Puerto Rico tops Guatemala to advance to fifth-place match

 

MONCTON, Canada, September 15, 2026. – Puerto Rico moved on to the fifth-place match with a straight-sets win over Guatemala Tuesday at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.

 

Puerto Rico beat Guatemala 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-15) as the classification round got underway at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, Canada.

 

After dropping the first set, Guatemala’s best chance came in the second set, when they held an early lead and stayed within one or two points until late. But they ultimately remained winless at the tournament and will play in the seventh-place game at 11 a.m. Atlantic Time Wednesday.

 

Puerto Rico is set to compete for fifth place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a spot on the line for next weekend’s final NORCECA qualification stage for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Three berths to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland will also be decided Wednesday.

 

The Puerto Ricans dominated in attacks (43-21), blocks (9-2) and aces (10-2) on the way to victory.

 

Puerto Rico’s Pelegrin Vargas was the top scorer with 17 points, including a match-high three aces. Jair Santiago Sanchez chipped in 12 points, and Klistan Lawrence Vidal added 11 for the winners.

 

Andy Alexis Leonardo Blanco led the way for Guatemala with 13 points, all on attacks. Adolfo Ariel Rivas Morales had a match-high 12 running sets, while Carlos Fernando Lopez Santiago was the top digger with seven.

 

Jamille Torres, Puerto Rico coach: “Our goal is to get to the next tournament and be able to have a chance to qualify for the Olympics and we’re in place to do that.”

 

Opposite Jair Santiago Sánchez: “It was important for us because we still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics. It gives us a little morale boost to keep fighting for a spot. I think we were all locked in. We had our game plan already set so we just followed it.”