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GATINEAU, Canada, June 27, 2015 – Mexico finished fifth at the
U21 Men’s Pan Am Cup after a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19) win over
Barbados on Saturday at the Centre Sportif de Gatineau.
The hosts of the next World Championships achieved their first
victory in the tournament and forced their Caribbean rivals to
battle against El Salvador for the sixth place on Sunday.
Francisco Olvera led the Mexican attack with seven points, two
more than Alan Martinez. Injured captain Enrique Ugalde did not
play. Captain Ammuniki Wood was the top scorer for Barbados with
8 points. Andriy Stapleton and Jabarry Goodridge added six and
five points, respectively.
Enrique Ugalde, captain of Mexico: “We knew Barbados had a good
block and occasionally a good serve, but we had a week start in
all three sets. We came back thanks to a good defense and serve.
This tournament was a good opportunity to realize what we need
to work on tactically and psychologically. We have to work to
have a better start in each match. A poor start against
high-calibre teams would be very costly”.
Victor Porras, head coach of Mexico: “We struggled at the
beginning of each set, but we recovered and won all sets. We
ended on a high note and learned many things in this tournament.
Our players realized the level at which U21 volleyball is being
played internationally. We would have liked a better outcome
but this is a process. Learning is a process. Our guys are
motivated for the next step, the World Championships at home.
Ammuniki Wood, captain of Barbados: “We had an average game. The
majority of the three sets we were up until around 16-18 points
but today we just lacked our killer instinct to finish the game.
They caught momentum when we were around 18 points and we lacked
our instinct to finish the set every time.”
John Stuart, head coach of Barbados: “We played a lot better but
we still made a bit too many unforced errors when it mattered
most. Our passing was better but it’s still a problem. Hopefully
we will get everything right for the game tomorrow.” |
