The FIVB Men's World Championship Qualification Tournament officially began on Saturday in Belize City at the SCA Multipurpose Center. Team Belize, along with six others from Central America and the Caribbean started the long journey to earning a spot in the 2018 Volleyball World Championships. 7News was there for Belize's matches; and Alex Courtenay has the report:
Alex Courtenay reporting
In its opening match, Belize faced off against El Salvador. After a sound defeat in the first set, El Salvador was able to regain its composure, take the second set, and kept the match competitive by forcing Belize into a fifth set.
Belize scored early and often commanding spikes and excellent receptions of the opposing team's attacks.
They kept this up consistently the match. Still, despite El Salvador's worthy challenge, Belize managed to come out with its first win.
Karym Coleman, Belize Captain
"We pretty much just did what we practiced, you know. In the practice they always put us in scenarios to come back from behind. So, we just put that to work. In two of the sets you notice we were down and we didn't give up, we just kept on fighting."
Reporter
"Going up against Guatemala, what will change, or what strategy will change?"
Karym Coleman
"We're going to minimize the errors, every time we do that then we blow out teams."
Reporter
"What strategy did you employ on the court to pull off this victory tonight?"
Delio Arruebarrena, Belize Coach
"First I spoke to the guys to have their minds set on what they were doing and focus. Then serve strong and solid, and of course, their power over the net."
Even though they lost, El Salvador seemed optimistic about the rest of the tournament.
Reporter
"Is there anything you will tweak in your game plan for Game 2?"
Rodrigo Chavez, El Salvador Captain
"We'll battle until the end. The strategy will be different because we're facing a different team."
Nery Henriquez, El Salvador Coach
"Yes definitely there will be changes because Panama is different. We know them well also. We are well prepared to face them tomorrow."
While El Salvador was able to adjust its strategy and come out with a win over Panama on Sunday, Belize did not fare so well against Guatemala's speed and aggressive style of play.
In the end, team Belize had a collapse and lost in three sets.
Though they lost to Guatemala on Sunday, Belize is not out of the running for a top spot yet. Tonight, they play their third game against Panama. We'll tell you how that went tomorrow.
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