Cuba beat Dominican Republic at 2012 NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament – Volleyball news
Caribbean team from Cuba grabbed second win at the on-going 2012 NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament by downing Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
Cuba made a clean sweep in the match and posted 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-15) on board. The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach California hosted the match.
Fernando Hernandez of Cuba totalled 15 points and settled for the position of top-scorer in the match. He contributed 11 spikes and three aces to lead Cuba to success. His teammate Rolando Cepeda was equally active on the net. He supported the team with
eight points on 15 attack attempts.
Dominican Republic had only one player in the form of Jose Miguel Caceres who could go into double-digit score. He notched up 11 points, which included four aces.
Overall, Cuba made only 11 errors in the match and gave fewer points to rival side. However, Dominican Republic was caught up in the flurry of mistakes. DR players committed a total of 30 errors, which provided a whole of benefit to Cuban team.
Cuba took a nice start in the match and picked up lead in the first set. Cuban hitters produced quality shots and managed to drag the opponent under pressure. Dominican Republic trailed behind, while Cuba stretched out the gap of points. Opening stanza of
the match covered its length in 24 minutes and Cuba emerged successful with 25-15 win.
Dominican Republic resisted in full force and tried to cover the deficit in second set. They played comparatively better but Cubans denied their efforts and claimed second set with 4-point margin at 25-21.
Third set imitated a one-sided affair as Cuba dominated the scene. DR lost third set with a margin of 10 points (15-25) and dropped the decision in Cuba’s favour.
Orlando Samuels, the Cuban head coach, was satisfied with the brilliant act of his team. He revealed in his post-match comments, “We tried to play better today than yesterday. We did not play well in the second set, but we came back in the third set and
played better.”
On the other hand, his counterpart Jacinto Campechano acknowledged the better status of Cuban team and congratulated them for victory. He focused all his attention on the next match against Puerto Rico. He stated, “Tomorrow is a big game versus Puerto Rico.
I want to congratulate Cuba for the game. Cuba players are young, but are very experienced.”
The Pool-Play of the 2012 NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament will conclude on Wednesday. Dominican Republic will meet Puerto Rico in the third match. Both teams have not been able to win any match in the competition so far. The last match of the preliminary
round will create another opportunity for these two teams to break the ice. Visit again to know more about NORCECA Olympic Qualifying matches.
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