Venezuela gets used to play five-sets

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 26, 2011 – Argentina edged Venezuela in a thrilling five-setter (25-23, 21-25, 29-27, 23-25, 18-16) to secure second place in Pool A of the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pan American Games.

All three preliminary round matches of Argentina, which finished with a 2-1 record, went to the five-set limit.

The winners scored 23 points via blocks, including five apiece from Maximiliano Gauna and Maximiliano Cavanna while Pablo Crer and Federico Pereyra each produced 4.

Argentina’s Mariano Giustiniano registered 21 points while Crer, Pereyra and Gauna finished with 14, 12 and 11 respectively. Venezuela’s Jhoser Contreras topped all the scores with 24 while Ivan Marquez and Jesus Chourio added 19 and 11.

Sebastian Sole (Captain of Argentina): “We knew that all matches here would be difficult and maybe very long. There were also some balls we could not control, but we made some adjustments at the end and we won. “

Kervin Piñerua (Captain of Venezuela): “Today this was a totally different match. We played much better volleyball. We were a different team. We had some mistakes. But our game is for the future.”

Javier Weber (Coach of Argentina): “We have played 15 sets in three days. They are young; they can respond and recover fast. These are their first Pan American Games; they have given the best of them.”

Gilberto Herrera (Coach of Venezuela): “For the fans this was a very good match. For the coaches this match helped us to see what is good and what is bad in our game, and what we need to avoid. It was important for to play like that because the players feel more secure about themselves.”