Lewis middle attacker Antonio Rodriguez delivering the best defensive performance so far at the Junior Pan American Games was not enough to get Puerto Rico into the semifinals.
Rodriguez finished with a tournament-high seven blocks as Puerto Rico lost to the host-nation Colombia 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7 on Sunday to be eliminated from medal contention.
The Lewis junior finished with five more blocks than another Puerto Rico player. It also was more blocks than Rodriguez had combined in the first two matches of the international tournament.
Both Puerto Rico and Colombia entered this group-play finale needing to win to secure Group A’s final berth to the semifinals. With the loss, Puerto Rico will now play the Dominican Republic in the fifth-place match on Monday.
Despite the loss, NJT setter Roque Nido guided Puerto Rico to out-hit Colombia .364 to .328.
Lindenwood outside attacker Diego Negron finished with 14 kills and was one of three Puerto Rican players with double-digit kills. Outside attacker Pedro Molina had a team-high 20 kills on a .371 attack percentage and opposite Jamal Ellis contributed 14 kills.
Rodriguez also had four kills on a .333 attack percentage against Colombia.
Colombia outside attacker Leiner Aponza ended with a match-high 22 kills while hitting .432. In addition, Carolas Llanos had 20 kills in the victory.
Llanos added a team-high three aces as Colombia finished with six aces — two more aces than Puerto Rico. Negron led Puerto Rico with three aces.
King All-ConfCarolinas libero Noah Melendez had a team-high 11 digs in the loss.