Mexico earns first victory at CAC Games defeating Suriname

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, June 29, 2023.- Mexico earned their first victory in Men’s Volleyball at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games after defeating Suriname 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-13) on Thursday at the Sports Palace Carlos El Famoso Hernández.

Mexico stands 1-1 in Pool A and will face Cuba to conclude the preliminary round on Friday. Suriname 0-2 goes up against Dominican Republic.

Mexico started off the strong 6-0 moving forward to a comfortable first set win. In the second set, Suriname had more energy up to an even 12-12 scoring on kill points and opponent errors, still Mexico recovered advantage with line-up changes to a close finish. Mexico dominated the third set.

Two Mexican players ended up scoring 11 points each, outside hitter Josué López and opposite Diego González. Suriname’s team captain Keven Sporkslede scored a match-high of 13 points.

Mexico held a 37-23 advantage in attacks, outblocking Suriname 6-4 and with a 4-2 margin in serve points. Suriname scored 28 points from Mexico’s unforced errors and allowed 19.

Pedro Rangel, Captain of Mexico: “Yesterday was a tough loss, we didn’t perform like we’ve been performing, it mentally affects the team. We were aware that Suriname was coming to battle strong, they had nothing to lose, they showed their talent today and yesterday against Cuba. We solved against them and ourselves as well”.

Jorge Azair, Head Coach of Mexico: “Today the goal was a 3-0 win, with the lowest score possible. Tomorrow we are going out to die against Cuba”.

Meson Anakaba, Opposite hitter of Suriname: “This wasn’t how we wanted to perform today. We must take the loss and see what comes in the next matches. Tomorrow, we hope for a better match against Dominican Republic, our serves are strong”.

Carlos Orta Fellove, Head Coach of Suriname: “Today my players did their best. Our passing didn’t work in the first and third sets, it was better in the second set which we lost close; this is a problem I detected since my arrival to Suriname. We have potential, the players want to win but they need to learn more. We have faced Cuba and Mexico; two high level teams and it serves as a learning experience; it will help us for our zonal championship. I am happy with their performance”.