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MORELIA, Mexico, October 2, 2015.- Puerto Rico defeated Canada
3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-17) to win the bronze medal of the
NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship on Friday at
Bicentenario Auditorium of Morelia, Michoacan.
Puerto Rico outnumbered Canada in every skill; they held a 54-35
margin in kills, a 10-8 advantage in blocking and 6-1 in aces.
Puerto Rico committed more errors than Canada (37-28).
Canada began tough on blocking and took the lead winning the
first set. Puerto Rico recovered well as their spikers powered
up and held a good lead which Canada kept closer in the third
set, where they suffered the loss of Middle Blocker Jaimie
Thilbeault. Puerto Rico sealed the match with a comfortable
lead.
Yarimar Rosa of Puerto Rico said “we are definitely glad with
the bronze medal; in this tournament we are sending the message
that we will battle hard for the Olympic ticket in January”.
Canada´s captain Brittney Page said “it was disruptive to lose
Jaimie but we have enough team to continue executing well. In
the first set we did basic volleyball, receiving, passing and
scoring; even with the loss Canada gave a big step from our
previous performance in Pan-Am Games and past Norceca
tournaments, the team is stronger”.
Coach Juan Carlos Nuñez of Puerto Rico said “I am really
excited, I was away from the national team for seven years and
this achievement is really important for me as a coach and for
Puerto Rico, it was a challenge. Congratulations to Canada, they
are a solid team”.
“I was hoping for a little bit more, our receiving and passing
were off, we didn’t played as good as we did in the previous
matches. Achieving our minimum goal of qualifying to the Final
Four is a big step in the right direction” said coach Arnd
Ludwig. |
