MIAMI, Florida, August 8, 2008.- Weston Nielsen of USA was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Tournament won by his team with a triumph over Puerto Rico.

His teammates Evan Mottram won the awards as best receiver and best libero and Oliver Deutschman was the top setter. The USA skipper Andy Read was recognized as the best coach. More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 8, 2008.- USA swept to a categorical victory over Puerto Rico in the gold medal’s match of the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Volleyball Tournament. Both teams were already qualified to the 2009 FIVB Youth World Championship.

The Americans combined power with consistent serve and blocking in route to a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 triumph. USA dominated Puerto Rico in blocks (7-2) and in serves (6-3).

Ian Satterfield and Taylor Sander led USA with 12 and 10 points respectively and Weston Nielsen added 8. Puerto Rican Jorge Lopez topped all the scorers of the match with 15 tallies. More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 8, 2008.- Mexico captured the bronze medal at the NORCECA U-19 Continental Boys’ Tournament by defeating Guatemala in straight sets. The score was 25-22, 25-21, 25-17.

Despite the loss, the Guatemalans offered strong resistance against the more experienced Mexicans in a match where both sides displayed excellent performances. Juan Revuelta (15) and Jorge Cabrera (12) were the top offensive weapons of Mexico while Luis Garcia led Guatemala with 14 points, including five blocks. More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 8, 2008.- Costa Rica defeated U.S. Virgin Islands 26-24, 25-16, 25-21 and thus finished in the sixth position at the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Tournament.

Costa Rican Jose Murillo was the only player of the match who reached double figures in scoring with 19 points. Tabari Williams was the top scorer for the Virgin Islands with 9 tallies.  The Central Americans, who saved one set-point in the first frame, overmatched their opponents  6-0 in the serving category. More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 7, 2008.- United States scored a convincing victory over Mexico and joined Puerto Rico as the two teams from the NORCECA Confederation qualified for the 2009 FIVB U-19 Boys’ World Championship.

The powerful attacks by the Americans increasely undermined the defense of the resilient Mexican side as they were on their way to a 25-21, 25-20, 25-18 triumph.

USA and Puerto Rico will be pitted to meet each other for the gold medal match on Friday. Mexico is slated to face Guatemala for the bronze. Ian Satterfield, Taylor Sander and Dylan Davis had 14, 11 and 10 points respectively for USA. Juan Revuelta (12) was the only Mexican with double figures.

“That’s the best youth Mexican team that I have seen since I’ve been coaching,” said Andy Read of USA. More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 7, 2008.- Puerto Rico secured a ticket for next year’s U-19 FIVB World Championship in Italy by defeating Guatemala in consecutive sets and moving to the gold medal match of the NORCECA Boys Continental Tournament.

The Puerto Ricans, who won by score of 25.-17, 25-20, 25-15, were to meet on Friday the winner of the other semi final match between Mexico and United States. Jorge Lopez once again led Puerto Rico with 17 points followed by Jose Ribas and Josue Rivera with 11 and 10 respectively.  More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 7, 2008.- El Salvador scored an impressive come-from-behind victory over Costa Rica and qualified in the fifth position at the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Tournament.

The Salvadorians erased a 0-2 deficit and edged their Central Americans neighbours by score of 20-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-12.

Rodrigo Chavez and Wilfredo Alvarez carried El Salvador with 24 and 23 points respectively, and Luis Chavez (9) and Carlos Serrano (8) also contributed. José Murillo (23), Hernan Chavez (20) and Jorge Bonilla (11) topped Costa Rica.

“It was a great reaction from our boys,” said Marvin Tax, the coach of El Salvador. “They followed the instruction and performed with a lot of desire.”

More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 6, 2008.- Guatemala prevailed against Costa Rica 25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21 in a battle between Central American teams and advanced to a semi final match against Puerto Rico at the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Tournament.

Jeyson Flores and Aldo Barrios had 13 and 11 points t olead the Guatemalans, while Luis Garcia and Hector Juarez added 8 and 7 respectively. Jose Murillo had 15 points for Costa Rica and Hernan Chavez and Adrian Alegria contributed 8 apiece.

“We achieved the goal of finishing among the top four,” said Jorge Paz, the coach of Guatemala. “We won the match but also failed too many serves. Costa Rica couldn’t keep the consistency in the fourth set.” More Spanish .......Calendar & Results

BEIJING, August 6, 2008 (AFP).- The women’s volleyball team of Cuba was confident on Wednesday about its chances for the gold in the Olympic Games of Beijing, three days before debuting against Poland in a tournament where they are among the favorites along Brazil and China.

“We relieve that the gold medal is a possibility,” said veteran assistant coach Eugenio George after the training session of Wednesday.. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 6, 2008.- Mexico advanced to a semi final encounter against United States by defeating El Salvador in straight sets during their quarterfinals match at the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Tournament.

The Mexicans, who lost in five sets to Puerto Rico one day earlier, rolled over their opponents in the first set and then relied mostly on their bench players in winning by score of 25-10, 25-20, 25-23. Jorge Cabrera led Mexico with 13 points, Jose Garza had 8 and Alfredo Ceron, Omar Lerma and Juan Revuelta each added 7.  More Spanish...Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 5, 2008.- USA trounced El Salvador in straight sets by score of 25-8, 25-9, 25-22, winning the Pool A of the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Tournament and advancing to the semi final phase to be played on Thursday.

The powerful Americans rolled over the Central American team which never was a major threat during the 51 minutes of the match. Weston Nielsen topped the Americans with 14 points and Maurice Torres (9), Scott Kevorken (8) and Michael Dye (7) followed him.  More Spanish

Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 5, 2008.- Jorge Lopez scored a tournament-high 39 points and Josue Rivera added 25 leading Puerto Rico to the victory in a five-set thriller over Mexico to win Pool B at the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Tournament.

