BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Sept. 7, 2023
The Belize Female National Volleyball team lost its first match to Costa Rica in straight sets, 3-0, yesterday, but rebounded to blank Guatemala, 3-0, today at the twenty-second edition of the AFECAVOL Women’s Central American Cup at the Alexis Argüello Sports Center in Managua, Nicaragua,
The Lady Jaguars dropped all 3 sets 21-25, 20-25, 21-25 (62-75) to the Ticas in the tournament’s opening match. They were led by Nelissa Ramirez with 13 points from 13 attacks, and Nissan Martinez who tallied 8 points from 5 successful attacks, 2 blocks and an ace, as well as 5 points from 2 strikes, a block and 2 service aces from Shantel Arnold.
The Belize team played well despite losing all three sets, and in all 3 Costa Rica was able to score the final points, breaking 20-20 ties in the final 2 to win.
In an interview about the match, Belize’s head coach José Fontes said: “In a way, I’m satisfied because the first game is always complicated, especially against a team like Costa Rica. Although they made too many unforced errors, it allowed us to maintain some balance until point 16. However, we couldn’t close out the match, and they deserved the victory”.
Nelissa Ramírez, Belize’s captain was undeterred and said: “I feel good. I think the first part was challenging because we had to break the ice, and the girls were nervous. I feel we played very hard, fought, and towards the end we lost energy; but at some point, we could have regained our momentum, but it didn’t happen.”
Their confidence was justified, as Belize blanked Guatemala, 3-0, in straight sets today. Guatemala had lost its first match to El Salvador 0-3 (14-25, 24-26, 15-25). Julio Dominguez, Guatemala’s assistant coach told the media: “We faced a very strong and experienced opponent today, and our team didn’t come out with the right attitude. Our tactics and strategy didn’t produce any results, so we hope to transform what happened today. In these short tournaments, anything can happen.”
Belize swept all three sets, 25-20, 25-22, 25-22, closing out the third set after trailing, 19–21, the second after leading, 23-19, and the first after leading 23-19.
Nelissa Ramirez led all scorers with 18 points on 17 attacks and a block, while Nissan Martinez’s 10 points from 6 strikes, 3 blocks and a serve, and Shantel Arnold’s 9 points from 6 strikes, 2 blocks and an ace helped to seal the Lady Jaguars’ victory.
They play Panama (who also lost, 0-3, to Costa Rica) tomorrow, Friday, September 8, at 6:30 p.m., before getting a break on Saturday, September 9, when they have a rest day.
They play Honduras on Sunday, September 10 at 4:00 p.m.; El Salvador on Monday, September 11 at 1:30 p.m.; and conclude tournament play on Tuesday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m. against host Nicaragua.