Karina Ocasio leads Puerto Rico to the title match

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 9, 2016 – Karina Ocasio fired 25 points to lead Puerto Rico to a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20) victory over the United States in the first semifinal match of the XV Women’s Pan American Cup in front of a full house at Ricardo Arias Gymnasium on Saturday.

It will be the first visit of Puerto Rico to a title match in the history of the competition, having won two times the bronze medal.

Stephanie Enright and Alexandra Oquendo contributed 14 and 9 points to the victory as Puerto Rico committed only 18 unforced errors compared to 30 by the United States.

Rhamat Alhassan was the best scorer for USA with 12 points, followed by Megan Courtneuy with 11 and Carly Wopat and Madison Kingdon with 10 points each.

“Our good passing in the third and four sets was the key for us today,” said Juan Carlos Nuñez, the coach of Puerto Rico. “We served well with good location and also with power sometimes.”

“The difference was our service, we missed too many, especially after winning key points,” said Daniel Fisher, the USA coach.

“We are a veteran young team”, Enright said. “Our offensive balance and the good defense worked for us,” Enright said.

“We couldn’t deal with the firepower of Puerto Rico and their experience and maturity were a factor,” said Courtney.