Cuba wins Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship - Volleyball
The final of the Men’s NORCECA Continental Championship took place between Cuba and the United States on the September 3rd in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The resulting competition lasted for five long and gruelling sets at the end of which the Cuban
team was able to reclaim their champion’s title. By doing so, the Cuban team has managed to get a free pass into the FIVB World Cup.
The match between the two teams was as thrilling as expected with both sides playing volleyball at their best. The final set scores stood at the following figures: 25-23, 29-27, 25-27, 19-25, 15-8.
The first set of the match remained uncertain until the end with the Cubans getting the initial win. The United States increased their efforts and made the second set long but the Cubans were able to seal a win again. The loss of the first two sets triggered
the United States into action and they took the third set for their own. Capitalising on the momentum built by winning the previous set, the U.S. was able to equalise the match by taking the fourth frame. However, the Cuban team made sure that the final set
rested with them.
The coach of the Cuban team, Orlando Samuels, expressed himself in the following manner after his team had won the final match: “I am very happy that we could put a great spectacle for the fans and much more with a young team that is playing for the first
time together, hopefully we can classify to the Olympic Games from the World Cup.”
On the other hand, a member from the American squad commented on the outcome of the match in the following way: “Cuba had a much better performance overall, we lost composure in the first set and we weren’t able to focus on the next play, even though we
came from behind, Cuba’s pressure in the serves dominated us.”
The highest number of points scored in the match were an impressive 31, with the credit going to the Cuban player Wilfredo Leon. The Cuban was supported by his team-mates Fernando Hernandez as well as Henry Bell, who scored 17 and 12 points for their team
respectively.
On the American side, Methew Anderson was able to lead his team by tallying a total of 18 points in the entire match. Anderson was helped by Clayton Stanley along with David Lee who scored 16 and 13 points for the American side respectively.
During the entire match, the Americans were able to register the higher number of blocks by making 11 of them while the Cubans fell short by one at 10. On the other hand, both the teams scored an equal number of aces at six all.
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