Cafeteros de Yauco Take Control of Semifinal B of the LVSM

YAUCO, Puerto Rico, January 2, 2026.– The Cafeteros de Yauco took control of Series B of the Men’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSM) by moving ahead with two wins to one over the Plataneros de Corozal, after claiming a 3-1 victory (19-25, 25-16, 30-28, 25-18) on Friday night at the Raúl “Pipote” Oliveras Coliseum.

With the match tied at one set apiece, both squads engaged in an intense exchange of points, with constant ties from 17-all through 21-all.

An effective attack by Spencer Olivier from zone two to zone one of Yauco’s court, combined with an offensive error by Juan Felipe Castañeda, gave the Plataneros a 23-21 lead. Corozal even reached set point at 24-22 following a service error by Castañeda, but they were unable to close it out.

Yauco tied the score at 24 with an attack by Diego Negrón and a mis-hit spike by Jalen Penrose, then completed the comeback to take the set in extra points, 30-28.

In the following set, everything went Yauco’s way, as the Cafeteros dominated from start to finish to secure the victory.

After the match, Diego Negrón of the Cafeteros de Yauco stated:

“Honestly, I can’t take much credit. The statistics speak for themselves, and I believe that every night we’ve won, we’ve had good sets and good matches. Those statistics are very, very symmetrical, especially on offense.”

He added: “To put the final point on the table, I think this series will be won by the team that can sustain good serving and passing, since both teams have fairly well-distributed offenses. The team that can maintain that level will have the greatest ability to score points consecutively. If you notice a pattern, every set that is won by more than three or four points is because one team dramatically raised its offensive pressure on the serve and the other dropped in its passing.”

Yauco led 59-41 in attacks, 11-6 in blocks, 47-44 in receptions, and 24-7 in assists. Corozal was superior in aces (8-4) and digs (42-38).

Yauco’s offense was led by Brandon Rattray (17 points), Diego Negrón (16), and Juan Felipe Castañeda (14).

For Corozal, Jalen Penrose carried the offense with 33 points, followed by Spencer Olivier with 16.

The series continues this Sunday at 7:00 p.m. at the Carmen Z. Figueroa court, home of the Plataneros de Corozal.

In Semifinal A, the Caribes de San Sebastián hold a 3-0 lead over the Patriotas de Lares, with the series continuing this Saturday at the Félix Méndez Acevedo Coliseum starting at 8:00 p.m.