Nicaragua secures the silver medal at Managua 2017

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, December 14, 2017. - Hosts Nicaragua secured the silver medal of the women’s Volleyball tournament at the XI Central American Games Managua 2017 after winning to Guatemala 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15) in front of a noisy crowd at Alexis Argüello sport complex.

Nicaragua did not disappoint the home fans while storming with superiority over Guatemala. Nicaragua stumbled in set three as Guatemalan blocker found the way to stop their strong spikers.

Nicaragua stands firmly in first place in the general ranking with 5-0 unbeaten record and 24 points; Guatemala has 2-2 record and 11 points.

Nicaragua prevailed over Guatemala controlling every category with 38-35 margin in kills, 13-12 in blocks, 8-2 in aces and committed fewer errors 28-38. Heidy Traña led Nicaragua with 15 points on 11 kills, 4 blocks and 3 aces, accompanied by Josafat Diaz with 13 points. Guatemala’s offense depended on Rut Gomez with 17 points and Blanca Recinos with 13 points.

On Friday, one day before the event finishes, Guatemala (2-2) faces Belize (0-4) and Nicaragua (5-0) has the day off. 

Captain of Nicaragua Claudia Noguera: “We took the initiative, we controlled the actions and we were able to slow up Guatemala’s forceful attacks. We are really excited for the silver medal and we are prepared to fight for the gold against Costa Rica”.

Libero of Guatemala Maria Alvarez: “We were too anxious because we were aware of the importance of winning tonight. From the beginning things weren’t working out for us against a great opponent. Working together as a team was crucial for winning one set; we must focus on playing this way, with team effort and not individually”.

Head coach of Nicaragua René Quintana: “Guatemala has always been a tough opponent and my players are the heroes, they did all the work. We are already silver medalists, improving our results from the Games’ past edition; we are ready to win the gold”.

Head coach of Guatemala William Fernandez: “Physically and technically speaking, we have all the qualities to finish on top, it’s the insecurities in our performance what’s killing us. We were able to win one set but the psychological factor is what we need to work on”.