Mexico, Canada clinch success on day-2 of NORCECA Olympic Qualifiers – Volleyball news
Teams from Mexico and Canada continued with success on the second day of the 2012 NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament and defeated their respective opponents.
Mexican team breezed past Trinidad & Tobago, while Canada launched power on Puerto Rico.
In Pool A, Mexico downed the competitors by posting 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22) on board. Canada, on the other hand, proved its endeavours in Pool B of the tournament and achieved victory in straight sets, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-13).
Mexico’s success was mainly credited to Gerardo Contreras and Carlos Guerra, who put up nice show of volleyball and contributed 20 points apiece. Trinidad & Tobago relied on their top weapon Ryan Stewart, who contributed 17 points but failed to lead his
team to success.
Likewise, Nolan Tash of Trinidad & Tobago added 16 points in the failing effort. Overall, the winning squad held a 59-45 advantage in attack points and 9-5 in blocks over Trinidad & Tobago.
Mexico made a winning start in the match and captured opening frame with fair margin of seven points. Trinidad & Tobago made a comeback in the following set and managed to overcome the resilient rival. T&T captured second stanza and brought the game to an
even point at 1-1.
In the third set, both teams staged a point-to-point battle and tried to take lead. Mexico successfully claimed the set and improved to 2-1. The game entered fourth frame, which turned into a heated competition as Trinidad & Tobago put up huge effort to
save the match.
Nonetheless, Mexico crushed the opponent and earned the winning status in the match.
Mexico’s Gerardo Contreras appreciated the effort put by Trinidad & Tobago players. In his post-match comments, he mentioned, “We’ve got to be happy with the win, but we cannot be happy with the way we played. Trinidad & Tobago played a good match. They
were inspired.”
The head coach of Mexico Jorge Miguel Azair agreed that Trinidad & Tobago played comparatively better in the match.
“It’s been six years since we won one set from Mexico. Our goal is to be competitive each day. Mexico had experience and poise during crucial parts of the game and that was the difference,” said Trinidad & Tobago Coach Gideon Dickson.
The match between Canada and Puerto Rico was also a thrilling competition. The game many different turns and there were actually moments when Puerto Rico came really close to Canada.
Canadian Toontje Van Lankvelt and Gavin Schmitt created the real trouble for Puerto Rican defence. They added 16 and 15 respectively, which led Canada to a superb victory. Puerto attacked via Rico’s Ezequiel Cruz but could not achieve desired results.
Tags: