Gatineau, 10 aug.- The United States kept their winning streak at the 15th Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18 and 25-14) win over Chile in Pool B action at the Slush Puppie Centre.
Coming from a 3-0 victory over the Dominican Republic in their opening match, the North American squad found strong opposition from Chile, who held a narrow lead 10-8 and then 16-15 at the second technical time-out. But the United States kept the pressure. With the set tied at 21 points, Jake Hanes’ solid attack and effective blocks led the USA to take the opening set 25-22.
Early in the second set, Chilean setter Matias Banda collided with a fellow player and fell to the ground. With Araya out, the South American squad struggled to keep up with the American offense. Patrick Gasman, Jake Hanes and Jacob Pasteur inflicted some damage in their opponents’ defense. After a long rally, Pasteur finished the 25-18 set victory with a solid cross attack.
Determined to finish the game in three sets, the USA came back strongly and built an early 5-0 lead. Pasteur continued to lead the offense and the team backed it up with effective blocks. Chile was never able to stop the American system as Kyle McCauley sealed the 25-14 set and match victory with a solid spike.
McHenry (USA) spikes the ball against Team CHI double block
Jake Hanes led the USA performance with 15 points, followed by Pasteur (13). Vicente Parraguirre was Chile’s top scorer with 13 points.
Both undefeated in two matches, Cuba and the USA for the top position of Pool A on Thursday. The Dominican Republic and Chile will play for the third place in the Pool on the same day.
Gatineau.- Mexico kept its winning streak in Pool B of the Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-18 and 25-19) victory over Brazil on Wednesday at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau.
Looking to rebound after a defeat to Puerto Rico in their tournament debut on Tuesday, the Brazilian squad, made up of players aged 18-19 years old, started out aggressively, leading 8-5 and 16-10 at the two technical time-outs. Their lead was never threatened, and Carlos Rodrigues sealed the 25-19 set victory with a solid attack.
The second set remained even, with both teams exchanging points and Mexico slightly ahead 16-15. An efficient block and an ace by Diego Gonzalez in the latter stages paid the way for a 25-20 victory and a game tie one set each.
That’s what Mexico needed to recover their winning ways, a day after a shocking victory over hosts Canada in their opening match. Their block, on court experience, effective defense and the attacking duo of Diego Gonzalez and Mauro Fuentes found no match in the young Brazilian squad and went on to win the remaining sets 25-18 and 25-19.
Gonzalez contributed 22 points for the winners, followed by Josue Lopez (13) and Fuentes (11). Lukas Bergmann was Brazil’s top scorer with 13 points with Samuel Carrazai (12) and captain Arthur Bergmann (11) also in double digits.
Mexico plays Puerto Rico and Brazil faces Canada on the final day of Pool B action on Thursday.
GATINEAU, August 10, 2022 – Defending champions Cuba remains undefeated with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-12) victory over the Dominican Republic in Pool A of the Pan American Cup.
With a different starting line-up from their Cup debut win Tuesday against Chile, Cuba contained a well known Caribbean rival, staying in front at both technical time-outs 8-6 and 16-13. Michael Sanchez’s spike sealed the victory in the opening set 25-12.
The start of the second set remained even, with Cuba slightly ahead 8-6. The Dominican Republic rebounded and took control 16-13 at the second technical time-out, but their Caribbean opponents tied it up at 17. They traded points until a 21-point tie. With Jesus Herrera from the service line, the Dominican Republic struggled, and the opposite player finished the set with an ace and a final 25-21 score.
In the third set, the Dominican Republic built an early 8-4 and 16-14 lead at the first and second technical timeouts. Cuba reacted and tied the score at 18. With Roamy Alonso from the service line, the Dominican Republic made some costly mistakes and saw their chances slip away 18-21. The gap remained, and Marlon Yant sealed the set 25-12 and the match victory for Cuba.
Yant (CUB) spikes the ball against Team DOM double block
Jesus Herrera was the top scorer for the Cuban squad with 14 points, followed by Osniel Mergarejo (10) and Roamy Alonso (9). Wilfrido Hernandez set offense with 11 points for the Dominican Republic.
Cuba plays the United States and the Dominican Republic meets Chile in the last preliminary round matches of Pool A on Thursday.
GATINEAU, August 9, 2022- Mexico overcame a 0-2 deficit to shock hosts Canada 3-2 (23-25, 13-25, 25-21, 25-23 and 15-11) in Pool B action of the 15th Pan American Cup at the Slush Puppy in Gatineau, Quebec.
Mexico, who is fielding their best team in preparation for the World Championships, started out well, leading 8-6 and 16-12 at the technical time-outs. But Canada bounced back and tied the set at 18 points. With the scored at 23 points, an attack out of bounds by the opponent and a solo block by Mahias Elser paid the way for Canada to win 25-23.
Canada kept the momentum on court and built a sizable 16-11 lead in the second set. Two consecutive aces by Brodie Hofer put Canada in a comfortable position as they secured a comfortable 25-13 victory.
Mexico rebounded and started strong in the third set 5-0. Canada responded and moved to the front 16-15 at the second time-out. The score remained even, but captain Christian Aranda unleashed three consecutive aces to win 25-21.
Canada seemed destined to finish the match in four sets as they led 8-4 and 16-12 at the two technical timeouts. Mexico shortened the deficit and managed to tie at 20 points. A solid attack and an ace by Josue Lopez helped them prevail 25-23 to force a tie-break.
Mexico maintained their inspiration and built an early 5-2 lead, but Canada responded and tied the game at seven. With the scored even at 10, solid attacks by Mauro Fuentes, Diego Gonzalez and a block by Jonathan Martinez and Josue Lopez put Mexico 14-11 ahead and they finally sealed the match victory 15-11 after two hours and ten minutes of play.
Josue Lopez led the Mexican offense with 16 points, followed by Diego Gonzalez (12) and Mauro Fuentes (12). Brodie Hofer was Canada’s top scorer with 23 points. Mathias Elser (14) and Cole Ketrzynski (10) were also in double digits.
Canada plays Puerto Rico and Mexico faces Brazil Wednesday in Pool B.
GATINEAU, August 9, 2022- Cuba opened its title defense campaign with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20 and 28-26) victory over Chile in Pool A action of the 15th Pan American Cup at the Slush Puppy Centre in Gatineau, Canada.
Coming from their recent victory at the Challenger Cup and qualification to the 2023 Volleyball Nations League, Cuba started out strongly, leading 8-4 at the first technical time-out and 16-10 in the second one. The Cuban kept their solid display on court and went on to win 25-17.
At the second set, Dusan Bonacic’s attacks and ace gave the South American team some momentum and led 14-12, but Miguel David Gutierrez’s ace and Marlon Yant’s spike switched the score 16-14 in Cuba’s favour. Chile never gave up and Bonacic put his squad back 20-21, but an ace by captain Miguel Angel Lopez and two solid attacks by Yant and Lopez secured the set 25-20 for the defending champions.
The third set stayed more even with Cuba’s 8-7 advantage at the first time-out, but Chile bounced back and regained the lead 15-12, with solid spikes from brothers Vicente and Tomas Parraguirre, and Bonacic. Never out of contention, Cuba tied at 23 with a 2-man block by Livan Osoria and Marlon Yant. After four match points, Julio Cesar Cardenas’ strong serve sealed the 28-26 victory and the match win.
Marlon Yant led the Cuban offense with 15 points, followed by Gutierrez (14) and Osoria (13). Vicente Parraguirre was the main figure for Chile with 17 points, supported by Bonacic (13).
Chile and Cuba play in Pool A together with the United States and the Dominican Republic.
GATINEAU, August 9, 2022- Puerto Rico opened Pool B action of the Pan American Cup with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 21-25 and 27-25) over Brazil in two hours at the Slush Puppy Centre in Gatineau, Canada.
The South American team, made up of players aged 18-19, started out ahead 8-6 and continued to lead 16-15. The Puerto Rican defense, combined with Pedro Nieves and Klistan Lawrence’s spikes, proved to be crucial to revert the score 23-20, before Pedro Molina sealed the win 25-21 in the opening set.
In the second set, the most experienced Caribbean squad continued its solid performance and built an early 6-2 lead. With Pedro Molina’s two consecutive aces and smart plays by setter Arturo Iglesias, Puerto Rico increased in front 16-9 and reached an insurmountable 20-11 score, before they went on to win 25-18.
In the third set, both teams traded points, but Brazil took the lead briefly 12-11 and 19-18. Witalio de Sousa’s ace opened a 2-point lead (22-20) and went on to win 25-21.
The young South American squad kept its momentum and kept the fourth set within reach 14-16. Puerto Rico stayed on top. Its defense and offense proved crucial to keep Brazil at bay 23-19. But Brazil bounced back to tie 25-25. Jonathan Rodriguez and Pelegrin Vargas’ spikes paid the way for the 27-25 set and match victory.
Klistan Lawerence led the winners’ offense with 18 points, followed by Pedro Molina (16) and Jonathan Rodriguez (15). Samuel Carazzai de Morais produced 22 points for Brazil and was supported by captain Arthur Bento with 13.
Puerto Rico and Brazil play in Pool B together with Canada and Mexico.
The United States beat the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) to open the 15th Pan American Cup, held at the Slush Puppie Sports Centre in Gatineau, Canada.
Despite a strong start by the Caribbean squad, the USA bounced back and tied the opening set at 11 and reached the second technical time-out with a narrow 16-14 lead. Solid attacks by Jake Hanes, Merrick McHenry and Brett Wildman and Patrick Gasman secured the first set 25-23.
The USA remained on top in the second set, leading 8-6 and 16-14. But the Dominican Republic kept fighting and Henry Tapia led them to a 23-22 lead, but the USA bounced back with an effective block and a strong attack by Jake Hanes secured win 25-23.
The third set appeared to go one way with the USA taking a healthy 7-1 lead and 16-12 at the second time-out. The Dominican Republic never gave up and with solid clocks managed to tie the set at 21. However, Jake Hanes’ attacks proved to be lethal and paved the way for another identical 25-23 set win and match victory.
Hanes led the winners’ performance with 20 points, followed by Gasman (11). Captain Henry Tapia was the main contributor from the Dominican Republic with 16 points.
Both teams play in Pool A with Chile and Cuba as the other contenders
Group A:Nicolas Vives, Head Coach of Cuba We just returned from winning the World Challenge in Korea and qualifying to the VNL next year. We want to perform well here while also testing new players and resting some of our key men after a busy campaign and in preparation for the World Championships.
The team is almost the same as the one who won this tournament in 2019, with the addition of Robertlandy Simon and Michael Sanchez. I started coaching this generation of players in 2017 and they are progressing well, from the U19 to the U23 World Championships and their involvement in international leagues. They have matured technically and tactically and are now in a better place to solve crucial moments in a game. This generation should peak in 2024 and stay with the world’s best and the VNL is a great step forward.
Guy Bradbury, President of the NORCECA Refereeing Commission, at the Preliminary Inquiry meeting
Andy Read, Head Coach of USA
The team is a blend of guys that we had at the Pan Am Final 6 in Mexico and some guys that are coming back from VNL. It is a very good blend. Our talent level and physically are better that what it was in Mexico. We look forward to a better finish than Mexico (bronze).
The team preparing for the World Championships is staying in Anaheim, so our guys are here to gain more experience.
This tournament is the most important ever in the history of the Pan Am Cup. It has world rankings points involved for Olympic qualification, which is everything.
Team USA at the Preliminary Inquiry meeting
Jorge Gutierrez, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic
It is important to be here to gain experience. We have our U21 team, they are young, and we want to improve our level of play. The players here just want to play and show the world they can play at this level.
Daniel Nejamkin, Head Coach of Chile
Our goal here is make the podium, plain and simple. We think we can do it. So we are going to play for that.
The Pan American Cup is better for us than training because we have to play against a lot of teams that are ranked similar or better than us. In South America, Brazil and Argentina play at a higher level, and we always play against Colombia and Venezuela. So here, we have the opportunity to play against international teams that can really test us.”
Group B
Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico
We have prepared well since the start of the year. It’s a young team that has been progressing well and preparing for the World Championships. We have lost players through injury and conflicts with school calendars. We secured our main goals so far by qualifying to the 2023 Pan Am Games and the World Championships.
We are here to obtain valuable world ranking points for future events such as the Olympic qualifiers for 2024.
Oswald Antonetti, coach of Puerto Rico
This is our third tournament this summer. We have been adding elements and some key players are returning here to join the squad preparing for the World Championships. We treat this tournament with the same rigour as the World Championships.
We have a young team who is creating an identity. Some of these players won the Norceca championship last year. We have been working on creating a sense of sacrifice, courage, discipline and identity that we need so much as an Island.
We have 90% of the players here who will make the squad for the World Championships. For us, the World Championships starts with this Cup. We train well and we are able to execute the modern form of playing volleyball. We are integrating the right elements into our game. We can’t accelerate this process.
We want to give the guys some good experience. We are very glad and happy to be playing at a high-level competition like this. This experience will help them achieve their future goals and the teams’ goals moving forward.
They are a young team, so this is a development opportunity for the guys, especially mental development. Representing Brazil, our country, is something to be very proud of, so we hope we will continue to play with pride throughout the tournament.
Fun Facts:
Brazil #19 is son of Adriana Bento, Canadian beach volleyball coach. He is Canadian dual citizen.
They’ve already qualified for the Pan Am Games through Jr Pan Am games, this tournament is therefore important for FIVB ranking for the Olympics and VNL qualifications.
Brazil and NORCECA representatives at the Preliminary Inquiry meeting
Dan Lewis, Head Coach of Canada
We have a pretty experienced group, there’s a lot of guys that train here that have the potential to go to World Championships so I feel that we should be trying to win our pool, as the first step. Then of course I would like the guys to be in the medals. So you can expect that we are fighting for gold.
The guys are excited first not having to listen to me yell at them in training, and to actually play a game. But of course, obviously competing. There are so many great countries here, it’s not just the top hemisphere, but the southern hemisphere as well with a bunch of dynamic players. We hardly ever see Chile; Brazil is younger, but they are very highly skilled and they’re big so it’s super fun to play a group like that. Cuba’s A team just qualified for VNL, are now near the top 10 best teams in the world probably, with maybe arguably one of the best serving teams in the world. So I think opportunity to compete first for the guys, and then to actually be competing against some of the best talent in the world, is really good for them.”
A quick thank you, we know it takes a lot of organization and everyone is working so hard to host an event this size. We’re very excited about the new gym too and what we can get going there. And then to the volunteers, we know they come and give a lot of their time, so we thank them, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Alan Ahac, Volleyball Canada’s Director, Indoor International Events, at the Preliminary Inquiry meeting
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; August 03, 2022.- The central blocker of Costa Rica, Lakysha Thompson was declared the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the V Afecavol Women’s Under 23 Championship, by guiding her team to the fifth consecutive title in this category.
Thompson was the top scorer for Costa Rica with 76 points, highlighting 13 through blocks, and she was a key player in high-intensity matches like against Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras in the last match of the tournament, in which she scored 7 points.
Lakysha said that “I feel very happy, it is an award that I did not expect to win, any of us could win it because we are a great team, we all add up. This recognition of the effort of so many years, all that I have worked for seven years, here you can see the result”.
“This is my first under 23 title, I was also champion in the Central American Major and I have participated in under 18 and under 20,” said the Most Valuable.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; August 03, 2022.- Costa Rica won the five-time championship by beating Honduras 3-1 (9-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-21) in a great battle in the final match of the V U23 Women’s Championship of Afecavol, before a full house at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium, in the Olympic Village of this city.
Honduras came out with everything in the first set, using a good service, limited Costa Rica’s attack and took an early advantage that they maintained until the end of the set.
In the second set, Costa Rica turned the game around with effective service and good defense, highlighting the libero María José Castro, who allowed a more effective counterattack from her teammates. In the third, the champions overcame a 3-point lead in the closing game to end up winning 25-23.
In the fourth set, Costa Rica came from behind to overcome a three-point deficit and from point 16 took the lead and did not give it up, winning its fifth consecutive title in this category.
Costa Rica celebrates their fifth consecutive U23 AFECAVOL title
Costa Rica dominated the four previous editions, while Guatemala achieved two silver medals and one bronze. Honduras had only won a bronze in the first edition of 2012. Belize was runner-up in 2019 and Nicaragua has a beach and a bronze. El Salvador was third in 2016.
Nicaragua (3-3) won 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-11, 25-19) against Belize, but it was not enough to take third place from Guatemala, which registered 3-3, but did 16 points, by 15 of the Nicaraguans.
Final Positions: 1.-Costa Rica; 2.- Honduras; 3.- Guatemala; 4.- Nicaragua; 5.- El Salvador; 6.- Belize; 7.- Panama.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, August 03, 2022.- Nicaragua won 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-11, 25-19) against Belize, in the penultimate game of the seventh day of the V Women’s U23 Championship of Afecavol.
Gilmary Smith with 19 points was the top scorer of the match leading Nicaragua to its third win for three losses. Massiel Brenes contributed 11 points and 9 from Brittany Forbes.
For Belize, which was 1-5, Gareth Bruce had 17 points and 12 from Khaya Gordon, who left part of the game with an ankle injury.
Nicaragua was better in attack 35-30, in blocking 14-12 and in service 6-5, taking advantage of 43 points due to the opponent’s errors, for 24 committed.
Tegucigalpa, August 03, 2022.- El Salvador defeated a combative team from Panama 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-21), closing with a record of 3-3 in the V Afecavol Women’s U23 Championship , while Panama had no victories.
Salvadoran captain Daniela López led her team with 16 points and almost every player on the squad saw action. For Panama, Mariluz González was left with 11 and captain Karla Ortiz with 10.
El Salvador led in attacks 36-22 and in blocks 6-3, but were equal in service with 7 points per side. Panama committed fewer errors with 28 to 31.
Fabiolla Ramírez of El Salvador spikes against Mariluz Gonzalez y Karla Ortiz of Panama
Daniela López, captain of El Salvador: “For us it was a very good and competitive tournament, most of the teams were from the under 21 category and we knew about them. We hope in the next tournaments to try harder, to work hard to be able to climb in the ranking”.
“El Salvador was one of the teams in the tournament in which all the players saw action and all of them excelled, in the end that was important to see the evolution of all of them,” López said.
Noé Fabían, coach of El Salvador: “Panama is a tough team that gave us a lot of work in the first set, but we managed to get the result. At the tournament level, we finished 3-3, the same as Guatemala, but because of some sets that we lost, we cannot opt for the bronze medal. In general it was a good tournament, a young team, which came from less to more, is the future of our senior team, because many of them will be in that category”.
Tegucigalpa, August 02, 2022.- Honduras won 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 20-25, 25-14) over Nicaragua to leave the table set for a grand finale of the V Afecavol Women’s U23 Championship .
The hosts reached five victories and this Wednesday they will face Costa Rica, champion of the first four editions of this category, which also arrives undefeated.
Honduras had a great performance from captain Nathaly Pérez, who got 24 points, 14 from Dazly Durán and 13 from Natalia Reyes. For Nicaragua, Gilmary Smith finished with 14 points, to 11 from Massiel Brenes.
The locals dominated the attack 43-38, 13-5 in blocking and 8-4 in service, with 31 errors made by each side.
