Plataneros force Game 7 in LVSM Semifinal B

COROZAL, Puerto Rico, January 9, 2026. – The Plataneros of Corozal bounced back from their previous loss to the Cafeteros of Yauco by forcing, on Friday night, a decisive Game 7 in Semifinal B of the Men’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSM).

Corozal defended its home court at the Carmen Z. Figueroa Coliseum with a four-set victory, 26-24, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, highlighted by strong team play in the first two sets.

In the opening set, the Plataneros reached set point at 24-23 with a zone-four attack by Spencer Oliver. After a tie, they closed the set 26-24 thanks to an attacking error by Juan Felipe Castañeda from zone four and a block by Jalen Penrose of the Plataneros on the same hitter.

The second set was a “copy and paste” of the first—another heart-stopper. Corozal once again closed it out by the narrowest margin, 25-23, with a block by Jalen Penrose on Axel Meléndez.

Yauco responded in the third set, regrouping to force a fourth.

The Cafeteros reached set point first at 24-21 with a block by Axel Meléndez on Spencer Oliver, and on the following play secured the set with another effective block.

In the fourth set, the Plataneros took a 19-15 lead after two errors by the Cafeteros—one by Daniel Rivera at the service line and another by Castañeda leaving an attack in the net from zone four—plus a service ace by Oliver.

Corozal extended the lead to 22-16 with two one-on-one blocks by Joseph Oquendo on Brandon Rattray.

With the score at 23-17, the Plataneros reached set point with a zone-two attack by Penrose against Yauco’s triple block and closed out the match 25-19 after a service error by Castañeda.

In team statistics, Corozal led 54-43 in digs; Yauco, meanwhile, held the edge in attacks (52-46), blocks (14-12), service aces (5-4), digs (48-47), and assists (21-11).

Plataneros offense was led by Spencer Oliver with 18 points, followed by Jalen Penrose with 17 and Guillermo Moya with 10. For Yauco, Castañeda contributed 19 points, De La Cruz added 11, and veteran Jessie Colón finished with 10.

The series will be decided this Sunday, January 11, when the Plataneros visit the Cafeteros at the Raúl “Pipote” Oliveras Coliseum in Yauco, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Caribes of San Sebastián continue to await the outcome of this series to move on to the Championship Series.