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.
Gliwice, Poland, October 12, 2022.- Serbia stayed on track to defend their title and advanced to Saturday’s final of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship after a victory 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 25-23) over Olympic champions of the United States at the Gliwice Arena in Poland on Wednesday.
It is the second time the southern European nation will play in a World Championship final, after winning the first four years ago in Japan, while the Americans will attempt their sixth podium finish by winning the bronze medal match on Saturday. in the Netherlands.
For the United States, their captain Kelsey Robinson scored 18 points, Andrea Drews 14, while Chiaka Ogbogu and Alexandra Frantti each added 10 points. For Serbia, Tijana Boskovic had 33 points followed by her teammate Bianka Busa with 15.
The United States team will face the loser of the match between Italy and Brazil in the bronze medal match.
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten, October 12th, 2022.- Seven teams are raring and ready to rumble to see would end up on the top of the heap at the end of the senior female ECVA volleyball competition on Sunday 16th October. Action starts this evening with three matches on tap.
The home team (St. Maarten) is confident that on Sunday’s final the crowd will see what home court advantage really means. In speaking to the press coach Leonardo Jeffers had this to say, “I have multiple reasons to be confident, we had an active season, the girls have been training for months, we have a very serious coaching staff, and the squad has experience and fresh talent so yes we are definitely planning to be in the finals”.
Coach Janzen Patrick of St. Eustatius believes that 2022 is the year his team will upset the status quo, “our girls have been training relentlessly for months, with one aim in mind, their focus is to do one better than the third place finish they had a few years ago. We are definitely going there with the aim of doing our best ever”.
Fitzroy Benjamin of Antigua was mindful to point out that the senior men won over St. Lucia in a similar competition and clearly stated that this is a signal of the changing of the guard; “we expect the same thing to happen in the females. In fact we have gone as far as to formulate a plan for the finals. This can be redounded to an overall improvement in volleyball in Antigua. The girls have had lots of preparation time and this is our moment”.
Saint Maarten preliminary inquiry
First time Coach Omari Hamilton of Anguilla was a little more conservative. “This is my first time at this level and we have been preparing to show up not back down. Once we step on that court we are not backing down. We don’t expect to upset everybody but somebody, so lookout for us”, he warned.
Team BVI was not very optimistic. Coach Stephen Payne explained why, “this will be the first time competing since 2014. So, it’s a return to action for us. However, the girls showed a stark improvement in practice over the last several months and once this improvement manifests itself in the games it will spell trouble for the opponents”, he noted.
Grenadian coach Staciann Lake had some spice in her voice when she relayed her expectations, “our girls are hungry, they have fire within and are very talented, along with a determination to win are the perfect ingredients for winning the championship. We have trained long and hard so in this tournament the crowd will get a good watch”.
Kendall Challery coach of the defending champs St. Lucia had the final say, “all of those teams coming to the competition know us very well. We intend to come as defending champs and leave as repeat champions. This is based on the core of players that I have confidence in to deliver”.
Gliwice, Poland, October 11, 2022.- The United States, the only remaining participant representing the NORCECA area in the Women’s Volleyball World Championship, won its Quarterfinal match against Turkey.
The Americans outperformed the Turkish in attacks (44-35), in blocks (13-9) and in services (4-0) to beat them in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25). -20) and thus move on to the Semifinals.
For the United States Alexandra Frantti had 18 points, Andrea Drews 14 and her captain Kelsey Robinson added another 10. For Turkey Ebrar Karakurt scored 16 points and Zehra Gunes added 11.
The semifinal match of the United States will be against the Serbian team on October 12.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, October 9, 2022.- Team Puerto Rico finished the second stage of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship with a record of 1-3.
After losing the first set, Puerto Rico recovered to defeat Argentina with a score of 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23). Argentina outscored Puerto Rico in spikes (59-53), but the Puerto Ricans were better in blocks (21-6) and serves (1-0).
For Puerto Rico, Brittany Abercrombie had 25 points while Neira Ortiz and Pilar Victoria had 13 points each. For Argentina Erika Mercado added 17 points and Paula Nizetich and Bianca Farriol added 15 and 10 points respectively.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 8, 2022.- The captain of Champion USA, setter Andrew Rowan, was named the Most Valuable Player and the best server of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup that concluded on Saturday night at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
The two most outstanding in attacks, first Bryan Camino (Cuba) and Zachary Rama (United States), while the best in blocking were Martin Collao (Chile) and Marc Smith (United States).
ANDREW ROWAN (12USA)
Completing the honor role was Alejandro Miguel González (Cuba), the best scorer and best opposite; Logan Greves (Canada), the best receiver, as well as Axel Altamirano (Nicaragua), distinguished as the most outstanding defense and libero.
United States battled for the gold medal against Mexico and both teams earned the two tickets available for the 2023 World Championship, while Canada beat Cuba for the bronze.
Followed by Dominican Republic, Chile, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 8, 2022.- United States sealed their undefeated performance sweeping Mexico 25-19, 30-28 and 25-14 winning the Men’s U21 Pan American held at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
The Americans didn’t give their rivals a chance with a steady performance, showing superiority win attacks (37-24), blocks (11-5) and serves (8-4), with five more errors (27-22) in one hour and 22-minute contest, between both teams that take home the two berths for the 2023 World Championship.
The only players scoring double digits were precisely from the champions, led by opposite Shane Wetzel, who scored 13. Outside hitter Zachary Rama added 12 and 10 by middle blocker Nyerovwome Omene.
Andy Read, United States veteran coach said “the second set was very hard, we were down and were able to recover, but the Mexicans were strong. I am happy and very proud of my team, that these 12 boys are pride of our country and represented it in this event and because it gives them the chance to play the 2023 World Championship”.
Libero Christopher Connelly expressed “it was a great match, we had a lot of fun, we gave all our energy and effort to win the gold medal; the event was incredible, very good, I liked the crowd, they gave all the energy that the tournament needed, and they inspired Mexico and Cuba”.
Mexican coach Jorge Alberto Romero explained “their performance was outstanding the entire tournament, we were expecting them to go one on one against United States, Canada or maybe Cuba, who I would’ve like to play against. The U.S. serves affected us, the reception wasn’t adequate, every effort was made. We must work in the psychological part and reception”.
Isai Castañeda, Mexican libero, said “we qualified to worlds, but our goal was set on winning the tournament and we have that bad feeling because we didn’t strive as much as we could have. We began lazy and we were like that the entire match, we tried to put pressure only during the second set, but we didn’t do our job well and in the third we committed too many errors, United States grew, they had more character than us and everything flowed more for them”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 8, 2022.- Canada beat Cuba in exciting tie-break battle (13-25, 25-19, 25-15, 22-25, 15-12) and claimed the bronze medal at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
The North Americans finished with better number in attacks (48-38) and blocks (12-10), while the hosts dominated in serves (12-9) and committed more errors (36-31) in a match that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
Outside hitter Sargent led all scorers with 26 points, followed by teammate middle blocker John Obi, who added 11. For Cuba, opposite hitter Alejandro Miguel González scored 25 tallies and outside hitter Bryan Camino added 16; the only players with double digits from both teams.
Ben Josephson, head coach of Canada commented “playing a bronze medal match is hard because you are disappointed from semifinals, but these are two good teams that perform at a high level and today we played five sets. I think it was balanced, Cuba won the firs, we the second and third, and they recovered the fourth and evened the scores to reach a fifth”.
“I’m not happy because we didn’t qualify to worlds, but I am proud of the boys of how the battled yesterday and they did again today. I liked everything from this event, the fans were there all the time, both times against Cuba was challenging and both teams have good quality”.
Outside hitter Aaron Elser said “we knew we could win, and they did too, but we didn’t expect the way they started in the first set. Cuba is a solid team and we focused on blocking to stabilize the defense, and there’s no doubt that contributed to our victory”.
Cuban coach Jesús Cruz said “we came to play aware of how hard it would be, we did it with ups and downs, but we are still missing the final touch to finish with the opponent. This is good generation, we expect several players to be in the national team in four or five years, little by little they will have the level of play for it. We didn’t qualify for worlds, we didn’t win a medal, but it was an opportunity for these athletes to measure themselves”.
The most outstanding Cuban, Alejandro Miguel said “we lost against Canada because we were too confident, they weren’t physically well, technically yes, but we couldn’t recover, maybe hurt from yesterday’s match against United States. We are a good group of young players with good height, we must continue working and this tournament has shown me that I need to work a lot to reach my personal goal, I want to be the best volleyball player in the world, play with the national team and win world championships. I don’t want to be the best of the team; I want my team to win”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 8, 2022.- Dominican Republic beat Chile in a match that extended to five sets (15-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 15-13) and finished fifth place at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva.
The match lasted a little over two hours in which the South Americans attacked more (52-44) and led in serves (8-7), the Caribbeans pressured in blocks (12-7) and in the end finished best. Chile committed three errors less (36-39).
Dominicans most productive player was outside hitter Ronny Molina with 22 tallies, accompanied by Antonio Gomez with 15.
For the opponents Antar Derpich led all scorers with 25 points and Fuentes, also outside hitter, added 16.
José Dante Manon, Dominican coach considered that “with this fifth place it went well for the team we brought, young players with their first competition of the year, we didn’t have preparation matches, two players weren’t able to travel. Today they adjusted better in blocking and serving, that was the difference. A positive participation, the more games and sets they gain more experience and opportunities to perfection their actions. Important when you coach players who are so young”.
Captain Luther Rosario expressed how proud he is of his team, “the first time I’m captain and this is a great group. There are little details we need to work on. Chile is a difficult team, we always are challenged by them, but this time we were able to adjust our blocking better, serve more effectively and we still lack a bit in attacking, nevertheless, we did much better and that helped to victory”.
Iván Villarreal, head coach of Chile, said once again “we are in a process of development, giving opportunities for athletes to compete as much as we can at a national and international level, which we are doing. We must evaluate each players development, which is crucial to design and adjust, taking in consideration the greatest number of players with level to develop”.
17-year-old outside hitter Felipe Valenzuela, said “sixth place is bittersweet and unexpected, because we came with a reinforced team, and we could have done much more to win the games. I am leaving with a lot of f experience, it’s great to face opponents with level, a great experience for me, an under-19 player. I also think the Coliseum is spectacular, a warm and nice atmosphere”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 8, 2022.- Haiti defeated Nicaragua 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18) and finished in seventh place of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup.
The Caribbeans were better in blocking (13-5), evened in serves (3-3) and were close in attacks (50-54), committing fewer errors (26-31).
