Guatemala dominant against El Salvador

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, September 18, 2018.- Guatemala was dominant in the closing match of day three of the fourth Men’s U23 AFECAVOL Central American Championship after defeating El Salvador 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-14) in Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium in Guatemala City.

The home team dominated El Salvador from start to finish, using all their players and earning another straight set victory. Guatemala remains undefeated with 2-0 record and a total of ten points, while El Salvador is win-less (0-3) and no points.

The home team showed superiority with a huge 37-17 advantage in attacks, 7-5 margin in blocks and 6-1 in service points. Guatemala committed 17 errors and El Salvador a total of 25.

Middle blocker Edras Pineda led Guatemala with 14 points including 10 kills and 3 blocks, in addition, Carlos Lopez chipped in with 14 points on 8 kills, one block and 2 aces. Middle blocker Eduardo Ramos scored 7 points as El Salvador’s top attacker, followed by 6 points by Josue Palma.

Guatemala’s (2-0) next opponent is Belize (0-2), and El Salvador (0-3) will face Nicaragua (2-0).

Opposite player Erick Flores of Guatemala said his team is glad “our rhythm showed improvement, new players adjusted well to the team, we played more in by the middle, the team was solid and our strength is our good attitude because we are at home and we want to give a good performance”.

Cuban Reider Lucas head coach of Guatemala said they added five more points, another goal completed “the boys are well prepared and we had the opportunity to use other players without leaving aside our starters because the must keep in shape. Our reserve players did a good job and we finished with good advantage all three sets. Tomorrow Belize will demand more from my team, they are explosive and we will come out to battle”. 

Cristian Vargas setter of El Salvador explained their preparation wasn’t enough “we need to practice more, we lack communication between us and the coach; added to the fact that we haven’t had the necessary support from our Federation. This has nothing to do with the fact that Guatemala is very competitive, they have been together for several years; I have faced them all those years and they’ve always been strong, it seems this is their best moment. While we have a new team, we lack continuity and the lack of experience really cost us”.

El Salvador’s coach Feridth Alabi said “Guatemala is a orderly team, they have great level, they have a powerful serve, they are a solid squad and very difficult to face. We need more practice and more commitment from our players to work harder, it’s the only way to improve”.