MANAGUA, Nicaragua, October 21 2021 - Costa Rica
(4-0) brought out all its caste, courage and
experience, to win a great match 3-2 (22-25,
25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 15-6) to Nicaragua (3-1) on
the fifth day of the XXI Central American Senior
Women's Volleyball Cup.
In a high-tension match, full of emotions, Costa
Rica remained undefeated in four games, always
coming from behind, recovering from deficits of
up to seven points, first winning the fourth set
and then coming out with determination in the
fifth.
Costa Rica's blocking responded in the fifth
set, with Lakysha Thompson and Tatiana Sayles
scoring well the attacks of Josafat Díaz and
Valeska Hernández, while exhibiting great
defense with libero María José Castro and setter
Melissa Campos.
The first set went to Nicaragua with a good
performance from Hellen Traña, while on the
Costa Rican side, Karen Cope carried the weight
of the team by scoring 21 points, 19 of them in
the first four sets.
For Costa Rica, Tamara Espinoza with 16 and 9
from Julissa Rodríguez. Traña was the best in
Nicaragua with 18 and was followed by Valeska
Hernández with 16 and Erica Calero with 12.
Nicaragua was more effective with 55 points per
attack, to 49 for Costa Rica, who was better in
blocks 13-8 and in service 5-4.
Karen Cope, Costa Rica's best scorer: “I have a
lot of mixed emotions right now, but yes, I am
very happy, this feeling is unforgettable... to
win here, with this crowd, with all the pressure
of the gym, against a Nicaragua very strong,
combative, it makes us feel the happiest ”.
“I think that all of us support each other and
if one is doing things wrong, then the other
comes and supports you. The mental part was
important, it allowed us to get out of the
pressure of the first set and remain calm in the
closing, that was fundamental ”, said Cope.
Irene Fonseca, captain of Costa Rica: “We are
super happy, we knew that this was our final,
that they also prepared for this match, it was
worthy of a final, although we have not won
anything yet, if this victory gives us many
possibilities, It is a very big step to get on
the podium ”.
“The atmosphere here is always difficult, the
fans are very large, the support, the noise, at
the beginning we ate that part a bit, the team
has its rookie players and the atmosphere is so
great, it helped us a lot to gain confidence,
especially in the second set, that we knew how
to handle the Nicaraguan game ”, said Fonseca.
Pablo Acuña, coach of Costa Rica: “It was a
match worthy of a final, although this is not
over yet for us. We knew that Nicaragua will be
very complicated, we moved our pieces looking
for a way to decipher the Nicaraguan game, and
the key was that all 12 players do their job, we
have a great team and they all contributed to
achieve this great victory.
Costa Rica will face Panama this Friday at 4:00
p.m., while Nicaragua will play Belize at 7:00
p.m. |