Two teams benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support reached Sunday’s final of the CSV U19 Girls’ Volleyball South American Championship in Venezuela. Argentina (pictured in the main photo; source: CSV – Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol) triumphed as continental champions in Maracaibo, while Peru brought home silver. The Brazilian team completed the podium.
The Federacion del Voleibol Argentino has been granted USD 342,000 in targeted coach support for their women’s national volleyball teams, in addition to another USD 18,000 in knowledge transfer programs from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment. The Federacion Peruana de Voleibol has been funded with USD 294,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, and their women’s squads have been benefitting from the expertise of Brazilian coach Antonio Rizola Neto and his colleague Armando Martens Zanatti.
At the U19 Girls’ South American Championship in Maracaibo, the Argentinean team topped Pool B after dropping only a set along the way, to defending champions Brazil, and shutting out Ecuador and Bolivia. Meanwhile, Peru took three-point victories over Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay to advance to the semifinals as Pool A winners.
Argentina went on to produce a 3-1 (25-16, 16-25, 25-23, 25-12) semifinal win over hosts and Pool A runners-up Venezuela, while Peru outlasted Brazil in a tough 3-2 (25-15, 16-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-7) duel for a spot in the final.
The championship gold medal showdown went 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-15) the way of Argentina, who celebrated the title for the fourth time and picked up their 22nd medal in the history of the competition. Peru brought home their 10th silver out of a total of 21 podium finishes.
The most decorated team in the competition – 17-time winners Brazil – claimed the bronze after handing the home team a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-22) defeat in the third-place game.
Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Ecuador lined up from fourth to eighth in the final standings.
Argentina’s 16-year-old outside hitter Sofia Baldo was crowned Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. She also made the Dream Team along with setter Ana Manrique (Peru), opposite Emma Oldani (Argentina), outside hitter Catalina Borrero (Argentina), middle blockers Karina Lima (Brazil) and Catalina Romero (Peru), and libero Ihara Arias (Venezuela).
2026 CSV U19 Girls’ Volleyball South American Championship: results, standings and statistics
