El Salvador downs Belize in the Men’s Central American Championship Opener – Volleyball News
El Salvador Men’s U 23 volleyball team bagged its first win at the Central American Championship on Tuesday, July 10. They sent Belize to a loss in five sets, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-16 and 15-10).
Top scorer’s slot was shared by El Salvador’s Mauricio Gil and Arnie Augustine of Belize. Both of them contributed 15 points each. Rodrigo Chavez was the second player from El Salvador, who went into double-figure score. He notched up 11 points and contributed to the overall success of his team.
Opening frame of the match was a heated competition. Both teams showed a great fighting spirit and did not miss any chance to score points. The score soared up with close gaps, while the spectators impatiently waited for the set points. However, the situation remained undecided until Belize closed first set with two-points at 25-23.
Following the loss of the opening set, El Salvador hit back aggressively. Gil and Chavez formed a nice combination and hit the ball from different angles. They directed their shots in the gaps and put their team in lead. In the meanwhile, Belize put a huge effort to catch up with the opponents, but failed to do so. El Salvador claimed second set (25-16) and successfully created the tied the game at 1-1.
Belize made a comeback in the third set and defeated El Salvador with five points, 25-20. Nonetheless, the see-saw battle continued and the game score once again tied at the end of fourth set as ES posted 25-16 on board. El Salvador emerged successful in breaking the dead-lock of 2-2 and secured 15-point golden set, which led the team to 3-2 victory.
Winning captain of El Salvador Franklin Flores shared his views after the match. He stated that his side face a lot of trouble in the first opening set of the match. However, the team gradually gained confidence in the following two frames and achieved the desired results.
The Head Coach of Belize Derrick Morgan stated: “We do not only think of the growth in the level of play of our team, we are looking for good results, we have to work a little more into the psychology of the picture.”
The captain of the losing side admitted that they did not have the level of concentration which was required to overcome the rivals. They made too many mistakes, which created a chance for El Salvador to march away with victory.
In the next fixture, Belize is scheduled to take on Nicaragua, while El Salvador will be challenged by Guatemala.
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