Nathaly Reyes, captain of Honduras: “Tomorrow we will go with all the desire in the world to close this tournament, to win the gold medal. Today was a tough match, Nicaragua is a great team that did not let go of the reins at any time, it was difficult to manage, but thank God we managed to close in the fourth set. In the third I think we lost concentration, I felt that even in the first set we were not as forceful as in the second, we lacked a bit, but we recovered. The support of the public gives us good support, we never feel alone, they don’t let our spirits get low and that motivates us”.
Dazly Durán, outstanding player from Honduras: “Nicaragua is a team with which we always face each other, it is always difficult to play against them, they took a set from us, but we managed to get up and get the match. Against Costa Rica we are going with everything to win that medal, we have the same experience, we know each other, but we have the support of our fans”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “When a team does not apply itself tactically, things do not work out and that happened to us in the third set, the girls began to do other things, Nicaragua made variations and they were able to accommodate us to those changes, they get distracted , they go out of the plan that we work. We hope that tomorrow against Costa Rica it will be a great game, that the public will enjoy it, there is a lot of expectation for that game”.
On the last day, Belize meets Nicaragua at 4:30 p.m. and Honduras against Costa Rica at 7:00 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, August 02, 2022.- El Salvador battled to win 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13) over Belize (1-4), being their second win of the V Afecavol Women’s Under 23 Championship.
After comfortably winning the first two sets, El Salvador struggled to close out the match, with Belize gaining confidence at the net with Khaya Gordon inspired in attack. However, in the fifth and decisive set, the Salvadorans managed to take advantage of the errors of their opponents, especially in the reception, to win the match and reach two wins for three losses.
Daniela López and Allison Méndez were left with 16 points each, 15 from Maria Rodríguez and 13 from Daniela Ayala. For Belize, Khaya Gordon had 23 points, all in attack, Bruce Gareth with 17 and 12 from Marci Mejía.
El Salvador took advantage in services 11-7, in attacks 51-49, and in blocking Belize was better 8-7, with 41 errors by Belizeans to 31 by their opponents.
Daniela López, captain of El Salvador: “The match was very intense, we thought we would win in three sets but Belize made things difficult for us, although in the end we got the result. There were a lot of mixed feelings, because we were ahead and then they tied us and so on… a very hard fight, but in the next game we hope to win and finish better in the standings”.
Allison Mendez, striker from El Salvador: “I really feel very satisfied, happy and proud of the work we all did as a team. At first I felt nervous because I hadn’t started playing as a starter, but I managed to get through it and I’m very happy because we beat a team as strong as Belize”.
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “First of all I want to congratulate Belize because they knew how to counteract our game, they corrected along the way and changed the game system. El Salvador has grit and that was what got us through, they like to fight and sometimes even suffer, but I am very grateful to the entire work team and the girls because this was the best birthday present.”
El Salvador closes the tournament against Panama at 2:00 p.m., while Belize faces Nicaragua at 4:30 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, August 01, 2022.- Costa Rica defeated Guatemala 3-1 (25-214, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19), extending to five the victories achieved in the V Afecavol Women’s U23 Championship.
The four-time champions of the Under 23 category advanced steadily to the last day to be played this Wednesday, when they will face Honduras at 7:00 p.m. Guatemala, meanwhile, closed its participation in the tournament with a record of three wins and three losses.
Angélica Rodríguez with 15 points was the top scorer for Costa Rica, while Lakysha Thompson had 14 and Nicole Mata had 10 points. For Guatemala, María Santa Cruz contributed 21 points, to 12 from Naomi Monney.
Costa Rica dominated blocking 13-7 and serving 6-2, but Guatemala was better in attack 48-42, but they committed 34 errors, to 21 for the winners.
Lakysha Thompson of Costa Rica against doble block of Naomi Monney and Ivana Sopegno of Guatemala
Ana Victoria Rojas, captain of Costa Rica: “We started the game quite strong, they were very strong throughout the match and showed a good team, but we controlled our game and did our job. Our idea is to go out and win tomorrow’s game against Honduras, regardless of how they do today, we’re going to go all out”.
Angélica Rodríguez, Costa Rica’s best scorer: “I feel pretty good because they gave me the opportunity and I knew how to take advantage of it. We have a fairly united team, we have trained a lot, we know each other and we are a family on the pitch, that allows us to trust each other and anyone can do a good job, if not one, there is another who will do the best”.
Andrés Carvajal, coach of Costa Rica: “First we have to thank God and the Virgin of the Angels, someone so important in Costa Rica (today), they have helped us a lot, especially to seek unity in the group, strengthen that worked. The girls have behaved up to the task, all the sacrifice and effort they have made, they are receiving their reward with what they have achieved”.
Tegucigalpa, August 01, 2022.- Honduras consolidated with a good reception and tightened the attack against a strong block from Belize to win their fourth win this time 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-18).
Captain Nathaly Pérez with 18 points was the top scorer for Honduras, with Natalia Reyes contributing 9 units. Belize had nine points from Bruce Gareth.
Honduras dominated attacking 31-20, blocking 7-6 and serving 7-4, both committing 30 errors.
Blessed Omamurhe of Belize outduels Shattle Siliezar of Honduras
Nathaly Pérez, captain of Honduras: “We met our objective, which was to win, we didn’t expect it to be in three sets, but it turned out that way and it was better for us. I feel that we knew how to handle Belize, we complicated them with our serve, they also have a good serve and we managed to solve it with the receipt, we were also effective when attacking. The reception worked very well, our companions also supported when it came to attacking because of their high block”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “We are still undefeated, we prepared for the game and thank God what we planned worked. The receipt was better today than in other games and that was important. Really, although we want to test all the girls, we entered a stage in which we need to guarantee the matches and that is why today we kept a plant that was the one that gave us results to guarantee the medal, more strong matches are coming and we want to change the color of the medal”.
This Tuesday, Costa Rica faces Guatemala at 2:00 p.m., El Salvador against Belize at 4:30 p.m. and Honduras will play Nicaragua at 7:00 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, August 01, 2022.- Guatemala achieved its third victory for two defeats, beating Panama 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-11), which remains with 0-5 in the V Sub Championship 23 feminine of Afecavol.
Captain Naomi Monney was the top scorer with 18 points, and María Santa Cruz and Andrea Mendizabal had 7. For Panama, setter Dayanis Ríos scored 3 points and three players were left with two units each.
Guatemala completely dominated the match, with a 39-9 advantage in attacks, 4-2 in blocks and 12-1 in services, with 21 errors by the Panamanians to 20 committed by Guatemala.
The Guatemalan team lost its first two games, against Nicaragua and Honduras, but has recovered with three wins in a row, leaving for this Tuesday the possibility of playing for a medal when they face Costa Rica, which is undefeated in the tournament, at 2 :00 pm.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala said that “it was important to win in three sets because of the mental and physical rest that our players will have for tomorrow’s match, which will be key to thinking about a medal. Here the result depends on ourselves and it was vital to win quickly against Panama, because the girls come from intense matches and need this emotional blow and the psychological rest that it represents”.
“I think they have managed to get a lot of grit, it is not easy to get up after losing the first two games, but here we are, with a young team for this category, and we are fighting until the end for a medal,” said Fernández.
Panama will rest this Tuesday and will fulfill its last commitment on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. against El Salvador.
Tegucigalpa, August 01, 2022.- Costa Rica saved three match points in the first set to win 3-0 (29-27, 25-19, 25-13) over El Salvador in the end, and remain undefeated in four games, in the V Afecavol Women’s Under 23 Championship.
The Salvadorans pressed in the first set until they tied at 24 points, after trailing 24-21, but they did not take advantage of the match points they had, failing at key moments, while Costa Rica maintained concentration and gave the first emotional blow for later the game arrive.
Lakysha Thompson was the top scorer for Costa Rica with 13 points, to 11 from María Sofía Arroyo, while El Salvador had 13 points from Daniela López and 10 from María Rodríguez. Costa Rica dominated in attack 39-30, in blocking 7-5 and in service they were equal 2-2, with 31 errors by the Salvadorans to 22 by their rivals.
Lakysha Thompson, best scorer for Costa Rica: “I feel that the team has been on the rise; in each game we improve, like we caught the mistakes of the previous game and corrected them today and that is helping us to progress in each game. The more a team demands of us, the better we prepare for the next match, they demand more of us and it is better for us. I feel that if we stay united and if we play our game we will continue to achieve victories, luckily we have a very united group, we have played together for many years and we have incorporated the new ones very well and we support each other”.
Andrés Carvajal, coach of Costa Rica: “We are happy with the result and with the level that the rival showed, it was difficult for us at the beginning, during some stages of the game we had to make variations and luckily we found an answer on the bench as well, there it is our strength. In the replacement players today we find that respite, that emotional push that we needed and we managed to get the job done”.
Costa Rica celebrates
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “It was a good match, especially in the first two sets, in the third we fell apart mentally, since fatigue affected us a lot, but I’ll take the good part, the first two sets, which we were three times to win it, but small mistakes were costly. El Salvador has always stood out for the grit and intensity that we put into it, we’ve had a lot of difficulties since players were injured, but we have to keep giving our best”.
Costa Rica will face Guatemala this Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in a match that could define a place in the medal table. El Salvador will face Belize at 4:30 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, July 31, 2022.- Costa Rica remains unstoppable in three outings, this time by winning 3-0 (25-8, 25-14, 25-17) over Panama, which has a 0-4 record at the end of the fourth day of the V Afecavol Women’s Under 23 Championship.
Nicole Mata was the best scorer for Costa Rica with 11 points, Lakysha Thompson with 10 and Sofía Arroyo with 8… for Panama, captain Karla Ortiz had 13 points. Costa Rica was superior in attack 38-22, in blocking 5-3 and in service 3-2, taking advantage of 29 errors of the opponent, for 12 committed.
Ana Victoria Rojas, captain of Costa Rica: “It was a game that we were able to play thanks to God, the Panamanians tried to give their best, they were well defended and we managed to play our game and play more concentrated. Today there were several changes in the team, but everything went well and we are all ready to go play in the next games”.
Andrés Carvajal, coach of Costa Rica: “We are happy with the result, it was what we were looking for and needed, we were also able to give other players more participation to regulate the team and that they are all in their best physical shape for the following matches”.
Ana Rojas and Lakysha Thompson of Costa Rica block Mariluz Gonzalez of Panama
Added Carvajal: “We have had an important set load and fatigue could already begin to make a presence in the last few days and that is why it is good to regulate the team, take the competition calmly and enter the final stretch with force.”
Costa Rica will face El Salvador this Monday at 2:00 p.m., while Panama takes on Guatemala at 4:30 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, July 31, 2022.- Guatemala overcame a five-point deficit from the start to win an exciting first set 28-26 and from then on dominated the match to win 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25). -20) to Belize, in the V Afecavol Women’s U23 Championship.
Belize started with a 5-0 lead in the first set, then went ahead 20-16, but could not hold it until losing 26-28 to a fierce Guatemala. In the remaining two, the Guatemalans did not allow the Belizeans to rebel and kept their second victory for two defeats, while Belize remained with a 1-2 record.
Captain Naomi Monney scored 16 points for Guatemala and María Santa Cruz had 9, while Bruce Gareth and Khaya Gordon had 12 for Belize. Gareth went out through injury with the match tied at 20 in the first set, re-entering late in the set.
Guatemala took advantage in attacks 32-27 and in serves 6-4, but Belize outnumbered them in blocking 8-6, however they committed 35 errors, for 26 of the winners.
Guatemala celebrates
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “We feel very good, a victory that we were able to get in three sets, something that was not in the plans because we expected to go to maybe five sets, but we managed to get it out and that will help us a lot to focus on the following games. What makes the difference is that each team is fighting for its flag, for its country, that’s why the matches will be intense and very even”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “What the girls have done is admirable, the recovery of the team is comforting, Belize started very difficult, with a very aggressive serve, little by little we managed to recover and get the match. The first set made the difference, because the one who won it was difficult for the other to recover; all the teams are fighting for the medals and we have Panama tomorrow and in the last game we depend on ourselves”.
Guatemala will play against Panama this Monday at 4:30 p.m. and Belize will face Honduras at 7:00 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, July 31, 2022.- El Salvador achieved its first victory in the V Afecavol Women’s U23 Championship by dramatically winning 3-2 (15-25, 26-24, 25-20, 12-25, 15-8 ) to Nicaragua, at the beginning of the fourth day of the tournament.
The Salvadorans were 1-2 in wins and losses, 2-2 to the Nicaraguans, who started the first set strong, but in the other sets they were always down on the scoreboard.
Daniela Ayala was the best for El Salvador with 15 points and captain Daniela López got 14. For Nicaragua Gimalry Smith got 20 points, María Belén Arcia 16 and Brittany Forbes 13.
Nicaragua dominated the attack 53-35, the services 12-8 and were even in blocking at 11, but El Salvador took advantage of the 39 points for errors of his opponent for 26 committed.
Huge celebration from Daniela Sánchez of El Salvador
Daniela López, captain of El Salvador: “I feel very happy and content with my team, today the goal was achieved, we got the win and we looked good as a team, we played together, we were happy, we celebrated everything and that was key to achieving it. We had ups and downs, but we knew how to overcome them and we hope to maintain this spirit in the following games”.
Noé Fabián:” We’ve had injuries, illnesses, but despite adversity we’ve been able to get up and win a game. Today the teamwork helped us, all the players focused on what they had to do and the changes worked well”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “The lack of concentration and the excess of confidence affected us against El Salvador. After winning the first set, in the middle of the second they got too confident and there were moments of lack of concentration and we are going to try to recover the mental part in these last two games that we have left”.
El Salvador will face Costa Rica this Monday at 2:00 p.m., while Nicaragua has a break.
SEOUL, Korea, July 31, 2022 – Cuba claimed the men’s ticket to the 2023 FIVB Nations League, the premier annual event, following its 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) victory over Turkey on Sunday.
On their path to their triumph, the Cubans lost only that second set. They first defeated Chile 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) and continued with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18) success over Czech Republic.
The Cuban victory, winners of the 2022 NORCECA International League at home in Pinar del Rio, means that runners-up Dominican Republic gets the pass to next year’s FIVB Challenger Cup.
With the score tied at 1-1, Miguel Lopez led a Cuban reaction scoring 6 points in each of the final two sets increasing to 50 points his tally for the three matches.
The Captain Lopez led Cuba with 20 points, including two blocks and two aces, followed by Jesus Jaime Herrera with 19. Roamy Alonso and Osniel Melgarejo contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
As a team, Cuban dominated in attacks 56-43 and service winners 8-0 while getting the 9-8 edge in blocks. Each team committed 25 errors.
In the match for 3-4 positions, Korea won a duel with Czech Republic 3-2 (25-19, 25-16, 24-26, 23-25, 22-20).
Tegucigalpa, July 30, 2022.- Honduras remains undefeated (3-0) by beating Panama 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-14) in the closing of the third day of the V Afecavol U23 Women´s Championship.
The Panamanian team gave the hosts problems at times, especially in the second set, in which they stayed ahead even up to point 10, but Honduras reacted in time to not let any points slip away.
Honduras had Andrea Aceituno as its best offensive weapon with 11 points, plus 10 from Nathaly Pérez. The captain of Panama, Karla Ortiz got 13 points. The Hondurans led attacks 32-16, blocking 9-4 and serving 13-4, while Panama committed 21 errors to the winners’ 12.
Andrea Aceituno of Honduras with an outstanding performance against Panama
Andrea Aceituno, top scorer for Honduras: “I see the group quite well, we are well equipped, we have a good bench and a strong starting team, we have worked hard to be able to play with teams like Belize or Nicaragua, which are the ones to come. I trust each of our teammates that we will do a great job and, above all, follow the coach’s instructions”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “The team has been growing, we have worked for that; the games that are coming are complicated, we will go step by step… today against Panama, which seemed like an easy team, we started badly and that is difficult for us, it makes us do double work. We can’t do that with stronger teams, once we started well, we managed to hold on until point 15 and sometimes we stopped there… we have to see how to keep the pace of the game throughout the game”.
Honduras rests this Sunday while Panama will face Costa Rica at 7:00 p.m.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 30, 2022.- The Executive Committee and Board of Administration of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation NORCECA held a productive virtual meeting on Saturday, ahead of the XXVI NORCECA Congress on September 16-17, 2022.
NORCECA president Cristobal Marte Hoffiz gave the welcoming words to the working session which purpose was to review and discuss matters ahead of the next NORCECA Congress, including the 2022 calendar competition which is already underway and remaking his satisfaction that each Zonal Association are back to competition after the restrictions caused by the COVID 19 Pandemic.
“I am satisfied with the great effort from all our members to keep volleyball active in our Confederation and that all the matters in discussion have been prepared ahead of time, every topic is currently posted on our NORCECA website for everyone to review and make this an efficient meeting to reach our goals”, said Marte Hoffiz.
President Marte Hoffiz highlighted the 2021 calendar was completed and the 2022 calendar is running according to scheduled commending everyone for coming out from challenging times.
Along with the NORCECA working commissions reports and the discussions held during their respective commission virtual meetings earlier this year, the president’s NORCECA report was also presented.
Important aspects were underlined for Beach Volleyball with the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association CAZOVA implementing their under-23 Zonal Tour and the I Central American and Caribbean Beach Games for the last week of November; and a new world tournament of 4X4 Beach Volleyball is also scheduled for 2023.
Concerning development, the Empowerment program from the FIVB for the hiring of coaches, an additional financial support for traveling and lodging expenses is being provided by the NORCECA Confederation.
The work of the Regional Development Center in Santo Domingo was also presented, and the members of the Board of Administration were informed that with a joint effort from PANAM SPORTS, a Beach Volleyball camp for under-21 players will take place in October and the program has been submitted.
Members of the Board of Administration will present to the NORCECA Congress a proposal to be discussed in the matter of the gender minority representation in the FIVB Board of Administration.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 30, 2022.- Guatemala defeated El Salvador (3-0) 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-17) in the third day of the V Women’s U23 Afecavol Championship.
For Guatemala it was their first victory of the tournament with two defeats and they managed to get up after losing the first set against the impetus of Salvadorans who need a victory to have options for the podium.
Captain Naomi Monney with 20 points was the best scorer for Guatemala, while María Santa Cruz contributed 14 points. For El Salvador, Geannine Velásquez finished with 12 points, María Rodríguez and Daniela Ayala with 11 each.
Guatemala dominated attacking 41-35, blocking 10-8 and El Salvador was better in service 9-5, but they committed 38 unforced errors to 29 of their rivals.
María Santa Cruz of Guatemala against El Salavdor
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “This first victory is going to help us to be able to stay motivated in the following matches and to be able to give our best. El Salvador was complicated, he gave us a good game, but we were able to get the result”.
María Santa Cruz, outstanding player from Guatemala: “I think we dosed ourselves a lot and that makes us a little relaxed and ready to go for more in the following games. We are very satisfied with our work and the way we came back. We have to overcome the fatigue that was noticed in the first two games, today changes were made at the start to give us rest and then we went in with everything”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “I keep insisting that we have a U21 team, which will give battle to all the teams; recovering after two defeats is not easy at any level, that’s why this victory speaks well of the mentality of the girls, because they faced a Salvadoran team that left everything on the field, that put up a fight”.
Daniela López, captain of El Salvador: “It was a good game and it was a shame that the setter was injured, because she is very necessary. Now we will give everything for everything in the following matches and try to have options for the medals. This game helped us to play more as a team and we hope to continue like this in the next ones”.
El Salvador will face Nicaragua this Sunday at 2:00 p.m., while Guatemala takes on Belize at 4:30 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 30, 2022.- Costa Rica defeated Nicaragua (2-1) 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 26-15) on the third day of the V Women’s Afecavol U23 Championship.
For Costa Rica it was their second victory of the tournament without defeats, showing a good level both in attack and blocking, as well as a great defense.
María Arroyo was the top scorer for Costa Rica with 15 points and Nicaragua had Gilmary Smith with 10 points. Costa Rica took advantage in all elements of the game, 33-26 in attacks, 10-5 in blocks (Nicole Mata contributed 3 points per block) and 6-1 in aces. Nicaragua committed 26 unforced errors to 19 for Costa Rica.
María Arroyo, Costa Rica’s top scorer: “I think the key was confidence, because the first game was difficult and opening against a team like Belize weighs more, but today we feel more loose and we were able to show what we prepared for this tournament. I felt more confident today, I contributed more to the team from the beginning and we all support each other, we don’t let anyone fall and that is fundamental in the team”:
Andrés Carvajal, coach of Costa Rica: “I am happy with the result and much more satisfied with the effort, determination and willingness of the girls to apply themselves tactically and individually. We know that here we are going to continue to improve, every day that passes in the competition, we will continue to reach our best sporting form”.
Daniela Barrantes CRC against Brittani Forbes NCA
María Belén Arcia, captain of Nicaragua: “It hurts us to have lost, I think what made it more difficult for us was the receipt, that prevented us from being able to open the game and Costa Rica marked us well in the block. We also lost focus in some parts of the game and there was a lack of communication between us, but we always go forward, to find a way to be victorious in tomorrow’s game”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “I think the girls were very stressed, pressured because they know that every win counts and they put too much pressure on themselves and didn’t play at the level they can. We have worked on the psychological part, tomorrow is an important match against El Salvador, they have a good level and we have to go out and look for the win”.
Nicaragua will face El Salvador this Sunday at 2:00 p.m., while Costa Rica will face Panama at 7:00 p.m.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 29, 2022.- Honduras struggled, but in the end they won 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 26-24) against Guatemala (0-2) in the closing of the second day of the V Afecavol U23 Female Championship before a large crowd at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in the Olympic Village.
The locals exhibited a great defense in the key points at the end of the sets, and had a fiery captain Nathaly Pérez with 14 points, and Natalia Reyes with 8 and Shattle Siliezar with 9 points. For Guatemala, Naomi Monney was left with 15 points, María Santa Cruz and Andrea Mendizabal with 7.
Honduras was superior in attack 30-24, but was outclassed in blocking 13-9 and in service 7-6, the Hondurans committing 20 errors to 32 of their opponents.
Nathaly Pérez, captain of Honduras: “Super happy and proud that we were able to finish a match 3-0. I didn’t know much about Guatemala, but the coaching staff didn’t indicate how to play, they have good serves and attacks, but we knew how to control them. Luck was on our side today, but there is also a lot of hard work.”
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “I’m very happy, I expected to win today, but not in three sets because I know how complicated Guatemala is, but that’s the way the game is. Today the girls performed better, more confident, they made fewer mistakes, at one point they got out of control at the reception and the centrals were attentive, as well as Rocío (Durón). Today there was a lot of grit, despite the pressure from the public, because that can sometimes play against you, the girls managed to get into the game, concentrated”.
Honudras celebrates
William Fernández, coach of Guetamala: “It was a great match, Honduras handled it well, we have players who looked very tired on the court and are very young for this tournament:; their dedication is complete, but their physique does not allow them to solve situations such as the end of the game, some counterattack plays. We knew that the team is very young and this tournament is under 23, and we have players mostly from the other category, but we will continue to fight and give it our all every game”.
Guatemala and El Salvador will meet at 4:30 p.m. and closes the day at 7:00 p.m. Honduras against Panama. Honduras blanks Guatemala 3-0.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 29, 2022.- Costa Rica debuted this Friday with an exciting 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 28-26) victory over Belize on the second day of the V Central American U23 Women’s Afecavol Championship.
After losing the first set against an aggressive attacking Belize, Costa Rica managed to recover thanks to the work of Lakysha Thompson who produced both in attack and blocking to add 19 points, to 9 by Nicole Mata. In addition, the Belizeans made many mistakes, especially in serves, even though they dominated this element 11-6.
For Belize, Khaya Gordon had 19 points and 15 from Bruce Gareth. Guatemala was better in blocking 11-10 and equaled 35 points in attack. Errors were 48 for Belize and 33 for the winners.
Ana Victoria Rojas, captain of Costa Rica: “At the beginning we entered a little anxious for wanting to do things well, as it was the first match… but as we adapted we began to play better. If we were expecting a strong Belizean team, it demanded a lot from us and now we will go game by game, hoping to add wins”.
Andrés Carvajal, coach of Costa Rica: “I am very grateful for the work of the girls, we knew that the potential that Belize has, which was going to complicate us and was more complicated than we expected, especially the closures that were very tight and the first set that cost us to start. The team showed mettle, they brought out the experience and that’s what makes the difference; the tactical application they have and draw on their experience”.
José Fontes, coach of Belize: “We fell into a lot of deconcentration of our players and we made many unforced errors, which is something we always insist on, many errors in serves and we were affected by some changes that we made that emotionally destabilized the team. When those factors are added up and we have a team like Costa Rica against us, that costs you the game”.
Costa Rica will face Nicaragua at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, while Belize is off.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 29, 2022 – The NORCECA/FIVB Regional Volleyball Development Center in Dominican Republic is organizing a Level II Coaches Course from August 1 to 5 with 20 participants.
The course is sponsored by the NORCECA Confederation and has the endorsement of FIVB.
Twenty coaches hailing from Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have been registered to participate of it.
.Profesor Nelson Ramirez, director of the Development Center informed that the director or the course assigned by FIVB is Juan Cartagena of Puerto Rico who will be assisted by Alexander Gutierrez of Venezuela and Wilson Sanchez of Dominican Republic.
Ramirez remarked that this is the only course authorized by NORCECA and FIVB carried out with the presence of the participants.
All theoretical and practical classes will take place in the premises of the Development Center, the training complex of the Dominican Volleyball Federation at the Olympic Park as well as at the Olympic Village in Santo Domingo.
Ramirez expressed his personal satisfaction by the opportunity offered by NORCECA and FIVB to be the first Regional Center in the whole world to host live courses.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 29, 2022.- Nicaragua beat Panama 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-7) in the first match of the second day of the V Afecavol U23 Women’s Central American Championship.
Nicaragua reached two victories, while Panama has two defeats. Brittany Forbes with 12 points was the best for the winners, with Gilmary Smith contributing 9 points. For Panama, captain Karla Ortiz was left with five units.
The Nicaraguans dominated 35-10 in attacks, 8-1 in blocks and 7-3 in services, with 25 points due to errors by Panama for 16 committed.
María Belén Arcia, captain of Nicaragua: “It is very important to get this victory, although I think that in part of the game we trust ourselves, we play at the same level as the rival and we cannot allow that because more complicated and demanding games are coming. We must maintain our concentration in the games to come”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “A win is always satisfying, Panama allowed us to rotate our team, we are confident that we have players for any game, they are all capable of playing against any rival and that was shown yesterday (against Guatemala) and today against Panama”.
Brittany Forbes led Nicaragua’s scorers
Karla Ortiz, captain of Panama: “I think today we played looser than yesterday… we were better at certain moments of the game, but Nicaragua has good players, they play faster than Belize and we don’t have as much experience. We still keep going, other games are coming and we hope to get better every day”.
Eliot Clarke, coach of Panama: “Nicaragua has a great team and our little girls are giving everything on the pitch to get good results. You can see that the other teams have more friction, they have kept playing more than us”.
Nicaragua will play this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against Costa Rica, and Panama at 7:00 p.m. meets Honduras.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 28, 2022.- Honduras achieved a victory 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 22-25, 25-11) against El Salvador, in the closing of the first day of the V Central American U23 Women’s Afecavol Championship, in the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium, of the Olympic Village of Tegucigalpa.
The Hondurans were led by their captain Nathaly Pérez with 24 points, and Andrea Aceituno with 13 and Natalia Reyes with 11. For El Salvador, Daniela López contributed 13 and 9 from Belén Amaya.
Honduras led spikes 47-29, blocks 8-5 and aces 10-6. With 32 errors from El Salvador to 23 from the Hondurans.
Nathaly Pérez, captain of Honduras: “I am happy, happy to be here with all the people who have supported me since I started playing, always eager to make them proud. I think there was a mental part, especially in the third set, that affected us, El Salvador had their game too, they took us out of the game but in the fourth set we managed to recover”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “It was a nice show for the fans, but we don’t plan to lose a set today, I think we always have that problem with the mental part. We’re going to work more on the discipline part, they didn’t pay attention to some elements and we can’t continue doing that in the games to come”.
Shantte Siliezar of Honduras against El Salvador blockers
Daniela López, captain of El Salvador: “We congratulate Honduras for their victory, it was our first game and we are sorry we did not win, in the following games we hope to have a better attitude, we have a good team, I believe in our team and I am sure we can give good results.”
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “First congratulations to Honduras, they have a great team and a player who stands out above the rest (Nathaly). For our part, the nervousness of the first game took its toll on us, against the host, with their audience… that makes it weigh on us at a certain point. We couldn’t get up at certain times, but it wasn’t enough.”
On the second day of this Friday, Honduras is measured against Guatemala at 7:00 p.m. and El Salvador has rest.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; July 28, 2022.- Nicaragua fought to win 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11) against a combative Guatemala in the second match of the first day of the V Central American Championship Women’s Afecavol U23.
Guatemala, which comes from being champion in the U21 category with the most players, began dominant in all sets, but the Nicaraguans managed to overcome that disadvantage to prevail thanks to the performance of Gilmary Smith with 17 points, 16 from Maria Belén Arcia and 13 from Massiel Brenes.
Meanwhile, Guatemala had its captain Naomi Monney with 23 points, while her teammate Andrea Mendizabal contributed 15 units.
Nicaragua was better 10-8 in serves, but was outscored 11-8 in blocks and 50-49 in spikes, with 41 errors from Guatemala to 34 from the winners.
Maria Santa Cruz GUA against Massiel Brenes y Francesca Medrano NCA
María Belén Arcia, captain of Nicaragua: “We are very happy to have won, it was a very difficult game, Guatemala is a team that defends a lot, but we were always there, animated, showing the claw and attitude of fighting all the way until the end. We bonded as a team and worked well as a team.”
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “Guatemala was a very difficult team, with most of the players who were champions in the sub 21 category, but I think we have a good level, the Nicaraguan team showed grit, a lot of concentration and dedication in the game. We were down and we knew how to swim against the current, but it can’t continue, because we can’t let the rival take much of the lead”.
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “We played a good game, we gave everything until the last point, but I think we could have given more to win that game. We are not going to give up, we will go with everything in the next matches and if we have to go to five sets in all of them, then we will play them and give everything on the court”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “This is what was expected of the tournament, a very close match, congratulations to Nicaragua who knew how to close the game correctly today and to our team who gave their best effort. We know that the event would be very difficult because our team is very young, but that is not justification, Nicaragua beat us very well”.
Nicaragua will play this Friday at 2:00 p.m. against Panama, and Guatemala at 7:00 p.m. Honduras are measured.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 28, 2022 – Belize started with a 3-0 victory (25-14, 25-11. 25-12) against Panama to open the V Women’s Afecavol U23 Central American Championship, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium of the Olympic Village of Tegucigalpa.
The Belizean team rotated players, with Blessed Omamurhe with 11 points, Khaya Gordon and Nisaan Martínez with 10; while for Panama, captain Karla Ortíz was left with 8 and six from Krisleen González. Belize outscored 41-16 in spikes, 8-2 in blocks and 5-2 in aces, with 21 errors from Panama to 17 from the winners.
Sofía Solano, captain of Belize: “We are happy with the result, Panama was not a very demanding team, it was not what we expected, it was good to win in three sets. I think we are playing at a high level, tomorrow is a great game against Costa Rica and we know it will be a very tough game”.
José Fontés, coach of Belize: “It was a game that did not have a great level, even we started a little nervous. The lack of competitions in recent years takes its toll on Panama… for us to start winning is very important, we know that the rest of the games will be very difficult”.
Match action Belize vs Panama
Karla Ortiz, Captain of Panama: “We see this participation in a good way, because the vast majority of the girls are inexperienced players and this is a high-level tournament, where we are short and below the tournament age. We will give our very best, they played a good game and we were a little nervous as it was the first game”.
Eliot Clark: “Belize used to be Cinderella, but they have put a lot of work into it and now it is a great team and you have to respect them. They played very well (Belize), they won their game well played and we lacked experience. Expect a lot from us in the next games, we will grow little by little”.
Panama will play this Friday at 2:00 p.m. against Nicaragua, while Belize has a clash against Costa Rica at 4:30 p.m.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras; July 27, 2022.- The V Central American Championship will begin this Thursday, July 28, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium, in the Tegucigalpa Olympic Village, with seven teams in search of the title obtained by Costa Rica in the previous four editions.
The coaches anticipate a very competitive tournament, since it is a prelude to the absolute category and the technical and game level is very high.
José Fontés, coach of Belize: “We have a few different players than the ones we had in the Under 21s (where they were runners-up); It is a higher category competition and we lost one of our best scorers, but if we are going to try to make it a more fruitful competition. The Afecavol competitions will be very equal, even the level of the countries that were weaker before have increased and that helps us to put on a good show”
William Fernández: Coach of Guatemala: “We bring the same under 21 group (they were champions) and the goal is to give the maximum in each game, play with joy and with the same courage that we did in Belize. It must be a very level tournament… the level will be for anyone, we have come from a very long jump due to the pandemic, where we did not have warm-ups or tournaments, but the teams have also grown.”
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “This is a very competitive tournament, everyone has raised their level, including El Salvador, who has been improving little by little. The champion of this tournament will be the team that manages to keep the level of play constant, because here a stumble and you stay with a chance. The importance is to resume all the tournaments of minor categories is that they serve as training, they are the base of the major National Teams, and our objective is the Central American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “We want to continue in the medal table, that is the objective due to the trend that this group brought from the other categories from the U18, U20… we believe that this will end with something good, besides that we have the team complete, with players who come from the Under 21 in Belize (they were third)”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “We hope to maintain the place obtained in the previous tournament (third place), it is a young team, with many players for the future, who we hope will later be part of the Senior National Team. Our goal here is to maintain the level of the game, move up the rankings and showcase the talent of the new faces of Nicaraguan volleyball.”
Andrés Carbajal, Costa Rica: “We come with enthusiasm, joy, aware of the responsibility we have to revalidate this title and reach the five-time championship. We greatly respect the work of the other teams and expect games of a high level and demand. It is a group that has players who have already experienced this type of events, there is a mixture of experience and novice players. The group has accepted and received them (the new ones) well, we hope that there will be no nerves or anxiety in competition, the group is very united”.
Eliot Clarke, coach of Panama: “Our expectation is that the team is young, they have talent, but we want them to develop little by little, each game will help them get to know each other and give their best. It is a fairly young team, only about two are from the category and the rest are younger; We hope to continue working with this team and keep it going for a long time.”
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 26, 2022.- Costa Rica will seek to become Five-time AFECAVOL Women’s U23 Central American Champion in the tournaments fifth edition to take place at Jorge Galeano Gymnasium of the Sports Complex of Tegucigalpa, Honduras from July 26 to August 3rd.
Costa Rica is the indisputable age-group champion since it’s first edition in 2012. Guatemala has produced two silver medals and one bronze, followed by Nicaragua with one silver and one bronze. On the other hand, Belize has one silver medal, won in the past edition, while Honduras alongside El Salvador have one bronze medal each.
The fifth edition of the Central American Women´s U23 Championship will have all seven Central American countries competing, who will go through the preliminary inquiry on Wednesday July 27.
The round-robin competition will have three daily matches scheduled at 2:00, 4:30 and 7:00 pm that will be livestreamed on Facebook Live Federación Hondureña de Voleibol
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 23, 2022 – The United States finished the Pan American Cup with a big win over Brazil, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-17) to take the gold medal on Saturday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Team USA (5-0) is qualified for the 2023 FIVB World Championship. Brazil (4-1) will look to earn its berth at the South American championship.
The U.S. team was dominant in attacks (41-17) and aces (9-1). It led in blocks 10-9. Brazil scored on 19 U.S. errors and committed 15 of its own.
U.S. outside hitter Harper Murray led all scorers with 15 points on a match-high 13 attacks and two blocks. Opposite Abigail Mullen added 14 points on nine spikes, a match-high four blocks and an ace.
U.S. setter Bergen Reilly had a match-high three aces.
Brazil was led by outside hitter Rebeca Borges who had six points on three attacks and three blocks.
Brazil silver medal winners
U.S. Coach Jamie Morrison: We got better over the course of the tournament. We talked a lot about learning from each match and making sure we fixed any problems the next morning and then we went into the next match. We continued to do that pretty perfectly.
Brazil Coach Hylmer Do Nascimento Dias: It was a great tournament for us. Our team is very young. It is important for us to get experience for them. This tournament helped prepare them for the South American championship. The U.S. team did a great job today and congratulations to them for the gold medal.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 23, 2022 – Dominican Republic won a battle with Puerto Rico 3-1 (28-26, 22-25, 25-22, 32-30) to take the bronze medal at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Both Dominican Republic (4-2) and Puerto Rico (2-4) qualified for the 2023 FIVB World Championship.
The teams were very close statistically. They were tied in attacks 59-59. Dominican Republic led in blocks 11-7 and Puerto Rico led in aces 12-8. Dominican Republic scored 29 points on Puerto Rico’s errors while giving up 25.
The match included a third set in which Puerto Rico held off seven match points before Dominican Republic won. In the fourth set, Dominican Republic held match point five times before winning on the sixth. Puerto Rico held set point twice.
Dominican Republic outside hitter Katielle Vargas led all scorers with 30 points on a match-high 27 attacks, two blocks and one ace. Dominican middle blocker Selanny Puente had a match-high four blocks.
Puerto Rico’s opposite Grace Lopez led her team with 28 points on 24 spikes and a match-high four aces.
Dominican Republic celebrates bronze medal victory over Puerto Rico
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: It was a tough game. We knew it was going to be this way because there is a great rivalry between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. We failed a lot, something we hadn’t been doing, but in the end they failed a little more than us. Happy very happy.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: I understand that the girls did an excellent job and we finished the tournament playing very well. Very pleased and I hope that they understand the commitment to train with dedication towards the World Cup.
TULSA, Oklahoma, July 23, 2022 – Mexico grabbed the final berth to the 2023 U19 FIVB World Championship with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) win over Canada on Saturday at the 2022 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Mexico (4-2) finished the tournament in fifth place.
