Dominicans add second gold medal in Orlando

ORLANDO, Florida, June 24, 2019 – The Dominican Republic’s U20 Team capped a sensational run at the 46th AAU Volleyball National Championships by winning the gold medal of the Open Division just hours after claiming the title of the International Division.

The Dominicans lost a set for the first time in the tournament before prevailing 2-1 (25-17, 17-25, 15-9) against Mintonette of Ohio at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and Orange Convention Center. Earlier on Monday they won the International crown with a 2-0 (25-16, 25-18) win against Slovenia.

Natalia Martínez led the scoring with 19 points followed by Madeline Guillén with 12. Geraldine Gonzalez added 10 points and Flormarie Heredia chipped in with 8.

“I am very proud of the job done by the girls for the past four days,” said Brazilian Wagner Pacheco, the coach of the Dominican side. “It was a consistent team job with everyone contributing to the victories.”

The Dominicans were preparing to participate in the FIVB U20 Women’s Junior World Championship to be held in Aguascalientes and Leon, Mexico from July 12 to 29. In the first round they will play in Pool D against Brazil, Rwanda and Japan.

The members of the team were:

Romina Cornelio, Camila De la Rosa, Geraldine González, Madeline Guillén, Flormarie Heredia, Hennesys Lalane, Natalia Martínez, Laura Paniagua, Estefhany Rabit, Raquel Rodríguez, Yanerys Rodríguez and Messalina Yosil. Head Coach: Wagner Pacheco. Assistant Coaches: Cristian Cabral and Mariana Gornati. Team Representative: Agripina Martínez.