Costa Rica Defeats El Salvador in Straight

Sets in the Opening of the Central American Games

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, October 17, 2025. – Costa Rica opened with a solid straight-set victory 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 26-24) over El Salvador, in the first match of Pool B in the men’s volleyball tournament of the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025, held at the Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium.

Gilberth Solano and Jason Brown were instrumental in the first set, powering Costa Rica’s  offense with strong attacks. El Salvador committed several consecutive errors that prevented them from stopping the Ticos’ momentum.

In the second set, Costa Rica once again imposed its rhythm, although Rodrigo Chávez and Abner Cano led a more organized and effective performance for El Salvador.

El Salvador found its best rhythm in the third set, keeping a close contest with several ties. An attack by Douglas Gómez denied Costa Rica the chance to close the set, leveling the score at 24-24, but Ignacio Morales put Costa Rica back in front with a strong hit (25-24), and Stanley Grant sealed the victory with the final point.

ALBUM CRC vs ESA

Costa Rica outperformed El Salvador in attacks (47-30), blocks (13-6), and service points (4-0), though they gave away more points on errors (23-12).

Gilberth Solano and Stanley Grant led Costa Rica’s offense with 17 and 16 points respectively, while Jason Brown added 14 points, including 5 blocks. For El Salvador, Rodrigo Chávez topped the scores with 14 points, followed by Abner Cano with 11.

On day two of the event, Costa Rica will face Belize, while El Salvador will look to bounce back against Honduras.

Andrés Araya, captain of Costa Rica: “The first match always comes with stress and anxiety. It was an exciting finish; El Salvador gave it their all, and it was a very close game. Thankfully, we kept a cool head and closed it with experience. We have a good mix in the team, with youth and experience, and that helped us finish strong.”

Rodrigo Chávez, captain of El Salvador: “I think we lacked a bit more fighting spirit. We tried different variations throughout the match. There are many young players on the team, and I think we missed that touch of experience. I’m surprised by Costa Rica’s level, even though they have quite a young team. Our players need to keep building more character.”