2010 Women’s Central American Cup

All seven countries of AFECAVOL will take part in the XVI Women’s Central American Cup to be held in Panama on November 26-December 5.Costa Rica has been the most successful team in the history of the competition with 12 titles including the last nine in a row. The other winners are Panama on two occasions and Honduras.

The top two ranked teams in the tournament will earn tickets to the 2011 NORCECA’s Continental Tournament.

The coaches of the seven teams participating in the XVI Women’s Central American Cup commented about their chances and goals during a press conference held on Saturday, one day before the start of the competition.

Allan Sharp, Belice:

“We are very happy with the victory since Guatemala is always a

El Salvador surprised
Honduras with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18> victory in the second
match of the XVI Women’s Central American Cup.

Panama crushed Belize
in one hour with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-9) in just one hour in
the third and last match of the opening day of the XVI Women’s
Central American Cup.

B.Moreira I don't understand. Which Players?

Guatemala survived a close first set and defeated Honduras 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 as the XVI Women’s Central American Cup continued on Monday.

Susana Alvarado was the main offensive weapon for the winning side with 16 points while Rut Gomez and Blanca Recinos contributed 13. Honduras had its best attacker in Maria Fernanda Rodriguez who tallied 8 points.

Guatemalan coach Leivis Garcia commented: “We changed the team in each set because we want to play everybody. Our goal still is to qualify to NORCECA Championship.”

Honduran Rodriguez said: “We lacked concentration. The first set we played well but then we were going down little by little.”

efending champions Costa Rica began the pursuit of a tenth consecutive title by defeating Belize 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-13) in the second day of action at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup.

The strong attack led by Verania Willis (16 points) and Karen Cope (10 points) the Costa Rican needed only 55 minutes to win the match. Belize had Barbara Cadle as its best scorer with 6 points.

Verania Willis, Captain of Costa Rica, stated: “We come to play every match with the same mentality, thinking about every point in favor or against. We want to win the tournament and are going to give no respite.”

Jazmine Anderson of Belize commented: “We played relaxed since we knew the opponent we were facing. We enjoyed the match and celebrated each point we managed to win.”

Panama claimed its second victory at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup by defeating Nicaragua 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-18> on Monday.

Panama has a win-loss record of 2-0 while Nicaragua dropped to 1-1 in the event that awards two tickets to the 2011 NORCECA Championship.

Joanna Arroyo and Jenny Madrid scored 13 points apiece for the winners while Katherine Taju added 10. Three players of Nicaragua –Lollette Rodriguez, Amalia Hernandez and Claudia Noguera- each finished with 7 points.

“I am very happy with this victory,” said the Panamanian Taju. “Nicaragua has good defense and we had to battle hard to win every point.”

Claudia Noguera, captain of Nicaragua, commented: “The blocking of Panama is pretty good and we couldn’t pass them.”

In Tuesday action, Guatemala (1-1) takes on El Salvador (1-0), Costa Rica (1-0) squares off against Nicaragua (1-1) and Panama (2-0) entertains Honduras (0-2).

Guatemala claimed an important 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-0) victory over El Salvador, to keep alive its chances of qualifying to the 2011 NORCECA Continental Championship.

Tiffany Villfranco and Rut Gomez topped Guatemala’s scoring with 14 and 10 points respectively while Gabriela Martinez charted 10 points for a team of El Salvador that appeared to be nervous due to inexperience.

Rut Gomez commented in the post game press conference: “Our initial objective is to qualify to the NORCECA Championship and we know that the chances are there and we can do it, so we are going to give all our effort to reach that goal.”

Gabriela Martinez, the captain of El Salvador, stated: “We lacked concentration. We know we can play better and the rest of our matches will show it.”

Defending champions Costa Rica won for second day in a row with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) victory over Nicaragua. The winners had to battle hard to come from behind in the first set initially dominated by Nicaragua.

The experience of Verania Willis and Karen Cope helped Costa Rica to score the victory. Verania recorded 18 points while Karen contributed 17 including 15 attacks. Nicaragua’s Claudia Noguera notched 12 points.

Braulio Godinez, coach of Costa Rica, said: “We knew this was a key game. Our team started too relaxed and had to react quickly. Nicaragua always is a difficult opponent and we knew that.”

Rene Quintana, coach of Nicaragua, commented after the match: “Costa Rica failed at some moments of the match and we could capitalize those errors. We played without pressure and it helped us to play better.”

