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MANAGUA, Nicaragua, December 7, 2015 – Costa Rica beat El
Salvador 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-13) in day one at the XVI U20
Women’s Central American Championship relying on strong attack
and effective serves.
The Costa Rican team scored 18 aces with Edya Espinoza and
Allison Font each contributing 6. The winners also outscored the
Salvadorans 26-18 in attacks and 5-2 in the blocking category.
Costa Rica gave up more points via errors (24) than the 22 by
the losers.
Isla Johnson and Font with 14 points apiece were the best
scorers for Costa Rica while El Salvador had Gabriela Funes and
Sara Lazo with 10 and 7, respectively.
Andres Lopez, coach of Costa Rica: “I don’t think we played that
well today, but the first match is always difficult and they
were nervous at the beginning. Then they got into the rhythm and
things came out as we planned.”
Mariana Rodriguez, captain of Costa Rica: “I think we can
improve, especially with the reception, but I think we played
well as we were consistent with the attack. At the beginning we
looked out of sync, but then we recovered and that was the key.
In the first match there are a many players nervous, especially
the new ones. But they will be comfortable as the tournament
goes on.”
Dany Calderon, coach of El Salvador: “The reality is that we
made many errors and we have to settle down as a team. We also
played the first match against the strongest rival. We have to
work step by step to improve for the next matches. We gave away
many points. If you are not consistent the other team will make
the points.”
Laura Villalobos, captain of El Salvador: “We can improve from
this one. There were moments when we felt too confident and
lowered our level. The nerves we controlled well but we lacked
attitude and a better reception.” |
