Dominicans beat Costa Ricans in the closest match

HAVANA, Cuba, June 24, 2016 – Dominican Republic beat Costa Rica 3-2 (18-25, 25-18, 26-24, 24-26, 15-13) in the closest match on the opening day in the NORCECA Boys U-19 Championship at the Sports City Coliseum.

The best scorers were Bayron Valdés (31) and Fuhit Evens Edouard (27). On the Central American side, José Andrés Ortiz (19), Mariano Salas (12) and Manrique Carazo (11) achieved double-digits in a match of A Pool.

Vicente Paniagua, coach of Dominican Republic, said “on occasions, we looked superior and at other times we had to close the set with patience. In the fourth set, our reception collapsed but we were able to recover from it and win the decisive set. We depend much on Bayron and when he got back on his feet again, the team did respond.

The outside hitter, Valdés, precisely the Caribbean captain, said “it was a very exhausting match. We should have won 3-0. Although we lost two sets we knew how to come from behind and react to it. My team-mates played well.

Arturo Solano, Costa Rican coach, expressed the match was exciting and a great experience. “We never expected to have to play 5 sets against Dominican Republic as it is a power nation in Volleyball. Nevertheless fortunately our squad responded well and in the end they were few details what made us to lose. Therefore we think we can continue improving”.