Haitian opposite hitter Estakend Beauvoir led all scorers with 33 points, followed by his teammate outside hitter Seraphin Antoine, who added 15. For the opponents, two players also scored double digits, outside hitter Denis Espinoza (14) and middle blocker Rafael Hernández (13).
Junior Siecle, head coach of Haiti said “We thought we could have reached forth or fifth place, we couldn’t reach our goal, but now we are satisfied of not being in last. Today my players performed joyfully and with a little more efficiency. If we could have played like this at the beginning, we would have finished in the positions we desired”.
Captain Dieulengy Relis said “we consider this a final because we didn’t think we were going to play for seventh place, we always thought of a better position, fourth or fifth. Every match is different, but if we would have played like today we could have move forward in our results”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua explained “we would have liked a better performance, I didn’t come with my starting players, only two middles and the setter are here. We needed to by the airplane tickets six months before and we are on vacation from January to April. But this has been a great and nice experience, playing against teams like Cuba and Canada is a privilege and my athletes are leaving with another mentality. This helps us to defend our U21 Central American title next week”.
Ángelo Guadamuz, 16-year-old middle blocker, said “it has been a great experience for us, most of us are under 19 years old, and for some it was their international debut in a national team at a Pan American level. This is another game level, it’s different from Central America and you learn a lot in performing”.
Lodz, Poland, October 8, 2022.- In a spectacular match, the Canadian team beat The Queens of the Caribbean in the framework of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
In a match that went to the maximum of five sets, Canada knew how to handle the emotions to take the victory against the Dominican team 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 15-7) and thus finish this Phase 2 of the Championship with a level record of 2-2.
The Canadians’ attack was led by Kiera Van Ryk who scored 24 points followed by Alexa Gray with 17 and Emily Maglio with 13. For Las Reinas Gaila González scored 28 and the sisters Brayelin and Jineiry Martínez added 19 and 17 points respectively.
Lodz, Poland, October 8, 2022.- After losing the first two sets, the American team managed to defeat Thailand in the second stage of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The United States won their third match in phase 2 of the Championship beating the Thai team in five sets with a score of 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 27-25, 15-13).
Haleigh Washington had 15 points for the American team followed by Chiaka Ogbogu and Alexandra Frantti who added 14 and 13 points respectively. For Thailand Pimpichaya Kokram scored 20 points and Chatchu-On Moksri added another 18.
The United States finished Phase 2 with a 3-1 record.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 7, 2022.- United States defeated Cuba in the second semifinal also extended to five sets, with the qualification to the 2023 World Championship, and will face Mexico this Saturday for the Men’s U21 Pan American title, supported by the fans at Ciudad Deportiva.
Just like it happened in the challenge before won by Mexico to Canada, team USA dominated the first two sets (25-21 y 25-14), but the hosts reacted supported by the crowd and took the following (20-25 y 24-26) to even the scores of the exciting contest, nevertheless the visitors controlled their emotions better, committed less errors and deserved the win 15-12.
Five players scored double figures, led by Zachary Rama with 16 points and followed by outside hitter Noah Roberts, opposite Shane Wetzel, and middles Nyerovwome Omene and Marc Smith, all with 11 points.
Cuban outside hitter Bryan Camino led all scorers with 24 tallies, joined by opposite Alejandro Miguel González who added 16, they were the only ones with double digits.
The Americans led in blocks (15-8) and serves (8-6) and committed fewer errors (33-37), while the hosts scored two kills more (51-49).
United States celebrates qualifying to the 2023 World Championship
Andy Read, head coach of United States said “two good teams faced each other in a five-set battle. In the first two we played very well, they did it better the next two, but in the end we won. Qualifying to Worlds means a lot to these athletes that couldn’t play it last year because of covid-19. The crowd elevated the game level and the players responded to that. I loved the atmosphere of the Hall. Tomorrow we will go out to give our all, I hope we come out good”.
Captain Andrew Rowan gladly said “it was a great match, and the crowd was marvelous, I couldn’t feel better. Cuba is a physical team, they blocked and attacked big. My team is great, I love them and qualifying to Worlds is incredible, it will be a process, but it’s incredible”.
Jesús Cruz, head coach of Cuba, said “we started with many deficiencies and the United States took advantage of it, they won the first two, but despite the number of errors in serves we turned the match around and we evened the score fighting strong. In the end the number of games we lack to balance at difficult moments weighs, our opponent supported the pressure better than us, in their technical performance you can see they are players in better shape. We came out to battle, we were close, now tomorrow we must fight for bronze”.
Setter Jonathan Mc Kentochi said “we began with many deficiencies, but we recovered in the third set and in the tie-break, anyone could have won or lose, United States did it better, but we have no doubts nor with a bad flavor that we didn’t put up a fight to win. Our fans supported us all the time, even if we were behind, they never gave up, they lifted us, that’s a good crowd, we immensely appreciate it. Tomorrow we are going for bronze against Canada”.
LA HABANA, Cuba 7 de octubre de 2022.- Mexico sensationally beat Canada 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 15-13) advancing to the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup final with a ticket to the 2023 World Championship.
When everything seemed to be over in the third set with Mexico sealing the win, Canada killed the party for a moment with two lethal aces and dominated by far the fourth set.
Nevertheless, in a challenging tie-break Mexican player were more confident and celebrated big earning a ticket to the Worlds but aspiring to be on top here.
Canada held advantage in attacking (53-44) and serving (10-9), but committed more unforced errors (44-33), while Mexico controlled in blocking (11-8) in a match that lasted 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Leading all scorers was Canadian Cory Schoenherr (21), who alongside outside hitter Reeve Gingera (17) were the only players with double digits for Canada.
Mexico clebrates qualifying to the 2023 World Championship
For the first semifinal winning team, the offense was led by middle blocker Leonardo Maldonado with 20 points, joined by also middle blocker Diego Esquivel (18) and opposite hitter Ángel Iván Domínguez (12).
Jorge Alberto Romero, head coach of Mexico expressed “I am very excited, but a bit frustrated because we lost the third set with only two points to win. We started the tie-break strong; we knew if we let Canada rise, we could never stop them, my boys understood, they played calmly”.
“Our strategy was making their receiving uncomfortable so they couldn’t play from the middle and that was overwhelming the entire match. We pressed with serves. I told them to live the tie-break like it was a final because we were playing for the qualification, I lowered my intensity to let them know that I trusted them”.
Outside hitter Leonardo Maldonado said “we started off well, strong, united, but we were overconfident, we lacked concentration in the third, we almost had it, but the best part is that in the end we won, and we are going to worlds. I am proud of my team, of their work and thankful with all that’s been done to be here and reach our main objective, the qualification”.
Ben Josephson, head coach of Canada said, “We committed too many errors, I am disappointed, we had three points for the win and qualify to the world championship and we couldn’t after tying the game”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 7, 2022.- Chile beat Nicaragua 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18) and will on Saturday will play for fifth place against Dominican Republic who beat Haiti 3-0, also on the penultimate day of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva.
After losing the first set, the South Americans adjusted their actions to succeed with advantages in attacks (49-36), blocks (9-5) and serves (8-4), and committing one more unforced error (30-29).
Its best men at the offense were opposite hitter Antar Derpich (16), leading scorer in the match, and outside hitters Rafael Fuentes (14) and Leonardo Menéndez (12). For the Central Americans, with double figures was opposite hitter Víctor Ariel Cruz (13) and outside hitter Denis Espinoza (11).
Iván Villarreal, head coach of Chile said “it’s always good to win under any circumstance, what’s ideal is to play well, win 3-0 and make it all a whole, but the game is very stable and emotional. These boys played yesterday two matches against two top teams Canada and Cuba, and that hurts a lot physically and mentally”.
“Today we faced an opponent who apparently could have been adorable, but they gave us a hard time in the beginning in our stability and lack of focus in a performance that needs to be more stable, and that is what we are looking for in these tournaments, give support to our players for their development and solid play”.
Captain Rafael Fuentes argued that “we had a rough time to start, I think it’s something that can happen, nevertheless we pulled the four sets. Our energy was low at the beginning, and we helped the opponent grow, but this game is over, we reached our goal of winning and now we need to think in tomorrow’s match against Dominican Republic”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua, considered “our problem has been our height, and in the tournament the serves. Every time our opponents serve, they put us in trouble, they aren’t used to this kind of serves and the height of the players damages us. The first set was interesting. We lost, but we still are in the battle, we face Haiti once again and despite they won in pool-play, we are going to fight for not finishing last”.
Outside hitter Denis Espinoza said “it was a very difficult match, but it will help us a lot to grow as players and in the court with a good attitude and learn to follow our coach. It damaged us so much that our reception failed, and we couldn’t close well with attacks”.
Lodz, Poland, October 7, 2022.- Poland improved to 2-1 with an electrifying win over Canada.
The Poles needed the maximum of 5 sets to overcome Canada with a score of 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-5) leaving the Canadians with a 1-2 record in this second stage of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
Magdalena Stysiak stood out for Poland with 25 points followed by Kamila Witkowska and Agnieszka Korneluk with 15 and 12 respectively. For the Canadian team, Kiera Van Ryk scored 21 points and Alexa Gray 20.
Canada will now face the Dominican Republic on October 8.
Lodz, Poland, October 7, 2022.- After losing the first set, the Dominican team was able to recover to beat Germany and thus achieve its first victory in phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The victory of Las Reinas del Caribe was with a score of 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18), surpassing the Germans in the lines of attacks (56-47), blocks (8 -7), while in services they were equal to 4.
Brayelin Martinez stood out for Las Reinas with 28 points and Gaila Gonzalez who added 17, while for Germany Hanna Orthmann had 16 points and her partner Marie Scholzel added another 11.
The Dominican Republic’s next game will be on October 8 against the Canadian team.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 7, 2022.- Dominican Republic won over Haiti in straight sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) to play for the fifth place of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cub on Saturday at Ciudad Deportiva in the country’s capital.
Dominican Republic sealed the serene match in 1 hour and 22 minutes, avoiding that their opponents’ fast actions could put things difficult and concluded with advantages in attacks (43-38) and blocks (12-3), both teams with serves (2-2) and committing more errors (22-18).
Outside hitter Ronny Molina stood out once again, leading all scorers with 22 points, followed by teammate opposite hitter Elixander Gómez who scored 15. For Haiti, their opposite hitter Estakend Beauvoir also stood out with 21 tallies, the only one with double figures.
JUANDEL MESA (5DOM) from Dominican Republic receiving
José Dante Manon, Dominican head coach commented “Haitian boys have a lot of strength and jump a lot, but they are short, so we played high balls from the sides with my players using their height and they attacked over the block, and it worked out. Now we must prepare for tomorrows’ match against the winner between Nicaragua and Chile, for fifth place”.
