Costa Rica Advances to Semifinals After Thrilling

Five-Set Victory over Venezuela

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, June 26, 2026. – Costa Rica staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Venezuela 3-2 (25-17, 25-27, 18-25, 25-20, 15-10) and secure its place in the semifinals of the Men’s U21 Pan American Cup at Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium in Guatemala City.

With the victory, Costa Rica will face defending champion United States in one of Saturday’s semifinals, while Canada will take on Mexico in the other. Venezuela will play Nicaragua in the classification round for positions five through eight.

The match featured a memorable battle between opposite hitters. Stanley Grant led Costa Rica with 29 points, while Venezuela’s Yoisbel Galeno delivered a spectacular performance with 33 points, the highest individual scoring output of the tournament so far.

Denzel Jiménez added 14 points for Costa Rica, Ignacio Morales finished with 11, and Antoine Molina contributed 10. Ángel Matute scored 14 points for Venezuela.

Costa Rica held the advantage in blocks (13-11) and aces (6-2), while Venezuela narrowly led in kills (59-57). Costa Rica committed 27 unforced errors compared to Venezuela’s 32.

Costa Rica controlled the opening set by capitalizing on Venezuela’s errors (10-5). Led offensively by Stanley Grant and Antoine Molina, the Central Americans built a comfortable 22-14 lead. Venezuela attempted a late comeback with three consecutive points, but Costa Rica responded confidently as Molina, Grant, and Denzel Jiménez closed out the set.

The second set was far more evenly contested. Venezuela built a 16-13 lead behind solid blocking and the powerful attacking of Yoisbel Galeno. Costa Rica tied the score at 17 through a kill from Jiménez, a block from Grant on Galeno, and a Venezuelan error. From there, the teams traded points in a series of ties. Venezuela let two set points slip away before Galeno delivered the attack for 26-25 and Harold Larez sealed the set 27-25 with a block on Grant to level the match.

Riding that momentum, Venezuela controlled the third set from the start and built a five-point advantage (14-9). Galeno continued to dominate both offensively and at the net, and the South Americans never surrendered the lead to move ahead two sets to one.

Costa Rica responded with determination in the fourth set. Denzel Jiménez, Antoine Molina, and Jeremy Vanega strengthened the blocking to neutralize Venezuela’s attack, while Stanley Grant regained his offensive rhythm as Costa Rica extended its lead to 19-12. Venezuela cut the deficit to three points behind Galeno and Matute, but a block from Venega on Matute forced a decisive fifth set.

Costa Rica opened the tiebreak with a 3-0 lead thanks to a powerful block from Molina on Galeno, a kill from Grant, and a Venezuelan error. Although Venezuela fought back, Costa Rica remained in control. A back-row attack by Grant made it 11-8, Molina recorded another key block, and Denzel Jiménez earned match point before a Venezuelan error sealed Costa Rica’s place in the semifinals.

Costa Rican captain Ignacio Morales praised his team’s resilience after the victory: “We had a very strong first set and came out with great intensity. Venezuela put us under pressure in the second and third sets, and we knew it was going to be a very difficult match. We managed to recover, push the match to a fifth set, and win it. Now we have a very tough opponent in the undefeated United States, but we're going to fight for that match”.