Dominicans beat Venezuela in CACG debut

BARRANQUILLA, Colombia, July 20, 2018.- Dominican Republic made their debut beating Venezuela 3-0 (25-11, 29-27, 25-11) in pool A at the 2018 Barranquilla XXIII Central American and Caribbean Games at Humberto Perea Coliseum.

Venezuela surprised defending champion Dominican Republic controlling set two but still falling by a tight 29-27 score. Dominicans did not perform with their accustomed energy, but with experience and firm feat earned their first victory in pool A.

Dominicans led in all categories with 45-33 margin in attacks, 9-1 in blocks and 3-1 in service points. Dominican Republic finished with 22 errors and Venezuela with 15.

Captain, Prisilla Rivera was the best scorer of the match with 15 points, followed by middle blocker Lisvel Eve Mejía with 12 points and opposite player Gaila Gonzalez with 10 points. On Venezuela’s side, wing spikers Nelmaira Valez and Iberia Chourios led with 9 points and 8 points accordingly.

Dominican Republic’s next opponent is Cuba and Venezuela faces Mexico.

Prisilla Rivera captain of Dominican Republic spoke about her team’s debut, “it was a slow debut for us, and it’s very hot here, which was slowing our rhythm. We got the win, that’s what really matters; now we must focus on tomorrow. Venezuela was effective in serves and counterattacking, but our strength and experience took charge”.

Venezuela’s captain Meriyen Serrano said her team’s attitude was their best attribute “we played with energy, without thinking about our opponent. We fought strong, giving the fact that half or players are under 18 years old”.

Brazilian Marcos Kwiek, head coach of Dominican Republic said they were able to win set two which they believed already lost mostly by their opponent’s errors “we topped set two because of their errors and not by our merit. We played at their rhythm, it is really hard to play against a team that doesn’t pressure you the entire game and pushes you to your limit. We performed responsibly, with less intensity as we normally do; also our receiving failed, it was a slow match that lacked excitement”.