GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 10, 2008.-  United States won its fourth consecutive Continental U-18 Norceca Championship blanking Mexico in the final match. The score was 25-17, 25-14, 25-20.

United States established its size in the offense and the blocking at the net during the whole match, to dominate the final contest. The Americans had won the tournament in 2002 (Salt Lake City, USA), 2004 (Cataño, Puerto Rico) and 2006 (Gainesville, USA). The Mexican squad could not handle the pressure of the final match and gave up several points.

“I am very happy with the achievement, winning is always exciting. Now we have to prepare for the World Championship and put together the best talent available including players who have not been here,” said James Stone, the coach of United States. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 10, 2008.- Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 to finish in the third place of the U-18 Norceca Girls’Continental Championship and at the same time grab the second vacancy of the region to the 2009 FIVB World. The scores of the sets were  25-12, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23.

Both teams gave another classic confrontation. The moments of inestability showed for both teams although the Dominicans pressed more with the strenghth of their midle-blockers to dominate in the final moments and obtain the triumph.

The Dominican squad qualifies to the World event to be played in Mexico next year. Along with the host team which finished second in this tournamente, the USA team also qualified as the champion of Norceca.  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 10, 2008.-  The team of Trinidad & Tobago finished in the sixth position of the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship by defeating U.S. Virgin Islands 3-1. The sets closed at 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20.

Both Caribbean teams played a leveled match in offense and defense on the field and at the net. The Trinidadians dominated the direct serves with a total of 15. Resides, they enjoyed a great offensive performance by their captain Sinead Jack.

Jack was the main fixture of the Trinidadians in the whole tournament. She had 24 points in the match, followed by Marisha Herbert with 14. The best scorer for Virgin Islands was Hanifah Hendrick with 10 tallies.  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 9, 2008.- United States took advantage of its strong offense and effective blocking to beat Puerto Rico becoming the first team qualified to the 2009 FIVB U-18 World Championship. The score was 25-20, 25-14, 25-20.

United States relied on a great colective offensive effort. The combination of Wopat, Dixon and Orozco was the key for the performance of the American squad.

Puerto Rico never let its rhythm to go down and had interesting moments in blocking and offense. “Very content with the achievement, buy now we are going to focus on our match of tomorrow against Mexico. The Mexicans are the stronger team in this competition and we have to work hard for that match,” said James Stone, the USA coach. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 9, 2008.- The U-18 Girls’ National Team of Mexico made history by reaching their first final in a Norceca Tournament in eleven years by defeating Dominican Republic by score of 20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 26-24.

Mexico had not advanced to a final in a Norceca event since the Women’s Junior Championship held in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1977.

“We faced a strong rival of great level, but my team never quit. We showed good concentration and this is a great achievement for the Mexican volleyball. We have added something to a long process of work,” said Ricardo Naranjo.  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 9, 2008.- Costa Rica defeated Trinidad & Tobago to end in the fifth position in the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship. The score was 25-13, 25-9, 25-16.

The Costa Ricans dominated all the aspects of the game and relied on the good performance of their captain Olga Solano. The Trinidadians battled a little in the third set, but their lack of experience showed at the crucial moments of the leg.

“Cool after obtaining the fifth place, but I expected something better for this tournament. It has been made clear and we have learned that we need to have more taller players to compete at this level and have the chance for the best positions,” said Julio C. Alfaro, the coach of Costa Rica. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 8, 2008.- Dominican Republic advanced to the semi final round of the U-18 Norceca Continental Championship alter a victory over Costa Rica. The sets finished 25-14, 25-15, 25-13.

The Dominican squad established an effective blocking and potent serves to dominate the Central American champions. Alicia Moreno was dominant with her serves which created problems to the Costa Rican’s reception.

“The match was a tough one, we worked hard but faced a great team like the Dominican,” said Olga Solano, the captain of Costa Rica.  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 8, 2008.- Relying on its serves and offensive strength the team of Puerto Rico completed the group of semi finalists by defeating 3-0 the team of Trinidad & Tobago in a quarter final match of the U-18 Norceca Championship. The score was 25-12, 25-12, 25-18.

The Puerto Ricans, not only benefited from the support of the local fans but also counted on the powerful attacks of Genesis Collazo and Ashley Vazquez who relied on their strength and better experience compared to the Trinidadians. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 7, 2008.- United States only needed 48 minutes to win for the third time and finish first in Pool B of the U-18 Norceca Continental Championship. The victory of the Americans was against U.S. Virgin Islands by store of  25-7, 25-7, 25-7.

 “I am very happy with the performance of my players and now we have to continue working hard for the semi final round when the matches will be tougher,” said James Stone, the American coach.

