Belize National Men’s Volleyball Team won Silver
by William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)
BELIZE CITY, Mon. July 14, 2025
The Belize senior men’s volleyball team won Silver at the Central American (AFECAVOL) Final Four tournament in San Salvador from July 10-13, where Francis Hauze won the Best Attacker award, and Hakan Godoy won 2nd Best Blocker.
Francis Hauze won Best Attacker
Belize triumphed, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19, over the hosts last Friday night, led by Karym Coleman who hammered 23 kills at the net, served 2 aces and had 2 kill blocks. Hauze hammered 14 kills, a block and served an ace for 16 pts; and Ernest Broaster, Jr. scored 6 hits and 3 kill blocks; while Hakan Godoy scored 8 kills and served an ace for 9 pts. Edgar “Indio” Martinez had 4 kill blocks and 3 hits for 7 pts; and setters Elton Anderson and Eleazar Mejia scored 3 pts each. They also profited from their opponents’ 22 errors.
They completely dominated Nicaragua, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21, on Sunday evening, led by Hauze hammering 16 kills and a block for 17 pts. Broaster scored 12 kills, a block and served an ace to tally 14 pts; while Coleman scored 7 hits and 2 kill blocks for 9 pts. Godoy had 3 kill blocks, 2 hits and served 2 aces for 7 pts; and Bryton Codd scored 4 hits and 2 blocks for 6 pts. Anderson added 3 pts to the win. They profited from the pinoleros’ 19 errors, but conceded 22 pts by errors.
The Belize team took the eventual gold medalists, Guatemala, to 5 sets for the “Chapines” to win, 22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, and 15-11. Hauze hammered 15 kills, 3 blocks and served an ace; and Coleman scored 11 kills, a block and served an ace for 13 pts, to win the 1stset, 25-22. Broaster and Godoy scored 12 pts each and Kaelen Ingram scored 7 pts to win the 4th set, 25-21. Martinez added 5 pts, Mejia scored 4 pts, and Anderson scored 1 hit; but the chapines took the 5th set, 15-11. Belize profited from the chapines’ 34 errors, but conceded 36 pts by service faults and unforced errors.
Guatemala’s Andy Leonardo won the Most Valuable Player and Best Server awards, while Carlos Lopez won 2nd Best Attacker, and Adolfo Rivas won Best Setter. Bronze medalists Nicaragua’s Miguel Castillo won Best Defense, Best Libero and Best Receiver, while Axel Gutierrez won Best Opposite and Best Scorer. El Salvador’s Diego Guidos won Best Blocker.