Costa Rica Undefeated U19 Central American Champions

BELIZE CITY, Belize, July 22, 2023. Costa Rica only needed one set to become Champions of the XIV AFECAVOL U19 Women's Central American Championship, and they achieved it with a 3-0 victory over Panama (25-12/25-9/25-18).

Costa Rica secures the title undefeated, winning all their matches in the tournament, with only one set lost against the hosts, Belize, in the first game.

With a score of 25-12, Costa Rica cheered “Champions!” from the first set of the match, which unfolded calmly, optimistically, and joyfully for the Costa Rican team.

Costa Rica was superior in attacks with a significant difference of 49 to 13. They also dominated in blocking (7-1) and serving (10-2).

Costa Rica earned 23 points from Panama’s errors, while Panama could only get 9 points from Costa Rica’s errors.

The top scorers for Costa Rica were opposite hitter Angélica Rodríguez with 17 points (12 on attacks, 2 on blocks, and 3 on serves), and her teammate, middle blocker Nhya Barley, contributed with 12 points from attacks and 2 on blocks, totaling 15 points. For Panama, their captain, Ekaterina Ureña, scored 8 points, all from attacks.

Costa Rica reclaimed the title from the previous edition in 2019, making them the Central American U19 Champions for the second consecutive time. They are the most successful team in the category, with a total of 9 titles.

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INTERVIEWS

Angélica Rodríguez, Captain of Costa Rica: “This tournament was very important for us; we had a long process, participating in other tournaments as preparation. Achieving this result fills me with joy because I believe we have a great team with a promising future. We all gave our best on and off the court. I am happy to have a championship-winning team and a great team overall”.

Edivaldo Bonilla, Coach of Costa Rica: “I'm extremely happy; it's the culmination of a cycle that started more than 9 weeks ago, during the Pan American Cup, the idea was to give them experience in Mexico, and we achieved the right scores, on occasions we lacked the desired assertiveness, but we can't forget that these are girls between 14 and 17 years old, and maintaining concentration for such a long time can be a bit challenging, however, the experience has been very positive, the title has been defended, and now we continue working."

Jonnathan Caballero, Coach of Panama: “I want to congratulate the organizers and the entire country for the hospitality they have shown us. There are many talented girls in the teams. We missed the podium, but I know these new girls will work hard to bring Panama back to higher positions. It's a process we are going through”.

Ekaterina Ureña, Captain of Panama: “The match was good, and I feel that Panama is improving steadily. This is just the beginning for Panama to be back on the podium”.