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TORONTO, Canada, July 22, 2015 – United States defeated Cuba 3-1
(25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18) advancing to a semifinal match
against the Dominican Republic at the women’s volleyball
tournament of the Pan American Games Toronto 2015.
While Cuba outdistanced United States in the blocking category
16-7, the Americans had the upper hand in attacks 58-41 and made
20 errors, seven less than Cuba.
Krista Vansant topped USA with 16 points followed by Nicole
Fawcett and Kristin Hildebrand with 14 and 11 points,
respectively. Rachael Adams and Lauren Paolini tallied eight
apiece in the victory.
Melissa Vargas was once again the top scorer for Cuba with 20
points. Regla Gracia added 11 points and Jennifer Alvarez
finished with 10, including six blocks.
Daniel Fisher, Coach of United States: “I am pleased to get the
result. It was a very difficult game. Cuba is a very physical
team and created a lot of problems defensively before we found a
way to win. I think the difference was the pressure we put with
our serves in the fourth set. Against the Dominican Republic it
will be a great match to watch. Our players know them very well
but we will need to play our best to beat them.”
Carli Lloyd, player of United States: “I am very proud of our
group. We had a plan and executed it. Cuba is a very good team
and they pushed us. Our focus was to do our thing from our side
of the net. Playing against a team with such blockers and
attackers, the key is to stay patient.”
Krista Vansant, player of United States: “It should be a good
match against the Dominican Republic in the semifinals. They are
a great team but I think we can win. The competition is of a
higher and better level than at the Pan American Cup. All the
teams are playing great.”
Dayami Sanchez, Player of Cuba: “This was a great match for
them. They play too fast and we are more used to play a slower
game style. Both of us came out to win. They knew how to play
and capitalize our mistakes, that’s the reason they won this
match. We are really a very young team, there are still a lot of
things to improve, but overall we must believe more in
ourselves, and nothing else.”
Roberto García, Coach of Cuba: “This was a very important match
for both teams. We respected the United States team. They have a
tremendous team, a high level team. We came here to capitalize
an opportunity. We won a set, and then we fought in a 8-7 score.
We went down a little bit, took a breath and tried to recover to
set the score 16-14. The American’s experience dominated,
however we will go tomorrow against Argentina for the fifth
place that was our main goal at this tournament”. |
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