Canada beats Cuba in five-set thriller – Volleyball News
Mexican city Ciudad Juarez hosted a volleyball scrimmage between Canada and Cuba on Monday. The tussle continued for almost two hours and finally Canada marched away with victory.
The match ended with final score of 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 22-25, 15-7) and featured back ‘n’ forth action of volleyball, which kept the crowd of 1,500 people fully entertained. Canadian squad gathered all the attention in the match and closed the preliminary
round of the tournament with 2-3 record. After the crucial loss of one match, the Caribbean team earned 4-1 record and finished second in Pool A.
Sarah Pavan served as the key weapon for Canada. She played amazingly well and contributed match-high 23 points, which included 9 blocks. Equally talented Rebecca Pavan followed the footsteps of her sister and added 16 points. Moreover, Marie-Pier Murray
and Alicia Perrin and Shanice Marcelle also went into double-digits. They added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Caribbean side relied on Yanelis Santos, who collected 18 points and could not lead her team to success. Wilma Salas and Ana Cleger followed her up with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Cuban team was generally regarded as a better in the match. The team had a wonderful 4-0 record in the previous four matches. The Caribbean players opened the match in their usual style and tried to influence the opposite side with their powerful shots.
However, Canadian team responded well and did not allow Cuba to earn better status. Canada closed the first set with two points and improved to 1-0 in the match.
The second set unfolded the similar story. The situation remained undecided until the ending moments. Eventually, Canada managed to take the second set in the similar fashion and extended its lead to 2-0.
Following the loss of two sets in row, Cuba hit back and added back-to-back victories. Cuba created the dead-lock of 2-2, but Canada put an end to the affair by winning fifth and final set.
“I congratulated Canada for a good match,” Cuba’s Juan Carlos Gala said. “We had a bad start and also in the fifth set. We made mistakes in the crucial moments and our team appeared to be tired after playing five sets yesterday.”
“I am very proud of my team,” Canada’s captain Brittney Page said. “We started and finished strong. We respect Cuba but we kept the pressure on and we deserved to win.”
Canada’s coach Arnd Ludwig congratulated his team for the victory. He was satisfied with the brilliant act of his players.
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