Setter Fernelis Ramírez said “today we played more focused, we improved everything we think we have going wrong, like our blocking and we tried to press in that skill and reception, and balls that weren’t right we tried to improve them, we were paying more attention the entire match”.
Junior Siecle, head coach of Haiti, was sad for their setback “we know the Dominican team and I think we could have won; we are sad because we almost had the match in our hands, I feel disappointed. We have one match left, against Nicaragua or Chile, who ever we face we will battle strong to not finish last in the tournament”.
Captain Dieulengy Relis said “we feel disappointed because the match was practically in our hand, and winning was the possibility of playing for the fifth place, but we committed too many errors. Nevertheless, tomorrow we will battle for victory, we don’t want to be the last ones”.
Lodz, Poland, October 7, 2022.- The United States won their second match in the second stage of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The American team placed its record at 2-1 in phase 2 after defeating Turkey 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22). The Turkish outscored the United States in attacks while the Americans were better in blocks (15-10) and serves (9-5).
For the United States Chiaka Ogbogu had 15 points followed by Kelsey Robinson and Andrea Drews who added 14 and 13 points respectively. For Turkey Zehra Gunes and Ebrar Karakurt contributed 16 points each.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, October 7, 2022.- The Japan team suffered its third setback against Puerto Rico in phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Japanese defeated Puerto Rico in straight sets 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) to put their record at 2-1 in this second stage of the Championship.
For Japan Kotona Hayashi had 15 points, Arisa Inoue added 14 and Haruyo Shimamura contributed another 12. For the Puerto Rican team Stephanie Enright and Pilar Victoria had 9 points each and Diana Reyes and Neira Ortiz had 8 respectively.
Puerto Rico’s next commitment will be on October 9 against the Argentine team.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 6, 2022.- Cuba topped Chile in straight sets 25-18, 25-15 and 25-19 to complete the semifinalists of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum, where the fans have been enjoying this generation of players.
The numbers show the hosts superiority with advantages in attacks (33-24), blocks (12-5) and serves (8-6). They committed less errors (17-22).
The Cuban offense was balanced among three men scoring double digits, they were opposite hitter Alejandro Miguel González (12), outside hitter Bryan Camino (11) and middle blocker Jakdiel Contreras (10).
The only player on the South American side with double figures was opposite Antar Derpich with 10 points.
Cuban BRYAN CAMINO (4CUB) float the ball
Jesús Cruz, head coach of Cuba said “after the loss against Canada we got together because this match was of great importance, and we came out with conviction. The boys were looser, further from the opponents’ level, and I gave everyone participation, I want them ready for tomorrow. United States, like Canada, no matter which generation, always bring good teams, they have an immense population to chose from, they play a lot in college and have a great level. We must only trust in our preparation and give our all on the court tomorrow”.
Tall player Jakdiel Contreras opinion “it was such a difficult game, but it was very important because it was decisive to reach the semifinal. Today we committed several errors, tomorrow we must play better. We are super happy because this victory was crucial”.
Iván Villarreal, head coach of Chile was sure to say “we faced a great opponent, for a moment we were able to perform, and we controlled them with blocking, occasions in which I believe we had more order during the game. Cuba has the virtue to keep you stressed with a high serve, you tie the score, and they score on three serves in a row, they score two or three points, and they keep a favorable distance from them. We faced a great team and I really hope they qualify for Worlds”.
Outside hitter Josué Ruiz, recognized that “Cuba is a powerful opponent, we could have given some more, I think it wasn’t our day, we came from losing to Mexico, whom against we also didn’t give much. Cuba has a good team y they deserved to win. We will continue to work to go further”.
Friday’s semifinals will be between Canada-Mexico and United States-Cuba. Classification matches for positions five to eight will be held previously.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 6, 2022.- Mexico defeated Haiti 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-17) and became the third team to qualify to Friday’s semifinals at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva.
The Mexican team was able to control a resilient Caribbean squad, even more so after a close first set, and showed superiority with advantage of 45-31 in attacks, 6-4 in blocks and 5-0 in serves, but committing four more errors (24-20).
Mexican opposite hitter Ángel Iván Domínguez led all scorers with 17 points, while his teammate outside hitter Leonardo Maldonado added 13.
For Haiti, with double figures was outside hitter Dieulengy (12) and opposite Estakend Beauvoir (10).
Mexico celebrates beating Haiti to reach the semifinals
Jorge Alberto Romero, head coach of Mexico said “we are glad because we reached the quarter finals victorious, with one match lost but with a good performance, we are aware that all the teams here are looking for the qualification, there was no weak team. Hati is a warrior, the battle every point, we don’t know how they do it, but they give there all and they are team that makes a match difficult”.
“It was a useful match, the players didn’t lose hope, they were focused with order in blocking and defense for everything come out well and thank God we are in the semifinals”.
Captain Jorge Ibarra expressed “we are very happy, it’s something we’ve been working on for a long time, our goal as a team is to reach the podium. We worked together and we studied our opponent, and we executed what we were instructed to do. We maintained calm, we didn’t lose our head to go one point at a time. There are moments of pressure when you don’t know how to act and you get lost, and that is when the opponent come on top”.
Junior Siecle, head coach of Haiti explained “the entire match was close, but my team is very young, a new experience competing at Norceca tournaments. They also need a psychological preparation to reach their goals. We are still in the fight, we know that now it’s harder, but we are up for the fight”.
Captain Relis, was afflicted “we had hopes, we had a good first set, but we let it escape, we lost it and that was a little disappointing, and our team’s performance dropped, but we will continue to battle”.
LA HABANA, Cuba, October 6, 2022.- Untied States dominated Chile in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-17), to win pool A undefeated and advancing into Friday’s semifinal round at the Men’s u21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
The North Americans once again performed orderly with great level in attacks, overcoming the South Americans 37-27 in kills, as well as effectivity in serves (10-4), while in blocking the U.S. was outnumbered (4-6), but committed fewer errors (21-24).
Leading scorers were from the winning team, outside hitter Zachary Rama (13) and opposite Shane Wetzel (12), while from Chile the only player with double figures was opposite Antar Derpich, who accumulated 10 points.
The United States finished the preliminary round with 3-0 record and 13 points, followed by Mexico (2-1), 10, Chile (1-2), 6 and Dominican Republic (0-3), 1.
Chilean HORACIO GUTIERREZ (4CHI) and American NYEROVWIME OMENE (16USA) fight the ball
Andy Read, head coach of United States said “this was an important match to win our pool and advance directly to semifinals. We will rest today, which is crucial, we will probably face Cuba on their court, so it will be a very good match”.
Shane Wetzel expressed “we played well, we did everything to win. Technical aspects in serving, blocking, and passing, I believe turned out well. Everything here is incredible; the event and I love Cuba and its surroundings. It’s my first time here”.
Iván Villarreal, head coach of Chile considered “United States is a steady team, they keep their serves, they played it well and harmed us, we have deficiencies in reception. They were consistent and we had too many ups and downs, it means move the game more, we will be careful in rearranging our group, evaluate players, who has projection and who doesn’t. Against Cuba in quarterfinals, we will different face”.
Middle blocker Martin Collao commented “it was an intense battle, and they went on learning how to control the game. The took seized the court and overpowered us, they are very disciplined in blocking, attacking, in the end, we miss what they have”.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, October 6, 2022.- The Brazilian national team obtained its second victory in phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship that is played jointly in Poland and the Netherlands after easily defeating Puerto Rico that its time put his record at 0-2 at this stage of the fair.
Brazil overwhelmingly defeated the Puerto Ricans in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-15), widely outperforming them in attacks (36-20), in blocks (11-4) and in services (10-1).
Ana Da Silva added 16 points for the Brazilians while Priscila Zalewski and Tainara Lemes contributed 11 and 10 points respectively. For Puerto Rico, Pilar Victoria stood out with 6 annotations and Stephanie Enright and Neira Ortiz who had 5 points each.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 5, 2022.- Canada beat Cuba 3-1 in the most battled match until now and advanced directly into semifinals winning undefeated group B at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
The North Americans celebrated with scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-17 in almost two hours of action in which the crowd cheered from start to finish, with music and joy for the battled contest dwelt on court.
Canada prevailed over the hosts with advantages in blocks (10-7) and serves (10-3), while in attacks they held a smaller difference (48-46), while committing more unforced errors than the home team (32-29).
The local opposite hitter Alejandro Miguel González once again finished as the leading scorer of the match with 24 points, followed by teammate Bryan Camino who added 13.
From the winners, outside hitter Reeve Gingera led his team with 19 points, while opposite hitter Brendan Mills and outside hitter Jacob Sargent contributed with 14 tallies each.
BRENDAN MILLS (7CAN) SPIKES AGAINST BRYAN CAMINO (4CUB)
Ben Josephson, head coach of Canda: “Some weeks ago when we came to Cuba with the group, we knew it was going to be a great match and very hard, and we did all we needed to do. And the match was as we expected it to be, and the fans were here always supporting their team. We made some tactical changes and the blocking worked well, and in the end, we pulled forward and get the victory”.
Gingera, the most productive of the team, said “the fans were magnificent, I was very nervous at the beginning because it’s my first international event, but little by little a overcame it. I am glad about everything and especially with the atmosphere here at the coliseum the entire time”.
Jesús Cruz, Cuban coach considered “it was a difficult match, but it doesn’t keep us from our objective, which is to play the final to guarantee qualifying to worlds. We train to win, but also prepared for defeat. Today we lost against a team that had less errors and, in the end, we couldn’t sustain what we showed at the beginning of the first sets, we lacked concentration to close”.
Alejandro Miguel said “this match turned out to be complicated and hard, our game was better in the first set, in the following two we tried to include the middles more so the game wouldn’t be from zone two, it worked out well, but we couldn’t close. We must improve, but this will make us stronger for our objective of reaching the final, battle to win and qualify to worlds, we play for that”. The winner of pool A will be decided on Thursday after the match between the United States and Chile is finished, scheduled for 10 in the morning. Quarterfinals will be at 5 and 7pm.
Lodz, Poland, October 5, 2022.- After losing to Serbia, the Polish team won its first victory in Phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Poles needed only three sets to beat the mighty United States team 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-20) and put their record at 1-1 at this stage of the Championship.
For Poland Magdalena Stysiak had 19 points while Kamila Witkowska and Olivia Rozanski contributed 9 points respectively. For the United States, the best was Andrea Drews with 12 points followed by Haleigh Washington added 8.
