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HERMOSILLO, Mexico, August 28, 2022.- Dominican
Republic won their fifth Women’s Pan American
gold medal defeating Colombia 3-1 (21-25, 25-13,
25-21, 25-16) on Sunday at the Sonora Arena in
Hermosillo.
The Dominican Republic also won the Women’s Pan
American Cup title, in 2008, 2010, 2014 and
2016. For Colombia, this is their first silver
medal and second medal in the history of the
event, having won the bronze medal in the past
edition in 2019.
Dominicans blocking and service points seized
Colombia by comfortable 14-9 and 4-0 margins
respectively. The Caribbeans also led by a close
56-51 attacking advantage and scoring on 22
South American errors against 19.
Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz scored a
match-high of 23 points on 21 kills and two
points from blocks in Dominican Republic’s gold
medal victory. Opposite Gaila Gonzalez also
contributed to the winning effort with 15 points
from 11 kills, one block and three aces, joined
by outside hitter Yonkaira Peña collecting 14
points from 12 kills and two blocks.
Three players also led Colombia’s attackers,
outside hitter Ana Karina Olaya with 17 points
on 16 kills and one block, outside hitter Amanda
Coneo with 13 points on 10 kills and three
blocks, and middle blocker Yeisy Soto tallied 10
points.
Niverka Marte, captain of Dominican Republic:
“We have screamed and celebrated a lot, I am so
happy and proud of my team. I am part of a team
of leaders that doesn’t allow anyone to play bad
because we are always pushing each other.
Colombia has a fierce team, they never give up
and we respect them, we faced a great opponent
that played well and stood up to us. The joy and
team union from the first day of the tournament
is what gave us the crown today”.
María Alejandra Marín, captain of Colombia:
“This is our first Pan American Cup final, we
are happy and hoping for many more to come; we
knew it was going to be hard. Colombia did its
job, but things didn’t come out, it was a
battling second place. We won the first set
because we were tactically organized, the rest
of the game we committed too many errors, we
learn from everything”.
Marcos Kwiek, head coach of Dominican Republic:
“After no concentration in the first set, we
focused on what we had practiced, studied, and
prepared for the game. I believe our discipline
was key to win the game. The sets we lost during
the tournament were all close, we must be more
aggressive from the start”.
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