NORCECA Final Four Women’s Cup 2010:
Dominican Republic captures a slot in the semi-finals
The Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup is inching towards its end. The tournament kicked off on
the 21st of September, 2010 and the final showdown will be staged this weekend.
Mexico hosted the event and the tournament was attended by four teams including the hosts. Teams from
Peru, Argentine, and Dominican Republic made up the rest of the tournament.
Peru is currently topping the ratings but the
Dominican Republic also made their mark and clawed their way into the semi-finals. The Dominican Republic (DR) collided with hosts
Mexico on the third day of the tournament. The Caribbean ladies outshined their hosts with a brilliant performance and dismissed
Mexico in three straight sets. They posted a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, and 25-8) win over
Mexico.
Detailed overview
The Dominicans started out with a good score in the first set. They took advantage of their tall-build and pushed the weak Mexican side behind the attack line.
Mexico had a lot of problems in serve and their attack was feeble. The DR’s expert players easily blocked their spikes and dismissed their attacks.
Mexico trailed behind the Dominican Republic’s score for most of the set. Despite the support of the home crowd, the Mexican team couldn’t demonstrate any impressive plays. The
Dominican Republic side continued hitting wonderful shots and the narrow gap of points stretched wide. They won the first set 25-18.
Mexico hoped for more luck and better play in the second set but it wasn’t to be. Dahiana Burgos of
Dominican Republic didn’t create any space for Mexican players to hit the ball.
Mexico’s young team repeatedly failed to spot any chinks in the armour of the experienced Dominicans. Moreover, the Dominicans then turned on the style and their powerful shots cruised past Mexican heads and legs. The Dominicans won
the second set 25-15, proving their dominance.
The third set was no different – in the fact that the Dominicans kept up their assault on the Mexicans. Their spikes seemed to get more powerful and more prominent, though it could possibly be so because the Mexicans seemed
to lose their heads. Though the Mexican head coach kept trying to rally his players, in essence the game was already over as the Mexican team’s shoulders started to drop. The Dominicans, on the other hand, were full of life and started stockpiling points.
They finished the third set 25-8 and got a hefty round of applause from everyone in the stadium.
Post-match
Yazmin Hemandez of Mexico stated after the match, “I am sure it could be better. We began with a strong game, played very tough but we decreased our level”.
The head coach of the Mexican team, Alfredo Bernal, seemed upset with his team’s performance but claimed that it would be a good learning experience. He said, “This was another learning experience. We have faced much better
teams than us in this tournament. Our level is not as high as theirs, we only have to play and learn a lot from these teams and try to make the right adjustments.”
Dominican Republic’s head coach Marcos Kwiek was delighted with his team’s achievement. He said, “I know that we as teams have different goals and a different level each one. Our goal is to be in shape for the
World Championship but Mexico has been doing a good job preparing their players for the future.”
The captain of the Dominican side, Karla Echenique, also commented on the amazing victory of her team. She said, “We did not start as good as we wanted, we had a few problems, but we improved in the third set.”
Tags: