Costa Rica Opens the Central American

Games with a Victory over El Salvador

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, October 17, 2025.– Costa Rica began the defense of their title on the right foot, defeating El Salvador 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-13, 25-20) in their opening match in Pool A of the women’s volleyball tournament at the 12th Central American Games Guatemala 2025, held at the Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium.

The first set was closely contested, with El Salvador dominating on attack, but Costa Rica managed to claim it by taking advantage of their opponent’s numerous errors (10-0). Costa Rican captain Tatiana Sayles led her team’s efforts in key moments.

In the second set, El Salvador took control with a seven-point lead (16-9) and closed strongly thanks to the offense of Gabriela Funes and Adriana Flores, leveling the match 1-1.

Determined to regain control, the Costa Ricans dominated the third set from the start, opening a wide lead (14-4) and maintaining their rhythm to win 25-13. In the fourth and decisive set, Costa Rica stayed ahead 22-17, though El Salvador closed the gap with consecutive points from Adriana Flores (22-19). However, the pressure led to errors on the Salvadoran side, allowing Costa Rica to seal the victory with a five-point margin.

Costa Rica capitalized on 33 unforced errors by El Salvador (against just 13 of their own) and held the edge in blocking (13-5), while both teams scored 5 service points. El Salvador led in attacks (56-43) but could not overcome Costa Rica’s solid defense.

ALBUM PHOTOS CRC vs ESA

Ana Victoria Rojas led Costa Rica with 15 points, followed by Tatiana Sayles with 14. For El Salvador, Adriana Flores scored 18 points, Gabriela Funes added 16, and Evelyn Ramírez contributed 13.

On the second day of competition, Costa Rica will face Nicaragua, while El Salvador will have a rest day.

Tatiana Sayles, Captain of Costa Rica: “The first matches are always complicated, especially at the Central American Games, which is a big event. Only three of our players had previous experience in the Games. We tried to control our emotions. In the second set we got anxious because El Salvador was defending everything, and our blocking wasn’t consistent. After that, we focused on blocking and having patience to be effective on attack. We stayed focused and came out with the win.”

Carmen Chávez, Captain of El Salvador: “The scores were close, and we managed to play long rallies. We’ve improved in defense and blocking and have gained more confidence thanks to the analysis we did after the Final Four. We looked more solid; it was a more dynamic and entertaining match.”