Venezuela Advances to the Semifinals After a Five-Set Battle

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, July 31, 2025.– Venezuela advanced to the semifinals of the Men’s U23 Pan American Cup after an intense five-set battle against Guatemala, winning 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-6) at the Domo Polideportivo in Zone 13 in Guatemala City.

The first set was closely contested until Venezuela pulled ahead at point 14, taking a lead, they never gave up. The second set was a back-and-forth affair; at times it looked like Guatemala’s set, and then it shifted toward Venezuela. In the end, Guatemala closed it out to even the match 1-1.

The third set followed a similar pattern, but at point 21 Guatemala lost momentum, allowing Venezuela to take the set. In the fourth, the South Americans came out strong (4-0), but Guatemala steadily closed the gap, defending every ball as if it were the last. They erased a four-point deficit to win the set and force a fifth.

In the decisive final set, Venezuela maintained their dominance from the start and controlled the game to the end.

With this result, Venezuela tops Pool A with 3 wins and no losses. Guatemala finishes second with 2 wins and 1 loss, Costa Rica third with 1 win and 2 losses, and Suriname ends the group stage with 3 losses.

Venezuela’s head coach Yanni Capuzzi said, “It was a very tough match against the hosts, Guatemala. They have a great team. We were able to make some key adjustments to get the victory. It wasn’t easy at all, but the boys showed their grit in that fifth set, and we pulled through.”

Guatemala’s head coach Reider Lucas commented, “This is a very tough tournament. Now we have to recover from this loss and come out tomorrow ready to fight against Mexico. Nothing is lost yet; we can still make it to the top four. We need to work on our focus and be more efficient. The match we played wasn’t bad; we managed to take it to five sets. The last one got away from us early on. Venezuela won, and I congratulate them.”

Quarterfinal matches (local time)

5PM – United States vs Costa Rica

7PM – Guatemala vs Mexico