Nicaragua opens AFECAVOL U21 with tie-break win over Guatemala

 

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, September 30, 2019.- Nicaragua battled strong to open the AFECAVOL U-21 Men’s Central American Championship with a tie-break win 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 29-27, 22-25, 19-17) over Guatemala.

 

Nicaragua and Guatemala struggled to find their rhythm reaching an exciting tie-break finish pocketed by defending champions Nicaragua.

 

Guatemala led 13-8 in blocks and 2-1 in serves, while the winners controlled the attacking category by 62-60 margin and scored 46 points on opponent errors while committing 44.

 

Jefferson Cascante led Nicaragua’s scoring line with 26 points from 25 kills, followed by Steven Lozano with 11 points and Marcial Sandoval contributed with 10 points. Francisco Gamboa was Guatemala’s top scorer with 20 points, while José Francisco Zuñiga and Jason Hernández scored 12 points apiece.

 

On day two of the event, Nicaragua (1-0) will face Costa Rica and Guatemala (0-1) plays against Belize.

 

Jorge Mena, Head coach of Nicaragua: “We are coming well prepared, mostly thinking of Guatemala and Costa Rica (two of Central America’s powerful teams). Our goal is to win a medal and we have our first win; we suffered more than necessary because we could have won 3-1. We hope to continue doing well and defend our title”.

 

Josué Calero, Captain of Nicaragua: “We were expecting a tough match. We were prepared for this. None of the teams come to lose. Slowly we will go on improving, playing with energy. We finished with a good result today, despite the small errors during the game”.

 

David Ismalej, Captain of Guatemala: “We started well but we weren´t able to close the following sets; we lacked consistency and attitude. I hope we can improve for the following matches”.

 

Reider Lucas, Head coach of Guatemala: “There were many ups and downs, it wasn’t our best performance; we weren´t stable. We will prepare for tomorrow´s game and we will continue to battle”.