The 21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 32-30, 22-20 win in the battle of 2 hours and 6 minutes, moved Puerto Rico to the semi final round of the competition, a qualifier to the 2009 FIVB World Championship. Juan Revueltas led five Mexican players in double figures with 26 tallies. He was joined by Jose Mendoza (18), Jorge Cabrera (15), Jorge Barajas (11) and Hector Burgos (10).  More Spanish...Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 5, 2008.- Costa Rica defeated U.S. Virgin Islands in the first match of Day Three at the NORCECA U-20 Boys’ Continental Tournament, winning in straight sets by score of 25-6, 25-19, 25-16.

The victory enabled the Costa Ricans to qualify in third position of Pool B and thus to secure a berth in the quarterfinal round.

Jose Murillo led Costa Rica with 13 points followed by Hernan Chavez (9), Rodrigo Gutierrez (7) and Jorge Bonilla (6). Tabari Williams topped the Virgin Islands with 10 points. “Our previous matches against the strong teams of Mexico and Puerto Rico helped us to prepare well for this match,” said Briance Venegas, the Costa Rican coach. “Our defense worked very good today.” More Spanish..Calendar & Results

MIAMI, Florida, August 4, 2008.- Guatemala evened its record at 1-1 in the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Torunament by defeating El Salvador in straight sets on Monday. The score was 25-19, 25-13, 25-20.

The Guatemalans, who lost to USA in opening day, relied on their potent attacks to dominate their younger and smaller opponents.

Fernando Garcia and Jeyson Flores led Guatemala with 17 and 15 points. Aldo Barrios added 9. The best of El Salvador was Rodrigo Chavez with 10 tallies.

“The team worked very well today,” said Jorge Paz, the coach of Guatemala. “In general, we played better than yesterday and we performed better as a team.”

“We are very satisfied with our performance and all the plays functioned well,” said captain Hector Juarez. “We went out very confidente and very hungry.” More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 4, 2008.- Mexico remained tied with Puerto Rico in first place of Pool B at the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Tournament. Both teams show unbeaten records of 2-0.

Mexico swept Costa Rica (0-2) in straight sets by score of 25-13, 25-14, 25-10 on Monday and will meet Puerto Rico tomorrow in a battle for a direct spot in the semi finals of the event.

Jorge Cabrera led Mexico with 9 points while Costa Rican Jose Murillo topped all the scorers in the match with 12 tallies.

“Today we used all our guys to get them into rhythm and they are getting it,” said Mario Becerra, the Mexican coach. “Tomorrow’s match against Puerto Rico will be a tough one. I think that the team with more desire and patience will win it.”More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 4, 2008.- Puerto Rico improved its win-loss record to a perfect 2-0 in Pool B of the U-19 NORCECA Boys’ Continental Tournament following its victory in straight sets over U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday by score of 25-17, 25-21, 25-11.

Jose Ribas and Jorge Lopez were the top Puerto Rican scorers wih 12 and 9 points respectively. Steven Morales and Josue Rivera each contributed 6 points. Tabari Williams had 9 for the losers.

The spikes of Lopez carried Puerto Rico past its rivals in the first set, when they were behind 2-4 before he sparked a five-point rally. Ribas capped the opening frame with two bombs. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 3, 2008.- The USA Boys’ Team started the U-19 NORCECA Continental Tournament with the right foot by scoring a straight sets triumph over Guatemala in the nightcap of the first day of action in this qualifying event for the 2009 FIVB Youth World Championship. The score was 25-16, 25-15, 25-16.

The Americans, taller than their rivals, took advantage of their size at the net and blocked the path to the Guatemalans in the only match of Pool A. Despite the loss, the Central Americans showed their talent and played pretty well against a stronger rival.

Dylan Davis led the Americans with 10 points, including three blocks, and Scott Kevorken had three aces in route to 9 tallies.

“The team of USA is tall, plays well and has good technique,” said Jorge Paz, the coach of Guatemala. “We were a little bit nervous but that always happens in the first match. I hope they can have a good reaction in our next matches.” More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 3, 2008.- Puerto Rico recovered from a slow start and straightened up their game in route to an impressive victory in consecutive sets against Costa Rica by score of 25-11, 25-12, 25-11 in Pool B of the U-19 NORCECA Boy’s Continental Tournament.

The serves and blocking of Puerto Rico proved to be the difference in the second match of the opening day. The Puerto Ricans scored 18 aces, with Jose Irrizarry producing 5 and Kevin Martin and Reinaldo Molina contributing 4 apiece. Josue Rivera was their best scorer with 10 tallies and Irrizarry added 8.

Teams were tied at 9-9 in the first set when the defending champions Puerto Ricans won 11 of the next 12 points for a 20-10 lead and never looked back.

“We knew the opponent was a good one,” said Briance Venegas, the coach of Costa Rica. “I hope we can learn from this match and play the following ones with more confidence.” More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 3, 2008.- Mexico scored an easy victory over U.S. Virgin Islands in Day One of the U-19 NORCECA Boy’s Continental Tournament being played at the Florida International University.

The Mexicans were the superior team on the court while dominating their opponents with a better all-around game in a match of Pool B. The score was 25-8, 25-13, 25-9. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, August 2, 2008.- The team of Puerto Rico is ready to defend the crown they won two years ago in the Dominican Republic as they are the squad with longer preparation before the U-19 NORCECA Boy’s Continental Tournament which serves off on Sunday at the Florida International University Gymnasium.

The Puerto Ricans have had seven months of training and they are, along with the host team of USA, the favored teams to win the two berths available in this competition for the 2009 FIVB Boy’s Youth World Championship. More  Spanish