2017 NORCECA MEN’S WORLD QUALIFIER
- September 26-October 1
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Schedule/Results
- Live Scoring
- Watch Live
- Day 1 Recap
Sweep abound on day two of the 2017 NORCECA Men’s World Qualifier, with no real tests or challenges for any teams occurring. All pools will finish their matches on September 28 before moving on to the next phases of the competition.
The top-three teams will earn their bid to the World Championships while the remaining two bids will be earned at the second NORCECA qualifier later this fall to round out the five NORCECA vacancies to the world event.
Group A
- Dominican Republic def. Guatemala 3-0, (25-16, 25-20, 25-18)
The Dominican Republic rolled through Guatemala for their first win of the tournament. Guatemala now has a 0-2 record in the qualifier as they lost in straight sets to the United States yesterday.
In the match, Guatemala put up more of a fight than they did against the Americans, but it was not enough to overcome the strong Dominican power. The Dominican Republic led in kills (43-29), blocks (9-2) and aces (5-2). The Guatemalans did eliminate some of their errors only having 18 as compared to the Dominican’s 21.
The first set was a dominant showing from the Dominican Republic, while the score was tied at 17-17 in the second. The Dominican went on an 8-3 run to end the set. In the third set, the Guatemalan’s were within one point of the Dominican late, trailing 18-17 but couldn’t handle the pressure late as the Dominican Republic closed out the match on a 7-1 run.
Wilfrido Hernandez led all scorers with 21 points on a match-best 19 kills while Jose Caceres posted a match-best three blocks for the Dominican Republic. Andy Leonardo led the Guatemalan side with 15 points.
Group B
- Canada def. St. Lucia 3-0, (25-9, 25-13, 25-8)
Canada got off to a good start at the qualifier, showing no mercy over St. Lucia, dominating them in three sets. Nearly half of St. Lucia’s points were off of Canada’s 14 errors in the match, while St. Lucia committed 28.
The Canadians led the match in kills (27-14), aces (12-0) and blocks (8-2).
Leading the Canadian front was John Gordon Perrin with 14 points on eight kills, two blocks and four aces. Stephen Maar finished with a perfect hitting record putting down seven kills on seven attempts. For St. Lucia, Joseph Clercent put down seven kills on seven attempts.
“We didn’t know much about St. Lucia, but we knew it was more about us and getting our bearings to start the tournament,” said Perrin.
Group C
- Costa Rica def. St. Vincent 3-0, (25-10, 25-19, 25-21)
Costa Rica improved to 2-0 at the competition with a sweep over St. Vincent. The Costa Ricans posted a 7-2 ace advantage and 37-27 kill advantage while St. Vincent led in blocks (5-2).
Alberto Blanco led the Costa Ricans with 14 points, including a match-best five aces while Esteban Araya added another 11 kills in the win. For St. Vincent, Asmond Franklyn and Ronaldo Franklyn each put down 11 points in the loss.
“We are very excited to be in this spot. We are emotionally happy because we have not done this in our past history. We need to classify to get to the World Championships next year. Mexico is going to be a challenge for us, but we are going into it with all we god and hopefully we will win,” said Costa Rica’s head coach Juan Acuna.
- Mexico def. Martinique 3-0, (25-11, 25-15, 25-12)
Mexico completed their second sweep at the qualifier over Martinique, which was not an extremely difficult challenge for the squad. The Mexican crew led in blocks (10-1), aces (8-3) and kills (35-20).
The Mexican side was led by Jorge Barajas with 12 points while Daniel Vargas and Gabriel Cruz each contributed another eight points in the win. For Martinique, Gregory Alpha put down six points while Rodrigue Larcher posted five points.
“I think today we played better against this team. Martinique had a higher level today than yesterday,” said Alberto Blanco. “Tomorrow is very important against Costa Rica. We want to qualify directly to the semifinals.”
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