Mexico led in spikes (34-27) and aces (11-6). Canada (2-4) led in blocks (7-3) but gave up 27 points on scoring errors while Mexico gave up 19.
Mexico outside hitter Michelle Arzate led all scorers with 12 points on a match-high 10 spikes and two aces. Opposite Luz Solano added 11 points on eight attacks, one block and two aces. Outside hitter Ximena Cordero totaled 10 points on seven spikes and a match-high three aces.
Canada’s scoring was led by outside hitter Abagayle Guezen who scored 10 points on six attacks and two blocks. Setter Kaiya Tyson had a match-high three blocks.
Mexico celebrates its victory
Luis Banuelos, coach of Mexico: We are very happy to have achieved the main goal, which was a pass to the World Championship. We know that we still have a lot to work on, a lot to analyze this entire tournament. But this is a time to celebrate together with the girls, together with our families and all of Mexico. Very happy with the pass to the World Championship.
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: Obviously it’s painful to not come away with a win tonight and a berth to the world championships. I definitely feel for the athletes who committed to the process and did a lot of learning over the week. I think it’s a really good step for them and for the program for our young athletes to have this experience in their developmental pathway. It’s good for our senior national team program to have athletes coming in that have been in these pressure situations.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 23, 2022 – Peru picked up its first win of the tournament with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Costa Rica on Saturday at the 2022 Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Peru (1-4) finishes the tournament in seventh place.
Peru led in attacks (38-24) while Costa Rica led in blocks (5-3) and aces (9-7). Peru scored on 27 Costa Rica errors and committed 23.
Peru outside hitters Katherine Pauro and Fabiana Hurtado finished with 14 points each. Pauro had 13 attacks and one ace. Hurtado had 12 attacks and two aces.
Costa Rica outside hitter Nazareth Mata led her team with 10 points on eight spikes, one block and one ace.
Peru vs Costa Rica at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa
Peru Coach Walter Lung: The victory is better. The structure of the game was different because previous matches were against taller teams. We are happy because this is a small team that has good defense. We are happy because we have a victory at the end.
Kareem Richars, coach of Costa Rica: It has been a very growing experience. In today’s game we expected a little more, but it is part of the game, part of the development. We need a little more. We leave happy. The objective was attained. The organization has been excellent. We hope that Costa Rica in future competitions can compete at a higher level.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Team USA continued to roll through the Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-15) semifinal win over Dominican Republic on Friday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The United States (4-0) will play Brazil (4-0) for the championship on Saturday. Dominican Republic (3-2) will face Puerto Rico (2-3) in the bronze medal match.
Dominican Republic kept the pressure on the United States. Although the U.S. led in attacks (39-18) and blocks (4-1), the teams were tied in aces (6-6) and each team had 25 scoring errors.
Dominican opposite Ariana Rodriguez led all scorers with 14 points on a match-high 12 attacks and two aces.
Outside hitter Harper Murray led Team USA with 10 points on eight spikes, one block and one ace.
USA celebrates defeating Dominican Republic
U.S. Coach Jamie Morrison: It was nice to be pushed. The Dominicans have always been a good rival of the United States. I was happy they pushed us a little bit. We got to learn some things about our team. I’m sure tomorrow night will be a battle.
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: A tough game. We knew that the United States is a very strong team but I think we played well and kept up a good level of play. It is difficult to play against the United States. We are prepared and rested for tomorrow from where we can leave with a bronze medal. In short, happy.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Puerto Rico almost handed Brazil its first loss of the Pan American Cup, but the South Americans prevailed, 3-2 (19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 18-25, 15-8) on Friday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Brazil (4-0) will play for the championship on Saturday. Puerto Rico will play for third place. Puerto Rico is qualified for the 2023 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship.
Brazil led the match in aces (13-6) and blocks (16-9). Puerto Rico led in attacks (54-48). The teams each had 25 scoring errors.
The teams were tied 5-5 in the fifth set when Brazil scored on an ace and a kill, both from outside hitter Vittoria Kuehne, and Puerto Rico never recovered.
Brazil’s outside hitter Rebeca Borges led all scorers with 25 points on 19 spikes, two blocks and a match-high four aces. Vittoria finished with 18 points on 15 kills and three aces. Middle blocker Juliana Palhano scored 12 points on five spikes and a match-high seven blocks.
Puerto Rico’s left-handed opposite Grace Lopez scored 22 points on a match-high 20 attacks, one block and one ace. Outside hitter Destiny Skerrett added 15 points on 12 spikes and three blocks.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: It was a good match. The players raised their game with a great first set that was almost perfect. We recover in the room. Brazil is a taller team but not as strong. I am proud and satisfied with the work of the girls.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Canada had to come back in each set against a tenacious Costa Rica and went on to win 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-22) at the Pan American Cup on Friday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Canada (2-3) will play Mexico (3-2) for fifth place and a 2023 World Championship berth on Saturday. Costa Rica (0-4) will play Peru (0-4) for seventh place.
Costa Rica had set point three times in the first set, but Canada held off the loss. Canada took its first set point at 26-25 and won on a kill by Taylor de Boer. Costa Rica led 23-19 in the second set before Canada scored six straight points to win. Costa Rica led 16-14 in the third set before Canada pulled ahead.
Costa Rica scored 39 points on Canada’s errors while giving up 19. Costa Rica led in aces (7-5). Canada led in spikes (50-24) and blocks (3-2).
De Boer led all scorers with 16 points on 15 kills and one ace. Sofia Vega led Costa Rica with 10 points on seven spikes and three aces.
Canada U19 National Team
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: It was frustrating to see so many unforced errors from the group today. Every match that we are in is an opportunity for us to learn as we progress later into the tournament in terms of body management and ability to focus and execute in all sorts of circumstances. I’m pleased that we get to advance into the next match. It’s a big one for us. But we have a lot of work to do.
Kareem Richards, coach of Costa Rica: “Very proud of these girls that showed that with the proper preparation and the right structure they are able to compete at this level. Canada is a very good team, very tall but the players followed our instructions and that is why played the way we did. The lack of experience showed at the end of the sets that we could not close. Even though we did not win the match, we got a lot of experience. Today, our team grew up a little bit more.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 22, 2022 – Mexico kept alive its hopes for a 2023 World Championship berth with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-21) win over Peru in the Pan American Cup on Friday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Mexico (3-2) will play in the fifth-place match on Saturday. Peru (0-4) will play for seventh.
Mexico’s attack overwhelmed Peru as it led in spikes 41-26. Mexico also scored 24 points on Peru’s errors while committing 19. The teams tied in blocks (4-4) and aces (6-6).
Mexico outside hitter Ximena Cordero dominated the match, leading all scorers with 18 points on 18 spikes. She also had 13 digs. Mexico’s libero Sofia Padron had 19 digs.
Mexico celebrates against Peru
Peru was led by outside hitter Fabiana Hurtado who scored nine points on seven spikes, one block and one ace.
Luis Bañuelos, coach of Mexico: “We are very happy about winning this match, after the one we lost yesterday. It is good for the motivation of the group. Now we have to wait for the match between Canada and Costa Rica to achieve a good position in this tournament.”
Peru Coach Walter Lung: We hoped this match would be better, but it wasn’t. Technically, the team showed improvement. We are still working to improve and develop.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 21, 2022 – The Dominican Republic will go to the semifinals of the 2022 Girls U19 Pan American Cup after beating Canada in the quarterfinals on Thursday, 3-1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-12, 26-24) at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The win also qualified the Dominican Republic (3-1) for the 2023 Girls U19 World Championship. The Dominican will play the United States (3-0) in the semifinals. Canada (1-3) will play Peru (0-3) in the fifth-place bracket.
Scoring errors proved costly for Canada. It gave up 36 points to the Dominican Republic, which had 21 errors. The Dominicans serving was also tough for Canada to handle. The DR led in aces 11-3. It also held smaller leads in spikes (42-42) and blocks (10-8).
Dominican Republic outside hitter Katielle Vargas and opposite Ariana Rodriguez each finished with 18 points. Vargas scored 13 attacks and a match-high five blocks. Rodriguez added 13 spikes, a match-high four aces and one block.
Canada was led by outside hitter Taylor de Boer with 14 points on 13 attacks and one block.
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: Very happy with this victory. Now we have to rest because we have a very tough match against United States. Our goal now is to get one of the medals back to Dominican Republic.”
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: It’s tough to be that close and not come out with that fourth set. I definitely was proud of the developments the group made in a short period of time. We did a lot of work in video and on the practice court leading into this match. I think the athletes did a really great job of executing the gameplan and showing that they are growing every day.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 21, 2022 – Puerto Rico came back from a first-set loss to beat Mexico 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21) on Thursday at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The win qualified Puerto Rico (2-2) for one of the four spots available to NORCECA teams for the 2023 FIVB World Championship. The team will move on to play in Friday’s semifinals. Mexico (2-2) will move to the fifth-place bracket.
Puerto Rico led Mexico in attacks (55-50) and aces (6-4). Mexico led in blocks (11-7). Puerto Rico scored 29 points on Mexico’s errors and gave up 26.
Puerto Rico opposite Grace Lopez led all scorers with 25 points on a match-high 21 attacks, two blocks and two aces. Outside hitter Destiny Skerrett scored 19 points on 18 kills and one block. Middle blocker Yarianis Suarez had a match-high four blocks for Puerto Rico.
Mexico was led by outside hitter Ximena Cordero who had 17 points on 16 spike and one block.
Match action Puerto Rico against Mexico
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: “Very happy with this victory. The girls were very anxious in the first set. We asked them to calm down and they did it. Our game improved in the following sets. The serves, the attacks down the corners and defense were good. We are very happy with this qualification to the world championship.”
Luis Bañuelos, coach of Mexico: “Very sad because we lost this match. We started playing well but then we committed too many errors that affected our chances. We still have two more matches to play and hopefully we will do better.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 20, 2022 – Team USA beat Peru, 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-15) on Wednesday and will advance straight to the semifinals of the Girls U19 Pan American Cup after winning its pool 3-0 at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The U.S. Girls (3-0) will get Thursday off while they await their semifinal opponent. Peru (0-3) will play in the fifth-place bracket, which also begins Friday.
Although each set started close, the United States pulled away each time and ended up leading the match in attacks (40-19), blocks (8-1) and aces (9-2). The U.S. committed 16 scoring errors and Peru committed 18.
Outside hitter Harper Murray of the U.S. started the first two sets and led all scorers with 12 points on nine attacks, two aces and one block. Outside hitter Kira Hutson scored 11 points on eight kills, two aces and one block.
Outside hitter Fabiana Hurtado led her team with seven points on six kills and one ace.
USA Head Coach Jamie Morrison I think the biggest thing is the growth of the players who are in this tournament. I thought today we could have been a little bit better. Overall, I’m happy with the progress the team has made and going undefeated is a great accomplishment.
Peru Head Coach Walter Lung: For us, it’s a big opportunity to play against the USA because we consider them one of the best teams in the world. We think that the girls played well, considering their level. They made their best effort and we played with three girls who are 15 years old. These are young kids. We want to finish the tournament in the best place possible.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 20, 2022 – The Dominican Republic survived Puerto Rico’s third-set rally and won its final pool play match 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) on Wednesday in a Girls U19 Pan American Cup match at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Dominican Republic (2-1) finished pool play in second place and Puerto Rico (1-2) placed third. Both teams will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals for a berth in Friday semifinals.
Dominican Republic led the stats in spikes (42-32) and had an amazing 13 aces as opposed to six for Puerto Rico. The teams tied in blocks (5-5) and each team had 16 scoring errors.
Puerto Rico put together a serving run in the third set that almost got it to the set victory, but Dominican Republic came back to win.
Dominican opposite Ariana Rodriguez led all scorers with 19 points on 13 attacks and a match-high six aces. Outside hitter Katielle Vargas added 17 points on a match-high 15 kills and two blocks.
Puerto Rican opposite Grace Lopez led her team with 16 points on 11 kills, four aces and one block. Outside hitter Destiny Skerrett had a match-high three blocks.
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: “Happy with this victory. What Iiked the most was the regularity we were able to keep. Tomorrow we have a tough match against Canada and we need to study them and prepare for that. Very happy.”
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: “Our reception did not work properly. Then we tried our best in the third set but could not close it. Tomorrow we go against Mexico trying to advance.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 20, 2022 – Mexico took a big 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 26-24) win over Canada on Wednesday to secure at least second place in its pool at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center.
Mexico (2-1) and Canada (1-2) must wait until Wednesday’s final match between the United States and Peru to find out where they finish in the pool.
Mexico’s offense proved to be the difference as it led in attacks 40-27. The teams tied in aces 8-8 and Canada led in blocks 7-4. Canada held set point in the third set at 24-23, but Mexico scored three straight points for the win.
Mexico outside hitter Michelle Arzate led all scorers with 20 points on 18 spikes and two aces. Outside hitter Ximena Cordero had 10 points and middle blocker Alicia Solis scored eight points including a match-high five aces.
Canada’s team captain and outside hitter Taylor de Boer led her team with 12 points on 12 attacks. Middle blocker Veronica Dickson and outside hitter Abagayle Guezen each had three blocks for Canada.
Mexico during line-up
Luis Bañuelos, coach of Mexico: “Very happy to finish the preliminary phase with a victory against Canada. We did a lot of work and study about them. The third set was complicated. Now we will wait for the quarterfinals hoping for a higher position.”
Canada Coach Christine Biggs: We were pleased with our ability to build throughout the match. By the third set, we were in a place where we would like to be moving forward. We want to build on that and grow throughout the remainder of the tournament.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 20, 2022 – Brazil finished pool play undefeated at 3-0 after beating Costa Rica on Wednesday, 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-12) in the Girls U19 Pan American Cup at Cox Business Center Arena in Tulsa.
Brazil will get Thursday off and play in the semifinals on Friday. Costa Rica (0-3) will move to the fifth-place bracket.
Brazil led in kills (45-8), blocks (7-2) and aces (6-1). Brazil scored on 17 Costa Rica errors and committed 15. Inexperienced Costa Rica remained enthusiastic throughout the match and cheered every point they scored against Brazil.
Brazil opposite Manoela Forlin led all scorers with 14 points on 12 spikes and two aces. Middle blocker Juliana Palhano added 12 points, including two blocks.
Outside hitter Nazareth Mata had three points for Costa Rica.
Match action between Brazil and Costa Rica
Brazil Team Manager Jose Caetano: Of course we are very happy. It I very important to be first in the group because we have a day to rest, and it is good for the rest of the championship. Even though our group is still developing, the best thing has been that we are playing as a team.
Kareem Richards, coach of Costa Rica: “Today we lost to Brazil but o team improved. The team is growing and that is why we came here. The name of Brazil weighed too much at the beginning but the girls improved. For me it was a benefit for us. You do not face a team like Brazil every day.”
GATINEAU, Canada, July 20, 2022 – Volleyball Canada is proud to announce that the 2022 Men’s XV Pan-American Cup is heading to Gatineau, Quebec from August 7-15, 2022 at the Centre Slush Puppie.
The event will bring together at least eight teams, including Canada, USA, Brazil, and Cuba, among others, with matches beginning Aug. 9 and concluding on the 14th.
“We’re excited to host the first of what we hope is many international events at the Centre Slush Puppie,” said Alan Ahac, director of international events for Volleyball Canada. “After the success of men’s Volleyball Nations League in Ottawa last month, we’re looking forward to bringing teams from Pan Am countries to this new facility in Gatineau.”
The tournament marks the first international event at the Centre Slush Puppie, which completed construction and officially opened in 2021. The event also serves as the first qualification tournament for the XXIV Central American & Caribbean Games 2023, to be held in El Salvador and to the XIX Pan-American Games in 2023, to be held in Santiago, Chile.
Group A will consist of USA, Cuba, Chile, and Dominican Republic. Group B will be host Canada, as well as Brazil, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Matches will be held 11:30, 2 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm on Tuesday – Thursday & Saturday; 5:00 pm & 7:30 pm on Friday and 9:00 am, 11:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm on Sunday (Aug. 14).
Canada will get ready for the tournament with two international exhibition games (opposing teams TBA) on August 5 and 6, also in Gatineau.
BOLOGNA, Italy, July 20, 2022 – United States recovered from losing the opening set and went on to defeat Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Men’s FIVB Volleyball Nations League on Wednesday.
The Americans advanced to the semifinals following their victory 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-27) taking advantage of 28 unforced errors by the Brazilians.
The winners led in blocks (7-3) and aces (4-2) while the losers had the upper hand in attacks (61-56).
Match action between United States and Brazil, VNL quarterfinals
Torey Defalco and Aaron Russell topped the American scoring with 17 and 14 points, respectively, while David Smith added 11.
Yoandy Leal led Brazil with 18 points, followed by Ricardo Lucarelli with 16 and Darlan Ferreira with 13.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 19, 2022 – Team USA handed Canada its first loss of the Girls U19 Pan American Cup, 3-0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-11) on Tuesday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The U.S. Girls (2-0) will look to win the pool on Wednesday against Peru (0-2). Canada (1-1) will look to bounce back when it plays Mexico (1-1).
Team USA dominated the match and led in spikes (29-9), blocks (6-3) and aces (13-1). The U.S. scored on 27 errors by Canada while committing 13.
U.S. opposite Abigail Mullen led all scorers with 11 points on eight kills and three aces. Outside hitter Julia Blyashov started the first two sets and scored eight points. U.S. libero Laney Choboy was credited with nine digs.
Canada opposite Lydia Johnson led her team with three points.
Match action between United States and Canada
USA Head Coach Jamie Morrison: We’re just taking this day by day and growing as a team. I thought we took another step up and we’ll do that again tomorrow and the day after. They are starting to understand what it takes to play international volleyball.
Canada Head Coach Christine Biggs: Across the board, we won’t be happy with how we showed up and how we competed tonight. There’s lots of things that we can learn from this. As a staff and a group of athletes, there were a lot of moments where we were challenged and tested. We now have opportunities to look deeper at where we need work.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 19, 2022 – Brazil and Dominican Republic played a high-level match with Dominican Republic taking several leads before Brazil could come back and win 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20) at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup on Tuesday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Brazil (2-0) will play Costa Rica (0-2) in the pool play finale on Wednesday. Dominican Republic (1-1) will face Puerto Rico (1-1).
Despite strong play from Dominican Republic, Brazil led in attacks (46-37), blocks (9-7) and aces (4-3). Dominican Republic had 16 scoring errors and Brazil had 15.
Brazil had three players score 15 points each: outside hitter Vittoria Kuehne, opposite Manoela Forlin and outside hitter Rebeca Borges. Borges had a match-high 14 spikes. Forlin had a match-high three blocks.
Outside hitter Katielle Vargas led Dominican Republic with 16 points.
Brazil celebrates a point against Dominican Republic
Brazil Team Manager Jose Caetano: The match was very high level and that is important for us. Dominican Republic is a good team in our group. It’s important to have a good match against a good team to give us confidence as we move on in the competition.
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: “It was a tough game. I think we played well and could have played a little better but some of our players lacked playing experience. I am very happy with the players that did it well.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 19, 2022 – Mexico and Peru had a roller-coaster battle that Mexico finally won, 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-27, 25-15) on Tuesday at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Mexico (1-1) will play Canada (1-0) in the pool-play finale on Wednesday. Peru (0-2) will play the United States (1-0).
