Mexico Defeats Costa Rica to Set Up Semifinal

Clash with Dominican Republic

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, November 7, 2025. – Mexico booked its ticket to the semifinals of the 2025 NORCECA Girls’ U17 Continental Championship after a dominant straight-set victory (25-15, 25-10, 25-22) over host Costa Rica at the Gimnasio Nacional. The Mexicans will now take on the Dominican Republic for a place in the final.

The other semifinal features the United States against Puerto Rico, who advanced after a dramatic five-set win over Canada. Meanwhile, Costa Rica will play Cuba in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.

At least the tournament champion will qualify for the 2026 FIVB Girls’ U17 World Championship, pending confirmation from the FIVB on the number of NORCECA spots.

Mexico dominated offensively, leading 45-14 in attacks and 13-4 in service aces. Costa Rica held the edge in blocking 8-4 and conceded fewer points on errors 13-21.

Mexico’s top scorers were Evelyn Díaz with 13 points (10 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Emily Camarena with 12 points (9 kills, 1 block, 2 aces), and Isabella Gallardo with 11 points (8 kills, 3 aces). Luciana Vargas led Costa Rica with 7 points.

In the first set, Mexico jumped to an early 4-1 lead with strong serving from Sofía Rodríguez and Emily Camarena, maintaining control throughout to take the set 25-15.

Mexico’s momentum continued in the second set, quickly building a 10-4 lead with contributions from Karina Campos and Maia Villalpando. With Gallardo steady from the service line and Díaz leading the attack, Mexico cruised to a 25-10 win.

Costa Rica showed resilience in the third set, taking an 8-5 lead and later extending it to 12-5 behind Victoria Cobeña’s powerful kills and Luciana Vargas’ strong blocking. Mexico responded by reintroducing its regular lineup, tying the score at 16 with a serve from Louanne Negrete and a kill from Villalpando. Campos and Camarena helped Mexico move ahead 19-17, but Costa Rica fought back, tying at 21 after a big block by Samantha Rojas. A service run from Campos and a kill by Negrete sealed Mexico’s 25-22 set and the straight-set victory.

Migdalel Ruiz, Head Coach of Mexico, said: “The team played with a lot of passion. Tomorrow during practice we’ll review the statistics to prepare for the semifinal against the Dominican Republic, which has a very strong and tall team. It will be a great match.”

Kareem Richards, Head Coach of Costa Rica, commented after the loss: “It’s a bittersweet feeling. We know the differences in preparation between us and the NORCECA teams. There’s a lot to learn. If we want to change and improve, we must continue working together so that our young players with talent can develop. Congratulations to Mexico, they did an excellent job. Tomorrow we’ll keep playing and aim for the best possible position.”