Costa Rica Advances Unbeaten to the

Central American Games Semifinals

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, October 19, 2025.– Costa Rica advanced to the semifinals of the men’s volleyball tournament at the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025 unbeaten, after defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 26-24) at the Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium.

Costa Rica finished first in Pool B with a perfect 3-0 record and will face Panama in Monday’s semifinals. Honduras, with a 0-3 record, placed fourth in the group and will compete for positions 6/7 on the tournament’s final day.

The Costa Ricans dominated the first two sets with authority. In the third, Honduras showed greater initiative following a rotation adjustment by both teams, managing to take the lead. However, Costa Rica rallied to tie at 23 points, and with an attack by Stanley Grant and a Honduran attack error, sealed the match in straight sets.

ALBUM CRC vs HON

Blocking was key to Costa Rica’s victory, outperforming Honduras 11-4. Honduras led in attacks (41-38) and service aces (3-2), but Costa Rica capitalized on its opponent’s 25 unforced errors while committing only 13.

Stanley Grant led Costa Rica with 15 points (11 attacks, 4 blocks), followed by Gilberth Solano with 14 (12 attacks, 2 blocks). Jeremy Vanega stood out with 5 blocking points, the highest in the match. For Honduras, David Villatoro was the top scorer with 16 points, the only player from his team reaching double digits.

Costa Rican coach César Salas highlighted his team’s consistency: “In the first two sets, we played aggressively at the net, both in blocking and attacking — we did it very well. The third set was harder to close because we decided to rotate the setter to keep Felipe active; we made some mistakes, and Honduras also made a rotation that confused us. In the end, our players’ experience allowed us to close the match with some strong blocks, and Nacho’s serve was decisive.”

Meanwhile, Honduras’ David Villatoro praised his team’s effort: “We finished the match strong. We’re done with the group stage and unfortunately didn’t get the result we hoped for. We’re a new team, with players still joining the roster. We’re happy with today’s performance against Costa Rica, a solid, strong team that’s on track to be champion.”