Costa Rica beats Nicaragua in five sets to keep second round expectations 

MONTERREY, México, March 21, 2017 – Costa Rica defeated Nicaragua in five sets and kept its record in 1-1 as well as second round expectations in the U19 Boys’ Pan American Cup. Scores were 22-25, 28-26, 18-25, 25-17 and 15-10. Jonny Zeledón tallied 29 points for  Nicaragua to figure as scoring leader, while his teammate Byron Hernández made 25. However Costa Ricans improved their service, to finish with a 6-4 ases advantages.  Captain Jose Andres Ortiz y and opposite Pablo Andres Gomez registered 17 points apiece while Mariano Salas closed with 15.

Captain of Nicaragua, Jonny Zeledón: ”We began motivated. We were running up the score, but we fell down after an big excess of confidence. They improved and we finished disappointed.”

Captain of Costa Rica, José Andrés Ortiz: “It was a tough match, but in the end our team was very able to overcome and get a victory.”

Coach of Nicaragua, Osman Hernández: “There was a lot of confidence on our side in the second set. We won the third pretty well and in the fourth we fell down again. That really costed us the result. We should win in the fourth.”

Coach of Costa Rica, Juan Acuña: “This victory was the product of team and hard work. We had spent too much time without winning against them. We worked hard with our service adn we expect to qualify to second round.