The Americans play again this October 7 when they will face the team from Turkey.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 5, 2022.- Haiti took Nicaragua by surprised beating them in four sets (18-25, 25-9, 26-24, 25-21) finishing pool-play with one win and two losses in pool B of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup.
The Caribbean team never stopped pressing in offense and shut down their opponents to finish with advantages in attacks (54-37) and blocks (10-1) and were outnumbered in serves (2-8) committing mor unforced errors (33-28) than the Central American team, who ended pool-play with three losses, in same number of outings.
Opposite hitter Estakend Beauvoi was productive in scoring 26 points, leading scorer of his team and of the match, while outside hitter Dieulengy Relis contributed to the winning team with 19 tallies. For the opponents, scoring double digits was opposite hitter Víctor Ariel Cruz (19) and outside hitter Josué Blandon (12).
Junior Siecle, head coach of Haiti explained “we prepared physically and technically, supported on triple blocking and behind the short defense, taking in account our opponents’ characteristics. The rest was a lot of energy. I am happy but our goal is to finish among the top six to rise in Norceca tournaments. We know the road is hard, but we are up for it, and we will continue to battle”.
Dieulengy Relis, captain of Haiti expressed “we are happy, but this victory is based on our little preparation, nevertheless we have seen we can face teams with higher level and despite everything we haven’t given up our weapons. We will continue to see up to where we can advance”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua, commented “we needed to win this match, my boys were overconfident after winning the first set and from there they fell apart. They were damaged mentally and couldn’t stand up. After two good matches against Canada and Cuba losing this way, we are really surprised, but I admit Haiti’s strength is bigger, ours is not that overwhelming”.
Víctor Ariel Cruz said, “sadly we couldn’t have the result, we couldn’t give the maximum effort, our reception was weak and we weren’t determined in attacks, but from our losses we will take the positive”.
Lodz, Poland, October 5, 2022.- The Serbian team achieved its second victory in phase 2 of the World Championship after beating the Dominican Republic team.
Serbia defeated the Dominican Republic in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-17), surpassing Las Reinas del Caribe in attacks (44-34), in blocks (9-6) and in blocks. services (2-1).
For Serbia Tijana Boskovic got 15 points followed by Jovana Stevanovic who added 10. For the Dominican Republic Gaila González contributed 13 points while Brayelin Martínez added another 10.
The next commitment of the Queens of the Caribbean will be this October 7 against the German team.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 4, 2022.- United States needed five sets to defeat Mexico in their first challenge decided in a tie-break a the U21 Men’s Pan American Cup held at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
Both teams with great ambitions of reaching the final to win the two tickets available for the 2023 World Championship, witnessed a nice match due to Mexico´s resistance before falling 25-13, 24-26, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-12.
The northerners demonstrated effectiveness in attacks finishing with a difference of 62-42; in blocking they were more even (7-6) and topped in serves 10-5.
The leading scorer was outside hitter Zachary Rama (23), joined by opposite hitter Shane Wetzel (17) and Roberts Noah (17). Followed with double digits by middle blocker Marc Smith (11). On the opponent side outside hitter Leonardo Maldonado (18), opposite hitter Ángel Domínguez (14) and middle blocker Diego Esquivel (10).
Andy Read, head coach of United States: “Because of covid-19 we had some time without preparation. Mexico kept their positive energy during the match, more focused and their rhythm was more stable. My athletes weren’t well before nor during the game. I saw Mexico well prepared and offered a good resistance. We have an under-19 player and several college players from Long Beach, we got together 10 to 20 days before the event”.
Captain of United States Andrew Rowan: “It was a good match against Mexico, who played very well. We had a lot of fun. We are a tall team, and we have everything to win the tournament. Our opponents were really hard to defeat in defense and every skill of the game. They did well the whole time in serves and passing”.
Jorge Alberto Romero, head coach of Mexico: “I am excited, I liked how the team responded, it’s what we want, that can commit against an opponent no matter their height. We did damage with serves, we forced them to play from the outside and that way control their attack”.
Isai Castañeda, Mexican libero: “We started too slow and disorderly, nevertheless in the second we knew how to adjust and in the next we missed some small details. In the fourth we played very well, but in the fifth we pressed until the end and couldn’t win, but the team did a good job and will improve day by day. They always bring tall men; their blocking is orderly and took advantage when we were failing”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 5, 2022.- Mexico dominated Chile 3-1 (25-13, 15-25, 26-24, 25-21) and has two victories against one loss to keep their hopes in advancing to the next round of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup, on the third day at Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
Pool A has yet to be decided because the match between United States and Chile will take place until Thursday, which couldn’t be held on Monday due to flight delays from both teams due to this city’s weather conditions.
Mexico and Chile concluded today with similar numbers, but with advantage for the winners in a match that lasted over an hour. The differences were in attacks 45-40, blocks 9-10 and from their own errors 27-31.
Leading Mexican scorer and of the match was outside hitter Leonardo Maldonado (17), followed by middle blocker Diego Esquivel (10). For Chile, with double digits was Antar Derpich (12) and outside hitters Josué Ruiz and Rafael Fuentes, both with 10 points.
Jorge Alberto Romero, Mexico’s head coach opinion “the game was going to be hard, Chile had nothing to lose, they aren’t looking to qualify for worlds, and we couldn’t take any chances, but the over confidence came when we won the first set easily, we thought the next were going to be the same and they weren’t. Chile has always been a hot team like Mexico, and it was difficult to control the same way to play like ours, nevertheless I am glad despite the complexity of the match because the boys reacted well to the instructions”.
Mexican outside hitter Ramón Eduardo González considered that “both teams are good, at the beginning it was easy, and we were too confident, they instead of giving up pressed harder, but we were able to work as a team and thanks to that we finished with the victory”.
Chilean head coach Ivan Villarreal said “we faced a completely different opponent, with level and that showed good aspects in their game. We had difficulties with their serves that on occasions we couldn’t control, but it was clear when we established our plan, we also executed it. That third set could have gone either way”.
“I esteem our capacity to manage many aspects of the game that Mexico made harder for us, standing that pressure is marvelous because we came to develop, gain experience and today we couldn’t win, but tomorrow against the United States we will have the same illusion to win, there is always a rematch”.
Lodz, Poland, October 5, 2022.- The Turkish team defeated the Canadian team in the second stage of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Turks dispatched the Canadian team in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 28-26) to achieve victory in phase 2 of the World Cup tournament.
Ebrar Karakurt was the top scorer for Turkey with 26 points followed by Eda Erdem who had 9 and Hande Baladin who added another 8. For Canada Kiera Van Ryk had 20 and Alexa Gray had 12.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, October 5, 2022.- The Chinese team achieved an easy victory against Puerto Rico in phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
China defeated Puerto Rico in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-21), being superior in attacks (43-39), in blocks (12-7) and in services ((6-2).
For China Yingying Li was the best scorer with 15 points followed by Xiangyu Gong and Yunlu Wang who had 13 and 10 respectively. For the Puerto Ricans, Brittany Abercrombie added 12 points and Stephanie Enright and Neira Ortiz scored 8 apiece.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 4, 2022.- Cuba kept their unbeaten record in pool A after dominating Nicaragua in straight sets (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) at the closure of day two at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup, that grants two tickets for NORCECA to the 2023 Worlds.
The host benefited from their height and held advantage over a resilient opponent with 13-1 in blocking, while the attacking margin was 32-22 and in serves 11-8.
Once again, the most experienced Cuban player, opposite hitter Alejandro Miguel Gonzalez was the leading scorer of his team and the game with 15 points, followed by outside hitter Yusniel González (10), the other player with double digits. For the opponent, Jose Blandon led with 7.
Jesús Cruz, head coach of Cuba, said “the boys were a bit looser; it was expected as the games develop. We let everyone play once again because tomorrow we must win, and we want to have them ready if necessary”.
“Canada always brings a good team, a country that plays a lot of volleyball with quality and level, they have tall players that usually dominate every skill, it doesn’t matter the team they bring, it will always be a challenging game for both sides. And tomorrow it will be crucial to advance directly into semifinals”.
Álvaro Luis Ricardo, Cuban libero’s opinion “we can play a little better, we know our level of play. These opponents aren’t that strong, and we tend to get into their rhythm of play. But I know we can do more and tomorrow against Canada we must have a better effort, aiming for victory”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua, valued that “Cuba is a powerful team, strong, we congratulate them, but our arms didn’t fall, we were always there because we are here to compete, to give our best. They have a strong serve, they scored several points and that’s how we lost the second set, but we never gave up despite such a tall opponent. I congratulate my team that always battled”.
Middle blocker Rafael Hernandez, Nicaragua’s captain, said “we gave our best as always, we had some lows, then we recovered. Cuba has great height, too much for us, they are very fast and good in serves, but we fought”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 4, 2022.- The Chilean team won 3-0 to Dominican Republic in their Men’s U21 Pan American Cup debut in a challenging closing battle by 25-17, 25-21 and 40-38 that lasted almost two hours.
Chile, who couldn’t play the first day due to flight delays, overcame the Caribbeans in attacks (41-40), blocks (11-7) and serves (6-4).
Four players added 14 points during the match, South Americans Rafael Fuentes and Antar Derpich, as well as Dominicans Ronny Molina and Antonio Gómez. Two other Chileans achieved double digits, Leonardo Menéndez (11) and Martin Collao (10).
Moises Ortiz (18 DOM) and Horacio Gutierrez (4 CHI) fight for the ball
Iván Villarreal, head coach of Chile said “a debut always has complications, mostly in this base category because of how to control emotions, stress, and the fear to fail. Volleyball permanently is testing you and, on most occasions, athletes are overwhelmed emotionally”.
“The first two sets their game was pretty solid, the serves did well, and the rotation was fluid. We had an emotional crisis in the last set, but in the end, we were able to react against several set points against us and close it with an unusual score (40-38)”.
Opposite hitter Derpich described the match as very hard “we know that up against Dominican Republic, who has a smooth volleyball like ours, they always fight. It was a match from more to less, physically demanding and in this beautiful gymnasium we hop the fans enjoyed it a lot. I am glad to begin with the right foot, showing our nice volleyball and I am anxious for what the team can do”.
José Dante Manon, head coach of Dominican Republic felt sorry “in that last sed only with one reception we could have evened the match, but they paid for their inexperience, we must continue working with the boys. Our attack failed, these are elements that happen at this age that it’s not possible to keep the consistency, a level and more so when there’s no preparation for the event”.
