Venezuela Overcomes Guatemala in Santo Domingo 2026 Opener

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 25, 2026. – Venezuela opened the men's volleyball tournament at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-21) victory over Guatemala in the opening Pool A match.

After dominating the first set, Venezuela had to withstand Guatemala's resurgence over the next two sets to secure a valuable opening-day win.

On the second day of Pool A action, Venezuela will face Puerto Rico, while Guatemala will look to bounce back against defending champion Cuba.

Venezuela set the tone from the outset with a strong attacking performance and consistent pressure from the service line, quickly taking control of the match. The commanding margin in the opening set reflected the Venezuelans' superiority in every aspect of the game.

Guatemala settled in after some early nerves and significantly raised its level of play in the second and third sets. With improved offense and greater defensive consistency, the Guatemalans stayed level with Venezuela for much of both sets. However, the South Americans remained composed in the decisive moments, closing out both frames by identical 25-21 scores.

Venezuela held the advantage in attacks (36-31), blocks (8-2), and aces (7-2), while also committing fewer unforced errors, conceding 20 points compared to Guatemala's 25.

Three Venezuelan players finished in double figures, led by Carlos Beroes with 15 points, followed by Jesús Gómez with 11 and Yosibel Galeno with 10. For Guatemala, José Pablo Pérez scored a match-high 13 points for his team, while Andy Leonardo added 11.

Venezuela captain Héctor Mata said after the victory: "We're grateful for the win. The second and third sets were much more competitive, but we were able to pull them out. Guatemala raised its level of play, and they deserve credit for that, while we also made some mistakes. It's an important victory in our goal of advancing in the tournament."

Guatemala captain Carlos López reflected on his team's debut: "We started a little nervous because it was the first match of the tournament, and we hadn't had the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the court until today. We played much better in the second and third sets, although we fell short in key moments. Venezuela is a great team, and we hope the rest of the tournament will go much better for us."