Nicaragua over Costa Rica at AFECAVOL U21
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, October 1,
2019.- Nicaragua
beat Costa Rica 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) for their second
win in a row at the AFECAVOL U21 Central American
Championship in FESAVOL Gymnasium of San Salvador, El
Salvador.
Defending champion Nicaragua came from behind in all three
sets to keep their unbeaten (2-0) win-loss record. In set
one they recovered from 17-22 as they found their way to
move around Costa Rica’s defense over the net.
Nicaragua held 41-33 advantage in kills and 9-6 in blocks
while Costa Rica prevailed in aces 5-2. Both teams allowed
23 points on unforced errors.
Nicaragua and Costa Rica both used a balanced offense. The
winners relied on middle blocker Jefferson Cascante (16pts),
outside hitter Lenon Oporta (12pts) and outside hitter
Marcial Sandoval (12pts), while Costa Rica debuted supported
by opposite Deykel Smith (14pts), outside hitter Fabian
Torres (11pts) and outside hitter Dowshel Smith (10pts).
Nicaragua (2-0) will rest on Wednesday and Costa Rica (0-1)
faces Belize (0-2).
Lenon Oporta, opposite player of Nicaragua: “It was team
effort, everything went well. I thought we were going to
lose when were behind in the first set, but we have great
confidence in our performance”.
Juan Diego Arrieta, Captain of Costa Rica: “This is just the
first game; we have our minds set on winning the
championship. Nicaragua is one of our direct opponents and
today they were superior. The first set slipped away from
us, we weren’t able to close and it was a tough clash”.
Jorge Mena, Head coach of Nicaragua: “We came prepared for
these two matches, it was important to have two victories
from the beginning. From here onward we must play as much as
we can and we now we go to rest with two victories that
allows us to gain more energy and retain the title. Our
defense was really good”.
Sergio Araya, Head coach of Costa Rica: “We weren’t able to
cover the line with our blocks; the guys couldn’t block on
time and we lost important points. The emotional factor of
losing the first set after a comfortable advantage also
influenced our performance. Nicaragua was motivated and was
impossible to stop, added to the fact that they were in
better rhythm after their debut yesterday”.