Bethania leads Dominican win over Venezuela

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 2, 2016 – Bethania de la Cruz landed six aces and finished with 13 points to lead hosts Dominican Republic to a comfortable 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-16) victory over Venezuela in the last match of Day One at the XV Women’s Pan American Cup.

Gina Mambru, who only played two sets, contributed 9 points to the victory while Brayelin Martinez and Lisvel Eve each chipped in with 6 points. Luz Delfines was the only Venezuelan with double digits in the scores with 13 points.

“We are very glad with this first victory,” De la Cruz said. “We have not played Venezuela recently so we didn’t have information about their level. It was a good match and we played focused.”

“The first match is always important but I don’t see any pressure in my players,” said coach Marcos Kwiek. “They are used to play with the fans against them, so now for a change they have the fans to their favor. It is a good situation.”

“The team had a good game and we played with aggressive services and it helped a lot,” Kwiek added. “We are very glad with today’s performance.”

“We tried to play our game and did our best,” said Desiree Glod, the captain of Venezuela. “The Dominican team played at a high level.”

Ivan Nieto, coach of Venezuela: “The Dominicans played great today. We were facing one of the best teams in the world. We accomplished some of our expectations and the game help us to get on track for some important matches ahead.”.