United States overcome Puerto Rico

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 2, 2012 - The United States defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) in the first match of Pool B at the Boy’s U-19 Norceca Continental Championship.

Lee Smith finished with 11 points for the American team while Juan Ruiz Goyco and Jose Pagan finished with 15 and 12 respectively, for the Puerto Rican squad.

“Puerto Rico did a good job. We were nervous but we fought back on the second and third sets,” USA’s captain Christian Blough stated.

“This was the first International experience for the boys and they did a good job adjusting the block. We are very excited about playing this tournament, and Mexico has been a great host in this tournament,” American coach Daniel Friend said.

“I could say that we didn’t have a bad start, we played well at the beginning, but we also had some ups and downs,” Puerto Rico’s captain Luis García said.

However, Puerto Rican coach Carlos Rodriguez, who has participated in many continental tournaments as part of the Island’s technical staff, feels confident in recovering for the second match.

“We came to this tournament with great expectations, despite the loss, it doesn’t mean we are out of medals chances, fortunately we are in a pool still with good opportunities,” he mentioned.

Puerto Rico will match Mexico on Tuesday while USA will play against US Virgin Islands on the second day of competition.