Both teams had strong serving as Peru held a slight edge in aces, 11-10. The teams tied in blocks 5-5, but Mexico dominated on offense with 50 spikes as opposed to 31 for Peru. Mexico scored 31 points on Peru’s errors while limiting theirs to 26.
Mexico had three players in double figures led by outside hitter Michelle Arzate with 21 points on a match-high 15 spikes and a match-high six aces. Middle blocker Arleth Marquez scored 15 points and Alexa Vallin had 12.
Peru was led by outside hitter Fabiana Hurtado with 18 points on 14 kills and four aces.
Match action between Mexico and Peru
Luis Bañuelos, coach of Mexico: “Very happy with this first victory. The girls have been working very hard. Unfortunately, yesterday we could not do it against United States but it is a matter of turning the page and move forward. Very happy and now to prepare the match against Canada.”
Peru Head Coach Walter Lung: We played the same way as yesterday. This match was up and down for both teams. We will work harder to be more consistent. This is part of our experience at the Pan American Cup.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 19, 2022 – Puerto Rico got its first win of the Girls U19 Pan American Cup with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-5) win over Costa Rica on Tuesday at the Cox Business Convention Center.
Puerto Rico (1-1) will finish pool play on Wednesday with a match against Dominican Republic (1-0). Costa Rica (0-2) will wrap up pool play against Brazil (1-0).
Puerto Rico led the stats in spikes (48-12), blocks (5-0) and aces (11-2). Costa Rica scored 14 points off Puerto Rico’s errors while committing 11.
Puerto Rico opposite Grace Lopez led all scorers with 14 points on 10 attacks, a match-high three aces and one block. Outside hitter Destiny Skerrett added 12 points on 10 spikes and two aces.
Costa Rica was led by outside hitter Nazareth Mata with six points on six kills.
Setter Valencia Medina (PUR) in action against Costa Rica
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: “A three-set win. We were able to rotate our players to learn whom we can count on. Our counter-attacks worked well and our serves created some problems to Costa Rica. Now we have to go to practice in order to prepare tomorrow’s match.”
Kareem Richards, coach of Costa Rica: “The girls looked a little better than yesterday but it is a process. We know there are factors that affect their performance. We recognize the difference that the difference with the other teams is big and we hope someday they can play at that level.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 18, 2022 – Team USA started fast and didn’t slow down in its 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-12) victory over Mexico on Monday in their first pool play match of the 2022 Girls U19 Pan American Cup at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
The United States dominated the match in kills (56-16), blocks (10-2) and aces (8-0). Mexico scored on 21 U.S. errors while committing 19.
Every player on the U.S. roster started at least one set. All but libero Laney Choboy scored at least one point. Middle blocker Andi Jackson, who started the second and third sets and was the only player in the match to score in double figures, led the U.S. with 11 points on seven kills, a match-high three aces and one block.
Action between United States and Mexico
Mexico also got all its players a little court time.
Outside hitter Ximena Cordero led Mexico with five points on five spikes.
USA Head Coach Jamie Morrison: We have some people for whom it was their first time in a USA uniform. It was nice to get some people on the floor and get that experience for everyone in the first match. We’re really treating our matches as an extension of the work that we’ve done with the 20-person preliminary roster. I thought we did a really good job of dialing in some things we have been working on.
Luis Banuelos, coach of Mexico: “It is the first international experience for many of these girls and facing a power like the United States was difficult. In the end we did not lower our heads and fought as best we could. There is a lot to learn from this match.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 18, 2022 – Puerto Rico used strong serving and passing to win the first set before Brazil turned things around and won 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21) in their first pool play match of the Girls U19 Pan American Cup on Monday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Brazil led the match in attacks (52-44) and Puerto Rico led in aces (9-6). The teams tied in blocks (6-6). Brazil scored 30 points on Puerto Rico’s errors while committing 22.
Four Brazil players scored in double figures. Brazil outside hitter and Team Captain Vittoria Kuehne led all scorers with 18 points on 18 attacks.
Puerto Rico was led by opposite Grace Lopez who scored 15 points on nine kills, two blocks and four aces. Outside hitter Destiny Skerrett added 11.
Action between Brazil and Puerto Rico
Brazil Head Coach Hylmer do Nascimento Dias: We started the first set a little nervous, playing high and low. It’s normal because of their ages. We hope that during the competition, we can grow up and improve.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, coach of Puerto Rico: “In the first set our serves and good reception created problems to them but we could not do it in the second and third. In the fourth set our reaction was too late against a tall and strong team. We need to keep the focus.”
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 18, 2022 – Canada overcame scrappy Peru to win their first match of the 2022 Girls U19 Pan American Cup, 3-1 (25-23, 25-13, 18-25, 25-20) on Monday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Canada led Peru in spikes (46-24), blocks (9-3) and aces (13-6). Peru scored 48 points on Canada’s errors while committing 25 itself.
Canada middle blocker Veronica Dickson led all scorers with 17 points on 12 kills, a match-high three blocks and three aces. Outside hitter Abagayle Guezen added 16 points and outside hitter Taylor DeBoer scored 14.
Peru middle blocker Alondra Villanueva and outside hitter Fabiana Hurtado each scored 10 points. Middle blocker Ericka Zevallos had a match-high five aces for Peru.
Action between Canada and Peru
Canada Head Coach Christine Biggs
“I think we did a really nice job of growing through the match and using the experience to get better. We also did a really nice job of competing and fighting. I was really impressed with the adjustments we made throughout the match, considering it was the first international experience. I am really proud of the maturity these young women showed.”
Walter Lung, coach of Peru: “It is a new category for us as a team but we are trying to find the right path. We hope to improve tactically in the next few games and also from our players individually.”
Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, July 18, 2022 – The girls of the Dominican Republic used their height and speed to defeat Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-10, 25-6, 25-11) at the Girls U19 Pan American Cup on Monday at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Dominican Republic led the statistics, with greater numbers of spikes (33-14), blocks (7-0) and aces (16-0).
Sellany Puente of Dominican Republic led all scorers with 16 points on nine kills, three blocks and four aces. Ariana Rodriguez had six aces for the DR.
Silvana Zavaleta paced Costa Rica with six points.
Action between Dominican Republic and Costa Rica
Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: “It was a good start for us but the tournament is just beginning for us. Many of our younger girls had chances to play. We need to keep working to get the ticket to the world championship”.
Costa Rica Head Coach Kareem Richards: “We knew it was going to be a complicated start. It’s the first tournament for these girls. Our goal is to gain experience. As I said before you learn more from the losses than the victories. We’ll continue representing our country with pride trying to do the things better with each day.”
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 17, 2022.- Cuban middle blocker Roamy Alonso was selected the Most Valuable Player MVP of the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six on Sunday night at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic Nayarit.
Roamy Alonso received the MVP recognition during the awarding ceremony after his team was crowned undefeated Champion over Canada.
The MVP award was handed to Alonso by legendary Mexican ex volleyball player Blanca Garcia and Jesus Perales, President of the Mexican Volleyball Federation.
Blanca Garcia, legendary Mexican player and Jesús Perales, president Mexican Federation, Roamy Alonso MVP
Alonso also received the award for second Best Blocker. Also from Cuba, Osniel Melgarejo was granted the awards for first Best Spiker and Best Server, Adrian Goide as the Best Setter and Jesus Herera the Best Opposite hitter.
Mexicans Mauro Fuentes and Axel Tellez were the second Best Spiker and first Best Blocker respectively.
Canadian Jordan Pereira was the Best Digger and Best Libero, and Mason Briggs of the United States the Best Receiver.
Henry Tapia of the Dominican Republic was awarded as the Best Scorer of the event.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 17, 2022.- Cuba was crowned undefeated champion of the Men’s Pan American Cup Norceca Final Six beating Canada 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) on Sunday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba concluded the event with a perfect 7-0 record winning the gold medal over Canada who ended with a 5-2 record; Canada’s two losses were against Cuba.
The first set was led by Canada up to point 14 until Cuba managed to dominate. Cuba missed 3-match points (24-20) before celebrating their championship win; Simon Robertlandy scored the last point from a powerful spike.
Cuba prevailed by a 37-32 margin in attacks and 8-4 in blocks, Canada held an 6-5 advantage in serves. Cuba committed 23 errors and Canada totaled 25.
Outside hitter Miguel Angel Lopez topped Cuba with 13 points on 12 kills and one block, and opposite hitter Jesus Herrera collected 14 points on 9 attacks, 2 blocks and 3 points from serves. Middle blocker Simon Robertlandy added 9 points.
Canada Silver Medal Pan American Cup Final Six
Two players also led Canada with double-digits, outside hitter Brandon Koppers with 11 points on 8 kills and 3 aces, and opposite hitter Jordan Canham contributed with 10 points on 6 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces.
Jesús Herrera, Opposite of Cuba: “For me and the entire Cuban team it’s the best there can be, and for those who support us far away. It is of great satisfaction because we showed we are well, we are making players, everyone is giving their talent. We showed what we know how to do. Cubans are Warriors, we don’t like to lose, and we always give our maximum effort. All the members of the team are experienced and great players”.
Brandon Koppers, Top scorer of Canada: “I am very proud of all the guys in our team, we have a very young team, and we showed some real guts out there. This is a great defensive team, we did very well and proved what we are made of. We take every point as experience, we are preparing for the Pan American Cup in August back in Canada, so for some of our younger guys it was a great experience. The tournament was amazing”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 17, 2022.- The United States captured the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six bronze medal defeating Puerto Rico 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-23) on Sunday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
The United States finished third place with a 4-3 win-loss record. This is the U.S. second consecutive bronze medal at the Final Six event. Puerto Rico, in fourth place, closed with a 2-5 record. The U.S. also beat Puerto Rico in straight sets in the preliminary round.
The U.S. led 47-37 in attacks and 7-5 in blocks, both teams scored one point from serves, while they committed 27 unforced errors against 22 from Puerto Rico.
Four Americans finished with double-figures, led by outside hitter Brett Wildman who scored 14 points on 13 kills and one block, outside hitter Kyle McCauley with 13 points from 12 kills and one block, middle blocker Nyerovwome Omene tallied 11 points on 7 kills, 3 blocks and one ace, and opposite hitter Francesco Sani with 10 points.
United States Bronze Medal at Pan American Cup Final Six
Puerto Rico’s offense was led by outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas with 12 points on 10 kills, one block and one ace, followed by opposite hitter Gregory Torres with 10 points all on kills.
Merrick McHenry, Middle blocker of United States: “This was a super long tournament; it was so fun. I love my team and coaches; they are the guys I get to work every day. We had a great tournament. It was a very high level tournament, I think we all got better, and it will definitely help us for the future, just to play competitive teams and good volleyball. We play a little bit older than we are, most of us are still in school, in the university and this is a great experience for us youngsters”.
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “To go home with a medal and to play that hard it validates all the hard work these young men do. This group is working for the future, this is not the finish line for them, it’s way ahead of us. We played better and better even though we lost to Canada in semifinals”.
TULSA, Oklahoma, USA, July 17, 2022 – Eight teams are in the central United States this week for the Girls U19 Pan American Cup on July 18-23 at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa.
Six NORCECA countries – Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States – are battling for three berths in the 2023 FIVB Girls U19 World Championship. Two South American countries – Brazil and Peru – are using the tournament to prepare for their own championship in a few weeks.
Most players at the tournament will be competing for their country for the first time.
Coaches and representatives from the eight teams gave their thoughts about the upcoming six-day tournament.
Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa
Brazil Team Manager Jose Caetano
“We are here to prepare our team because next month we have the South American championship. We have to think about the next year and the world championship. We have been training one and a half months and we played three matches against a professional team in Brazil to prepare our girls before coming here. We hope we can do well in the competition.”
Canada Head Coach Christine Biggs
“We’re very excited to be bringing this young group to the Pan American Cup. For many, it is their first international experience. With three NORCECA berths on the line for World Championships, this tournament is very important. We’re excited about the progress we’ve made leading into the event. We’re excited to see the team grow and compete in this environment.”
Costa Rica Head Coach Kareem Richards
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here at the Pan American Cup. We know that it is a really difficult tournament, we are in a complicated group, nevertheless, we are here with all our energy to do the best tournament possible. We will go one point at a time to reach our goals, which are clear, gain the most experience possible and learn from the best teams here; we will put our best effort. I want to thank the organizing committee; they have surpassed our expectations.”
Mexico Head Coach Luis Bañuelo
“We are glad to be here at the Pan American Cup. It’s a new experience for most of the teams, for most of the girls representing Mexico. We are glad to participate and reach the best result that can qualify us to the World Championship, we have worked for it, and we are confident to reach the result we have set.”
Peru Head Coach Walter Lung
“For many of the players, it is the first time competing internationally. We are coming here to prepare this team for the South American championship. I hope that the team will give its best performance.”
Dominican Republic Head Coach Wagner Picheco
“We have a young team with 60 percent playing a tournament for the first time, for many of them an official tournament, but we hope to perform our best to reach one objective that is a berth to Worlds and after that maybe win a medal to climax two years of work”.
Puerto Rico Head Coach Juan Carlos Rodriguez
“Puerto Rico is a team with good height. For several players this will be their first major tournament. The goal is to qualify to the World Championship, and we hope for the girls to make their job and that they focus in what each one has to do.”
USA Head Coach Jamie Morrison
“We are excited to see the next generation of athletes from across the NORCECA and South American zones represent their countries and compete against each other. For a lot of athletes, this might be the first time representing their country and that’s a special thing. We are looking forward to competing against the best and learning in the process.”
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 16, 2022.- Cuba won their semifinal match to Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16) and will face Canada for the Men’s Pan American NORCECA Final Six title at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba will face Canada who earlier defeated the United States in the other semifinal in five exciting sets. Puerto Rico will play for the bronze medal against the United States. Both matches are happening on Sunday.
Cuba came from a four-point deficit (14-18) in the first set, keeping Puerto Rico on the edge to get the lead. The next two sets Cuba’s offense inhibited Puerto Rico to perform like they did in the beginning.
Cuba controlled every element of the game, with a 39-25 advantage in kills, 8-7 in blocks and 7-4 in service points. Cuba committed one less error than Puerto Rico (20-21).
Cuba’s offense was topped by outside hitter Osniel Mergarejo with 13 points on 6 kills, 2 blocks and the most aces with 5 points. Opposite hitter Jesus Herrera scored 11 points on 10 kills and one ace, accompanied by outside hitter Julio Cardenas and middle blocker Simon Robertlandy who added 9 and 8 points respectively.
Outside hitters Klistan Lawrence and Pedro Molina tallied 7 points each led Puerto Rico.
Outside hitter Cuban Osniel Mergarejo celebrates scoring against Canada
Julio Cesar Cardenas, Outside hitter of Cuba: “We know each other well with Puerto Rico and that’s why the first set was demanding, sometimes it’s difficult to get organized and we were a bit relaxed. We had to play stronger to cause the difficulties. We’ve been together for a short time; we are playing in international leagues and this tournament has served as an adjustment and move forward. Against Canada, if we do our offense and defense, I believe we can win the title, it will be exciting”.
Arnel Cabrera, Libero of Puerto Rico: “The team’s missing a bit of experience and managing the game mentally, which is important in every sport. After losing the first set we lost concentration in the rest of the match. Tomorrow against the United States for third place we must erase this match, keep healthy because it’s been a demanding tournament, try to mentalize and study our strategy”.
Nicolas Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “Puerto Rico is an excellent team. In the first set we were a bit relaxed, the guys got into better rhythm, and we closed the next sets. The victory is what’s important. Now we must play well, play tactically, and do the best possible to discuss the championship against Canada; historically they’ve been a good team, may the best one win”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 16, 2022.- Canada beat the United States 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-9) to play for the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six title at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
This is the second title match in a row for Canada, in last year’s edition of the Pan Am Final Six they won the silver medal falling to Mexico and the United States won the bronze over the Dominican Republic.
Canada will face the winner of the other semifinal between Cuba and Puerto Rico.
This was the second occasion in the event that Canada beat the United States, but in straight sets in their first outing.
The roller coaster semifinal match was led by Canada on a 59-45 advantage in kills and 5-2 in serves. The U.S. led in blocks with a 10-6 margin and committed fewer errors than Canada (36-44).
Opposite hitter Jordan Canham topped Canada with 19 points on 18 kills and one ace, while outside hitters Brandon Koppers and Logan House registered 18 and 10 points respectively.
From the United States, opposite hitter Francesco Sani scored a match-high of 20 points on 19 kills and one ace, followed by outside hitter Brett Wildman with 11 points.
Canadian Luke Herr (21) sets Xander Ketrzinsky (14)
Jordan Canham, Top scorer of Canada: “It’s so crazy, it´s always a dream to grow up and make it to this kind of team; to be able to play the best volleyball against some of the best teams is super surreal and then coming out with a win to reach the finals, it’s amazing. In the title match I would really like a rematch against Cuba”.
Francesco Sani, Top scorer of United States: “It was a great match from both teams, I think they got a little more serving pressure than us and that’s why they one the game, in the stretch we had a couple of receiving errors and missed serves, but I feel really good about our team and we’re ready to play tomorrow”.
Nathan Groenveld, Aisstant Coach of Canada: “We knew it was going to be really close and to win had to win the pass-battle, we weren’t winning it up to the fifth it started to come alive, we knew it was there. Both teams run well in the middle and the corner with the pipes. It was an incredible match, with a couple of great plays from the base line”.
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “It hurts, I feel for my guys, we lost to a very good Canada team, we both played what we are capable of, and we came off a little short. Tomorrow, we want to get the bronze, we want to go back home to show that we are a very good team and that would define it”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 16, 2022.- Mexico finished in fifth place at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup defeating the Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24 ) on Saturday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Host Mexico finished the event with a 2-4 record and the Dominican Republic with 0-6; Mexico also defeated the Dominican Republic in four sets in the preliminary round.
Mexico held a comfortable 55-49 advantage in spikes and a 6-3 margin in aces. The Dominicans finished with one more point in blocking (8-7). Mexico scored 29 points from Dominican errors and conceded 27.
Corner hitter Mauro Fuentes led the Mexican offense with 22 points from 19 kills, one block and two aces, followed by opposite player Luis Hernandez with 13 points from 12 kills and one block. Also with double digits were attacker Josué López and center back Jonathan Martínez with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Leading the Dominicans was opposite player and team captain Henry Tapia with 22 points from 17 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces, outside hitter Wilfredo Hernández with 17 points from 14 kills, 2 blocks and an ace, and outside hitter Héctor Cruz contributed with 14 points from 13 attacks and one block.
Dominican Henry Tapia against Mexican block of Axel Tellez (9) and Mauro Fuentes (12)
Mauro Fuentes, Mexico’s Top Scorer: “Realistically, the competition was tough, we finished fifth out of six teams. We leave with a good taste in our mouths because we closed with a victory, but we have to put our feet on the ground because we need to work hard to face the teams that were superior to us. This has been a great learning for our preparation for the world championship in Poland.”
