Costa Rica improves record to 3-1 at AFECAVOL U21

 

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, October 4, 2019.- Costa Rica improved to 3-1 after defeating Honduras 3-1 (25-18, 25-11, 24-26, 25-13) at the eighteenth AFECAVOL U21 Men’s Central American Championship in San Salvador, El Salvador.

 

Costa Rica stunned Honduras jumping to a huge 12-1 lead in set two; Honduras had the chance to recover pocketing a tight third set but still carried the loss. Costa Rica has 3-1 record and 14 ranking points putting them in a temporary safe position to win a medal. Honduras is now with 1-4 record and 6 points.

 

Costa Rica finished with an overwhelming 50-29 advantage in attacks; they also held a 14-10 margin in blocks, 6-1 in aces and committed one less error (28-29) than Honduras.

 

Outside hitter Fabian Torres was Costa Rica’s top scorer with a match-high of 21 points on 20 kills and one ace, and outside hitter Dowshel Mc Donald contributed with 15 points. Opposite player Alejandro Lobo led Honduras with 12 points on 8 attacks and 4 blocks and outside hitter Kevin Herrera chipped in with 11 points all on kills.

 

Costa Rica (3-1) will face Panama (2-2) on Saturday and Honduras (1-4) plays against Guatemala (2-2).

 

Fabián Torres, best scorer of Costa Rica: “We lost a set due to our errors and our lack of concentration, its part of the game. We all communicate well and we don’t complain among ourselves, we came out strong again and we finished winning. We still have to face to tough opponents and we hope to give our best to come out on top”.

 

Sergio Araya, Head Coach of Costa Rica: “Some players are visibly tired and I used a different rotation in the third set but Honduras energy took advantage to win the set; I am responsible for reacting too late, I hope that point in ranking won’t give us any troubles”.

 

Osiel Vásquez, Head Coach of Honduras: “The guys know how to work but they aren’t capable of keeping the same level during the entire game because it’s a learning process that takes time. We are glad, we fought and we took advantage when Costa Rica used other players. Our captain hasn’t performed as we expected and I hope that tomorrow he can do better”.