Puerto Rico continues with winning ways and clinches semi-final berth – Volleyball news
The wonderful team of Puerto Rico qualified for the semi-final match of 2012 NORCECA Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament on Wednesday by defeating Costa Rica.
Puerto Rico finished the preliminary round-robin with an overall record of 3-1 and joined Cuba in the semis of the tournament.
In the quarter-final match, Puerto Rican squad easily stamped a 3-0 victory over underdog Costa Rica. Puerto Rico proved to be better in every aspect of the game and posted 25-12, 25-12, 25-9 to claim a clean sweep. The Tijuana Multi-Sports Gymnasium in
Mexican City Tijuana set up the field of play for the match and the same venue will be used for upcoming matches.
Puerto Rico’s Head Coach David Aleman gave a winning plan to his team, which was perfectly executed by his players. Almost all the players got to play in the match against Costa Rica and showcased their amazing tactics. It took them only an hour to clinch
success in the match.
“It is really refreshing to be on the winning track again after last night’s loss against the Dominican Republic. It was a team effort and now we have to work on reducing the errors for our next match,” said Vilmarie Mojica of Puerto Rico after the match.
Costa Rica’s Coach Xavier Perales also had his say about the match. He stated, “They improved the level with the match and it was very difficult for us. Now we must think in the next phase for our team and to see who’s going to be the next rival.”
Puerto Rico’s Sarai Alvarez and Yarimar Rosa added 15 and 11 points respectively, while Stephanie Enright and Shanon Torregrosa each added eight points. None of the Costa Rica players could go into double-digit scores.
In the earlier rounds of the tournament, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica played equal number of matches. Puerto Rico crossed its ways with Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Canada. In the last three matches, Puerto Rico suffered only one loss when Dominican Republic
posted 3-1 victory. The other two teams did not create any trouble for Puerto Rico in the first two matches of the tournament.
Now that Puerto Rico has qualified for semi-finals, all the attention is set on the next match. Cuba is one of the pre-favourites of the tournament and it will not be an easy match for Puerto Rico. The Cuban team has perfect record of 4-0 in the tournament
and it has not dropped a single set in the previous matches.
Let’s wait and see when Cuba and Puerto Rico clash for the final spot on Friday. Check back for latest news and updates regarding the campaign.
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