Panama had to battle hard in the second set before claiming its third victory at the XVI Central American Cup by defeating Honduras 3-0 (25-14, 26-24 y 25-11) on Tuesday.

Once again Panamanians Katherine Taju and Joanna Arroyo led the winners with 14 and 12 points respectively. María Fernanda Rodríguez topped Honduras with 14 points.

Reynaldo Ortega, the assistant coach of Panama, stated: “Our team had a slow start and that resulted in a complicated second set but the experience of some of our players helped to get the win.”

Honduras’ María Fernanda Rodríguez commented: “Panama is a strong team, and it is a shame we couldn’t close the second. It was a chance to change the final result.”

Nicaragua defeated Belize 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-8) in the opening game of Day Four at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup, a qualifier to next year’s NORCECA Championship. The victory was the second with two losses for Nicaragua while Belize dropped to 0-3.

Claudia Noguera led Nicaragua with 15 points including five blocks while Amalia Hernandez and Lollette Rodriguez chipped in with 8 and 7 respectively.

Nicaraguan Noguera said: “We still have two tough games to play against Honduras and El Salvador and we want to leave on a good note. We are going to give our best effort on the court.”

Barbara Cadle of Belize stated: “Our team was too anxious and we felt a lot of emotions. I think that was a factor against us.”

Nicaragua’s coach Rene Quintana congratulated colleague Allan Sharp of Belize.

“I want to congratulate Allan for all he has achieved with Belize. I hope he can keep the good work since his team is a good one and in two years from now can be a big surprise,” he said.

Defending champions Costa Rica outclassed Honduras 3-0 (25-7, 25-14, 25-12) for their third consecutive victory at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup on Wednesday.

Verania Willis and Karen Cope topped Costa Rica with 14 points apiece while Paola Ramirez finished with 13 points including two blocks and two serving aces. The Costa Ricans dominated 8-2 in the blocking category and 7-0 in the aces charts.

Verania Willis, captain of Costa Rica said: “Congratulations to Honduras because they battled hard and never gave up.”

Costa Rica’s coach Braulio Godinez said: “We respect all the teams. We close against Guatemala and Panama which are two tough teams. We are improving with each match.”

Marcela Serrano, the libero of Honduras, commented: “To defend against the attack of Costa Rica is very difficult. They have a lot of velocity. Our team played with a lot of courage.”

Panama overcame El Salvador 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-11 in the first match of four sets at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup. The victory was the fourth without losses for the host team.

Joanna Arroyo led four Panamanians with double digits in scoring with 17 points. Katherine Taju added 14, Jenny Madrid contributed 13, including six aces and four blocks, and Suany Terreros added 10. Gabriela Martinez and Adriana Flores had 12 and 10 points respectively for El Salvador.

Arroyo, the captain of Panama, commented at the end of the match: “We were too relaxed in the second set. El Salvador is a young team with a lot of desire and it complicated things for us.”

Alejandra Manzur, who totaled 8 points for El Salvador, stated: “We played a good second set, well concentrated. The lack of experience made it difficult for us in the last two sets.”

Honduras defeated Belize in four sets (18-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-14) for its first victory in five outings at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup on Thursday. Belize dropped to 0-4.

Honduras’ Jennifer Torres and Tessa Flores topped their side with 14 and 11 points respectively while Belize’s Shantell Arnold had a match-high 15 points for the defeated team.

Marvin Ulloa, Honduras’ coach commented: “It was a very stressing match. The middle-blocker of Belize is very fast and it complicated the first set. From the second set on we changed our tactics and had a better service.”

Allan Sharp, coach of Belize said: “The difference of the match was the reception. From the second set on, we made many errors and we paid the consequences.”

Costa Rica continues as a solid candidate for a tenth consecutive crown at the XVI Women’s Central American Cup. The Costa Ricans didn’t have difficulties to beat El Salvador 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-12) and are undefeated in four outings.

Verania Willis with 10 points and Karen Cope, Paola Ramírez and Irene Fonseca contributed 9 to lead the winning attack. Adriana Flores topped the defeated team with eight.

Willis, the captain of Costa Rica congratulated the team of El Salvador. “They played with courage and battle in every point. Our team maintains the goal of minimizing the mistakes and it made it difficult for El Salvador,” she said.

Gabriela Martínez, the captain of El Salvador commented: “It was a great match. To play against Costa Rica is a great honor since they are the only team of the area to participate at a World Championship. It was a learning lesson for us.”