Outside hitter Ronny Molina expressed “if we are going to lose, we’ll do it as warriors, we almost tied the game for a fifth set. We really came to give everything, but things didn’t go well like the first day, we played different. We recovered in the third and we almost won it. I hope we come with more tomorrow”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 4, 2022.- Team Canada obtained their second win in pool B sweeping Haiti 25-17, 25-19 and 25-14 on Tuesday at the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup, a world championship qualifier, at Ciudad Deportiva, the largest covered venue in the country.
The northern, with better height than their opponents, had no setbacks to dominate with huge advantages in attacks (39-17), blocks (11-2) and serves (5-2) their victory in one hour and 16 minutes.
Their best men in offense were outside hitter Jacob Sargent (15 points), middle blocker Cory Schoenherr (13) and opposite hitter Brendan Mills (12), the only ones with double digits, as outside hitter Antoine Seraphin was the best, finishing with eight tallies.
The college Canadian team is undefeated, while their opponent has suffered two losses. On Wednesday they face Cuba and Nicaragua respectively, to decide which team of this pool advances directly into semifinals.
Ben Josephson, head coach of Canada: “I am very happy to have won our second match. Last night we saw the match between Cuba and Haiti, in which the visitors were tough against the hosts, and we prepared our team for today”.
Cory Schoenherr, captain of Canada: “Honestly, we have been preparing for the match against Cuba on Wednesday, we played a friendly match here prior to the tournament. We also saw their match against Hait, team to whom we won today, and we are glad for that”.
Lodz, Poland, October 4, 2022.- The United States defeated the Dominican Republic at the start of Phase 2 of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Americans defeated the Caribbean Queens in four sets with a score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-14). The United States was better in attacks (63-47) and in services (7-2) while the Dominican outperformed them in blocks (12-9).
For the United States Alexandra Frantti had 17 points and Andrea Drews and Kelsey Robinson added 15 points respectively. For the Dominican Republic, left-hander Gaila González got 17 points and Brayelin Martínez added another 12.
Lodz, Poland, October 4, 2022.- Team Canada edged out team Thailand to put their record even with 3 wins and 3 losses at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Canadians needed 4 sets to defeat the Thai team with a score of 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22). Canada was better in attacks (65-63) and in blocks (13-5) while in services both teams managed 4 each.
For Canada Alexa Gray had 25 points and Kiera Van Ryk contributed another 24. For Thailand Pimpichaya Kokram added 24 points and Ajcharaporn Kongyot added 16.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 3, 2022.- Cuba defeated Haiti 3-1 in the closing of the first day of the U21 Men’s Pan American Cub, after the visitor’s tough performance in front of their fans at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
In the pool B match, the hosts had to calm their nerves and organize their game to stop their enthusiastic opponents and finally perform at their real level of play to overcome by 18-25, 25-17, 25-12 y 25-11.
In the end the host sustained advantages in attacks (47-27), blocks (9-4) and serves (12-3), but committing more errors than Haiti (31-24).
Opposite hitter Alejandro Miguel González, under-19 and under-21 world championship player, scored a match high as well as the first day with 25 points, followed by outside hitter Bryan Camino with 17, the only ones with double digits for Cuba, also achieved by their rivals, opposite Estakend Beauvoir (11).
Jesús Cruz, Cuban head coach commented “the nerves and tension were visible, we committed more than 14 errors in the first set, we failed almost every serve. It seems it was an impact to play at Ciudad Deportiva with a competitive surrounding by the fans, the music, all of it is new for them. The moment to let out the tensions is in the first two matches, after that we can’t risk it against Canada”.
Yonni Iglesias, host captain, said “we were a bit overconfident against an inferior team, but from the second set on we recovered. Starting tomorrow we will come out with confidence, glad, perform our match and battle to win the first place of the tournament”.
Head coach of Haiti, Junior Siecle, expressed his joy “I am glad for the first set, but I knew that Cuba is better prepared physically, and it showed the difference with my team. Tomorrow we face Canada, we won’t have enough time to rest, but we will look for our team’s progress and to get more in the competition”.
The visitor’s captain Dieulengy Relis said “when we started, we were relaxed, we got in with all our force, but we knew they are a superior team. I am happy, we knew it was difficult to obtain the victory, but we are happy”.
All four teams from the NORCECA Confederation advance to the second round of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The best team qualify to the next phase is the United States, which will go to the next round with a 2-1 record, while Canada and the Dominican Republic have one win and two losses, while Puerto Rico reaches the stage with zero victory and three defeats they suffered with the teams that advanced with the Pool A.
The competition rules of the Women’s World Championsgip in their latest editions present a first round of six groups, where the best four teams advance to the second round and cross the Pools A-D and B-C, the teams take only the victories and losing result of the team groups that accompany to the round.
Then the best four teams in the second round will go to the Quarterfinals, from that moment the competition becomes single elimination.
The 16 teams that advance are Italy, Belgium, Holland, Puerto Rico for Pool A; Turkey, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Poland for group B; Serbia, United States, Canada, Germany for C and China, Brazil, Japan and Argentina for D.
The second round begins on Tuesday, October 4 with the new Norceca classic that faces the Dominican Republic and United States (11:30 a.m.). Also The Queens of the Caribbean’ will face Serbia, Germany and Canada.
While in the second phase, Puerto Rico will face China on October 5 at 11:15 AM, the next day they will face Brazil at 10:00 AM. They will then face Japan on October 7 at 8:15 AM and Argentina on October 9 at 12:30 PM.
The oponente of USA and Canadá are Turkey, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Poland.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 3, 2022.- The college team of Canada made their debut with a victory over Nicaragua in straight sets (25-15, 25-21, 25-11) in pool B of the U21 Men’s Pan American Cup, that grants two tickets for NORCECA at the 2023 World Championship.
The northerners enjoyed superiority in attacks (40-24), blocks (6-2) and a lot more with their lethal serves (9-1), but both teams committed 20 errors.
Outside hitter Reeve Gingera led all scorers with 12, joined by middle blocker Lucas Musschoot (11) and outside hitter Daniil Hershtynovich (10). For Nicaragua the player that scored the most was outside hitter Josué David Blandon with 7 tallies.
Canadians MASON GREVES (8CAN) and JOHN OBI (21CAN) block
Ben Josephson, head coach of Canada said, “we started a bit unfocused in serves and blocks, in the third set we were more effective while intercepting our opponents’ attacks, at the same time we did it with serves. We are glad to be here and that my players will grow during the tournament”.
Their team captain Cory Schoenherr expressed his joy in his team’s debut because “it’s an opportunity to share with my teammates. This first match was really to put together some details and improve thinking ahead of our next game”.
Rafael Francisco Hernández, Nicaraguan captain said “we were aware that it wasn’t an easy game, we lacked in receiving, nevertheless we gave it all. We lost, but we did what we could, and you always learn from errors, and mostly against a very tall team”.
Nicaragua’s coach Jorge Mena manifested “Canada is a tall team, but we were able to play against them in the second set, but in the third we failed in receiving. They must overcome the fear of facing taller opponents. For me, they played very well, obviously with many errors at the beginning, they are young, and we are working in our development. This is a process for a long time ahead”.
HAVANA, Cuba, October 3, 2022.- Mexico beat Dominican Republic 3-1 (20-25, 25-23,26-24, 25-20) in the opening of the Men´s U21 Pan American Cup at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
Dominicans started off with a lot, but their opponents knew how to establish their strategy and were superior in attacks (63-55), in blocks (10-8) and in serves (4-2), while committing more unforced errors (27-19) in a pool A match.
The leading scorers were Dominicans Luther Rosario, team captain, and Ronny Molina, both with 19 points, while from the winning team the players that scored the most were opposite hitter Ángel Domínguez (17) and Ramón González (14), followed by middle blocker Diego Esquivel and Leonardo Maldonado, 12 tallies each.
Head Coach Jorge Alberto Romero (Mexico) said “to lift the team we had to insist them the need to perform orderly and with discipline to help solve things, and that to play technically helps more than physical work. It’s very important for them to understand it, to solve the actions”.
“Our weapon was a directing and floating in serves, Dominicans have a good floating serve, but they don’t have reception and we took advantage of that, attacking to a player that luckily they never changed, and we worked on him the entire time and complicated their passing by the middle, which was harming us the most”.
Their team captain Jorge Robles gave his opinion “we were always united, we have our game play, and we can do well and more, because with this teamwork we can beat any team”.
Jorge Dante, head coach of Dominican Republic, recognized that “our reception and blocking fail completely, but the team is well, they are young, and I have two athletes that are adjusting, and I am observing who will stay, because our starting player couldn’t because he’s in college. We will continue to work on our deficiencies, I hope they improve in these two skills, because our attacking was good”.
Ronny Molina, Dominican outside hitter said “we started well, with attitude and confidence, but then came our errors, we thought the other team was weak, and we completely lost focus. I always trusted my team, nevertheless I believe we stopped communicating”.
HAVANA, October 2nd, 2022.- Two tickets for the FIVB U21 Men’s World Championship will be up for grabs at the age-group Pan American Cup that begins on Monday at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum.
During the preliminary inquiries each team delegate was informed that these two spots will be granted to the best two teams of NORCECA since only Chile from the South American Confederation is participating and as per regulations, four teams of each confederation must be participating to compete for one of the spots.
In the meantime, seven out of eight coaches gave their opinion regarding their goals during this tournament. United States was not able to arrive on time due to flight delays and it was determined that their match against Chile will be played on Thursday, October 6th}
On Monday, Dominican Republic faces Mexico in group A, and in group B, Nicaraga-Canada and Cuba-Haiti.
Ben Josephson, Canada: “We worked hard, we are eager to play. We have worked and prepared to qualify for Worlds. My players are college students, but I keep an eye on them and see them play as a team in college. I think that our main opponents are Cuba and the United States. We played two days ago with the locals and won in five sets”.
Jesús Cruz, Cuba: “The preparation has been with ups and down, but we have been able to train and concentrate a group of athletes in this category, some went to the U19 World Championship, others have no competitive experience. That is why we took advantage of the friendly games against Canada and the Dominican Republic. That always helps a lot and more at these ages. Training is not the same as playing infront of a crowd, referees, at the venue and other tensions that competition brings. But we train to win, so we not only aspire to World Championship quota, but also to win the cup”.
Iván Villarreal, Chile: “The first objective of our base teams is to give them a significant amount of competition that allows us to carry them through their development so that they can be part of the main squad. This group is a mix of the under-19 who participated in the Pan American Cup in Guatemala in May and players from the under-21. Our idea is to train them and have previous events prior to attend next year’s U23 Championship. At the South American U21 we finished third, behind Brazil and Argentina (classified), and we are at the waiting room for the World Championship”.
