back home will be happy for us”.
Coach of the BVI team Stephen Payne was gracious in defeat, “the championship was all St. Lucia, they had their way, and we could not find answers at the moment. However, the intension for us coming here was to medal and we have achieved that objective. I would like to say congratulations to the winners, they deserve it. We will now debrief and concentrate on future efforts”.
The final positions at the end of the ECVA senior female competition are as follows: – 1 St. Lucia 2. BVI 3. Antigua Barbuda 4. St. Maarten 5. Grenada. 6. Anguilla 7. St. Eustatius.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 16, 2022.- A noisy partisan home crowd could not save their team defeat at the hands of the more experienced Antigua and Barbuda 3-1 (25-12, 29-31, 25-21, 25-23) to take the bronze medal at the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association Senior Women’s Championship.
St. Maarten pushed their opponents in almost every set but came up short to finish in fourth place.
A well-rounded attack helped the Antiguan cause as middle blocker Peters posted 17 points, Carr chipped in with 13 and Payne 10. On the other side, it was only middle blocker Natalie who had double figures (10) for St. Maarten.
Antigua and Barbuda took control of the scoresheet leading 30 to 24 in attack, 11 to 8 in blocks and 15 to 9 in service points. Despite the win Antigua was guilty of committing too many errors, a total of 46 points of the 87 garnered by St. Maarten was attributed to errors.
This issue was not missed by coach Benjamin of Antigua, “we still have a problem with transition, and we committed far too many errors particularly with our serve. We definitely can do better than this brand of volleyball displayed here. We will now look to the future to integrate the youths into our program.”
Captain Simon committed to assist with that drive, “we can’t just throw the youth in the deep like that we have to guide them and blend them in, so as a more senior player I am all for that. Having said that I must say that we are disappointed that we only got as far as the bronze medal match. From my assessment this is a tournament”.
Coach Dimitri Beauperthuy was very upbeat in defeat, “although we lost to Antigua I am glad that the home crowd got a chance to see what we are building. In this squad, 6 players are still in High School and you saw how they fought out there, I am extremely proud of the effort and feel confident going for the future”.
His captain Meulens was ecstatic, “actually this is one of the reasons I was delighted to lead the team because of the number of young players in the squad. This augers well for the future of volleyball in St. Maarten as well as the Caribbean. It was exciting playing with them. I had a blast and although we are somewhat disappointed that we did not win the bronze we know for sure that we improved our standings and standard and that’s a win in my book.”
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 16, 2022.- Grenada won by a nose 3-2 (16 -25, 25-16, 13-25, 25-13, 16-14) to Anguilla for fifth place at the ECVA Women’s Senior Championship in a match befitting of a final as both teams scrabbled and rallied for every point they could muster.
The scoresheet was testimony to the closeness of the game. In kills, Grenada led 32 to 29, in blocks Anguilla led 7 to 4, while service points were even at 7 all. Both teams gave up 54% in errors, no advantage there again.
Grenada was led by two players each contributing 10 points, outside hitter Mitchell had all her points coming from kills, while Shakina had 5 aces in her 10. Once again Anguilla was led by their captain in Leveret who got 11 points from her outside hitting position while middle blocker Richardson contributed with 9 points.
Coach of the Grenada, Staciann Lake was very satisfied as she focused on the present and the future of volleyball in Grenada, “although we did not achieve the ultimate goal, we are very pleased in the result tonight, it was our chance to let out everything and get a win in the bag. However we have to do much more to hone the raw talent that exists at home. We must get back active volleyball, better scouting and some more professional coaching to put our team at a level that is able to compete successfully at this level”.
Their captain and setter was jubilant, saying with glee “it feels so good winning that game after urging my teammates to play basic volleyball- one serve one pass one set one kill and we did just that and won the game”.
Omari Hamilton was also optimistic about the future of volleyball in his country, “we put out our all on the court and it just did not come out in our favor, but you saw that we played our hearts out. Now we must go back home, revamp and do a lot more work taking care of our bodies and put in the time to train and get much better”.
Captain Leveret concurred with her coach, “we must go back and definitely make some changes. I will start with me and commit myself to practice, practice, and practice”.
Phillipsburg, St. Maarten October 15, 2022. St. Lucia booked their passage to the finals of the ECVA senior female competition with a 3-1 victory over archrivals Antigua and Barbuda. On the 2 hour mark the scores were (18-25, 25-13, 25-15, 27-25) in favour of St. Lucia. This meant that they remained undefeated in the tournament so far.
