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SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, Honduras, September 12,
2022.-
Belize remains undefeated after beating El
Salvador 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 26-28, 25-10) at the
XIV Boys’ U19 Central American Championship of
AFECAVOL being played at Santa Rosa de Copan
Gymnasium.
Belize has a 2-0 record and seven points, while
El Salvador has 1-1 and six points after two
days of competition.
Belize overcame a tough Salvadorian team that
battled to extend the action, winning a dramatic
third set after Belize lost two match points.
Belize dominated the fourth set without
complications, jumping to an early 8-1 lead from
the beginning.
In numbers, Belize held a huge 46-29 advantage
in attacks and 14-1 in serves, in blocking they
scored one point more (3-7). Belize committed 44
unforced errors against 33 from El Salvador.
Outside hitter Eleazar Mejía of Belize, once
again led all scorers with 26 points, on 20
points from attacks, 2 from blocks and 4 from
serves, followed by opposite hitter Preston
Smith with 16 points, on 10 attacks, 3 blocks
and 3 serves; also, outside hitter Malcolm
Murillo chipped in with 10 points.
Outside hitters Rafael Vargas and Marlon
Solórzano led El Salvador with 13 and 10 points
respectively.
On Tuesday, Belize (2-0) will face Nicaragua
(0-1) and El Salvador (1-1) goes against
Guatemala (0-2).
Nicanor Requena, captain of Belize:
“We were prepared to face them, we watched them
play yesterday and we were ready, we had our
game plan. We lost a set, but we executed in the
fourth set; it was a strong set for us. Our
strongest weapon is our ability to grind when
things get tough”.
Gerardo Hernández, head coach of El Salvador:
“Belize is one of the strongest opponents, they
have a great attack. The first two sets slipped
out of our hands, the boys had ups and downs
because of Belize’s strong attacks. We will
continue to work for tomorrow’s performance,
this is a short tournament, and we must be
prepared”. |
