Guatemala Defeats Host Paraguay in Junior Pan American Games

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, August 17, 2025. – Guatemala opened strong in men’s volleyball at the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025, defeating host Paraguay 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19) in Pool A action on Sunday at the Paraguayan Olympic Committee (COP) Arena.

With this result, Guatemala (1-0) will face Mexico (1-0) in their next match, while Paraguay (0-1) will look for their first win against Colombia (0-1).

The Guatemalan squad had to rally from a slow start in the first set, as Paraguay responded with an ace and a spike from Alejandro López to tie the score at 21-21. After a thrilling finish, the Central Americans claimed the set thanks to an opponent’s error.

In the second set, Guatemala pulled ahead after point 16, fueled by captain Jerry Durán and José Pablo Pérez, maintaining the lead until closing 25-20, also capitalizing on the home team’s mistakes.

Paraguay answered back in the third set, with López, José Gaete, and Tobías Brizuela leading an offensive surge to build a comfortable 14-9 lead and extend the match to a fourth set.

Guatemala quickly took control of the fourth with contributions from Durán, Pérez, and middle blocker José Luis Samayoa. Although Paraguay closed the gap late, a service error and a block by Pérez sealed the victory for the Central Americans.

Guatemala capitalized on 32 Paraguayan errors while committing only 16. Paraguay, however, held the advantage in attacks (60-56), blocks (8-7), and aces (4-1).

Juan Pablo Pérez and Jerry Durán led Guatemala with 18 points apiece, supported by 10 from José López. For Paraguay, Alejandro López stood out as the top scorer of the match with 27 points (23 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), followed by Gaete with 13, and Brizuela and Milton Martínez with 11 each.

Guatemala’s captain, Jerry Durán, said, “I think that being up 2-0, the team felt overconfident in the third set, and we had to fight from behind because of our own mistakes. We’ll rest now, and tomorrow we need to get in the right mindset to give everything against Mexico because we want to play a good match. In the morning practice, we’ll work on tactical plays to implement in the game.”

Paraguay’s libero and captain, Mariano Gómez, stated, “Obviously, we were a bit nervous, it was hard to loosen up. We really started playing our game late in the match, which was evident in the third set when we committed more fully. The nerves of our debut held us back.”