Belize City, July 14, 2022.- Guatemala showed
all its strength to overcome in five sets 3-2
(25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 27-29, 15-13) a combative
Nicaragua, in an electrifying match on the third
day of the XIX U-21 Central American Women's
Volleyball Championship.
Nicaragua recovered from a fourth set deficit
from the start, trailing 9-2, before tying at
23-23… after a set point exchange, the
Nicaraguans took the set with two hotly
contested points in the net, but In the fifth
set, Guatemala managed to bring out their best
weapon, blocking, and with a good defense they
were able to make counterattack moves against
the Nicaraguans.
Guatemala had Sofía Ibarra with 20 points, eight
blocked, María Santa Cruz with 18, of which 8
served, Ivana Sopegno with 16 (7 blocked) and
Naomi Monney with 16 points.
Gilmary Smith with 27 points was the best for
Nicaragua, with 4 blocks and five aces, Nahima
Silva contributed 12 points and Francesca
Medrano with 10.
Guatemala did a lot of damage with the service
with a 16-10 advantage, in blocking 21-9 and in
attacks it was very even 52-49 in favor of
Nicaragua, who committed 29 errors for 31 of
their opponents.
Naomi Monney, captain of Guatemala: “I think we
could give more, but in the sets that we managed
to close there, our determination was visible;
The last set cost us a lot, but together we were
able to do well. This game meant a lot because
we needed to win it if we want to be champions
and go further. It was teamwork, we all
supported each other, when one was failing
another would come and solve it”.
William Fernández, coach of Guatemala: “First
congratulations to Nicaragua, they were a great
opponent, my respects for how they played
because the match could be for anyone; It was a
game in which each team gave its best, a good
defense was seen, it was a good show for the
entire public. Both coaches wanted to win and we
did everything possible to do so, changing the
rhythm of the game, varying the defense, even
with double changes to find variability in the
game”.
Francesca Medrano, captain of Nicaragua: “I am
sad, but at the same time proud of my team, of
what we achieved in the game, they showed who we
are, we put up a lot of battle, we stood up
strong and that was noticeable on the field. Our
team is quite young, only three will no longer
do this category, and they showed that age
doesn't matter, what matters is having heart and
grit”.
Claudia Noguera, coach of Nicaragua: “I am proud
of the team's work, even though we lost, I think
it was one of the best we have had in the
tournament, they came back and we were close to
victory. They are satisfied, especially because
of the substitutions we made because they came
to do their job. We have a fairly young team, it
is new to Central American tournaments and they
showed that they have desire and a future in
this sport”. |