Uruguay debuts beating hosts Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, May 8, 2017.- Uruguay beat host country Costa Rica 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 26-24) in their debut at the U20 Women’s Pan American Cup in Gimnasio Nacional of San Jose, Costa Rica.

It wasn’t an easy task for Uruguay; the home girls put up a good fight keeping the score always close. But in the end it was Uruguay’s 45-32 margin in spikes that earned them the victory. The winners also led in blocks (8-7) and service points (7-6) by the one point by the minimum. Uruguay had 41 errors and Costa Rica 40.

With a match-high, Camila Bausero led Uruguay with 23 points, 19 on kills, 3 blocks and one ace. Tamara Espinoza with 18 points and Mariana Rodriguez with 11, topped Costa Rica’s offensive.

On day two of competition in Pool B, Uruguay will play against Puerto Rico and Costa Rica will have the day off.

Florencia Suárez, Uruguay’s captain: “We tried to apply ourselves, in the third set we had fewer errors than them and they adjusted well to play better. In the end we focused more for a tight win. We were expecting a hard battle against Costa Rica because they are the home team”.

Mariana Rodríguez, Costa Rica’s captain: “We were too anxious; I believe Uruguay was our more accessible opponent. We weren’t concentrated and that’s why we committed many errors and we weren’t able to play orderly, we lost serves and had many inconsistencies. It was close match, our way of playing is similar and this is a tough loss”.

Gerardo Peralta, Uruguay’s Head Coach: “It was a nerve wrecking match, we didn’t start well because the players were anxious and because we didn’t have practice matches prior to the tournament; we played with too many errors. After winning the first two sets, my players were more relaxed and lost track, which cost us the third set. We must constantly work on their state of mind, they have ups and downs; our setters are very young and volatile, sometimes they influence in the performance of the rest of the team”. 

Mario Romero, Costa Rica’s coach: “The girls were nervous and too anxious, it’s not easy playing at home, and they weren’t concentrated in the game. We had many unforced errors, especially in defense. The team adjusted better in the third set which reflected in the result. In the end, again we had errors in defense”.