Belize's Under 21 female volleyballers held the hearts of the public in their hands for all of last week - performing with spirit and skill in the Central American Volleyball Championship.
The home court advantage had served the girls well going into the gold medal game on Saturday night at the City Centre - where they were undefeated.
So they went into Saturday's gold medal game with high hopes - undefeated and boasting the most points of the four teams in the tourney.
But, it was not to be - the girls played a tense and competitive 5 - setter to their nemesis, Guatemala.
In the end, they got the gold, and Belize silver.
It was a heartbreaking loss, but if it's any consolation, Belize's women won a number of medals for individual excellence including medals for Fatoumata Camara, Gareth Bruce, Iman Safa, and Sofia Solano.
The last time the tournament was played on home soil in 2018 - the Belize ladies edged out Guatemala in the semifinal - and then lost to Costa Rica in the final.
