Costa Rica Defeats Honduras to Play for Seventh Place

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, May 29, 2026. – Costa Rica defeated Honduras 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 25-16) in a classification match to earn the right to play for seventh place at the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup, held at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.

With this result, Costa Rica will face the Dominican Republic for positions 7–8 of the event, while Honduras concluded its U17 campaign with a 0-3 record.

The host team, supported by the crowd, started strong in the opening set, leading 11-6 with effective serves. Honduras kept Costa Rica under control, with Valeria Castejón as leading scorer. Costa Rica resisted the pressure and climbed back, led by Charlotte Martínez. In a close battle, Luciana Vargas and Esmeralda Ugalde pushed Costa Rica to secure the set.

Costa Rica quickly took control of the second set, building a 12-5 lead thanks to Honduras’ errors and the offensive contribution of Victoria Cobeña. The Ticas maintained their rhythm and closed with a comfortable advantage.

Honduras responded in the third set with a strong outing, leading 20-12 behind powerful serves, with at least four players scoring aces. Costa Rica fought back with kills from captain Martínez, narrowing the gap to 17-23, but Honduras extended the match with a kill from Paulina Becker.

In the fourth set, Costa Rica established a 16-9 lead and never looked back. Effective blocks and serves, led by Martínez and supported by Luanna Moore, sealed the victory. The final point came from Moore’s block over Luna Janania.

Costa Rica led in kills (54-34) and blocks (6-4), while Honduras held the edge in aces (11-9). Costa Rica committed 30 unforced errors compared to Honduras’ 23.

Costa Rica’s top scorers were Charlotte Martínez with 19 points, Luciana Vargas with 17, and Esmeralda Ugalde with 15. For Honduras, Luna Janania scored 15 points and Valeria Castejón added 12.

Costa Rica’s captain Charlotte Martínez reflected: "Mentally, we trusted that we would close the match in the third set, and that’s why Honduras knew how to take advantage of the opportunity with their strong attack, and we couldn’t respond, but we managed to recover. Tomorrow we are going to fight, give our best regardless of the result, but satisfied with our performance."

Honduras’ leading scorer Luna Janania expressed: “Costa Rica is a strong team. We are finishing the event with great experience. The support of the crowd was exceptional; it gave us confidence.”