Guatemala Earns First Win in Five-Set Battle Against Costa Rica

LEÓN, Mexico, September 14, 2026.- Guatemala earned its first victory at the 2026 Women’s Pan American Cup after defeating Costa Rica in a five-set battle 3-2 (25-21, 13-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13) on Monday at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.

In the Central American Pool B matchup, Guatemala improved its record to 1-2, while Costa Rica dropped to 0-3.

It was a back-and-forth contest. Guatemala took the first set, but Costa Rica responded strongly to win the next two and take a 2-1 lead. Guatemala bounced back in the fourth to force a fifth set, where both teams battled until the final points before Guatemala sealed the 15-13 win on a blocking error by Joselyn Moraga on a kill by Melissa Guerra.

The team statistics reflected how evenly matched the contest was. Costa Rica held the advantage in attacks 52-47 and a narrow 9-8 edge in blocks, while both teams scored six aces. Errors also played an important role, with Guatemala benefiting from 40 Costa Rican errors while conceding 38.

Melissa Guerra led Guatemala with 16 points, followed by Ivana Sopegno with 11 and Aury Álvarez with 10.

Costa Rican Krystel Vargas led all scorers with 18 points. Valeria Campos added 13, Melina Abarca 12 and Lakysha Thompson 10.

On Tuesday, the final day of preliminary-round action, Guatemala will face the United States at 2:00 p.m., while Costa Rica will play Cuba at 4:00 p.m.

Aury Álvarez of Guatemala: “We have been working very hard, and today it showed. We will keep moving forward. It is always exciting to beat a Central American rival. This is a young team, and we are very satisfied with the result. Costa Rica responded strongly after the first set, and we lacked some attitude; we stopped doing some of the things we did in the first set during the rest of the match.”

Valeria Campos of Costa Rica: “It was a close battle, a Central American matchup, with both teams determined to win and do their best. In the first set, we got very anxious because of the lead Guatemala built; in the second, we recovered, and in the following sets both teams fought for every point. We need to stay calmer because we get frustrated when teams go on long runs, we become anxious and forget the coach’s instructions. We have to keep working.”