Junior Siecle, Haití: “It is our first Norceca event in which we have participated, but the objective has not changed, they want to do a good job, have a good tournament and to fight for a place in the World Championship. We have various weapons, and they are strengthened by the preparation we have done, but since we don’t know our rivals, we have high expectations of knowing how they will develop”.
José Dante Manon, Dominican Republic: “We have a very young team, but I think we are ready for the qualification. We recognize that we will have strong rivals like the United States, Canada and Cuba, who has a tall and tremendously powerful team; that we were able to witness during friendly matches. Our strength is the attack, it will be our main weapon and we are going to try to develop it and show our cheerful game”.
Jorge Alberto Romero, Mexico: “We come from a three-week preparation at the National Training Center in Mexico City, and we are going to fight for the classification, looking for one of the two Norceca’s Worlds tickets. There are players who played in the U19 World Championship in Egypt; however, it is a recently assembled young team, but with a lot of talent. With all rivals we must have push, since none of them will be weak, but I think that the United States, Canada and Cuba are the teams with most options”.
Jorge Mena, Nicaragua: “The main objective is to compete, to do the best. Also, that it serves as preparation for the U21 Central American Championship to be held in our country from the 16th to the 24th of this month. We are the current champions, but we have rivals like Guatemala and Costa Rica, and any of the three can win. This Cup helps you raise the level a little more to face them. The first time we have a fairly high team and due to its age, it can still improve. We are working to have a good team in the future that later can become the base of the senior team”.
Lodz, Poland, October 1, 2022.- The Serbian team beat the United States team, giving them their first loss in this Women’s Volleyball World Cup.
The Serbs defeated the US team in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) to leave the Americans with a 4-1 record in the tournament. The Serbs outperformed the United States in attacks (38-30), in blocks (13-1), while in services both teams had 3 apiece.
For Serbia Tijana Boskovic had 25 points and Jovana Stevanovic and Sara Lozo added 8 each. For the United States, Kara Bajema scored 6 points and Andrea Drews and Haleigh Washington added 5 points respectively.
Serbia ends this preliminary phase of the World Cup without defeat with a record of 5-0.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, October 1, 2022.- The Puerto Rican team obtained its second victory of the tournament after defeating the Kenyan team in the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
Brittany Abercrombie and Karina Ocasio contributed 20 and 13 points respectively to the winning cause, while for the Kenyans Veronica Oluoch added 22 points and Edith Mukuvilani added 12 points.
Puerto Rico finished the preliminary phase with a 2-3 record at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship held jointly in the Netherlands and Poland.
Lodz, Poland, October 1, 2022.- The Canadian team got its second victory in this Women’s Volleyball World Championship at the hands of the team from Germany.
After losing the first two sets, the Canadian team was able to recover to defeat the German team 3-2 (12-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 15-9) and thus put their record at 2-3 in the World Cup.
The Canadians outperformed in attacks (63-61) and in services (6-4) while in blocks both teams had a total of 9.
For Canada Alexa Gray contributed 25 points, Kiera Van Ryk 19 and Hilary Howe 12. For Germany Lina Alsmeier and Hanna Orthmann added 16 points per head.
Gdansk, Poland, October 1, 2022.- The Thai team defeated the Dominican Republic team in a match that extended to the maximum of five sets.
With strong attacks, the Thais overcame the Dominican team (75-69) to beat them with a score of 3-2 (31-29, 16-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11) and give them their second defeat in this Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
For Thailand, Ajcharaporn Kongyot scored 26 points and Pimpichaya Kokram added another 25. For the Dominican Republic, left-hander Gaila González added 28 points and Bethania de la Cruz and Brayelin Martínez had 21 and 16 points, respectively.
The Dominican Republic now has a 3-2 record in this World Cup event.
Lodz, Poland, September 30, 2022.- The United States continued to roll down the road to victory at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship after beating Germany.
The Americans took advantage of 22 opponent errors to crush the German team in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 26-24), widely outperforming them in attacks (39-25) and in services (11 -0).
Anna Stevenson with 12 points and Andrea Drews with 9 were the highlights for the United States team, while Germany’s KimberlyDrewniok had 11 points and Marie Scholzel, Laura Emonts and Monique Strubbe added 5 each.
Lodz, Poland, September 30, 2022.- Canada played its fourth match this Friday against Bulgaria, getting its second victory in this Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Canadians needed four sets to get out of the big door against the Bulgarians, defeating them with a score of 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-20, 25-15), surpassing them in attacks (68-47) and in services. (5-2) while both teams were equal in blocks with 5 apiece.
Kiera Van Ryk with 22 points, Alexa Gray with 19 and Hilary Howe with 17 were the most outstanding for Canada, while for Bulgaria the best were Elitsa Atanasijevic with 18 points and Miroslava Paskova who added 16.
Gdansk, Poland, September 29, 2022.- The Dominican Republic worked hard to defeat the Polish team in four sets and thus achieve their third victory in the Championship.
The Caribbean Queens team dispatched the Poles with a score of 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21) to put their record at 3-1 in this World Cup tournament.
Brayelin Martínez was the best for the Dominicans with 20 points followed by Bethania de la Cruz who contributed 18 and Jineiry Martínez who helped with 15 points. For the Polish team, the most outstanding were Magdalena Stysiak with 23 points and Olivia Rosanski with 16.
Arnhem, Netherlands, September 29, 2022.- Puerto Rico achieved its first victory in this World Cup after beating the Cameroon team in its fourth match.
The Puerto Ricans only needed three sets to defeat the Cameroon team 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-11). Puerto Rico outperformed the Cameroon team in attacks (46-31), in blocks (6-5) and in services (6-4).
Veteran Karina Ocasio was the best for the Puerto Ricans with 13 points, followed by Stephanie Enright with 11 and Diana Reyes and Neira Ortiz who had 10 each. For Cameroon Simone Bikatal and Carine Blamdai were the best with 11 goals respectively.
Lodz, Poland, September 29, 2022.- In their third game of this Women’s Volleyball World Championship, the United States team continued undefeated after beating the Bulgarian team.
In a match that lasted four sets, the Americans disposed of the Bulgarians with a score of 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-11, 25-15).
For the United States Alexandra Frantti got 19 points, Chiaca Ogbogu 16 and Kelsey Robinson contributed 15. For Bulgaria, Elitsa Atanasijevic stood out with 14 and Miroslava Paskova added 8.
Lodz, Poland, September 29, 2022.- The Canadian team got its first victory in the Women’s Volleyball World Championship at the hands of the Kazakhstan team.
The Canadians vastly dominated in spikes (45-21), blocks (11-2) and serves (5-0) to easily defeat Kazakhstan in straight sets 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-11). ).
For Canada, Kiera Van Ryk added 18 points, while Hilary Howe contributed 12. For Kazakhstan, the best were Tatyana Nikitina with 8 points and Kristina Belova with 6.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 28, 2022.- The team from the Netherlands handed the team from Puerto Rico the third loss on the sixth day of competition of the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
In a match that lasted four sets, the Netherlands defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-15), thus leaving the Puerto Ricans with a negative record of 0-3.
A trio of players from the Netherlands Juliet Lohuis, Anne Buijs and Nika Daalderop added 16 points apiece to give their team the victory, while for Puerto Rico Brittany Abercrombie led with 18 points, Karina Ocasio with 15 and Neira Ortiz with 14.
Gdansk, Poland, September 28, 2022.- In a tight match, the Turkish team dealt their first setback in this World Championship to the Queens of the Caribbean.
The Turks beat the Dominican Republic team in five sets with a score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 16-25, 15-13). Turkey was better in attacks (61-49), while the Dominicans outperformed them in blocks (12-9) and in services (6-4).
For Turkey Ebrar Karakurt had 29 points and Zehra Gunes contributed 11 in the victory. For the Dominican Republic Brayelin Martínez and Gaila González added 20 points respectively.
Gdansk, Poland, September 27, 2022.- The Dominican Republic team won its second win in the same number of matches after beating Croatia in the Women’s World Championship.
The Queens of the Caribbean beat the Croatian team in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-21). The Dominican Republic was superior to the Croatians in attacks (48-37), in blocks (7-4) and in services (2-1).
Yonkaira Peña and Brayelín Martínez were the top scorers for Las Reinas with 15 points each, while Gaila González added 13. For Croatia, Samanta Fabris had 8 points followed by Lucija Mlinar who added 8 points.
The next commitment of the Dominican Republic is this September 28 against the Turkish team in the city of Gdansk, Poland.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 26, 2022.- The United States team maintained its unbeaten record by beating the Canadian team in its second appearance in this World Championship.
The United States did not need more than 3 sets to beat the Canadian team 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-15), which suffered its second loss in the tournament.
For the Americans, the best were Alexandra Frantti and Andrea Drews with 15 and 14 points respectively. For Canada Kiera Van Ryk contributed 15 15 points and Alexa Gray added 9.
The next meetings of both teams will be in Lodz, Poland on September 29 when the United States faces Bulgaria and Canada faces Kazakhstan.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 26, 2022.- The Puerto Rican team fell again in an electrifying clash against Italy at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
The Italians defeated the Puerto Ricans with a score of 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 26-24) surpassing them in attacks 50-33 and in blocks 11-7 while Puerto Rico was better in services 6-0.
Paola Egonu with 19 points, Elena Pietrini with 15 and Caterina Bosetti with 10 were the most notable for Italy, while Brittany Abercrombie and Stephanie Enright stood out for Puerto Rico with 19 and 9 points respectively.
The next commitment of the Puerto Ricans will be on September 28 when they will face the Netherlands.
Arnhem, the Netherlands, September 25, 2022.- The Canadian team succumbed to the Serbian team in their debut at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
Canada, one of the four NORCECA representatives participating in the competition, was defeated by Serbia with a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) to fail in its first match of the fair. Serbia outperformed Canada in attacks (40-31), in serves (9-4) and in blocks (7-6).
The most outstanding players for Serbia were Tijana Boskovic with 23 points and Brankica Mihajlovic with 10, while for the Canadians Alexa Gray stood out with 14 and Kiera Van Ryk with 13.
The next commitment of the Canadian team will be this September 26 against the United States team.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 24, 2022.- In their first match of the Women’s World Championship for Women, the United States carried the victory against the Kazakhstan team.
The United States vastly outscored Kazakhstan 47-24, blocked 5-3 and served 6-2 to easily beat them in three sets 25-16, 25-13, 25-22.
