Chile Secures First Victory by Defeating Costa Rica 3-0 

IRAPUATO, Mexico, August 18, 2024. – Chile defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-09, 25-22, 25-20) to secure their first victory in Pool B of the XXI Women's Pan American Volleyball Cup in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. 

After a first set that was completely dominated by Chile, Costa Rica tightened up in the second with quick attacks through the middle and outside, especially with Tatiana Sayles, taking the lead 17-14. However, Chile responded after a timeout requested by their coach Eduardo Guillaume and turned the set around to win it 25-22. 

In the third set, Costa Rica pressured until point 7, but Chile took a 9-5 lead that their opponents couldn't recover from. 

Chile was superior in attack (42-24), blocking (10-6), and serving (10-1), committing 20 unforced errors compared to 11 from Costa Rica.

Beatriz Novoa finished with 18 points for Chile, Petra Schwartzman with 15, and Dominga Aylwin with 14. For Costa Rica, captain Tatiana Sayles scored 14 points. 

Costa Rica will face the United States on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (local time), and Chile will play Puerto Rico at 5:00 p.m. at the Inforum in Irapuato. 

Petra Schwartzman, standout player for Chile: “It got a little complicated, but in the end, we managed to maintain our rhythm. We tried to do things right and minimize errors because Costa Rica is a team that pressured us the entire time. I’m very happy that the game is improving each time. We are aiming for as many victories as possible in this tournament, so we’re happy to add another one. We know that there are tough teams left in our pool and that the playoffs will also be challenging, but we will do our best.” 

Beatriz Novoa, captain of Chile: “I think we played an organized match; each of us did our job well. In the end, we managed to put pressure on them with our serve and were smarter with our attacks, trying to secure the difficult balls. They (Costa Rica) did a good job, causing more damage through the middle with their middle blockers, but we managed to close out strong; it was a good match.”