A well rounded attack was the main feature that led to victory for St. Lucia. Four players had scores of over 10. Kerin Neptune 14, Chenoa Evans 13, Tyna William 13 and Amalia Louis 10. On the other hand, Sharon Payne and Tyke Hawkins had ten each for the losing side.
St. Lucia showed their dominance in Attack with a score of 33 to 20 as well as lead in Service points 17-4, Antigua however lead in blocks 10 to 5.
Coach of the St. Lucia team Kendall Challery was still not 100% pleased. “I noticed that Antigua came out on a mission they wanted to get to finals but we could not allow that. It took us a while to get going, pick up momentum and came out on top.” He said
Fritzroy Benjamin Coach of the Antigua team walked us through the game. “The ladies played well they put up a fight. However there were still lapses in concentration, some transitional problems and we need to work more on fitness.” He assessed.
Captain Rosemarie Simon consoled the coach by stating that they will take the bronze in their final game tomorrow.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 15, 2022.- It was heart break for the home fans when they witnessed their home team (St. Maarten) lose 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 17-25 and 25-23) to BVI to reach the finals of the ECVA Women’s Senior Championship.
The fans were hoping for a five setter after their team was down 2-0 and clawed their way back to win the third. They were even more optimistic when in the fourth set they slashed a big BVI lead to just 1 when BVI had set point. BVI persevered and won the point at the net that hushed the crowd.
Once again Middle Blocker Shoranda Pickering from the BVI garnered the game high points-19, made up of 12 kills and 5 aces along with 2 blocks. She got some help from Captain Alexander with 9 points.
St. Marten’s charge was led by captain Meulens who grabbed 10 points. Meanwhile BVI benefitted from a high error count- 51(or 55%) while donating 35. The rest of the team scoresheet was even with serves tied at 10 blocks going the way of BVI 7-4 and while St. Maarten had the edge in kills 32 to 25.
Antigua and St. Lucia will play to decide the other finalist.
Coach of the BVI team Stephen Payne gave his assessment of what happed, “we went away from the game plan somewhat because of some miscommunication. However a win is a win and we are on our way to the finals. We came here and played game by game and point by point and we won’t move away from that strategy”.
His captain Henrietta Alexander was gleeful, “when we came here, we were ranked 7th in the ECVA with an underdog label. We have not competed for several years and so some people counted us out. However, we came here to upset some people and that´s exactly what we did, now we will be playing for gold”.
Coach Dimitri Beauperthuy was upbeat despite the loss, “tonight we came up short, but the girls poured in a tremendous effort after a slow start. I feel proud to know that we gave everything we had, and the opponents just got the better of us on the day”.
Captain of the home team Akila Meulens enjoyed the experience, “it was exciting as we dug a hole, but we were coming out of it. If we had that same energy from the start, things might have been different but that´s behind us now and all we can do is to refocus to try to win the bronze, which is exactly what’s on my mind now”.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 15, 2022. Antigua and Barbuda booked a spot in semifinals after a 2-hour quarterfinal victory 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15) over Anguilla at the ECVA senior female competition.
Anguilla threatened for a moment but then the senior players for Antigua took over particularly in the 4th and final set and gave themselves a chance for redemption.
Antigua Barbuda came out on top in every scoring category, in kills 32 to 23, in blocks 6 to 3 and in service points 11 to 5.
Middle Blocker Kwansia Carr of Antigua and Barbuda led all scorers with 18 points made up of 13 spikes and 5 blocks. She got help from outside hitter Yuderka Martinez who had a sterling service game clocking 8 Aces.
For the losing side, both outside hitters captain Rikiesha Leveret and Janai Gumbs posted 10 points each.
The scoresheet supported what Coach Benjamin was complaining about as more that 61 % of Anguilla’s points came from errors. Anguilla on the other hand committed just under 50%.
Semifinal action is slated for later this evening with St. Maarten taking on BVI and Antigua Barbuda versus St. Lucia.
Captain of the Antigua Barbuda team Ms Rosey Simon felt despite the win their passing was poor. “If you look at the stats you would see we only have very few attacks. You have to get that pass right in order to get a proper attack. Once we get back that on track, we will be ok”, she stated.
“We were confident that we would have defeated Anguilla but the quality of play is still below par. We can play better volleyball. We are still committing simple errors but fortunately it was a little less than our second and third game”, stated Coach Fritzroy Benjamin of Antigua and Barbuda.
His opposite number Omari Hamilton was visibly upset. “We just had some technical difficulties that we just could not do anything about at the time. It affected our rhythm and our mental focus and once the focus goes the game plan goes. We now must wrap our heads around this, reevaluate and come out and do our best in the match for 5th place”, he stated.
Captain Leveret was upbeat despite the loss. “I would first of all congratulate my girls and urge them to be positive. We improved a lot in a few areas, but we still have some things to work on. In all we will encourage each other to get better”, she said.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 15, 2022.- BVI poured in a workman like performance to continue their Coach predicted path to the semifinal. In 75 minutes BVI had chalked up a quarterfinal victory with scores of 25- 23, 25- 15 and 25-15 against Grenada.
The scoresheet validated the coach’s assessment as it showed that middle blocker Shoranda Pickering had 22 points -17 of them spikes. Captain Henrietta Alexander chipped in with 10 points of her own.
On the other side no one managed double figures in points, with 8 points being the best contribution coming from opposite hitter Shakkina Orr.
Meanwhile BVI took pole position in the 3 key areas of the team scoresheet; 32-11 in attacks, 11 to 4 in blocks and 11 to 8 in service aces. They benefitted from 30 opponent’s errors and gave up 21.
BVI will now meet St. Maarten in the semifinal while Grenada has been relegated to play for a plate position.
Coach of the winning team Stephen Payne was cautiously pleased. “The dynamics of the game showed that we eventually won but our game level in terms of execution is still not where I want it to be. However, the girls fought through, and we came out with another win. Today our service and attack through the middle with Shoranda (Pickering) worked well for us”, he noted.
Pickering the leading scorer by far had an opportunity to speak about her game. “I think that overall, the team knows that I play an important part of what we do. However, I need the five others on the court in order to execute. I am happy that we were able to win despite the average execution. At this point fatigue may be setting in but we must want it more and that will see us through”, she said.
Coach of the Grenada team was disappointed but hopeful. “The opportunity for the gold medal match has eluded us but that’s not going to stop us from giving our all in our remaining match which is for 5/6 place. We will go away, evaluate, and come back stronger in the future”, she promised.
APELDOORN, Netherlands, October 15, 2022.- The United States finished fourth place at the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship after losing to Italy 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 27-25) in the bronze medal match on Saturday.
Italy outclassed the U.S. leading 42-31 in kills, 10-7 in blocks and 4-3 in serves. USA handed out 21 points from unforced errors while scoring on 19 from Italy.
Italy opposite hitter Paola Egonu led all scorers scoring 25 points on 20 kills, 4 blocks and one ace.
Opposite Andrea Drews led the U.S. with 10 points on nine kills and one ace, followed by team captain outside hitter Kelsey Robinson with 8 points all on kills.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 14, 2022.- This one almost turned out to be a five setter as the 4 th and final set saw two teams with a never say die attitude. Eventually St. Maarten got the edge and grasped it with both hands, with the 3-1 victory (25-19, 25 -22, 25-27, 30-28.
St, Maarten took first place in pool A and got an automatic berth to the semifinals.
Captain Akilah Muelens led all scorers with 15 points made up of 12 spikes and 3 aces. Support came from Angela with 12 points which included 8 spikes and 3 blocks.
For Grenada Mitchell had 11 points while Shakknia Orr and Thornia Williams each added 10 points
The scoresheet was close with St. Maarten enjoying marginal leads in all categories. In kills it was 29 to 28, blocks were 9 to 8 and serve was 11 to 9. St. Martin also enjoyed 56 errors from Grenada while giving up 51 errors themselves.
Coach Dimitri Beauperthuy was relieved. “Tonight, our service worked for us, I think we did well there. I really can’t put my finger what happened in the third set and it trickled over into the 4th set. Thankfully we persevered and got the victory”, he said.
Staciann Lake of Grenada was still not perturbed. “Tonight I saw a team that showed vast improvements from game to game. We now move on to the quarterfinals and once those improvements continue look out for us”, she reported.
Grenada meets BVI in the quarterfinals while St. Maarten await winners in the semifinals.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 14, 2022.- Nicaragua will aim to become three-time champion of the nineteenth U21 Men’s AFECAVOL Central American Championship to be held at the Multisports Alexis Argüello Gymnasium in Managua from October 18 to 24.
Nicaragua was crowned AFECAVOL champion in the past two editions of the tournament (2017, 2019), both undefeated and will aim to repeat the feat to win their third title in a row. They also won the championship in 2003.
During the past edition, Panamá won the silver medal and El Salvador completed the podium with the bronze medal.
Other winners of the event have been, Guatemala in seven occasions, Costa Rica with three titles and El Salvador alongside Panama on two occasions each.
Members of the AFECAVOL control committee and delegations arrive in Managua on October 16, the preliminary inquiry and court recognition are on the 17 and the competition starts on the 18 with three daily matches.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 14, 2022.- St. Lucia remained in full control of their encounter with Antigua & Barbuda winning in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-15), for an undefeated record at the ECVA Women’s Championship.
Despite some early leads by Antigua & Barbuda, St. Lucia appeared to be coasting for victory in every game and in doing so, ended pool play undefeated.
St. Lucia was led by outside hitter Kerin Neptune with 15 points (10 spikes and 4 service aces). Two other teammates had double figure scores in middle blocker Tyna William with 11 points made up of 6 spikes, 3 blocks and 2 aces, while outside hitter Amalia Louis had 10 points including 6 blocks and 3 aces.
Antigua Barbuda did not have anyone with double figures; Sharon Payne led with a total of 7 points.
The huge disparity in attack (St. Lucia 37 to Antigua 7) was a huge factor in determining the game. Other scores were close, but St. Lucia led in all categories 10 to 8 in serves and 6 to 5 in blocks.
The win meant that St. Lucia earned a bye to the semifinal while Antigua and Barbuda was relegated to the quarter final. These matches take place tomorrow Saturday 15th with the finals on Sunday 16.
Coach Kendall Challery of St. Lucia was upbeat. “I am finally seeing my team. Tonight, our service game made the big difference, we served very well and upset their attack. It seems as if my team has a tendency to drop their game according to who is in front of them. We know that Antigua Barbuda is an arch rival so our level of play increase in intensity.” He concluded.
Captain Cindy Wilson had a slightly different view. “Tonight, we brought the vibe as promised and we were able to play our game there was no pressure throughout”, she beamed.
Coach Benjamin from Antigua and Barbuda gave his own account. “Although we were more aggressive tonight we had some lapses and decided to do some switches. They did not quite work so it’s back to the drawing board for us,” he reported.
Rosemary Simon the captain of Antigua and Barbuda was not a happy camper. “I am disappointed, we have played St. Lucia many times with different results. However, we have a lot of new players so it was somewhat a testing process for us. We were neck and neck in the games, so it was not a case where they just steamrolled us”, she countered.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 14, 2022.- BVI had a comfortable 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-19, 25-14) over St. Eustatius to bring their Pool B action to a close. The victory propelled them into second place with one more match in Pool B remaining.
St. Lucia leads the pool having won their two games and hence their upcoming match is crucially important.
BVI benefitted from 44 errors from the opponents and had a high score in Pickering with 10 points (8 of them being spikes). BVI gave up just 25 errors while taking the lion share of the attacking points (18 to 13) as well as the service points (11 to 7); blocks remained even at 5 all.
Opposite Hitter for St. Eustatius Naihla Schmit gathered 8 points to lead all teammates but no one else contributed significantly.
Stephen Payne Coach of the BVI had these scenarios on his mind. “The outcome was what we were really concerned about, and we won in three sets. This gives us a chance to get an early night and get some much-needed rest. We are now hoping that St. Lucia stays true to form and defeat Antigua which will give us the chance to play the top team in Pool A”, he said.
Captain Henrietta Alexander was pleased with the outcome but had some concerns. “I think our energy tonight was a bit low we played very lackluster tonight. We did not play our game, but we are really happy for the victory. So, we can now rest, regroup, and come out tomorrow to play our game”, she stated.
Gordon Spanner head coach of St. Eustatius was somewhat disappointed but happy that they could have taken away some learning nuggets. “The energy of the girls was low when compared to the game against St. Lucia. We did not win a game, but we now know several areas that we have to work on. For the record fitness and our service game come to mind”.
Captain of St. Eustatius Sjahresia concurred with her coach. “Firstly, I am proud of my teammates. I would congratulate them then we go back to the drawing board to work harder and do better next time”, she promised.
St. Eustatius end in last place in Pool B without a victory to their name while BVI occupy the second spot for the time being.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 13, 2022. The home crowd screamed, stomped and pounded the stands as they spurred their team (St. Maarten) on to victory in a close 5 setter against Anguilla at the ECVA Senior Women’s Championship.
It was a second 5 set match of the night and the partisan home crowd did not move until victory was achieved after two and a half hours. In this case the scores (24-26, 25-20, 29-27, 27-25, 15-12) was a true reflection of the closeness of the game.
St. Maarten benefitted from a heavy error count from their opponents 66, as well as dominating in kills 52 -24 and leading in blocks 9 to 4. Anguilla on the other hand had the better service game winning 17- 14 and they picked up 44 points from St. Maarten’s errors.
St. Maarten had all round contributions as four players chipped in with double figure points. Middle blocker Natalie Johnson led with 17, outside hitter Angela Abente had 15, while the captain Akilah Meulens playing opposite contributed 14 alongside outside hitter Geraldo James who also offered 14 points.
Anguilla’s point leaders were Rikiesha Leveret with 15 points (including with 9 service aces and 6 kills) and Janai Gumbs with 11 points but all in a losing cause.
St Maarten celebrates
Dimitri Beauperthuy Coach of St. Maarten was relieved. “Anguilla played a spectacular game, their service, particularly from their captain Leveret gave us a lot of problems and correspondingly our service was poor and caused us to shoot ourselves in the foot. Fortunately, we came out on the winning side mainly because some younger players stepped up and filled the void when needed most” he said.
Omari Hamilton Coach of Anguilla was a loss for words. “We really wanted to win this game, but they came out on top of a very close game, the closest I have experienced so far. There were some small adjustments needed that we missed that could have made a difference, but we can only fix those for the future and continue to play hard”, he surmised.
Captain was in tears. “This is a team we really wanted to defeat since they defeated us the last time we met. Unfortunately, they won this time, but we will come back stronger”, she promised.
Matches continue with the Grenada meeting St. Marteen with an all-important clash in pool play to determine final positions.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 13, 2022.- At the end of the game the scoreboard read 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19) in favour of St. Lucia over St. Eustatius at the senior female ECVA championship.
However, the game was not as easy as it seems, the pundits were expecting a walk over with the defending champs going up against the underdogs St. Eustatius. Instead the defending champs got a run for their money.
St. Eustatius Captain Sjahnsia Hook from the outside hitting position led her team with 10 points gathered from 5 kills and 5 Aces. Unfortunately she got little help from the others.
St. Lucia leading scorers were Middle Blocker Tyna William with 18 points having recorded 10 Kills, 3 Blocks and 5 Aces and Kerin Neptune with 14 (10 Kills, 3 Blocks and 1 Ace).
St. Lucia led in all areas of the team score sheet, 31 to 13 Kills, 10 to 2 in Blocks and 15 to 7 Service Aces.
St. Lucia celebrates
Coach Gordon Spanner of St. Eustatius was all smiles despite the loss, “we lost in straight sets but tonight we played a lot better than in our previous game. We had some adjustments to make that we could not make on the fly but besides that it was a good game”.
Captain Hooks chipped in as well. “I really enjoyed the game I realize that when I am fired up my team gets fired up as well so I gave it my all so that we could redeem ourselves tonight as our opening game was not the best”
Kendall Challery coach of St. Lucia had a forlorn look on his face after the victory. It was rather surprising to me that our level dropped. We may have underestimated our opponent but dropping our level is inexcusable. It as an all-round poor game as we did not execute in service, reception, and defense”, he lamented.
Captain Cindy Wilson added some more to the account. “The vibe that we had last night just was not there. I agree with the coach that we have to play much better, the other girls are disappointed as we all know that this is not St. Lucia’s game”, she said
Years of rivalry is expected to continue when St. Lucia meets Antigua & Barbuda in the final game of pool play.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten October 13, 2022.- It took 2 hours and 26 minutes before BVI and Antigua Barbuda could be separated in the first 5 setter of the ECVA senior female tournament with victory for BVI (23-25, 28-26, 16-25, 25-19, 15-12).
The match swung like a pendulum with numerous ties and lead changes in all the games and the tension in the stadium was palpable. In the 5th and decisive set BVI jumped out to a six point lead but then Antigua & Barbuda roared back and took a slender lead. BVI broke the momentum and pick up one of their own and surged onto victory.
Middle blocker for BVI Shoranda Pickering proved to be a thorn in Antigua & Barbuda side as she picked up 6 kills, 6 blocks and 6 aces on her way to gathering 26 points to lead the BVI.
