Puerto Rico overcomes fiery Barbados

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, July 24, 2010 – Two-time defending champions Puerto Rico overcame a combative Barbados and won 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-8, 25-12) in its debut at the men’s volleyball tournament of the XXI Central American and Caribbean Games.

The Puerto Ricans out-blocked their opponents 14-1 and had the edge in serving aces 6 to 5.

Hector Soto and Enrique Escalante each compiled 13 points and Victor Rivera and Jose Rivera contributed 12 and 9 respectively. Fabian Cox and Elwyn Oxley charted 13 and 10 for the defeated side.

“We were a little slow and Barbados kind of surprised us with the aggressive serves and offense down the corners,” Soto said. “Then slowly we got more focused and finally got the victory.”

“We are impressed with the way we played for the first two sets against a world class team like Puerto Rico, but after the injury of Akeem Payne early in the third set we lost momentum and Puerto Rico caught its rhythm,” Oxley said.