Henry Tapia, Captain of the Dominican Republic: “We are sad because we couldn’t reach the result we were looking for. The tournament contributes to our growth, the more we compete, the more we improve”.
Belize City; July 16, 2022. The captain of Guatemala, Naomi Monney, was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the XIX Under 21 Central American Championship by contributing her decisive attack so that her team was crowned after almost 19 years in this category, since the last medal was achieved in 2013.
Monney was accompanied by three players from her team among the best. María Andrea Santa Cruz was the Best Service; Best Blocker 1 was Sofia Ibarra and Second Best Blocker was Andrea Mendizabal.
Belize also had four players among the Best: Best Receipt went to Fatoumata Camara, who also had Best Offense. Iman Safa was the Best Setter and Gareth Bruce the Second Best Attacker.
The best Libero went to Sofía Solano, from Belize, and Marcela Roa, from Nicaragua, the Best Defense.
Individual Awards AFECAVOL U21 Central American Championship
Belize City, July 16, 2022.- Guatemala recovered from trailing 1-2 to win 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11) over Belize to achieve the gold medal, during the XIX Central American U21 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Before a spectacular crowd at the Belize Civic Center, the locals were timid and unfocused in the first set, when Guatemala did a lot of damage with their services and blocking. However, from the second set Garet Bruce and Fatoumata Camara began to be protagonists, in addition to Kahia Gordon, to overcome the historic match for an entire country.
In the fourth set Guatemala controlled the strong Belizean attack, with the blocks of its central players, Ibarra and Mendizabal, in addition to the attack of the captain Naomi Monney in the important points.
And in the fifth and decisive game, Guatemala showed claw and heart, with a great defense and good blocking counteracting the changes in Belize looking to do damage with their great range in attack and they kept the set and the game, in addition to the medal of gold they haven’t earned since 2013.
Guatemala celebrates winning the AFECAVOL U21 Central American Championship
María Santa Cruz scored 21 points for the winners, including six blocks, captain Naomi Monney with 15 points in important moments and Andrea Mendizabal with 12, also added 6 blocks. For Belize, Gareth Bruce with 20, Fatoumata Camara with 16 and Khaya Gordon with 12, with 5 blocks.
Guatemala was better in attack 50-49, in blocking 17-10 and serving 9-7, with 29 errors by Belize to 33 by the winners.
Honduras wins the bronze
Honduras, for its part, beat Nicaragua 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18) to secure third place.
The Hondurans, last champions in the Under 20 tournament three years ago, were 2-2, while Nicaragua was in fourth place with 1-3.
Honduras was better in blocking 10-4 and dominated in serves 9-4, with 4 “aces” by Andrea Aceituno who was the top scorer with 20 points… Nicaragua was better in attack 38-30, with Gilmary Smith with 11 points , although they committed 26 errors for 14 of their opponents.
Belize City, July 16, 2022.- Honduras defeated Nicaragua 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18) to secure third place in the XIX Central American U21 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
The Hondurans, last champions in the Under 20 tournament three years ago, were 2-2, while Nicaragua was in fourth place with 1-3.
Honduras was better in blocking 10-4 and dominated in serves 9-4, with 4 “aces” by Andrea Aceituno who was the top scorer with 20 points… Nicaragua was better in attack 38-30, with Gilmary Smith with 11 points , although they committed 26 errors for 14 of their opponents.
Andrea Aceituno, of Honduras, against Francesca Medrano, of Nicaragua
Gabriela Gómez, captain of Honduras: “I am very proud of us, we came from less to more, all this is for the honor and glory of God; From the beginning we came with the idea of winning this championship, it didn’t happen to us, but we managed to stay on the podium, despite everything, getting that third place against a Nicaragua that always fights”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “I am satisfied with this game, but not because of the fact that we lost against Guatemala, because we had to win… today, thank God, we were able to control our anxiety, we received a couple of talks via zoom and that helped us a lot . I think we played better yesterday than today, but Nicaragua did not perform as I expected, I thought they could make the game more difficult”.
Since 2017, Honduras has achieved two titles, one in Sub 18 and another in Sub 20, in addition to a third place in 2019 in the Sub 18 category.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 16, 2022.- Mavis Guilarte Fernandez, Cuban volleyball star, resides in Tepic contributing to the development of sports in Nayarit, has been supporting and enjoying the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six being played at the Amado Nervo Auditorium.
Mavis, ex member of the legendary team “Morenas del Caribe”, Olympic Gold Medalist in 1971 and 1975, as well as Pan American Gold of the 1979 Games in Puerto Rico, explains that this is an opportunity for the youth of Nayarit and Mexican athletes.
“Bringing such an important international event of great transcendence motivates young players who want to practice highly competitive volleyball,” said Mavis; “I want to thank the State’s sport authorities of Nayarit to show our young community the beauty of volleyball” she added.
With her charisma and sixteen years of trajectory representing Cuba, that among other achievements, she was member of the first Latin American women volleyball team to win a World Championship in 1978 in the extinct Soviet Union, came to Nayarit twenty years ago as part of a joint agreement between Cuba and Mexico.
“In 1992, came in a group of 156 Cuban sport experts in methodology, medicine and coaching to contribute to the development of sport in this beautiful country; with my experience and knowledge have served to motivate a new generation of athletes of the State of Nayarit” she expressed.
Thanks to Mavis Guilarte’s great work during that agreement, she returned to Nayarit to coach the women’s volleyball team that has been national champion.
Mavis also explained that volleyball continues to be a sport with distinctive characteristics, over time it has evolved into a great attraction, more competitive and of great difficulty that makes it unique.
“There are new rules since I played, for example, every action is a point and it’s faster, but it continues to be very technical and tactic” she added.
In her trajectory as a coach, she has been coach of the Mexican national team and of Nayarit, “I have lived the evolution of volleyball and now I can observe that every team has searched for players to be more specialized, with physical traits to perform a specific game position, which contributes for teams to be more competitive”.
Mavis left a message to volleyball athletes, “this is a demanding sport, it teaches to play as a team, for each one to contribute individually to benefit the team and mostly it’s a family sport that promotes human beings to serve their societies”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 15, 2022.- Cuba topped the preliminary round undefeated winning their last match to Mexico 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) at the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six on Friday night at the Amando Nervo Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba finished first place with 5-0 record and 22 points, they will face Puerto Rico in the semifinals who finished fourth. The other semifinal is a North American battle between Canada and the United States, second and third place respectively.
Mexico with a 1-4 record will play Dominican Republic for fifth place.
Mexico suffered the loss of one of its key players, opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez, early in the first set, who was injured falling while defending over the net.
Cuba beat Mexico on 36-25 advantage in attacks and a 7-1 margin in aces. Mexico led 7-6 in blocks and committed one less unforced error than Cuba (26-27).
Opposite hitter Jesus Herrera tallied 16 points for Cuba, on 13 kills, one block and two aces, joined by outside hitter Osniel Mergarejo with 14 points on 11 kills, one block and two aces.
Mexico’s top scorer was outside hitter Mauro Fuentes with 8 points all on kills.
Miguel Angel Lopez (18) of Cuba attacks against Mexico
Simon Robertlandy, Middle blocker of Cuba: “We are preparing for the competition in Korea, so this is good preparation, we are trying to perform the best way possible, limiting our errors, we still have deficiencies, we can improve more. Tomorrow against Puerto Rico we will try to reach the final and win the tournament, that will give us confidence and positivity to go to Korea, but we are taking one step at a time. It’s not about being the strongest team, but to have confidence and consistency while playing; I believe the United States and Canada are also strong, the final will be complicated for whoever reaches it”.
Pedro Rangel, Captain of Mexico: “We still have one more match. I am happy with our performance because we have faced powerful opponents, we are eager to play and try to win. The tournament has been a great learning experience for Worlds that is soon. We played one on one against Cuba; the sets were close. The youth in our team came out strong and they are on the right track”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “This Cup has been good, the teams are well prepared; we are working our machinery slowly for the other important international events for us, the Challenger that’s coming soon and that could give us a ticket to the VNL. Mexico a well prepared, there’s a lot of adrenaline between us, we tried to stabilize our game, there are things to improve and what matters is the victory. We are prepared to face any opponent, tomorrow we go up against Puerto Rico and we are going to think about them for now”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 15, 2022.- United States locked their semifinal spot at the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six beating Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-20) at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
The U.S. concluded the preliminary round with a 3-2 record and 17 points, finishing in third place making their way in the semifinal round where they’ll face Canada who ended in second place. Canada beat the United States in straight sets in their first match of the event.
Dominican Republic ends with 0-5 record and will play for fifth position.
The United States held an overwhelming 40-25 advantage in attacks, the also led with comfortable margins in blocks (6-1) and serves (8-1). Both teams committed a similar number of errors, the U.S. with 22 and Dominican Republic with 21.
Opposite hitter Francesco Sani of the United States scored a match-high of 15 points on 11 kills and 4 aces, followed by middle blocker Austin Wilmot with 10 points on 7 kills and 3 blocks.
Once again Henry Tapia led Dominican Republic with 11 points all on kills.
Brett Wildman (24) of USA attacks against Dominican Republic
Mathew West, Captain of United States: “We started with two defeats and now we are in the semifinals, for all of us it’s our first tournament together so we needed to get into rhythm as a team. Today the coach used a different line-up to rest some players, which is good for us, so everyone improves their level. Can we win the gold, yes, in this tournament everything is possible”.
Dawilin Méndez, Middle blocker of Dominican Republic: “We must commit less errors, some technical aspects that are easy to execute aren’t working out and that’s why matches get complicated. We are a young team, only four are veterans that support us to go on the path of good volleyball. These tournaments give us a lot of level”
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “At the beginning both teams were trying to find their rhythm playing, we found it first. We had a lot of guys come in, everyone played it great, so for tomorrow we have all fourteen guys ready to play and begin the play-offs. For the semifinals I hope our best volleyball in the tournament so far; it’s going to be a very good match for both of us (Canada)”.
Belize City, July 15, 2022.- Belize defeated Honduras 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-16) on the fourth day of the XIX Central American Under-21 Women’s Volleyball Championship, to maintain their unbeaten record and dream with his first gold medal in any category in Central American volleyball.
Fatoumata Camara was the best player for Belize with 14 points, while Gareth Bruce and Nisaan Martinez had 11. Andrea Aceituno was the best for Honduras with 7 points.
Belize was superior in all elements of the game, with an unstoppable attack 38-22, in blocks 6-4 and dominated in services 9-1, with 4 “aces” by Nisaan Martínez. In errors both teams committed 22.
The Belizean teams have achieved 4 silver medals in their history, showing progress in recent years with second place in the 2018 Central American in Belize, and in 2019 second places in the U18 and U23 women’s.
Belize vs El Salvador at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Sofía Solano, captain of Belize: “We are very happy, the whole team is happy, I am very excited, it is incredible, tomorrow will be a great game against Guatemala, it is exciting to think about that match, but we will try to get a victory again. Every game has been difficult, I think we’ve been growing, we’ve done it, because the demands have also increased”.
José Fontes, coach of Belize: “It is a team that has been growing in the competition, the level of demand I have always kept very high, we always demand them from the first point to the last. Guatemala is a great team, tomorrow will be a game worthy of the gold medal dispute”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “I think that in the first set we played well as always, but we were not successful with the serves; many mistakes of our own that made the difference, we trained for that, but there are still things to improve. I think that Belize was not completely superior, we fought and we will continue working”.
Belize will face Guatemala at 7:30 p.m. at the Belize Civic Center and the winner gets the gold medal. Honduras meets Nicaragua at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday and the winner secures the bronze medal.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 15, 2022.- Canada moved into the semifinals of the Men’s Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six after defeating Puerto Rico in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) on Friday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Canada ends the preliminary round with a 4-1 record and 19 points finishing among the top four in the event. Puerto Rico with 2-3 record and 7 points waits for the days’ results to confirm their semifinal spot.
Puerto Rico´s effort in leading the third set up to point 14 wasn’t enough to stop Canada’s offense who finished with a huge 41-27 advantage in attacks. They also were more effective in blocks by a comfortable 9-4 margin and a 4-0 lead in serves.
From Canada’s side, opposite hitter Jordan Canham led all scorers with 15 points, followed by outside hitter Logan House with 11 points and middle blocker Xander Ketrzynski with 10 points who led in blocks with 4 points.
Outside hitters Klistan Lawrence and Pedro Molina led Puerto Rico with 9 and 8 points respectively.
Max Elgert (13) of Canada setting vs Puerto Rico at Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six
Xander Ketrzynski, Top blocker of Canada: “We used our strengths as a team to push forward. For this weekend you can say it’s a normal day in the job in these tournaments, a lot of the guys are very experienced and played for team Canada for a while, so it’s going to be the same, either you win, or you lose giving the best and whatever happens you just gotta leave it on the court. I believe there are big things to come for this team, we’ve been working our system and we are looking forward to the semifinals and finals”.
Nathan Groenveld, Assistant Coach of Canada: “We had the goal making the semifinals so we’re really excited that we locked that in place right now. The bigger goal was to play better and better every match and we feel we have done that; and today when we side-out it was awesome. We’ll go on work on our block-defense to be ready for tomorrow. Regardless of our opponent, we have to keep on improving, it’s going to be on our side of the net, so we gotta make sure about it”.
Belize City, July 15, 2022.- Guatemala remains undefeated with three wins after beating El Salvador 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-14), on the fourth day of the XIX Central American Under-21 Female Volleyball Championship.
For Guatemala it was their first win in three sets, after beating Honduras and Nicaragua in five sets. Although El Salvador struggled in the first two episodes, they were unable to close strongly and Guatemala managed to impose their blockade.
María Andrea Santa Cruz with 15 points was the best for Guatemala and Naomi Monney finished with 11. For El Salvador, Geannine Velásquez was left with 14 and 12 points from Daniela López. Guatemala prevailed in attack 30-26, in blocking 10-6 and they were tied in services 8-8, with 29 errors by the Salvadorans to 22 by the winners.
Guatemala vs El Salvador at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “I am super happy, we won and we have another match to be champions. I am happy with my team. Each one did what they had to do and we were able to get the homework done together. El Salvador made it difficult for us, the first sets were difficult, but always united and with confidence we came out ahead”.
María Santa Cruz, best scorer in Guatemala: “I feel quite proud of my team, very calm because of the camaraderie we have on the field, with our coaches, we analyze and solve problems on the field, we don’t give up, we fight for every point , we live it, we suffer it, always with grit and courage that we have been taught”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “We took the first set out of the freezer, as they say, we had to put the starting point guard, the physiotherapist did a great job (he injured his ankle in the first game), because we thought he would not play more in the tournament. El Salvador studied us well, they lacked confidence in the first set, but we won and arrived undefeated in the match against Belize, which is a final”.
María Rodríguez, captain of El Salvador: “I feel that we have been able to advance, little by little, we are improving as a team, we are getting to know each other better in the game, we lack experience, practice, but we really want to improve. ”.
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “We expected to be higher in the standings, they are not the results we wanted, but it is a fairly new team, it has not had the necessary pace of play, but we have learned a lot and we have El Salvador for many tournaments to come.”
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022.- The United States claimed an important victory over Mexico 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-19) taking a step closer to semis of the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup being held in Tepic, Nayarit.
A 27-minute delay due to a power outage in the third set, didn’t keep the U.S. from improving their record 2-2; they will face Dominican Republic (0-4) in their final round-robin performance on Friday.
Mexico dropped to 1-3 and will finish the preliminary round against Cuba (4-0).
The United States prevailed 38-28 in attacks and 5-2 in aces; Mexico was more effective in blocks by a slim 5-4 margin. The U.S. handed out 25 points from errors and scored on 25 from Mexico.
United States enthusiastic celebration against Mexico
Outside hitter Brett Wildman led the United States with 14 points on 11 kills, 2 blocks and one ace. Middle blocker Nyerovwome Omene contributed with 8 points, while opposite hitter Francesco Sani and middle blocker Merrick McHenry added 7 points each. Opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez scored 11 points in Mexico’s campaign, joined by outside hitters Josue Lopez and Mauro Fuentes who collected 9 points each.
Outside hitter Diego González scored 11 points in Mexico’s campaign, joined by outside hitter Josué López and Mauro Fuentes who collected 9 points each.
Mason Briggs, Libero of United States: “The goal of our team was to go on upwards in our trajectory, so we started off a little rough with two loses early in the tournament, now our goal is to keep on progressing. The key was to stick to us and what our team does, that worked out, together as a team and focus on us and not on the opponent”.
Said Bravo, Libero of Mexico: “We stopped executing important things during the match and it showed in the second set that went away. Unfortunately, we must learn and keep giving our all, it’s a process. Tomorrow against Cuba we must change our attitude, during the tournament we’ve had good moments and we must seek greatness; we can do it”.
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “The environment was electric until the lights went out; the support of the Mexican fans energized us, being in front of so many supporters that love volleyball went great for us. We want to win the tournament, tomorrow we face the Dominicans, and they will come out hard, so we must win that match first to make it into the final four”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022.- Cuba scored their fourth victory in a row after defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) at the NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba with a 4-0 record will finish the preliminary round in first place even if they fall to Mexico on Friday. Puerto Rico with a 2-2 record will end the first phase of the event against Canada (3-1).
Cuba held huge margins in attacks (52-38) and blocks (11-5), and a comfortable 7-3 advantage in serves. Puerto Rico committed fewer errors than Cuba (28-36).
Outside hitter Julio Cesar Cardenas was Cuba’s leading scorer with 15 points, middle blocker Javier Concepcion and opposite hitter Jesus Herrera followed with 11 points each.
Puerto Rican Klistan Lawrence scored a match-high of 19 points.
Cuban double block against Puerto Rico
Yonder García, Libero of Cuba: “En general nos sentimos en óptimas condiciones, preparándonos para el Challenger el próximo mes, además de que tenemos la Copa Panamericana en Canadá. Varios jugadores están con buen nivel y todos son efectivos a la hora de entrar a la cancha, algunos descansaron hoy. Mañana le jugaremos duro a México, como lo hemos hecho ante todos los rivales, la meta es tener buenos resultados”.
Arturo Iglesias, Captain of Puerto Rico: “Cuba is very physical, powerful, and strong; despite all I believe we competed well. We started a bit soft, in the second set we had better rhythm, but they (Cuba) had the necessary strength to win. We had more confidence, and we were able to take the second set. We will compete to reach the finals”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “The guys are doing well. We did some changes, necessary to observe all our players, we got the victory which is important, and we are going one step at a time for next tournaments. This is an important competition for world ranking, but we must see every player thinking about future situations”.
Belize City, July 14, 2022.- Belize showed its offensive power to win 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-16) against El Salvador, in the closing of the third day of the XIX U21 Central American Championship women’s volleyball.
The Belizeans reached two wins without defeats, this time thanks to Fatoumata Camara who had 19 points, plus 12 from Bruce Gareth and 10 from Khaya Gordon. For El Salvador, Daniela López was the best with 10 points.
Belize commanded all the elements of the game, especially a powerful attack (39-15), blocking 6-5 and serving 8-7, committing 24 errors to 22 of their opponents.
