Colombia Defeats Guatemala in Opening Match of the Men’s

Pan American Cup

LEÓN, Guanajuato, August 26, 2025. – Colombia made a victorious debut in the opening match of the Senior Men’s Pan American Volleyball Cup, sweeping Guatemala in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23) at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.

Colombia’s next opponent in Pool B will be Puerto Rico, while Guatemala will face Canada.

The match began evenly, with Guatemala taking a slight 9-6 lead behind Gerardo González’s serving. Colombia quickly responded, tying the score at 10 with a block from Daniel Aponza. From point 12 onward, the South Americans never gave up the lead and closed the set with a block by Leandro Mejía against Carlos López.

The second set had the same intensity. Guatemala went up 12-10 with a block by Jason Hernández and a powerful attack from captain Carlos López. However, the offensive push of Andrés Piza and Miguel Ángel Martínez turned the score in Colombia’s favor (19-16), and once again the South Americans sealed the set with the strength of their blocking.

The third remained tight until 16-16. Colombia pulled ahead thanks to opponent errors, but Guatemala forced a tie at 23 with an attack from Andy Leonardo. Two consecutive mistakes by the Central Americans gave Colombia the victory.

Colombia’s blocking (10-3) proved decisive, along with their slight edge in attacking (38-33). Guatemala dominated from the service line (4-3), while errors were similar (21 by Colombia and 24 by Guatemala).

Opposites Miguel Ángel Martínez (COL) and Andy Leonardo Blanco (GUA) led all scorers with 12 points each. For Colombia, Juan Castañeda also stood out with 11 points, while middle blocker Leandro Mejía added 10. On the Guatemalan side, in addition to Leonardo, captain Carlos López contributed 10 points.

After the match, Colombia’s captain Leandro Mejía said: “It’s the first match and we’re just getting into rhythm. We did a good job staying focused and following the coach’s instructions. We’ve been training in cold weather, and now we need to adapt to the heat, but we did everything great.”

Meanwhile, Guatemala’s captain Carlos López admitted: “We always started strong in all three sets, but Colombia controlled the second half better. Our mistakes cost us the match; we need to work on that.”