Guatemala downs El Salvador in three sets

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, December 1, 2016. - Guatemala downed El Salvador 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) on day two of the AFECAVOL Women’s FIVB World Championship qualification tournament at Gimnasio del Instituto Nicaragüense de Deportes IND of Managua

Guatemala had a slow beginning in all three sets as El Salvador held an early advantage on each occasion. In the second set, Guatemala lost five set points because of changes in their line-up, but their well-structured game plan earned them their second victory of the event while El Salvador remains win-less.

Guatemala controlled the attacking category with huge 43-22 advantage, and they also did better in blocking by 8-5. El Salvador scored 5 service points while Guatemala scored 4; Guatemala allowed 26 points on errors and El Salvador 20.

Outside hitter Blanca Recinos of Guatemala led all scorers with 21 points, on 18 kills, 2 blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Adriana Flores led El Salvador with 10 points.

On day three of competition, Guatemala (2-0) plays against Panama (1-0) while El Salvador (0-2) has the day off.

“We are pressuring ourselves and we are too anxious starting each set, we want to perform well; I believe this kind of pressure is necessary but we need to control it better because we lose concentration. The result was good and our receivers communicated better than yesterday, we respected our area, and we played with good vibe” said Guatemala’s captain Blanca Recinos.

Cuban William Fernandez coach of Guatemala indicated “we have difficulties starting, this is normal in teams that are in formation, with younger players. On a positive note, the team recovers from their deficit as the sets advance. Today we made some changes because they players have to be ready to respond”.

Captain Adriana Flores of El Salvador said “I can’t put my finger on what’s going wrong, we have all the necessary elements at the beginning and we move ahead; we need to score more direct points. There’s nothing else but to recover tomorrow and win the next two matches”.

Dany Calderon coach of El Salvador expressed “the lack of preparation matches is evident; we need more experience in closing matches. We have to practice more, we’ve been practicing on our K1 but tomorrow we will work on K2 complex and establish our strategy to face Honduras and Nicaragua”.