Belize celebrating a point against El Salvador at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Fatoumata Camara, the best scorer of the match, said that “I am very excited to get this second victory, it feels great to win another match. I think that every game that passes we gain more confidence, every set we play we feel better with the ball, we also have the support of the fans, they give us energy, they encourage us to play better and better, and I also have the support of my mom, who travels an hour to come see me play”.
José Fontes, coach of Belize: “the important thing about this second victory is that the team has maintained a high competitive level, especially in attack. Winning 3-0 allows us to add and it is important to be with 10 points, now we are going to face these two games not confident, but calmer in the sense that we already know that the team knows that it can against any rival”.
“We have worked very hard on reception, which was a weakness, because our blocking is normally good, and on the defensive side they have been key, since since the first game we have not made many errors in reception,” said Fontes.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022.- Canada improved their record 3-1 after defeating Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-20) on Thursday at the NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
It was a crucial victory for Canada to being a step closer to the semifinals, while as for Dominican Republic with 0-3 will play for fifth place in the event.
Canada blanked Dominican Republic with an overwhelming 42-25 advantage in attacks and 10-2 in serves. Canada scored on 27 opponent errors and limited theirs to 17. Canadians also held a slim 7-6 margin in blocks.
Outside hitter Brandon Koppers led Canada’s scorers with 11 points on 9 kills, 2 blocks and aces, followed by also outside hitter Logan House and middle blocker Xander Ketrzynski scored 10 points apiece.
Team captain, opposite hitter Henry Tapia, was the only Dominican player with double-digits, scoring 13 points on 11 kills and two blocks.
Canada resumes the preliminary round on Friday against Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic facing the United States.
Canada celebrates during the match against Dominican Republic at Pan American Cup Final Six
Luke Herr, Captain of Canada: “We are playing really well so far, it helped us to come here earlier and get some practice matches to get adapted to the gym. We are ready for the next game and whatever comes after that; we’ll prepare for every match”.
Dan Ota, Head Coach of Canada: “It’s a long tournament, we may have to play seven matches in seven days, so every opponent is difficult. We are very excited to be able to win today and being one win closer to being in a final four position. Our next opponent (Puerto Rico) is a very athletic team that will give us a lot of problems, we will have to be prepared for them because it’s our last game in the preliminary phase”.
Alexander Gutierrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “It was a complicated match because Canada plays orderly and facing a team like ours that’s not as organized because of so many young players and lack of experience. We are closing the preliminary round against the United States, it will be hard because they have the characteristic of playing these tournaments from less to more and they get adjusted as a team, they get organized and they are also orderly, it’s the American school; we play with a lot of passion”.
Belize City, July 14, 2022.- Guatemala showed all its strength to overcome in five sets 3-2 (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 27-29, 15-13) a combative Nicaragua, in an electrifying match on the third day of the XIX U-21 Central American Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Nicaragua recovered from a fourth set deficit from the start, trailing 9-2, before tying at 23-23… after a set point exchange, the Nicaraguans took the set with two hotly contested points in the net, but In the fifth set, Guatemala managed to bring out their best weapon, blocking, and with a good defense they were able to make counterattack moves against the Nicaraguans.
Guatemala had Sofía Ibarra with 20 points, eight blocked, María Santa Cruz with 18, of which 8 served, Ivana Sopegno with 16 (7 blocked) and Naomi Monney with 16 points.
Gilmary Smith with 27 points was the best for Nicaragua, with 4 blocks and five aces, Nahima Silva contributed 12 points and Francesca Medrano with 10.
Guatemala did a lot of damage with the service with a 16-10 advantage, in blocking 21-9 and in attacks it was very even 52-49 in favor of Nicaragua, who committed 29 errors for 31 of their opponents.
Guatemala’s celebrates huge win over Nicaragua at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “I think we could give more, but in the sets that we managed to close there, our determination was visible; The last set cost us a lot, but together we were able to do well. This game meant a lot because we needed to win it if we want to be champions and go further. It was teamwork, we all supported each other, when one was failing another would come and solve it”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “First congratulations to Nicaragua, they were a great opponent, my respects for how they played because the match could be for anyone; It was a game in which each team gave its best, a good defense was seen, it was a good show for the entire public. Both coaches wanted to win and we did everything possible to do so, changing the rhythm of the game, varying the defense, even with double changes to find variability in the game”.
Francesca Medrano, captain of Nicaragua: “I am sad, but at the same time proud of my team, of what we achieved in the game, they showed who we are, we put up a lot of battle, we stood up strong and that was noticeable on the field. Our team is quite young, only three will no longer do this category, and they showed that age doesn’t matter, what matters is having heart and grit”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “I am proud of the team’s work, even though we lost, I think it was one of the best we have had in the tournament, they came back and we were close to victory. They are satisfied, especially because of the substitutions we made because they came to do their job. We have a fairly young team, it is new to Central American tournaments and they showed that they have desire and a future in this sport”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022 – Raquel Chumpitaz, former member of the Peruvian volleyball women’s team, is now living as the mother of the captain of the United States national team Mathew West, who is competing in the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan Am Cup in Nayarit, Mexico.
Raquel was member of the Peruvian women’s volleyball team that competed in the 1980 Olympic Games and a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1982 FIVB World Championship.
She owns a recognized volleyball club in Seattle, Washington where she lives, and during the next days she’s in Tepic sitting in the stands supporting her son Mathew.
“I was member of the Peruvian volleyball team under the direction of Korean coach Mambo Paz and now I am a coach back in Seattle with my club, training children between the ages of 8 and 18” she explained.
When asked how it feels to be from the outside as a mother, she indicated “I feel proud, he had already made team USA during the Pan American Games in Toronto and has played professionally for the past seven years”.
Raquel Chumpitaz ex member of the Peruvian national team and Cristobal Marte Hoffiz NORCECA President at Pan Am Cup Final Six
Raquel explained that besides the great feeling of watching Mathew defending the US flag, she also feels stress “when you know the game and the opportunity of making the national team, I feel anxious of being on the court”.
She added that she’s delighted to see how Mathew and the rest of the guys in the American team have evolved “watching them gain experience, get nervous about the opportunity they have and for some of them it’s the first time representing their country is surreal because I was once in their shoes and having the same experience”.
Raquel added that the feeling is incredible, and she wishes to enjoy many more successes as a volleyball mom.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 13, 2022.- Mexico came back to down Dominican Republic 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-21) in their first victory at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
After falling in the first set, Mexico battled tough to even the scores and finish earning their tournament win to improve to a 1-2 record. Dominicans’ strong effort recovering from a four-point deficit (8-12) in the fourth set wasn’t enough and dropped to an 0-3 overall record.
Mexico out blocked Dominican Republic with a 13-7 margin; they also outnumbered with a huge 8-1 advantage in aces and a 51-42 margin in attacks. Mexico had 31 scoring errors while Dominican Republic had 24.
Opposite hitter Diego Gonzalez led Mexico with a match-high of 20 points on 17 kills, 2 blocks and one ace. Two other Mexican players scored double-digits, middle blocker Axel Tellez Rodriguez with 19 points on a match-high of 4 blocks and serves, and middle blocker Jonathan Martinez tallied 11 points.
Dominican outside hitter Wilfrido Hernandez topped with 15 points, opposite hitter Henry Tapia added 12 points and outside hitter Hector Cruz chipped in with 10 points.
Josue Lopez (MEX) attacks avoiding Henry Tapia (DOM) blocking at Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six
On Thursday Mexico will play the United States, both have 1-2 record, while Dominican Republic (0-3) meets Canada (2-1).
Christian Aranda, Setter of Mexico: “The team needed this win, we have been working well, in the past matches we came off short in decisive points and we couldn’t close. Dominican Republic has been working well for some years now and facing them is always challenging, so we can’t keep our heads down. Concentration was the key, and we enjoyed the game more. Tomorrow the United States is a stronger team than Dominican Republic and we are aiming for the qualification to defend our title”.
Bryan Turbides Pepen, Libero of Dominican Republic: “We started off well, but Mexico shorten the distance and we weren’t compenetrating, we weren’t understanding ourselves. We tried to do it better, but it wasn’t possible. We have three losses, but we will keep on fighting to give our best. We will keep working for future wins”.
Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “With Dominican Republic we know each other well and they always make our game difficult, but today we were able to win. The guys knew how to come out of difficulties, our substitutions did their job changing the rhythm and keeping things calm, that was the key in our victory. We performed under pressure, it’s a responsibility playing at home and the guys must learn to manage it better, being committed to represent their country. Tomorrow is a hard duel against the United States, they are a well-structured team and we are going after the qualification, my team is capable of winning”.
Belize City, July 13, 2022.- Nicaragua equaled its record in a win and a loss by beating El Salvador (0-2) 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-23) on the second day of the XIX Central American U21 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Gilmary Smith and Grace Zeledón combined with 15 and 14 points, respectively, to lead Nicaragua to its first win after losing to Belize on day one, while El Salvador’s Daniela López registered 16 points.
Nicaragua was better in offense 36-27 and serving 5-4, with the Salvadorans being better in blocking 5-4, although they committed 30 errors for 21 points due to errors by their opponents.
Action between Nicaragua and El Salvador at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Francesca Medrano, captain of Nicaragua: “I feel happy and satisfied, but hungry for a medal. I think we play more as a team, we trust each other and these are the results. The receipt arrived and I was able to play in the three zones, the girls resolved and that was that we managed to overcome our nerves”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “The result will encourage us to maintain a good pace of play in the following games, because it is a very even competition and we needed to win. We were more concentrated, less nervous and they paid attention to the work that was done in training”.
María Rodríguez, captain of El Salvador: “First we have to improve communication between us, our attitude, because it was somewhat down, and we have to work on that. We are much more capable than this, it was a mental block that affected us, although Nicaragua was a very good opponent”.
Noé Fabián, coach of El Salvador: “First, congratulate Nicaragua because they did a good job, although we didn’t play like we normally do, it was a mental block that didn’t allow us to develop our game. It’s complicated because it’s a young team, which is gaining experience, we’re going to keep working, adding and trying to get the best, the positive from each game”.
Nicaragua will face Guatemala at 5:00 p.m. this Thursday, while El Salvador takes on Belize at 7:30 p.m.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 13, 2022.- Cuba kept their undefeated record after beating Canada 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup on Wednesday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba is the only team of the competition that remains undefeated with a solid 3-0 record, with two days left of the preliminary round. Canada stands with a 2-1 win-loss record.
Cuba dominated all the categories with 34-27 margin in attacks, 4-2 in blocks and 6-2 in aces. Cuba finished with 25 unforced errors and Canada committed 31.
Two Cuban players were the only players that scored double-digits; outside hitter Osniel Mergarejo with 12 points all from kills and outside hitter and team captain Miguel Angel Lopez collected 10 points from 7 kills, one block and two aces.
Middle blockers Fynnian McCarthy and Jordan Schnitzer led Canada with 9 and 6 points accordingly.
Michael Sanchez (CUB) ready to spike against Canada at Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six
Cuba’s next opponent is Puerto Rico and Canadas’ is Dominican Republic.
Osniel Mergarejo, Top scorer of Cuba: “We are getting into the rhythm of the tournament to go on adding points and generating more confidence for our second important tournament of the season (FIVB Challenger Cup) because we are a team that hasn’t performed together for two years. Canada plays well tactically, but we are known for our strength in serves and attacks; we need to use our power to prevail over Canada”.
Fynnian McCarthy, Top scorer of Canada: “For us it’s just a mental thing, we kind of got psyched out from the service line and didn’t come to be aggressive, we were passive and trying to put the ball and not score points putting pressure, so our change of mentality will definitely help us; we can’t expect to win missing too many serves. In our next match we will battle hard, be aggressive in serves”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “We are all happy, we’ve been getting into rhythm slowly because we’ve been together practicing for a short period of time. It was a good match to reach our objectives. We still need to serve better, block better as well, we must work through some difficulties; what’s important is the victory”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 14, 2022.- United States beats Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 27-25) for their first win at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
The U.S. were challenged by Puerto in the final set, missing four match points before celebrating the first tournament win and serving Puerto Rico their first loss. The United States improved their record 1-2 and Puerto Rico dropped to 2-1.
United States’ advantage in blocking (9-1) and in serves (5-0) definitely worked to overcome Puerto Rico who came from winning to exhausting five-setters entering day three of the event. The Americans also held a slim 38-37 margin in kills. Puerto Rico committed one less error (25-26) than the U.S.
Outside hitter Kyle McCauley of the United States led all scorers with 13 points on 7 kills, 5 blocks and one ace, followed by middle blockers Nyerovwame Omene and Merrick Mchenry who tallied 11 and 10 points respectively.
Puerto Rico’s top scorer was outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas with 8 points.
On Thursday the United States plays to host Mexico and Puerto Rico against Cuba.
Brett Wildman (USA) against double block of Puerto Rico at Pan American Cup NORCECA Final Six
Nyerovwame Omene, Middle Blocker of United States: “As a team it’s just about steady growth and an operative incline, we came from losing to Canada and 3-2 to Cuba and we just focused on our system and our side of the net, not worrying about results. From our first performance to this one, we applied better to our system and believing in all fourteen guys, in one single game, one single point”.
Peligrin Vargas, Top scorer of Puerto Rico: “It was a complicated match, we came in from two five-set matches, long matches and the body starts to feel it. United States played well against Cuba yesterday and they came with good energy. We must recover as soon as possible”.
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “I feel great, the guys feel great, it’s our first win in the tournament after a great matches against Canada and Cuba yesterday and today we beat Puerto Rico. Our ability to play at the level we do, I thought we played better last night and a little drop today; it’s really hard for young players to play hard all the time, but that’s what they have to do”.
Belize City, July 13, 2022.- Guatemala defeated Honduras 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 15-11), achieving its first victory (1-0) of the XIX U21 Central American Women’s Volleyball Championship that takes place at the Belize Civic Center.
Honduras won the first set and looked like they were headed for their second win of the event, but were met by a very battle-hardened Guatemalan team led by captain Naomi Monney with 24 points and Maria Santa Cruz with 20, six of them on serves
Andrea Aceituno, from Honduras, was the best for the second game in a row with 19 points, six on serves, and 11 from Rocío Durón, four through blocks.
Honduras led in serves 15-10, but Guatemala was unstoppable in attack 49-33 and blocking 14-8, especially in the second and third sets, which they largely dominated, and was also favored with 38 points due to errors by their opponents, committing 27.
Actions between Guatemala and Honduras at AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “We feel very good since we were able to get the job done, although it was a bit complicated for us, we knew how to be united and confident that we were going to get the match. We have a team in which we all contribute and that keeps us excited, it costs us a bit to serve, but today we were good and we are working for that. We expected a complicated Honduras, it was our first game, we had to see how we got along, especially on a new field.”
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “It was a very difficult match, especially because in the last tournament we faced Honduras, they beat us in three sets and in a very easy way. We worked on the mental part, they at the time adjusted their defense and blocking, we also made changes because we needed to improve tactics and give some players rest because we knew that more than three sets could be played. In the critical moments the service worked, we made many “aces”, especially with strong serves… in the third set with a lot of disadvantage we managed to recover and get the set thanks to the service”.
Gabriela Gómez, captain of Honduras: “The Honduran team has always had problems with mentality, we have a great team, just nerves, anxiety, some who have little experience, in their first tournament, that took its toll on us in the end and the truth are things that are going to help us improve and climb to the top”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “We have been dragging a problem with the receipt, I feel that we have improved a lot, but just like yesterday against El Salvador, a single player did us a lot of damage. As had been pointed out before the tournament started, this is very even, we couldn’t keep our serve, I imagine that due to tension, nervousness… just as the game was closed, a couple of errors made the difference”.
This Thursday, Honduras has a rest and Guatemala plays against Nicaragua at 5:00 p.m.
TEPIC, Nayarit, July 13, 2022 – Blanca García, legend of Mexican volleyball and born in Tepic, is an honored guest at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup that started on Monday in her pnative city.
Garcia has a distinguished trajectory as a former member of Mexico’s national volleyball team that competed in the Olympic Games of Mexico 1968 and winning the silver medal of the XII Central American and Caribbean Games of 1974 in Santo Domingo.
Blanca Garcia is an honored guest in her own city that for second time is hosting an international volleyball event of great relevance, in 2015 they hosted the FIVB World League, “it brings me joy that the fans of Nayarit can experience a high leveled competition like this” she indicated.
NORCECA President Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz had the opportunity to greet her while she visited the first day of the event, “Blanca Garcia honors us with her presence, we are proud of her achievements as an athlete and representing Mexican volleyball so highly”.
“It is satisfying to have represented my country and now I continue to do so but from another perspective while helping to promote volleyball” expressed Blanca Garcia.
ANKARA, Turkey, July 13, 2022 – Serbia eliminated the United States in the quarterfinals of the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League but not before an exciting fight.
After narrowly winning the first two sets, Serbia watched the United States bounce back and dominate the next two before finally claiming victory 3-2 (29-27, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 15-13).
The Americans qualified in first place during the preliminary phase with an 11-1 record while the Serbians finished in sixth place with an 8-4 mark.
Middle Blocker Chiaka Ogbogu USA reaches high to spike against Sergia in the VNL quarterfinals
The scoring categories were very similar for both teams with Serbia leading in attacks (67-66) and in errors (22-23). The winners held a 6-3 advantage in aces while the losers dominated in blocks 21-14.
Sara Lozo and Ana Bjelica scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, for Serbia and Kelsey Robinson finished with 21 for USA.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 12, 2022.- Ana Gabriela Guevara, Director of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports, CONADE supports the NORCECA Final Six Men’s Pan American Cup being held in Tepic, Nayarit.
Ana Guevara, former high-performance athlete, who won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 400-meter dash and World Champion in athletics, is in Tepic supporting volleyball.
“With this event, the road to the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023 and later the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, begins, in addition to international tournaments in which we are seeking to provide volleyball with the best preparation within our reach,” said Guevara.
She highlighted that the men’s team, qualified for the Volleyball World Championship needs the best preparation available; It helps the team to be at home facing highly competitive national teams.
“That is why I am here, supporting our team, it is not easy to play this competition against high-level opponents, but that’s how sports work: you have to compete, you have to be there, you have to play and enjoy” she said.
Ana Gabriela Guevara, Director National Commission for Physical Culture & Sports of Mexico and Bertha Cuadra, Member of the Board of Administration of the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation
Guevara thanked the government of Nayarit for their enthusiasm and interest in supporting and promoting volleyball and that she is sure to bring more international championships.
Everything comes from the illusion of helping Mexico’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams grow, a new generation of athletes that thanks to ideas and desires with the approach of the President of the Mexican Federation Jesús Perales Navarro has become possible.
“At the Tokyo Olympics I was able to meet with FIVB President Ary Graça and it created this interest to support volleyball which had a great response with the recent World Tour events hosted by Mexico in previous occasions” she added.
Guevara explained that Mexico has a large public and is very well involved in beach volleyball, which is why it accepted the challenge of hosting the Beach Volleyball World Championship next year, “we bet on the scheme of innovating as we did this year to celebrate an event in one of the smallest cities in Mexico (Tlaxcala), in a bullring and that was a great success, so we want to give the World Championship the same effort that beach volleyball deserves”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 12, 2022.- Canada beat the Mexico 3-1 (33-31, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21) in their second tournament victory at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup on Tuesday at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Canada improved their record 2-0 leading their win over Mexico with a 58-42 margin in kills and a one-point margin (7-6) in aces. Mexico held a slim 7-6 in blocks to drop to an 0-2 record. Canada committed 41 unforced errors and the host a total of 34.
