Guatemala Earns Key World Qualifier

COLORADO SPRINGS, United States, May 16, 2014 – Guatemala evened its record in the Women’s NORCECA World Championship Qualification Tournament Pool O by defeating Honduras 25-19, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22 on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Guatemala’s Blanca Recinos sparked her squad with 21 points. Teammates Diana Arias and Stefany Bolanos contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. Walda Maldonado had 25 of her team’s 83 digs and was excellent on 26 of 38 service receptions.

Mariajosse Diaz and Caterine Leiva led Honduras with 12 points each.

Guatemala’s attack produced a 61-35 advantage in kills to go with a 9-5 margin in aces. Honduras held a slim 9-7 edge in blocks.

Guatemala (1-1) faces Panama at 1 p.m.  MT, while Honduras (0-2) closes out pool play on Saturday at 3 p.m. against host United States. The top two teams in the four-team round-robin pool advance to Sunday’s gold-medal match with the winner earning a berth into the 2014 FIVB World Championship in Italy.

Guatemala Head Coach David Aldana Perez: "We worked really well in the first two sets. We lost a little confidence in the third set, and our performance went down as a result. But it's the unity of the group and the mentally going forward that we had to get serious. We are excited for the next match."

Guatemala Captain Diana Arias: "It's amazing that the difference was only five points. We were not sure we were going to win when we first started. Honduras is a very unified team, and they were resilient, but our team stuck together and we pulled through with the win."

Honduras Captain Estela Duron: “Today was better than yesterday. We were more concentrated today and had more enthusiasm. The only difference was ending the games and keeping the advantage in points. Tomorrow is a new day, and we will always give our best.”

Honduras Head Coach Marcos Tejeda: “I think it is a privilege to play USA tomorrow. It will be a great experience to play with a team that has that kind of reputation. We expect to play our best and learn from them.”