Hancock sets two new records for aces

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 5, 2016 – Micha Hancock scored a Pan American Cup record 11 aces as United States cruised to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-18) victory over Costa Rica to remain undefeated in Pool B of the XV Women’s Pan Am Cup in Santo Domingo.

Hancock broke the previous record of 9 she shared with compatriot Nicole Brannagh and with a total of 31 thus far, the left-hander setter shattered the mark for a single tournament of 28 set last year by Cuban Melissa Vargas.

Hancock was the scoring leader of the match with those 11 points, followed by Kelsie Payne with 9 and Carly Wopat and Madison Kingdon with 7 each. Costa Rica’s Paola Ramirez finished with 9 points.

U.S. Coach Daniel Fisher said the match was good as he was able to use most of his players, tune-up the serves and put some pressure.

Megan Courtney, the captain of USA, congratulated the effort made by Costa Rica and to her teammates for playing up to the instructions of coach Fisher.

Braulio Godinez, coach of Costa Rica, acknowledged the difference between the two teams saying they tried to battle and improved their level in the last two sets with the objective of narrowing the difference and preparing the players for the upcoming match against Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday.

Costa Rica’s Irene Fonseca showed satisfaction for the improvement as a team that showed in the last two sets when they were able to surpass the 15-point mark. She admitted the serves and blocking of United States proved to be too strong.