Puerto Rico ends the prelims with win over Colombia – Volleyball News
With the contribution of match-high 19 points from Stephanie Enright, Puerto Rico held off resilient rival Colombia in the last pool-play match of XI Women’s Pan American Cup on Monday. The scoring remained tight throughout the match, but Puerto Rican team
managed to prove its potential.
Colombia received defeat in straight sets. The final set scores of the match were 3-0 (25-22, 22-15, 22-20). Puerto Rico bagged second win of the tournament and forced Colombia to stay winless in the preliminary round of the tournament.
Next up, the Colombian team will try to break the ice in the classification round. They will be joined by hosts Mexico in the final match for 11th position in the tournament. On the other hand, Puerto Rico kept its hopes alive to play in the final
round of the tournament. Puerto Rican ladies will go against Trinidad & Tobago in the next match on Wednesday.
Speaking of the match between Puerto Rico and Colombia, the affair started out on a high note. Colombian ladies jumped out of the gate and displayed good action on the net. They showed good fighting spirit, but Puerto Rican responded in the same tone. As
a result, the spectators saw an exchange of long rallies. Set 1 covered its length in 23 minutes and Puerto Rico came on top with three points, 25-22.
Puerto Rico got better with success in the first set. They further improved in the second frame and successfully dragged the opponents under pressure. Colombia failed to stop the opponents and dropped another set in row.
In the decisive third set, Puerto Rico posted 22-20 on board and won the match in consecutive sets.
Besides Enright, her teammate Yarimar Rosa also played well and supported Puerto Rico with 11 points. Maria Martinez and Melissa Rangel were the top-scorers on Colombian side with 10 points apiece.
“I had not seen Colombia before, playing this way. They showed good attack in the first set and showed good individualities,” said Puerto Rico´s coach, David Alemán, whose team now is 2-3 at the Cup.
“I could say that instead of five matches we have held five practicing sessions, because this has been our best way to prepare this young team and sometimes the stamina in a team can determinate a good or a bad match. We spent a lot of energy against USA
and not a lot today and it happens with many teams,” stated Mauro Marasciulo about Colombia.
The volleyball action will be continued until the final match on July 21. Check back for more updates and news.
Tags: