Dominican Republic outclasses Trinidad & Tobago in first match

LIMA, Peru, September 19, 2016 – Two-time defending champions Dominican Republic stormed past Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-8) in the first match of day one at the U23 Women’s Pan American Cup at Manuel Bonilla Coliseum of Lima on Monday.

Gaila Gonzalez was the offensive leader for the Dominican Republic with 16 points, followed by Jineiry Martinez and Natalia Martinez with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kerdisha Sutherland had 5 points for the defeated side.

The 75-30 difference marked the third widest margin in the history of the competition behind the 75-26 of Peru over Costa Rica on September 3, 2012 and the 75-29 of Cuba against Costa Rica on September 7, 2012.

The powerful attacks of the Dominican side proved to be too much for the inexperienced team of Trinidad & Tobago as the winners held a 47-9 difference in spikes.

Wagner Pacheco, coach of Dominican Republic: “It was a quiet match but a very important victory for the qualification to the world championship. We made some mistakes but this is just the beginning. Almost all the players had the chance to get in and they did it very well.”

Gaila González, player of Dominican Republic: “It is always good to start a competition with a victory. I have been working with my selection since 2012 and my goal is to continue contributing to my team to achieve our goal of a third consecutive title.”

Nicholson Drakes, coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “I expected more from my team but they seemed intimidated, made many mistakes and lacked communication. Nevertheless I am confident that for the second match we will have better preparation and they will go in with better attitude.”

Malika Davidson, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “This is the first time we play as a team. Our coach talked us about trusting the work as a team and I think that despite the mistakes we did our best possible. But I trust my selection and I think we will recover and come back with more strength for tomorrow’s match.”