For the Americans Alexandra Frantti added 14 points while Andrea Drews and Kelsey Robinson added 13 and 12 points respectively. Tatyana Nikitina was the best for Kazakhstan with 10 points followed by Kristina Belova who added 9.
The next commitment of the Americans is on September 26 when they will face Canada in the first phase of this competition.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, September 24, 2022.- The General Consul of the Dominican Republic in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Yoselin García Rodríguez, presented a special recognition to NORCECA President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz on the occasion of the 2022 FIVB Women’s World Championship.
Prior to the debut of the Dominican Republic against South Korea in the World Championship in Amsterdam, García Rodríguez presented a plaque to Marte Hoffiz in recognition of his valuable contribution to the development and world positioning of Dominicans Women’s Volleyball.
Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz is the President of the Dominican Republic women’s national team project, placing the senior team as number 8 in the World Ranking.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 24, 2022.- The Dominican Republic began its participation in the Women’s Volleyball World Championship with a resounding victory against Korea.
The Caribbean Queens easily disposed of the Korean team in consecutive sets with a score of 25-19, 25-12, 25-15 in phase 1 of this competition. Dominican was better in attacks 42-32, in blocks 13-3 and in services 7-4.
The left-handed Gaila González was the most outstanding for The Queens with 17 points followed by Yonkaira Peña who added 11 units. For the Korean team, the best were Seonwoo Lee with 9 points and Jeongah Park with 7.
Arnhem, The Netherlands, September 24, 2022- The Puerto Rican team was defeated by Belgium in its first appearance in the Women’s World Championship.
The Belgians easily dominated the Puerto Ricans in straight sets with a score of 25-15, 27-25, 25-15 to score their first victory in the tournament.
Britt Herbots and Marlies Janssens led the Belgian attack with 25 and 14 points respectively. For Puerto Rico, the top scorers were Brittany Abercrombie with a total of 20 points and Stephanie Enright with 7.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, September 22, 2022 – The Women’s World Volleyball Championship will be held geographically between Poland and the Netherlands.
In the fair, 24 countries will see action, being the representatives as assets of NORCECA: United States, Dominican Republic, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The reports of the matches of the NORCECA region participating in the competition that begins on September 23 and will last until October 15 will be published on this information site.
The event kicks off with Poland vs. Croatia and the Netherlands vs. Kenya, and the next day Turkey vs. Thailand, Belgium vs. Puerto Rico, Italy vs. Cameroon, Dominican Republic vs. Korea, United States vs. Kazakhstan, and Brazil vs. Czech Republic.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, September 18, 2022.- The XXVINORCECA Congress 2022 was held virtually on September 16 and 17 with fruitful results which included welcoming words from FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F°.
The Executive Committee and Board of Directors met on Friday September 16 and representatives from the 41 National Federations members of the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation met during two working sessions held on Saturday 17.
NORCECA President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz, gave the opening words indicating “our Confederation is back to its regular competitions after the forced recess due to the global Pandemic Covid-19, achieving its financial independence thanks to the efforts of many; in addition to our open attitude to always listen and discuss each and every proposal presented by our NORCECA members”.
Dr. Ary Graça addressed the Congress explaining that the FIVB hasn’t stopped its efforts to support every National Federation during the inexorable forces of change that the world of volleyball has been challenged with “I invite you all to work with us together through the FIVB Empowerment program which has a financial support thanks to commercial opportunities from sponsors, promotors and TV and marketing rights”.
Also addressing the Congress was Centro Caribe Sports President Luis Mejía Oviedo, as well as FIVB General Manager Fabio Acevedo.
Marte Hoffizz highlighted that the working agenda, the 2020 & 2021 NORCECA Internal Financial Reports and External Audits by Ernst & Young, as the working NORCECA commissions reports, were available ahead on the Confederations’ website for its efficient discussion during the Congress.
It’s needed to say that they were all unanimously approved by the present Congress.
The NORCECA/FIVB Volleyball Regional Development Center in Dominican Republic also presented a full report, underlining that it is the only development center in the world authorized by the FIVB to carry out face to face the Level III Coaches Course that concluded a couple of days ago.
Prof. Nelson Ramírez, Director of the Center announced that a Data Volleyball and Opponent Analyzing Course will be held next November.
The Congress approved the proposal presented by Ariel Sainz, NORCECA First Executive Vice-President and supported by Félix Sabio, AFECAVOL President, of allowing Guatemala’s national volleyball and beach volleyball to compete under the NORCECA flag in al the events organized by NORCECA, due to the recent suspension of its Olympic National Committee by the International Olympic Committee.
Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz presented the report he will be addressing during the 38th FIVB World Congress to be held from September 22-24 at Arnhem, Netherlands during the first phase of the FIVB Women’s World Championship, which explains the future actions that the Confederation will be executing for the development of volleyball in the region.
In his closing words, President Marte Hoffiz said “on your behalf, as your representative at the FIVB I will support all those activities that guarantee the development and promotion of volleyball of our Confederation, ensuring the necessary conditions to carry them out; I will see you all in a couple of days for the 38th FIVB Congress”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 15, 2022.- Costa Rica was crowned AFECAVOL Boys’ U19 Three-Time undefeated Champion beating El Salvador 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-16) on Thursday at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Costa Rica won their eight AFECAVOL title, their third in a row, with perfect 5-0 record and 25 points, with 15 sets in favor and none against, strengthening their supremacy in the age-group category, since the creation of the event in 1982 they have reached the Central American podium.
Costa Rica lost three set points (24-19) before winning the second set and coming from behind in the third before becoming undefeated champion.
Costa Rica prevailed over El Salvador in every element of the game, attacks (38-24), blocks (7-2) and serves (4-2). Both teams committed a similar number of unforced errors, Costa Rica with 24 and El Salvador with 26.
David Cordoba of Costa Rica spikes against El Salvador
Two players of Costa Rica scored double-digits, opposite hitter and team captain David Cordoba with 18 points on 15 attacks, two blocks and one ace, and outside hitter Stanley Grant with 14 points from 13 attacks and one ace.
The leading scorer of El Salvador was outside hitter Rafael Vargas with 8 points, joined by outside hitter Marlon Solorzano with 7 points.
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach Costa Rica: “We were prepared for a complicated match because they (El Salvador) had nothing to lose, and our closing could have been difficult. On our way from Costa Rica, we were determined to go back undefeated, with 15 sets in favor and none against. Thank God all the effort of this team during practices, training camps in Costa Rica gave its fruits”.
Gerardo Hernández, head coach of El Salvador: “I am glad about my boys, for the eleven players this was a great experience competing at an international event. At the beginning of the tournament, we had hopes for more, but the level of play of the under-19 category in Central America has improved, which is good to compete outside our region. We are leaving satisfied with the job done, the boys enjoyed themselves and learned a lot from all the matches”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 15, 2022.- Guatemala finished AFECAVOL Boys’ U19 Sub Champion defeating Nicaragua 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-11) at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Guatemala ended the evento with 3-2 record and 17 points, winning their seventh silver medal in this age-group, their fourth in a row. Nicaragua finished with a 3-2 record and 11 points: waiting for the result between Belize and Honduras for their final position in the tournament.
The first set was the most challenging, but Guatemala was unstoppable in the next two; in the second set jumping to an 11-2 advantage to move forward in the third set for a huge 21-8 advantage.
El primer set fue el más disputado, pero Guatemala fue imparable en los siguientes dos; en el segundo saltando a una ventaja de 11-2 para luego entrar al tercero alcanzando una ventaja de 21-8.
Guatemala held a 27-24 advantage in attacks and 8-5 in blocks, while Nicaragua held a 5-4 margin in serves. Guatemala scored 36 points from Nicaraguan errors and handed out 16.
Outside hitter Roberto Recinos scored 9 points as Guatemala’s leading scorer. Als contributing in the win was outside hitter Pedro Villatoro and middle blocker Sergio Paz with 8 points each.
Scoring a match-high was Nicaraguan Evans Solis with 14 points, all on kills; accompanied by setter Cristhoper Castillo with 8 tallies.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “We were aware of the importance of this game, maybe the most important one of the competition, we didn’t want to be left out of winning a medal. The boys went out with all they had and played good volleyball; I recognize their effort. This is the result of the harmony between the athletes and the coaching staff, my assistant (my father) who has a great lot of experience and the physiotherapist who was always taking care of the athletes’ well-being”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “Every match is different, the opponent came out to win and they have a lot of experience. We are a young team who needs continuity because they are capable, but the pressure was too much, they couldn’t handle it mentally”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 15, 2022.- Belize won the bronze medal at the XIV AFECAVOL Boys’ U19 Central American Championship after defeating Honduras 3-0 (26-24, 25-9, 25-11) at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Belize ended the tournament with a 3-2 record, the same as Nicaragua, but with 14 points against 11 of the Nicaraguan team.
Honduras shook Belize in a challenging first set, but not enough to stop their strength in the next two sets.
Belize led attacks 27-19, blocks 11-2 and the service point by a slim 3-2 margin. Belize committed 21 unforced errors and Honduras a total of 35.
Opposite hitter Preston Smith scored 15 points for Belize, from 12 attacks, two blocks and one ace, followed by outside hitter Eleazar Mejía with 11 points on 6 attacks and 5 blocks.
Honduras top scorer was middle blocker Leonardo Villegas with 8 points.
Albert Hummes, head coach of Belize: “First of all Happy Independence Day to Honduras and for us it’s the celebration of our first medal in the history of the youth category. I am very happy for my guys, this is a great reward for their hard work. We played day by day and we were expecting a good outcome”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 14, 2022.- Guatemala improved their record 2-2 after defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-20) at the XIV Boys’ U19 AFECAVOL Central American Championship at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
On the last day of competition Guatemala with a record of 2-2 and twelve points will face Nicaragua (3-1) with eleven points, with the possibility of winning a medal. Honduras has a 0-4 record and closes against Belize (2-2).
Guatemala came from behind in the third set (8-12) reaching an even 14, advancing to finish in straight sets.
Guatemala prevailed over Honduras with a 28-24 margin in attacks and a huge 10-1 advantage in service points, as well as 8-1 in blocks. Guatemala committed 22 unforced errors and Honduras 28.
Middle blocker Sergio Paz of Guatemala was the best scorer of the game with 18 points on 6 kills, 3 blocks and the most aces with 9 points.
Outside hitter Leonardo Villegas of El Salvador finished with 12 points, all from kills.
Adolfo Rivas, captain of Guatemala: “We all had a good attitude, celebrating every point and each player did their role on the court. We are closing strong and tomorrow we will give our all.
