Mexico Finish Fifth Place at NORCECA U21

NOGALES, Mexico, June 16, 2024.- Mexico defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-18) on Sunday to claim fifth place in the U21 Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship in Nogales, Mexico.

Mexico secured fifth place in the tournament with a 4-2 record. Suriname finished with a 2-4 record. In pool-play, Mexico also defeated Suriname in three sets.

Suriname struggled to develop their game system, failing in reception due to Mexico's targeted serves, which ended with a 6-0 advantage for Mexico. Mexico also dominated in attacks with a 46 to 24 lead. Suriname was more effective in blocking, with a 7-3 edge, and committed one less error than Mexico (20-21).

Mexican middle blocker Daniel Craioto led all scorers in the match with 13 points. Opposite hitter Cristian Cadena added 9 points.

Suriname’s opposite hitter Mesón Anakaba dropped his performance compared to previous matches, scoring 9 points.

Mexico led in all sets, but in the closing of the second set, they lost seven set points (24-17) before finally winning it 25-20.

Jorge Alberto Romero, Coach of Mexico, said, “I expected Suriname to put up more of a fight. My boys started off organized. I feel that as the match went on, there was an excess of confidence from my players. We could have made it a more interesting game on our side and been more aggressive, but the inexperience of the team allowed the scores to be closer towards the end. The result of the match was positive, though not the result we were hoping for in the tournament”.

Furgil Ong-A-Fat, head coach of Suriname said  “We lost our energy level. I told them during the morning practice that they needed to play it together as a team, it our last match in this NORCECA. We are looking forward to coming to the next tournament and keeping up the pressure”.