Dominican Republic and Mexico pull off success in U-18 Girls Pan Am Cup openers
The Under-18 Girls Pan American Volleyball Cup took centre stage on Sunday, July 3. The six-day competition will reach its final stage on Friday, July 8 and final ranking of the teams will be revealed. A total of 8 teams have entered the competition and
they installed their bases at the Baja California High Performance Centre in Tijuana, Mexico. Participants of the competition have been placed into two groups:
Pool A – Peru, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico Pool B - Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and Chile
The first day of the tournament featured two matches in each pool. Teams from Peru and Dominican Republic emerged as winners in Pool A, while Argentina and Mexico proved their endeavours in Pool B.
Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, and 25-14)
It was a point-to-point fight between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, which could fairly be regarded as a classical Caribbean volleyball battle. Both teams seemed prepared for the kill. First set of the match tested the temperament of players on both
sides of the net. The score shifted up so closely that there was no telling about the outcome until final whistle of referee. However, Dominicans edged out Puerto Rico in opening set with narrow gap of two points.
Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic added quick points in his team’s score. Puerto Rican side relied on Stepanie Massanet, who did a great job at pulling over points. The effort of both teams was commendable but luck accompanied Dominicans in second
set as well. They kept on playing with same passion and announced victory in third set. The match lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Dominican Brayelin Martinez contributed 12 points, while Massanet of Puerto Rico was top scorer of the match with 13 points
to her name.
Pamela Soriano, the captain of Dominican Republic said: “I feel very proud of my teammates. We did not have a good start but we won this match. I also want to congratulate Puerto Rico, because even though they were down in the score, they kept on playing
hard.
Puerto Rican coach Eric Gonzalez made a comment about the Dominican Teams. He said that Puerto Rico controlled the game in first set, otherwise teams from Dominican Republic become very dangerous if you don’t dominate them in the beginning.
Puerto Rico and Peru are fixed for the next match on Monday, while Dominican Republic will face El Salvador.
Mexico vs. Chile 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, and 25-12)
The hosts overpowered guest team from Chile in their opening match in Pool B. Mexican team created a great chance of celebration for home audience by a wonderful victory over Chile. Their victory was mainly due to Alejandra Isiordia, who served as major
weapon for Mexico. She chipped in 16 points. Likewise, Samantha Bricio added 9 points in Mexican score. Sofia Gaymer of Chile scored 5 points, while rest of the Chilean players scored very low.
Alicia Castro, the team captain of Mexico called it a good match, where everything finished all right. The mentor of Mexican team, Victor Garcia added: “I want to congratulate Chile, it is a young team but with great prospects. All the teams start like that
until they reach a higher level.”
Mexico is set to take on Costa Rica in the next match on Monday, while Chile will put up with Argentina.
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