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Guadalajara, Mexico, August 29, 2009 - Mexico
claimed a dramatic come-from-behind victory over
Dominican Republic 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18,
15-12 to secure, along with Canada, the tickets
to the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship one
day before the completion of the NORCECA Playoff
Round Group I at the Pan American Volleyball
Stadium.
The Mexican team didn’t disappoint their fans,
who set aside today’s soccer match between local
team Chivas and Pachuca to show their support
for Mexican volleyball in this crucial moment.
This was a match where the home boys rose to the
occasion, led by Ivan Contreras who compiled 22
points, and teammates Carlos Guerra and Gustavo
Meyer scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Dominican Elvis Contreras led all the scorers
with 23 points while giant Jose Miguel Caceres
contributed 18 points though, that effort and
that of the rest of the team wasn’t enough to
stop the surging Mexicans.
Jose Miguel Azair, head coach for Mexico praised
his players “for their dedication against a team
with whom we’ve always had very competitive
games. This is a victory that represents the
growth of this sport in country and which we
dedicate to the two people who are no longer
with us, the player Carlitos Vazquez and the
former president of the Mexican Volleyball
Federation Alejandro Salinas.”
Jacinto Campechano, head coach for the Dominican
Republic, praised the hosts “because they showed
character and a lot of heart to defend their
game. We didn’t try hard enough in our recovery
and it’s hard to almost be winning and then lose
because of too many mistakes after having won
the first two sets.”
Ivan Contreras, captain for the Mexican team,
added “It’s a nice feeling to play in front of
our fans as we almost never have that chance and
today, when we started to sing the national
anthem, I was overcome with emotion.”
Victor Batista, captain for the Dominican
Republic, pointed out that “our opponents got
the game y we didn’t have the courage that we
should’ve have had. We couldn’t stop their
constant action; Mexico really turned out to be
a great team.”
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