Mexico cruises to victory over Martinique

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado USA (Sept. 27, 2017) – Mexico swept Martinique 25-11, 25-15, 25-12 on Wednesday during the second day of competition at the 2017 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship being held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Mexico outside hitter Jorge Barajas led his team with 12 points, while opposite Daniel Vargas and middle blocker Gabriel Cruz Mendoza each turned in eight points.

Martinique opposite Gregory Alpha scored six points to lead his team and outside hitter Rodrigue Larcher added five points.

Mexico dominated the service line and net with a 10-1 block advantage and 8-3 margin in aces. Mexico held a 35-20 advantage in kills.

Mexico (2-0) concludes Pool C on Thursday Costa Rica (2-0) at 7 p.m. MT, while Martinique (0-2) plays St. Vincent & and the Grenadines (0-2) at 5 p.m. MT.

The NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship is a qualification tournament into the 2018 FIVB World Championship. The top three teams in the 10-team field earn berths into the World Championship, while the top two teams in a second NORCECA qualifier held later this fall round out NORCECA’s five vacancies into the world event.

Mexico Coach Juan Acuna: “We still have one more game, and we will see tomorrow if we can classify to finals. Martinique was attacking very well from time to time, and sometimes they were very motivated so they won some points. But our attack and block were very good tonight.”

Mexico Captain Alberto Blanco: “I think today we played better today against this team. Martinique had a higher level today than yesterday. At times, they played at a higher level and sometimes they played very well. We need more focus for the game, sometimes we relaxed during the game. Tomorrow is very important against Costa Rica. We want to qualify directly to the semifinals. Costa Rica plays much like Martinique and St. Vincent, but will be a tough match.”

Martinique Coach Eddy Erialc: “According to our preparation, we were better than yesterday. But the physical difference made the difference in the game. We need to win no matter what tomorrow (against St. Vincent). Good passing will make the difference in the game.”

Martinique Captain David Lefaivre: “The Mexican team has a much higher level of play than ours, so we tried to improve some details. But their level, we couldn’t do anything. Today we changed our tactics exactly to prepare ourselves for tomorrow’s match. Now we just need to give everything we can to win tomorrow.”