Costa Rica beats Suriname and waits for final position in Pool A

POZA RICA, M3xico, November 10, 2023.- Costa Rica beat Suriname 3-0 (25-7, 25-10, 25-10) and waits to determine its final position in Pool A at the NORCECA Boys’ U17 Championship being held at Miguel Hidalgo Gymnasium in Poza Rica, Mexico.

Costa Rica with 3-1 record in Pool A will wait for the result between Mexico and Guatemala to see if they advance to semifinals.

Suriname (1-3) finished fourth in Pool A to face Nicaragua on Saturday for seventh place; the loser will play for positions 8 to 9 against Honduras on Sunday.

Costa Rica outperformed Suriname in kills (47-11), in blocks (6-0) and aces (5-2), committing 14 errors against 17.

Costa Rica’s middle blocker Julian Soto topped all scorers with 16 points on 15 kills and one block. Jean Carlo Vega and Derek Faley added 11 points each.

Costa Rica was dominant over Suriname, maintaining a sizable lead throughout the entire match.

Julian Soto, Costa Rica’s top scorer, said, “We came with a plan to play with quick balls and open the sides and today we executed it well, achieving a good result. We’ll wait to see what position we end up in. Thankfully, things have gone well”.

 Isaiah Olijfveld from Suriname expressed, “We didn't block, the defense fell apart”.