Puerto Rico defeats Canada for 2nd win at NORCECA Men’s Final Six

Ismael Alomar (17) of Puerto Rico attacks through the middle against Canada at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six in Ponce on Monday. Puerto Rico won the match in five sets.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rican Men’s National Team claimed its second consecutive victory at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six in Ponce on Monday, defeating a resilient Canada squad in five sets during a grueling match at Juan “Pachín” Vicéns Auditorium.

The set scores were 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 18-25 and 15-9.

It was Canada’s first loss in the tournament, bringing their record to 1-1.

With the match tied at one set apiece, the third set was a nail-biter.

Klistan Lawrence broke a 22-22 tie with an attack from zone two, and Puerto Rico reached set point at 24-22 thanks to a triple block on Canada’s Kaden Schmidt.

A successful attack by Pelegrín Vargas from zone four clinched the set, giving Puerto Rico a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, the Canadians demonstrated better control of their passing and a stronger presence at the net. An attack by Arthur Szwarc gave them an 18-13 lead -- a margin they never relinquished as they went on to force a fifth set.

Puerto Rico got off to a strong start in the fifth set, taking a 5-2 lead, which included a successful spike by Pedro Molina from zone four.

Puerto Rico maintained their composure and closed out the match by a six-point margin. 

“The difference between the match we played yesterday and this one is that they were different games, different challenges,” Puerto Rico’s Vargas said afterwards. “It’s something we have to work on, and we’ve already discussed it as a group: it’s not necessarily about waiting to see what the other team brings, but rather trying to execute our own game plan. I think we were better able to do that today.”

“I think we managed to execute our game plan, and ultimately, a characteristic of ours is the ability to remain mentally composed, even when things get tough,” he added. “That was the difference.”

Match statistics

Attacks: Puerto Rico 56, Canada 52; Blocks: Canada 12, Puerto Rico 6: Service aces: Canada 9, Puerto Rico 7; Unforced Errors: Puerto Rico 31, Canada 37.

The top scorers for Puerto Rico were Lawrence with 21 points, Molina with 17 and Vargas with 15.

Szwarc and Schmidt led Canada with 17 points each, while Erik Siksna added 16.