The first set was a party of points with both teams losing several set points to a thrilling 33-31 finish for Canada. In the third set, outside hitter Jesse Elser of Canada, suffered an ankle injury as he fell defending over the net.
Outside hitter Brandon Koppers led Canada’s scorers with 19 points on 15 kills, 3 blocks and one ace, followed by opposite hitter Jordan Canham with 13 points and outside hitter Logan House with 13 points all on kills.
Two Mexican players scored double-figures; opposite player Diego Gonzalez with 18 points on 14 kills, 3 blocks and one ace, and middle blocker Axel Tellez scoring 11 points on 5 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces.
Action between Canada and Mexico at Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup
Canada (2-0) and Cuba (2-0) will meet on Wednesday, and Mexico (0-2) goes up against Dominican Republic (0-2).
Brandon Koppers, Top scorer of Canada: “Mexico played a lot of great defenses, a lot of big points and big rallies, so a lot was about managing the momentum and how loud the fans were and just trying to play our game. We are going to play our best every single night and our goal is to win as many matches as we can, that’s our goal and hopefully will go home with the gold medal. For tomorrow’s match, we are going to watch a lot of videos of Cuba, the have really great spikes, serves and blocks; so, the key is to make them play our game, we play a little more block-defense than they do, we need to transition and try to put them out of system and hold our hard serves”.
Dan Ota, Head Coach of Canada: “Mexico gave us all we could handle, they played very hard and a very difficult opponent. We won a difficult first set, lost the second and when Jesse Elser got injured our team rallied around and wanted to win for him, I am proud of how the responded in this difficult situation and also handled the fans that were very loud. Our next opponent, Cuba, is a really good team and my players know them well from watching them play when they were younger; to have a chance to play such a quality team like Cuba is a great opportunity for us, hopefully we’ll be able to put our best effort”.
Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “It’s difficult to take in the loss. We had some good moments, but we are still lacking to close in important moments. Our counterattack and defense are in trouble; the guys get nervous in moments they should be able to score because we are defending well, but they will improve with more consecutive matches like this one. We aren’t happy and we could have pressured more. The qualification is still in our hands, and we must come out strong tomorrow, we will work hard, the level of play with Dominican Republic is similar, but we are coming from five sets yesterday and four today. We will watch some videos to determine how we’re going to play tactically speaking”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 12, 2022.- Cuba with an exciting five-set win 3-2 (25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11) over the United States to improve 2-0 at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
The United States came back strong after falling in the first two sets to extend the action to a tie-break won by Cuba.
Cuba led 63-47 in attacks and 5-3 in aces. United States held a comfortable 14-8 margin in blocks. Cuba scored on 35 points from U.S. errors but handed out 43.
Opposite hitter Jesus Herrera of Cuba scored a match-high of 20 points on 18 kills and two blocks, outside hitter and team captain Miguel Angel Lopez followed with 19 points on 18 kills and once ace, and middle blocker Roamy Alonso contributed with 13 points.
Opposite hitter Francesco Sani topped the United States with 17 points on 15 kills and two aces, outside hitter Kyle McCauley contributed with 15 points on 11 kills, three blocks and one ace; middle blocker Nyerovwome Omene and outside hitter Brett Wildman added 11 and 10 points respectively.
On Wednesday Cuba will meet Canada and United States plays Puerto Rico.
Kyle McCauley (USA) spikes avoiding Cuba’s triple block at Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup
Miguel Angel Lopez, Captain of Cuba: “It was a complicated match, it depended on our game. From the third set onward our game stopped to go smoothly as it was in the first two sets. The key was the concentration to come out with the victory. This is just our second match, and we are adapting to the condition of the court and the surroundings. Now we must study Canada and rest”.
Kyle McCauley, Outside hitter of United States: “We have a lot of trust in everyone coming in, we had some great serves, also our blocking did well. We fought hard the entire match”.
Belize City, July 12, 2022.- Belize won 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) against Nicaragua in the closing match of the XIX Central American U21 Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Bruce Gareth with 18 points was the best for the Belizeans and Fatoumata Camara had 14 units. For Nicaragua, Gilmary Smith was limited to 10 points. Belize was superior in offense 42-29 and in aces 8-3, but Nicaragua was better in blocking 5-4, although they committed 20 errors to 21 for the winners.
Sofía Solano, from Belize, became the first libero to be appointed as captain in the history of AFECAVOL tournaments, while her teammates did a great job offensively.
Belize U21 Women’s National Team
“For me it is a great honor to be the team captain, I think I was appointed because of my leadership and because my teammates trust me. Today we played a great game, we have the support of our people and we want to have a great tournament. Things went well, we played as we have been working and that gives us confidence”, said Solano.
José Ramón Fontes, from Belize: “We started with a victory in a very even competition and that gives us a lot of satisfaction. We had a good match especially in the first two sets. We have done a very hard job that is now bearing fruit; we have a good team, they have a lot of potential and they have grown in volleyball”.
Francesca Medrano, captain of Nicaragua: “We started out nervous, then we tried to pick up the pace of the game but it was too late… but I think Nicaragua will raise its name. We need to improve the reception, I think we saw ourselves well in some aspects and based on that we have to aim”.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 12, 2022 – Two new team records for the NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six were set on Tuesday by Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.
Roosevelt Comarazamy, the Press Communication director of NORCECA Confederation informed about the new standards for the event that is in its second edition in Nayarit, Mexico.
The two teams combined for 232 points in the five-set victory of Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 32-34, 22-25, 15-12) to open the actions of the second day of the competition.
The 34-32 third set won by the Dominican squad is also a new record.
Last year, Puerto Rico prevailed 33-31 in a second set of a match won by the Dominicans 3-1 (31-29, 31-33, 27-25, 27-25) on September 3 of the inaugural Final Six held in Santo Domingo.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 12, 2022.- Puerto Rico won another five-set match in their second victory at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan Am Cup, defeating Dominican Republic 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 32-34, 22-25, 15-12) at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Puerto Rico also beat Mexico in five sets on Monday to stand with a 2-0 record and Dominican Republic drops to 0-2.
Dominican Republic had a remarkable recovery coming from a two-set deficit and snatching the third set in an extended 34-32 while Puerto Rico lost 8 match points to close in three sets.
Puerto Rico held a 72-68 advantage in attacks and a slim 13-12 margin in blocks, Dominicans did better in the service line with a 6-4 advantage. Dominican Republic committed one less unforced error than Puerto Rico (24-25).
Four players from each team scored double-digits. Puerto Rico with outside hitters Klistan Vidal (25), Pedro Molina (24), Peligrin Vargas (18) and middle blocker Angel Rivera (12). On Dominican Republic’s side, outside hitter Henry López (20), opposite hitter Henry Tapia (18), outside hitter Hector Cruz (12) and middle blocker Felix Romero (10) who led in blocks with 6 points.
On day three of the event, Puerto Rico faces the United States and the Dominican Republic goes up against Mexico.
Action between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic Men’s NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six
Pedro Molina, Outside hitter of Puerto Rico: “It was a difficult match, we always have great performance against the Dominican Republic, they are an excellent team. We have improved, we have grown to reach today’s victory. We have all worked a lot and we are prepared for tomorrow’s match, after two matches in five sets it’s important for us to recover physically”.
Henry Tapia, Captain of Dominican Republic: “This match was more open, one on one, in comparison from yesterday that we had a lower performance. Sometimes it’s not the level of play but the floor, the light, several factors influence one’s performance to execute and score. Tomorrow we are forced to win”.
Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “We are coming with a project that is relatively new, there are several players debuting in this tournament. We are glad and cautious about the next matches, but happy to work. Dominican Republic is an organized team, and they changed their game plan, it’s part of the strategy of the game; we came out with the victory and it’s important to prepare for tomorrow”.
Belize City, July 12, 2022.- Honduras began its title defense with a 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 15-9) victory over El Salvador, which battled more than two hours, but it was not enough at the start of the XIX U21 Central American Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Gabriela Aceituno with 23 points and 13 from Natalia Reyes were the best for Honduras, while El Salvador had a good production of four players, Daniela López and captain María Rodríguez with 13 points and 12 each from Geannine Velásquez and Paola Montano.
Honduras led the attack 50-45 and 12-11 in aces, but the Salvadorans were better in blocking 8-5, with 42 points on error from the winners and 38 from their opponents.
Daniela Lopez of El Salvador against Honduras blocking at AFECAVOL Women’s U21 Central American Championship
Captain of Honduras: “The match was quite difficult, we did not expect that great team from El Salvador, I think the problem was that we trusted each other, we came with the mentality to win, but in the third set we looked bad, thank God we managed lift in the fifth. It’s important to start winning because it gives us more confidence, it encourages us to continue playing as we know how, because I know my team and I know we can play better in the following games”.
Marvin Ulloa, coach of Honduras: “The girls from El Salvador are very compliant, we have to sit down and analyze what our problem is, we cannot win the set or the game, since we had two sets up and we loosened up. We come from a good blank and it is not possible that we fall throughout the game, it seems that there is something mental, a block that we cannot overcome. The team has, we have technique, tactics, half of the team is high, but we have to improve the mental part”.
Captain of El Salvador: “Honduras was a very good opponent, they have very good team play. We gave our best, the best we could give. We have the support of our parents, of ourselves, of all of El Salvador because we are in a process in which we are learning to trust ourselves and we know that we will always give our best on the field.”
Noé Fabián, Coach of El Salvador: “We must congratulate Honduras because they did a great job, we especially improved in the third and fourth, but we didn’t know how to maintain the level. We failed in the receipt at the time that we should not loosen. El Salvador has always stood out for its defense, we are very brave, we stand out for that, plus they are very united and that helps us to always get up”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 11, 2022.- Puerto Rico opened the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan Am cup beating Mexico in five sets 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-14) at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
It was a nail-biting match from start to finish and despite Mexico´s advantages in every skill, 51-47 in attacks, a comfortable 12-6 margin in blocks and 7-4 in aces, Puerto Rico won scoring 51 points on opponent errors while committing 39.
Outside hitter Klistan Lawrence with 16 points all on kills was Puerto Rico’s leading scorer, accompanied by outside hitter Pedro Molina with 10 points on 8 kills and two aces and outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas also with 10 points on 8 kills, one block and one ace.
Opposite hitter Diego González of Mexico scored a match-high of 20 points on 17 kills and three blocks, outside hitters Mauro Isaac Fuentes and Josué de Jesús Lopez contributed with 15 and 12 points respectively.
Puerto Rico (1-0) will face Dominican Republic (0-1) and Mexico (0-1) meets Canada (1-0) on Tuesday.
Klistan Lawrence, Top scorer of Puerto Rico: “This was my first international match, that’s why it was difficult, I adjusted, solved and in the end played well. Facing the host team isn’t easy, there was too much noise, the crowd influenced our concentration. It’s always important to start with a victory and mostly in the last set that has 15 points, we were able to get the victory”.
Puerto Rico celebrates against Mexico at Men´s NORCECA Final Six
Diego González, Top scorer of Mexico: “Unfortunately we couldn’t win, we worked hard. Puerto Rico was able to adjust in the end, that’s what it’s all about. We had too many errors and couldn’t solve them. Our serves were out of rhythm, but there’s more competition ahead. Everybody comes to win, there is no easy opponent, we will give all, we’ve trained for that. Our team is young, and this is the level of play that helps us improve; it’s a long road”.
Oswald Antonetti, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “Mexico is a great team, well trained, well prepared, they have a well-established plan, it’s clear; they came to play and it’s a pleasure to face a team like that. We are in the process of establishing our identity as a country of good volleyball, with a young group that’s trying to get to know each other better. For us the victory is very important to gain confidence for the rest of the tournament. We showed character coming from behind, what’s important is to keep our head high and rest for our next match”.
Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “We were destroyed by our errors, we committed errors at the end of the sets, we didn’t execute our counterattacking. The only player on the team with experience is Pedro Rangel that has a knee injury, so we used him a little to take care of him. The tournament is strong, and no team is weak; this is just the beginning and we must adjust to win a medal”.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 11, 2022.- Canada earned a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21) victory over the United States in their opening match at the Men’s NORCECA Final Six Pan Am Cup at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit.
Canada had a great start overcoming the U.S. with a solid 5-1 lead in service points. The Canadians also held advantages in blocks (6-4) and attacks (35-33), while scoring on 29 opponent errors and handing out 21.
Opposite hitter Jordan Canham led Canada with 9 points, while outside hitters Logan House and Brandon Koppers chipped in with 8 points each.
Outside hitter Brett Wildman of the United States led all scorers with 10 points. Opposite hitter Francesco Sani added 8 points for the U.S. and middle blocker Austin Wilmot scored 7 points.
On Tuesday United States (0-1) will face Cuba (1-0) and Canada (1-0) meets host Mexico.
Jordan Canham #4 (CAN) top scorer against USA at Men’s NORCECA Final Six
Jordan Canham, Top scorer of Canada: “Being our first match, I was a little nervous like the rest of us. It was so fun to play with a crowd like this and the nerves got out. It’s important to start with a victory this, against a team like the United States. We had a couple of scrimmages before the tournament and that helped us, I don’t think they had any and I believe they were nervous; it’s always fun to play against them.
Brett Wildman, Top scorer of United States: “Obviously our goal was to win, but also coming into the tournament our goal is to get better over time. We have a bright future in this tournament, but we must cut down the errors on serves”.
Dan Ota, Head Coach of Canada: “This was more than we could have hoped for, coming out on top with a 3-0 win especially against a country with great volleyball, one of the top volleyball nations in the world and a country ten times bigger than ours. Our team played an excellent match and I think the Americans struggled a bit from the service line. Our work is just beginning, and our best matches are yet to come”.
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “I want to give credit to Canada, they came out and played a good match from the very start. We did not play well at the start and played better in the second and third set. We must make more serves and create scoring opportunities from our block defense, we have to be better in that tomorrow against Cuba.
TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 11, 2022.- Cuba won the NORCECA Final Six Pan Cup opener to Dominican Republic in straight sets 3-0 (25-15-, 25-15, 25-22) at the Amado Nervo Auditorium in Tepic, Nayarit.
Cuba grabbed their first win of the preliminary round with 39-21 advantage in kills, an 8-4 margin in blocks and leading 5-3 in aces. Cuba committed 19 errors and Dominican Republic a total of 20.
Cuba’s top scorer was outside hitter Marlon Yant with 12 points on 9 kills and three aces, joined by team captain Miguel Angel Lopez with 9 points on 7 kills and 2 blocks; middle blocker Roamy Alonso added 8 points.
For Dominican Republic, outside hitter Wilfrido Hernadez led with 9 points, opposite hitter and team captain Henry Tapia contributed with 8 points and middle blocker Dawilin Mendez finished with 7 points.
On day two of competition, Cuba faces the United States and the Dominican Republic plays against Puerto Rico.
Javier Concepcion #5 (CUB) blocks Henry Lopez #8 (DOM) at Men’s NORCECA Final Six
Marlon Yant, Top scorer of Cuba: “We got into rhythm little by little, I believe it was a great game to kick the tournament. We want to win all our matches, add one by one, we have practiced to do so and try to win the competition”.
Wilfrido Hernández, Top scorer of Dominican Republic: “Despite Cuba being a strong opponent, we did the best we could. Cuba was well organized, mostly in blocking and their K-1 they are tough. We will go on improving, from less to more; we must improve many things”.
Nicolás Vives, Head Coach of Cuba: “The first two sets were good, despite making some changes the guys always get relaxed and overconfident. In the end we pressed a bit and came out with the victory. We are working little by little”.
Alexander Gutiérrez, Head Coach of Dominican Republic: “It was a hard game to start a tournament, it is known that Cuba is one of the favorites in the tournament. We began lazy, committing too many errors. We adjusted in the third set and got a better rhythm, but we came short to close. What’s important is to finish strong despite the negative things”.
LA PAZ, Baja California Sur, June 11, 2022.- Argentina beat Mexico 3-1 (26-24, 27-25, 28-30, 25-7) in Saturday’s semifinals to reach the Women’s U21 Pan American Cup final match at La Paz Arena in Baja California Sur.
Argentina was challenged by a resistant home team up to the third set, when Mexico needed five-set points to keep their hopes alive. Argentina entirely dominated Mexico in the fourth set, leaving no doubt in their stunning finish.
Argentina faces the United States for the gold, they met earlier in pool-play play with the U.S. winning 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 22-25, 27-25) to advance directly into semifinals to beat Chile. This will also be a rematch of the 2017 gold medal match won by the Americans. Argentina also fell in 2015 to Dominican Republic.
On the other hand, Mexico and Chile will battle for the bronze medal. This is the second occasion they meet for third place; Chile took the bronze in 2015. Mexico won the event in 2013 to Dominican Republic.
Argentina led 61-54 in attacks and prevailed by a huge margin in blocks (16-4) and aces (11-4); Mexico was the one with fewer errors (18-24).
Outside hitter Milena Margaria of Argentina scored a match-high of 20 points on 17 kills and three blocks. Middle blocker Avril Garcia and outside hitter Keila Llanos joined the party of points with 19 each; Garcia scoring the most blocks with a total of 7 points.
Outside hitter and team captain Aime Topete led Mexico with 16 points on 15 kills and one ace, followed by opposite hitter Katherine Ramirez with 14 points on 13 kills and one block. Outside hitter Alexandra Goris also contributed with 10 points.
Marcelo Silva, Head Coach of Argentina: “The first three sets were tremendous, it was very close, Mexico defended a lot, maybe they were tired in the last set, I never thought we could have won the fourth set with such a large margin. Now we need our girls to recover and study the United States to decide our game plan”.
Luis León, Head Coach of Mexico: “The first three sets could have gone to either one, they were very close. I believe the difference was Argentina’s level of play in the tournament, with more matches, with rhythm together (two matches more than us). Tomorrow we are going out to win third place”.
PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 11, 2022: Anna Gillens of US Virgin Islands was expected bestowed the top accolade of “Most Valuable Player” in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Girls Under-19 (Youth Championship) at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (SRISA).
Gillens played a leading role in firing her team to a maiden title in the age-group and she was also awarded the “Best Scorer” and “Outside Hitter 1) awards.
Despite being displaced as champions, Suriname again dominated the individual awards with Avaira Sengal taking home the “Best Server” and “Middle Blocker 2) awards while teammates Ketrua Heymans (Best Setter), Charise Frankel (Best Opposite Player), and Amber Daal (Best Digger) each collected one award as well each.
Tournament runners-up and debutants, Martinique had a double award recipient in Maelyss Melinda-Chanteur who walked away with the “Outside Hitter 2″ and ‘Best Receiver” while countrywoman Lauryn Kichenin was named “Middle Blocker 2” and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jordanne Hutchinson, “Best Libero”.
CAZOVA Under-19 Girls Honour Roll::
Best Server:#10 – Avaira Sengal (Suriname)
Best Setter: # 3 – Ketrua Heymans (Suriname)
Best Opposite Player:#14 – Charise Frankel (Suriname)
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