United States scored with 17 serves during the match and thanks to their potent serves they created problems to the reception of the islanders. “My team showed more confidence in our game, and now we only have to continue practicing,” said Nysha Lindo, the captain of Virgin Islands. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 7, 2008.- Mexico edged Puerto Rico 3-1 to win Pool A of the U-18 Norceca Championship and advancing to the semi finals of next Wednesday July 9. The score was 25-15, 25-10, 18-25, 25-16.

The Mexicans dominated the first two legs with strong blocking and quick and effective offensive combinations.

“I am very happy with the way my team worked, we faced the team which has better blocking in the tournament and our strategy functioned,” commented Ricardo Naranjo, the Mexican coach. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 7, 2008.- Dominican Republic got its second win in Pool B by defeating Trinidad & Tobago in the last day of action in the preliminary phase of the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship. The score of the match was 25-3, 25-6, 25-7.

The Dominican squad dominated without problems during the whole match. In the first set the Dominican squad matched its own record for the widest ser in the history of the category by winning 25-3.

The best scorers for the Dominicans were Marianne Fersola with 10 points, Yennifer Ramirez also had 10 and Alicia Moreno had eight, while Sinead Jack, the captain of Trinidad & Tobago had four points. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 6, 2008.- United States only hended 49 minutes to get its second triumph of the tournament by defeating Trinidad & Tobago in action of Pool B. The score was 25-8, 25-11, 25-8.

The Americans dominated all the aspects of the game and did not allow any liberties to the Trinidadians. The powerful serves of USA gave them 16 direct points during the match. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 6, 2008.- Dominican Republic only used six regulars to defeat without much problems the team of Virgin Islands in action of Pool B of Norceca U-18 Girls’ Continental Championship.

The Dominican squad dominated the sets 25-6, 25-3, 25-9 in a match that lasted only 51 minutes.

Alicia Moreno had 11 points and captain Yennifer Ramirez contributed 10 to the victory. Several players of Virgin Islands had one point apiece, Tamisha Barry and Rhea Simon among them.

The Dominican coach, Giovanni “Mayo” Sibilia commented after the match: “I decided to play only with the six regulars for them to get rid of the scenic fear. But we have to continue improving because we made many fool mistakes.”  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 6, 2008.- Mexico started with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in action of Pool A in the U-18 Norceca Girls Continental Championship.

The Mexicans, who come to the event as one of the favorite selections, dominated by score of  25-12, 25-9, 25-15.

The Mexicans dominated the match imposing their superior blocking, combined with a strong and effective serves. Mexico had 12 blocks and eight direct serves.

“It was a great game for us, we defeated the scenic fear and grabbed the victory,” explained Xitlali Herrera. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 5, 2008.- With a big support from the local croad, the national team of Puerto Rico started with a 3-0 triumph over the squad of Costa Rica in the closing match of first day of action in the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship. The scores of the sets were 25-20, 25-7, 25-22.

The first set was a good battle and the Costa Ricans offered a good fight to the local side. Both teams exchanged the lead until point 19 when Puerto Rico could dominate the set with a boost from the croad.

In the second set, the Puerto Ricans were near to perfection dominating almost all the aspects of the game and obtaining one of the most widest marins in the history of the catgeory (25-7). More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 5, 2008.- In a historic battle between two debutants in this tournament, the national team of Trinidad & Tobago defeated US Virgin Islands 3-1 in the first match of the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship.

The sets of the match og Pool B were 21-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-9.

The Islanders dominated the first set with an effective game, but in the rest of the match prevailed the experience of the so called “Queens of the Caribbean.”

“The girls were some kina nervous at the beginning, we have several girls with experience that helped to stabilize the game in the following sets,” commented  Ali Macsood, coach of Trinidad & Tobago.  More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 5, 2008.-  With much power in its game United States defeated Dominican Republic in the first day of action in the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship. The score was 25-22, 25-17, 25-15.

The Americans took advantage of their strenghth and size at the net to win the match. The USA squad was leading the first set 19-11, but the Dominicans climbed back and narrowed the difference to only two points, but at the end the Americans prevailed.

The next two sets were dominated by the Americans.

“Our team could not train together in the past few days. There were moments of fatigue due to the long trip to Puerto Rico, but we are happy with the victory,” said Ashley Wittman, the captain of USA. More Spanish

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico, July 5, 2008.- The 2008 edition of the U-18 Norceca Girls’ Continental Championship serves off today with three matches in Schedule.

The action features US Virgin Islands against Trinidad & Tobago (3:00 PM local time); Dominican Republic vs. USA (5:00 PM) and Puerto Rico vs. Mexico (8:00 PM). Before the competition, the coaches of the teams commented on their respective goals: More Spanish