Costa Rica Crowned Champions of

the 2025 Central American Games

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, October 21, 2025.– Costa Rica claimed the gold medal in the men’s volleyball tournament at the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025 after defeating Nicaragua 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19) in the championship match.

With this victory, Costa Rica celebrates its third Central American Games title (1990, 2001, 2025), along with three silver medals (1986, 2010, 2013) and two bronze medals (1977, 1994). Nicaragua returned to the podium for the first time since 1990, when they earned their first silver medal; their previous medal was a bronze in 1986.

ALBUM CRC vs NCA

The opening set was intense, with Nicaragua jumping to an early 5-1 lead behind the offense of Axel Gutiérrez. Costa Rica responded with strong serving from Jeremy Vanega, rallying to tie and then move ahead 11-8 thanks to Stanley Grant’s attacks. The teams remained neck and neck until 21-all, when contributions from Ignacio Morales and Nicaragua’s unforced errors allowed Costa Rica to take the first set.

Nicaragua came back strong in the second, building a comfortable six-point lead (14-9) with effective blocking from Yerick Fabián García that stopped Costa Rica’s offense. Costa Rica’s substitutions steadied the team, tying the set at 17, but Gutiérrez, supported by Yader León, powered Nicaragua to even the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, Nicaragua once again started ahead, but Costa Rica tied at 10 points and turned the tide with Andrey Quintero’s serves that disrupted Nicaragua’s system. From there, the Costa Rican attack became unstoppable, led by Jason Brown as they built a seven-point lead (18-11) and comfortably took the set 25-17.

Costa Rica kept up their momentum in the fourth, dominating early 12-5 and turning the set into a scoring celebration. With complete control and efficient play, they extended their lead to 16-7 and closed out the set 25-19 to secure the championship.

Costa Rica held the edge in all key areas: attacks (58-51), blocks (13-6), serves (6-3), and committed fewer errors (19-23).

Five Costa Rican players scored in double digits: Stanley Grant with 26 points, Gilberth Solano with 15, Ignacio Morales with 14, and Jason Brown with 11. For Nicaragua, Axel Gutiérrez was the top scorer of the match with 28 points, followed by Yader León with 10.

Costa Rica’s head coach César Salas said after the victory: “Nicaragua is a great team, and I expected a very tough match, especially like the second set. Thanks to the changes we made in the third set and some strong serving, the team was able to take off and control the game. The team worked hard to win this tournament.”