Puerto Rico earns first victory beating Guatemala

AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico, June 19, 2018. - Puerto Rico earned first victory beating Guatemala 3-1 (25-15, 25-9, 24-26, 25-17) in pool A at the NORCECA Women’s U20 Continental Championship in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

After winning set two with huge advantage, Puerto Rico lost set three to a combative Guatemalan team that pressured strong jumping to a comfortable 16-12. Puerto Rico managed to stabilize their defense and attack to finally losing to a thriller 24-26. The match suffered a rain delay due to roof leaking in set four, while Puerto Rico led 11-6.

Puerto Rico outnumbered Guatemala by sizeable margins; 45-27 in kills, 10-5 in blocks and 7-5 in aces. Puerto Rico benefited from 37 opponent errors while committing 31 of their own.

Puerto Rico balanced their offense between Ariana Pagan scoring 12 points, on 10 kills and 2 blocks, Jaylibeth Garcia contributed with 11 points and Lyansca Correa added 10 points. Savinnah Bobadilla led Guatemala with 11 points, including 7 kills and 3 aces.

On Wednesday, Puerto Rico resumes pool-play against Cuba and Guatemala faces United States.

Paulina Pérez captain of Puerto Rico: “Yesterday we played with different line-ups and our bench players did a good job, it turned out ok, it wasn’t the case today; my team wasn’t well organized and Guatemala was smart to push harder. We failed too many serves, but less than yesterday. During the delay we enjoyed ourselves dancing with the other teams, sport brings us together. Our good energy and team effort helped us today; we hope to do the same tomorrow against Cuba. We need to stabilize our passing”.

Rafael Olazagasti head coach of Puerto Rico: “My bench players need to be in shape and this was the right moment to do it; my starters got back on the court and almost recovered set three that ended really tight. I knew my team was going to come on top because Puerto Rico is stronger and taller. We need to improve our blocking and limit our service errors”.

Carmen Elisa Gómez captain of Guatemala: “We are really excited; this is an historic moment for Guatemala because I think we have never won a set to a team that works harder than us, this proves that we can accomplish much more against big teams. Our coach said – let’s forget about the first two sets and just do what you can, give it all you got and not many are lucky to be here so take advantage of this opportunity. Our coach motivates us and helps us with the mental part of the game”.

William Fernández head coach of Guatemala: “We expected to win a set, we got in better rhythm, the rain delayed harmed us and Puerto Rico is superior tan us. The day delay was really long, but both teams were affected. Our state of mind is very important and my players need to believe more often that they know how to play volleyball. This proves that we can compete against tougher opponents. Tomorrow we will learn a lot from the Americans, one of the best in the world”.