Luis Fernando Castañeda, head coach of Guatemala: “Thanks to the boys’ effort we are in the battle for a medal. The tournament has been strong, we started with defeats, but we went on improving our rhythm of play to fight to reach the podium with two straight wins in a row. We close with Nicaragua who have experienced players from their competitive national league, and we want to do things well tomorrow”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 14, 2022.- Costa Rica is already Three-Time Champion with one day left of competition after defeating Belize 3-0 (25-11, 28-26, 25-22) at the XIV Boys’ U19 AFECAVOL Central American Championship.
With a 4-0 record and 20 points, no team can catch up with Costa Rica; tomorrow they face El Salvador.
Belize’s reaction after falling in the first set was strong, with strength in attacks and losing two set points that Costa Rica brushed away with great effort to win the second set. In the third set, Belize recovered from a four-point deficit (16-20) but it wasn’t enough to extend the game.
Costa Rica did better in blocking 12-3, while Belize dominated in attacks 32-25; both teams scored 3 points from serves. Costa Rica scored 38 points from Belizean errors and handed out 21.
Costa Rica Three-Time U19 AFECAVOL Central American Champion
Opposite hitter and team captain David Córdoba, alongside outside hitter Stanley Grant with 11 points apiece, and middle blocker Jeremy Venega with 10 points led Costa Rica’s scoring offense.
The top scorer of the match was outside hitter Eleazar Mejia of Belize with 19 points.
David Córdoba, captain of Costa Rica: “It’s a great joy. Since leaving Costa Rica our mentality was to be champions once more; thank God it is a three-time championship win. Tomorrow we are going for the win and be undefeated champion, that’s our second goal”.
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “It was a great pressure because we were looking for a hat-trick and we are reaching one of our goals, tomorrow we wish to close with a win to be undefeated. We prepared well to be here, the boys were tough in the second set, they were cold headed, their blocking was steady against Belize’s powerful attacks, and they complied to reach the goal”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 14, 2022.- Nicaragua came from behind to beat El Salvador 3-2 (20-25, 15-25, 25-17, 25-12, 15-8) at the XIV Boys’ U19 AFECAVOL Central American Championship being held at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
This was the second occasion that Nicaragua recovered from an 0-2 set deficit to come out on top in five sets. Nicaragua now has a 3-1 record and eleven points to be in route to reaching the podium. El Salvador drops to 1-3 and has eight points.
Nicaragua dominated the categories of attacks (50-34) and serves (13-8), both teams scored on 7 blocks. Nicaragua scored 30 points from El Salvador’s errors and handed out 38.
Angelo Guadamuz of Nicaragua spikes against El Salvador
Opposite player Victor Bermudez and outside hitter Evans Solis contributed with 21 points each in Nicaragua’s victory; Solís on 5 points from aces. Also, middle blocker Angelo Guadamuz collected 11 points.
Middle blocker Ricardo Alegría was the top scorer of El Salvador with 16 points, joined by outside hitter Rafael Vargas with 13 points.
On the last day Nicaragua (3-1) will face Guatemala (1-2) and El Salvador (1-3) against Costa Rica (3-0).
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “We are having difficulties to get into rhythm from the beginning, this is hurting us, it seems like we are the team of five sets. This game was crucial, with the win we are in the medals, tomorrow we just need to win and with one loss we will be sub champions”.
Ricardo Alegría, top scorer of El Salvador: “We gave all our effort, it worked in the beginning. This is part of the game that your opponent responds. We enjoyed it and we must be happy”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 13, 2022.- Defending Champion Costa Rica is the only unbeaten team at the XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of AFECAVOL after defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-20) at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Costa Rica stands with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record and 15 points. Honduras has 0-3.
Honduras surprised Costa Rica evening the scores on several occasions in the second set and recovered from an eight-point deficit (14-22) in the third.
Costa Rica led 35-24 in the attacking category, 9-2 in blocking and 2-1 in aces, committing 25 unforced errors against 29.
Keylor Rodriguez of Costa Rica spikes against Honduras
Outside hitter Stanley Grant led Costa Rica with 12 points, joined by middle blocker Jeremy Venega who contributed with 9 points, as well as team captain David Cordoba and middle blocker Keylor Rodriguez with 8 tallies each.
Outside hitters Oscar Pineda and Jonathan Mendoza scored 8 points apiece for Honduras.
On Thursday Costa Rica (3-0) will play against Belize (2-1) and Honduras (0-3) goes against Guatemala (1-2).
Robertocarlo Argüello, head coach of Costa Rica: “The fans motivated Honduras. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and what we needed was to add points to keep a margin so they couldn’t get too close. The guys sustained well, but it was hard, they were pressured, and we made some adjustments to finish the game. Tomorrow, we have a difficult opponent (Belize), but we have our goal clear, and we will battle for it, we are going with all we have”.
Víctor Manuel Rodas, head coach of Honduras: “We improved in the second set by trying some changes in positions, today Leo Villegas played as opposite to help us with blocking, and it worked. Our best skill has been reception and today it visibly improved, we were able to stabilize our game. I hope this is the beginning of our improvement and we must continue forward”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 13, 2022.- Nicaragua came from behind to beat Belize 3-2 (15-25, 19-25, 25-23, 29-27, 15-13) at the XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of AFECAVOL being played at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Nicaragua improved their record 2-1 with a total of eight points; Belize dropped their record 2-1 and has nine points.
Nicaragua lost its outside hitter Evans Solís who suffered an injury on the head during the second set, but it wasn’t an obstacle to stop Belize’s strength. Before their dramatic win, Belize lost two match points in the fourth set (26-25 y 27-25), while Nicaragua failed two set points to reach the tie-break (24-23 y 25-24).
Niaragua’s blocking prevailed that of Belize 13-6, as well as service points 4-3, committing 48 unforced errors. Belize was superior in attacks 56-36 and committed a total of 50 errors.
Opposite hitter Víctor Bermudez led Nicaragua’s attack with 13 points from 12 kills and one block. Setter Cristhoper Castillo and middle blocker Edu Urbina added 11 points each.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejia of Belize led all scorers with 32 points, the most in the tournament. Outside hitter Malcolm Murillo and opposite hitter Preston Smith scored 11 points each.
On Wednesday Nicaragua (2-1) will play El Salvador (1-2) and Belize (2-1) will meet Costa Rica (2-0).
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “My team is young, so they still commit errors on the net and that led us to reach five sets. My boys responded well, we came back from 0-2, the changes worked out well and that puts us in the fight. That’s why I say it’s one match at a time”.
Albert Humes, head coach of Belize: “I am proud of my guys, they worked hard. I think one of our biggest problems today were our errors at the run and service at the time that we needed; it also showed that we need more practice matches in this kind of situation because the guys got tense which caused them to be tentative and that gave Nicaragua the momentum to build”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 13, 2022.- Guatemala scored its first win at the XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of AFECAVOL after defeating El Salvador 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-22) at the Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Guatemala improved their record to 1-2, for a total of seven points and El Salvador has the same record but with six points.
Guatemala dominated the first set, but in the following two sets they needed great effort to come from behind after El Salvador’s fast response.
The Guatemalan team prevailed over El Salvador 33-30 in attacks, 7-3 in blocks and 5-3 in aces, while committing 22 errors against 30 from El Salvador.
Outside hitter Pedro Villatoro with 10 points, middle blocker Sergio Paz with 9 points and outside hitter Roberto Recinos with 8 points led Guatemala’s attacks.
Outside hitter Rafael Vargas and middle blocker Ricardo Alegria were El Salvador’s leading scorers with 9 and 8 points respectively.
On the penultimate day of competition Guatemala (1-2) will face Honduras (0-2) and El Salvador (1-2) against Nicaragua (1-1).
Pedro Villatoro, top scorer of Guatemala: “we had a different mentality from the other two matches, we were determined to win 3-0 to add the necessary points to give us a chance to reach the podium. Our attitude was crucial, we were motivated”.
Rafael Vargas, top scorer of Nicaragua: “We didn’t react despite being ahead in the last two sets. I believe we were overconfident, and we lost energy. We couldn´t stabilize our serves like we did against Honduras. We need to be more focused for the next two matches, put the ball in play and try to score”.
Outside hitter Evans Solis of Nicaragua led all scorers with 25 points on 19 attacks, one block and 5 aces. Opposite hitter Victor Bermudez and setter Cristhoper Castillo contributed with 9 and 7 points respectively.
From Honduras, outside hitter Leonardo Villegas scored 6 points.
On Tuesday, Nicaragua (1-1) will face Belize (2-0) and Honduras (0-2) goes up against Costa Rica (2-0).
Cristopher García, captain of Nicaragua: “This victory was crucial for us, today we improved our attitude, we learned from yesterday’s loss. Today we were more confident”.
Jorge Mena, head coach of Nicaragua: “The team needed to gain trust, overcoming the pressure of the tournament was difficult after losing yesterday; today the victory was necessary. Each game is a final and we aren’t out of battling for a medal”.
SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 12, 2022.- Belize remains undefeated after beating El Salvador 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 26-28, 25-10) at the XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of AFECAVOL being played at Santa Rosa de Copan Gymnasium.
Belize has a 2-0 record and seven points, while El Salvador has 1-1 and six points after two days of competition.
Belize overcame a tough Salvadorian team that battled to extend the action, winning a dramatic third set after Belize lost two match points. Belize dominated the fourth set without complications, jumping to an early 8-1 lead from the beginning.
In numbers, Belize held a huge 46-29 advantage in attacks and 14-1 in serves, in blocking they scored one point more (3-7). Belize committed 44 unforced errors against 33 from El Salvador.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejía of Belize, once again led all scorers with 26 points, on 20 points from attacks, 2 from blocks and 4 from serves, followed by opposite hitter Preston Smith with 16 points, on 10 attacks, 3 blocks and 3 serves; also, outside hitter Malcolm Murillo chipped in with 10 points.
Outside hitters Rafael Vargas and Marlon Solórzano led El Salvador with 13 and 10 points respectively.
On Tuesday, Belize (2-0) will face Nicaragua (0-1) and El Salvador (1-1) goes against Guatemala (0-2).
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize: “We were prepared to face them, we watched them play yesterday and we were ready, we had our game plan. We lost a set, but we executed in the fourth set; it was a strong set for us. Our strongest weapon is our ability to grind when things get tough”.
Gerardo Hernández, head coach of El Salvador: “Belize is one of the strongest opponents, they have a great attack. The first two sets slipped out of our hands, the boys had ups and downs because of Belize’s strong attacks. We will continue to work for tomorrow’s performance, this is a short tournament, and we must be prepared”.
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