Belize Beats Costa Rica in Regional Volleyball Tournament
For the first time in regional volleyball history, Belize defeated the number one seated team of Costa Rica in the twentieth Central American Games. And that win for Belize was a massive loss for the Ticos because they have not lost a match since 1997. And so for Belize, the win was historic and the match was just as hard fought. Team Belize won the first two sets and lost the third – but the nail biter was the fourth set – in which Belize took the win with a twenty-six to twenty-four score against the Costa Ricans. Tonight, Team Belize is going up against Guatemala at seven-thirty and the Volleyball Association wants the entire city to go out and support the girls who are still in the running for one of the top finishing spots. Today, we spoke with the President of the Volleyball Association who shared his excitement about Team Belize’s big win.
Allan Sharp
Allan Sharp, President, Volleyball Association
“It was a very historic win. Costa Rica has not lost to a Central American country since 1997. So that was big for us. They were the perpetual champion but not only the perpetual champion but the giant in the region that nobody was able to beat. So, we were glad to see that our fans made a difference, as well as our girls and their confidence overtook and made history.”
Andrea Polanco
“What did it take for Team Belize to win that match against Costa Rica last night?”
Allan Sharp
“Yes. I think it comes down to confidence and the fans’ support. The girls always believed – there was no doubt in their mind and they never believed that Costa Rica was better than them. They never felt below Costa Rica and they always believed they could win. It was all about having that belief and whenever the game was tight the fans came through and many times they made Costa Rica make a number of service errors. Belizean fans are the best. No Central American country has what we have in terms of a fan base.”
Andrea Polanco
“What does this win do for the team going into tonight’s match?”
Allan Sharp
“Well, for one, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the match. This is a match that we have to win obviously if we want to get a chance for a medal. We can place anywhere from first to fourth depending on how the previous match plays out with Salvador and Costa Rica and how our match plays out. If Costa Rica beats El Salvador and Belize beats Guatemala in a big way then we can get gold.”
The championship concludes tonight with trophies awarded, as well as individual medals for which several of Belize’s players are in contention for. The first one thousand children and high school students can enter for free in tonight’s game.
