Puerto Rico tops Venezuela in 5 sets for 2nd victory at CAC Games

Puerto Rico took control from the opening points in the fifth set, using a focused offensive attack to seal a five-point victory and win a marathon match over Venezuela at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo on Sunday. (NORCECA)

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico once again demonstrated its competitive mettle by prevailing over Venezuela in a five-set duel on Sunday at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026.

With the 3-2 win (26-24, 31-33, 29-27, 23-25, 15-10), the Puerto Rican squad (2-0) became the only undefeated team in Group A of the men’s volleyball tournament.

“I am very happy with my group; they deserved the victory,” head coach Jamille Torres said. “We were a bit careless with our serves; we could have finished the match earlier, but we were playing against a very strong, gritty Venezuelan team -- they have my respect. Now, we’ll look to secure a spot in the semifinals in our next match.”

The two teams traded the lead in a match that lasted over two hours. Puerto Rico eked out a win in the first set, but Venezuela responded with a marathon 33-31 victory in the second set -- a frame marked by repeated ties, lead changes and errors from the service line.

The third set was another close battle. Venezuela rallied from a 19-21 deficit to tie the score at 21, but Puerto Rico executed with greater precision during critical moments to pull out another two-point win. The Venezuelans evened the contest again by winning the fourth set, again by two points, sending the match to a tie-breaker.

In the fifth set, Puerto Rico took control from the opening points, using a focused offensive attack to seal a five-point victory and maintain their perfect record in the preliminary round.

Puerto Rico prevailed in attacks (69-65) and blocks (15-11), while Venezuela held the edge in service aces (7-4). Both teams finished with 36 unforced errors.

Jair Santiago led Puerto Rico on offense with 26 points (21 attacks, five blocks). Klistan Lawrence contributed 21 points (18 attacks, two blocks and an ace). Pelegrín Vargas added 16 points, followed by Ismael Alomar (12) and Eliel Salva (10).

Jesús Gómez was the top scorer for Venezuela with 25 points, while Emerson Rodríguez added 16 points, Paul Viloria 11, and Gabriel Miguel Álvarez 10.