Mexico Secures Top Spot in Pool B at the NORCECA

Girls' U19 Continental Championship

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, July 21, 2026. – Mexico secured first place in Pool B at the NORCECA Girls' U19 Continental Championship after defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-17, 27-25, 25-27, 25-17) on the final day of pool play.

Mexico completed the preliminary round with a perfect 2-0 record, while Puerto Rico finished 1-1 to place second in the pool. The U.S. Virgin Islands (0-2) ended in third place.

Both teams now await the remaining pool results to learn their opponents for the next round.

Mexico took control early by claiming the opening set, but Puerto Rico mounted a strong challenge in the second. The Puerto Ricans built a six-point advantage before Mexico responded with determination, erased the deficit, and captured the tightly contested set 27-25, completing a comeback that proved to be the turning point of the match.

Puerto Rico answered by edging Mexico 27-25 in the third set to extend the contest. However, Mexico regained control from the outset of the fourth set, managed its lead with confidence, and closed out the victory to secure the top spot in Pool B.

As a team, Mexico held the advantage in attacks (57-54) and service aces (6-3), while Puerto Rico finished with a slight edge in blocks (7-6). The key difference came in unforced errors, as Puerto Rico gave away 33 points compared to Mexico's 22.

Karen González led Mexico's offense with 22 points, followed by Isabella Gallardo with 16 and Ángela Pérez with 14.

For Puerto Rico, Carinialys Román paced the team with 16 points, while Ana Aquino, Daniela Echeandia, and Eliany Quiñones each contributed 11.

Following the victory, Mexico's leading scorer Karen González said: "It was a very tough match, but we got the win, and the most important thing is that we won it as a team. Our first goal was to finish on top of the pool, and now we have to keep fighting."

Puerto Rico's Carinialys Román added: "We did everything we could. Now we have to focus on our next match and keep moving forward. We couldn't close our block against Mexico, and that hurt us in the end."