Nyota Peters, middle blocker on the other side carried the scoring responsibility for Antigua & Barbuda with a game high 33 points comprising 11 kills, 11 blocks and 11 Aces. She got assistance from Kwanisia Carr with 18 points. All that however was in vain.
Team BVI
Coach Fitzroy Benjamin of Antigua had a pensive look on his face when he gave this account “We had a lot of bad serves and a total loss of concentration when it mattered most and this resulted in a move away from the game plan. We will have to regroup and evaluate this game before we get ready for St. Lucia tomorrow”.
Captain Rosie Simon of Antigua agreed with her coach, “I am extremely disappointed I think we could have played better; we were confident coming into the game but as the coach said we had a poor service game, and we had a problem covering. We definitely have to regroup as the next game against St. Lucia is very important”.
Coach Stephen Payne was overjoyed, “I am extremely pleased with the way the girls performed tonight. Like I predicted yesterday we will defeat Antigua and we came out with the victory. There were times were service errors plagued us but that was fixed and the girls soldiered on. We will regroup once again and get ready for our next game”.
BVI next plays Statia while Antigua & Barbuda tangles with St. Lucia in a highly anticipated exciting match.
Phillipsburg, St. Maarten October 12, 2022. Anguilla got the better of Grenada in a four set match 3-1 (16 – 25. 25 – 22, 25 -21 and 25 – 14)
It was the closest match of opening night that first appeared to be a ding dong affair but Anguilla persevered for the victory.
Captain of the Anguilla team Rekiesha Leveret led all scorers with 13 points the vast majority being service aces while Outside Hitter for Grenada Thornia Mitchell led the Grenadian team with 10 points.
Anguilla controlled the team scoresheet as well outscoring Grenada 26—20 in Attacks, 18-9 in Serves while Blocks remain even at 4 each.
Anguilla and Grenada in action
“I am not worried at our first defeat, this is just a small bump in the road. Probably the girls were tired and did not play to their true potential. We will fix this in our team meeting and will be ready for our next game”. Said Staciann Lake Head Coach of the Grenada team.
Coach Omari Hamilton was elated. “After a shaky stake our team got composure and went into their stride and brought home the victory. I told you we came here to show up and standout.” he beamed.
The next match in the ECVA senior Female competition features Antigua against BVI.
Phillipsburg, St. Maarten October 12, 2022. It took St. Lucia 1 hour and 27 minutes to defeat BVI in straight sets (25 -18, 25-17 and 25 -18) as ECVA action continued with match 2
St. Lucia dominated the score sheets in Attacks (30- 19) and Serves19-6 while Blocks were even at 4 all. St. Lucia’s opposite Chenoa Evans led all scores on the night with 15 points while middle blocker Tyna William backed up with 11 points.
For BVI middle blocker Shoranda Pickering top scored with 7 points.
Coach of the BVI gave his version of what happened “The end result was not what we wanted but the players gave a good account of themselves in general. However there were a lot of unforced errors on our part particularly in the second and third set. We noted them and will correct them for our next game.” He said
Kendall Challery of St. Lucia had a different view. “We started a bit nervous while getting accustomed to the conditions. I was concerned over the reception which could be a lot better but we go the victory which is the most important thing.” He beamed.
Phillipsburg St. Maarten October 12 2022.- Antigua and Barbuda recorded straight sets victory ( 25 – 6 25- 8 and 25- 23) over St. Eustatius in the opening encounter of the ECVA senior female completion when the tournament got underway earlier today.
Antigua Barbuda depended heavily on Sharon Payne with 21 points for their victory while middle Blocker Spanner had 5 points for the losers. Antigua &Barbuda led in attacks (25-10) but St. Eustatius had the advantage in Blocks (15-3) and Serves (37- 24)
Both coaches cited early jitters that accounted for the performance.
Antigua and Barbuda
Coach of the St. Eustatius team Gordon Spanner felt disappointed but encouraged by the overall effort.
“The team started off rather nervous and it showed in the score line in the first two set however we put up a much better effort in the third set. We intend to put up a much better fight in the coming games.” he promised.
Coach Fitzroy Benjamin of Antigua wasn’t perturb by the close margin of the third set. “We too started off nervous but the girls got quickly into their stride and stuck to the game plan. In the third se we rest all of our key player. Hence there isn’t much to worry about the plan is on target. “He stated.
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