Lares tops Yauco to move into first-place tie in LVSM

By THE STAR STAFF

In the only game on the Men’s Superior Volleyball League (LVSM by its initials in Spanish) schedule Saturday night, the Patriotas of Lares successfully defended their home court, Félix Méndez Acevedo Coliseum, defeating the Cafeteros of Yauco in four sets in front of a delirious crowd of some 2,100 fans.

With the victory in set scores of 19-25, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21, Lares earned all three available points, remained undefeated through four games, and tied for first place in the standings with two-time defending champion Caribes of San Sebastián.

Both teams have 11 points.

Yauco did not earn any points and remains at 2-2 with 5 points, placing them fifth in the standings.

With the match tied at one set apiece, the Patriots took a 17-10 lead in the third set thanks to Pablo Guzmán’s effective attack in zone four and Nick West’s ace. The Cafeteros, however responded with a 10-5 run, which included a block on Guzmán, bringing the score to 22-20, still in Lares’ favor, at which point they called a timeout.

After the break, a block by Jessie Colón on Jair Santiago brought Yauco within one point of tying the set. Another block on Guzmán then tied it at 23. Lares reached set point first (24-23) after an attack error by Diego Negrón, and closed out the set with a block on the same player.

In the fourth set, an effective block by West and a missed spike by the Cafeteros gave Lares a 19-16 lead. The home team reached set point at 24-20 with an attack by Jonathan Rodríguez through the middle, and closed out the match with a spike by Gabriel Colón, who broke through Yauco’s block in zone two to seal the 25-21 victory.

The Patriots’ offense was distributed among Santiago (16 pts), West (14 pts), and Garnett Muagututia (12 pts). Diego Rosich led Yauco with 11 points.

Lares dominated in attacks (46-36), aces (9-1), digs (41-36), and assists (25-22), while Yauco had the edge in blocks (12-9).