Stanley fires 32 points to carry Costa Rica into next round at NORCECA U19

PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 16, 2024. - Stanley Grant capitalized on 32 points in Costa Rica’s 3-1 victory (25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-19) over Guatemala to advance to the next round of the NORCECA U19 Continental Championship in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Outside hitter Stanley Grant scored 32 points on 31 attacks and one direct service point, leading Costa Rica to the next round with a record of 2 wins and one loss, awaiting to know their final position in Group B.

Guatemala will compete in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.

In the third set, Guatemala took advantage of Costa Rica’s errors (7-4) to tie the score up to point 22, forcing a fourth set with a 2-0 advantage in blocking and 3-2 in service.

Alongside Stanley, the other Costa Rican player with double digits, was opposite hitter Ignacio Sánchez who contributed 11 points.

Outside hitters Boris González and Juan Carlos Menéndez led Guatemala with 16 points each. González scored all points from kills and Menéndez with 14 kills and 2 service points.

Costa Rica held the advantage in attack (62-45) and blocking (8-5). Guatemala prevailed in service (7-5) and committed fewer unforced errors (16-19).

Stanley Grant, Costa Rica’s top scorer: “It’s an honor to represent Costa Rica and contribute to advancing to the next round. I feel that today we could have done better, maybe it could have been a 3-0 victory, but we were overconfident because we’ve been doing things so well, still, we achieved the goal. I am very satisfied, and we will give a good battle if we continue to follow the coach’s instructions”.

Juan Carlos Menéndez, outside hitter of Guatemala: “It has been a high-level tournament. Our performance could have been better, we need to have better communication”.