Cafeteros Open the LVSM Finals with Dramatic

Win over the Caribes

LARES, Puerto Rico, January 15, 2026.- The Cafeteros de Yauco silenced the Méndez Acevedo Coliseum by coming from behind to snatch the first match of the Men’s Volleyball Superior League (LVSM) Finals from the two-time champion Caribes de San Sebastián, prevailing in a thrilling tie-break set.

The match, held away from the Caribes’ usual home court due to the patron saint festivities in San Sebastián, was the only game of the series the champions would play as hosts outside the Aymat Cardona Coliseum.

The set scores were 25-20, 18-25, 18-25, 27-25, and 26-24.

With a 2–1 lead in sets, the Caribes appeared to be on their way to victory, but Yauco responded forcefully. An attack by Axel Meléndez from position two put the Cafeteros ahead 13–9, forcing San Sebastián to fight back to avoid a fifth set.

The Caribes answered with a 7–2 run, capitalizing on an offensive error by Juan Felipe Castañeda and a loose ball that Antonio Feliciano managed to send into Yauco’s court to take a slim 16–15 lead.

The end of the fourth set turned into a back-and-forth battle. Consecutive ties from point 16 through 25 kept the crowd on edge until a back-row spike by Castañeda and a block by Diego Negrón on Ezequiel Cruz sealed the set and sent the match to the decisive fifth.

In the tie-break, Yauco controlled most of the way, but a service error by Castañeda tied the score at 13.

On the next play, San Sebastián reached match point with a block on Negrón. However, the finish was pure drama: successive ties up to 24–24 after a successful attack by Pelegrín Vargas from zone four.

Finally, the Cafeteros answered with a spike by Negrón from zone two and a block by Castañeda on Vargas to complete the comeback.

After the match, veteran middle blocker Jessie Colón analyzed the victory: “It was a matter of staying more focused and minimizing mistakes. We were making unforced errors; we were putting ourselves in trouble. When we made the adjustments, you could start to see the difference,” he said. On what they need to improve to defend home court in Yauco, he added: “Stay focused on the game plan and avoid what happened today and in the series with Corozal. Minimize errors, especially at the service line—put the ball in play and force them to play.”

For his part, Caribes head coach Chamo Liendo Sivira acknowledged that his team lost control at key moments: “They’ve been playing in rhythm, and we didn’t know how to set the tone early. No excuses. The series is just starting, and I know this group well. Today we lost our composure a bit,” he commented. On the necessary adjustments, he added: “It’s more about us. They did what they always do, but this depends on our work. It was a game of ups and downs, but there’s still a lot of series left.”

In team statistics, Yauco led in assists 30–28, while San Sebastián was superior in attacks (71–63), blocks (13–11), aces (4–1), digs (62–57), and receptions (66–58).

On offense for the Cafeteros, Juan Felipe Castañeda led with 22 points, followed by Diego Negrón with 17, and middle blockers Iván Fernández and Jessie Colón with 12 and 10, respectively.

For the Caribes, Pelegrín Vargas tallied 19 points, Pedro Nieves 14, Anthony Negrón 12, while Corey Chavers and Mark Frazier contributed 11 each. Ezequiel Cruz finished with 10.

The series, scheduled for a maximum of seven matches, continues Saturday, January 17, at the Raúl “Pipote” Oliveras Coliseum, home of the Cafeteros de Yauco, starting at 8:00 p.m.