Canada blanks Cuba in three close sets

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, June 13, 2014 – Canada improved to a 3-0 mark in Pool A of the XIII Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup following a close victory over Cuba 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 at Juan de la Barrera Gymnasium on Friday.

Kyla Richey and Lisa Barclay were the top scorers of Canada with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Lucille Charuk and Marissa Field each added eight tallies. Field had 3 blocks to lead Canada to a 6-3 margin in the blocking category. Cuba’s Melissa Vargas concluded with a match-high 20 points in the losing cause.

“I am excited about this victory against a Cuba team with a strong attack,”Canada’s Brittney Page said. “We were calmly confident about the game and followed our game plan. The experience worked to our advantage, I think.”

Canada’s Coach Arnd Ludwig: “I am very proud of my team. They played with discipline and eliminated a lot of errors. We followed the game plan and once in a while Cuba helped us with some mistakes in the key moments.”

“Canada is an experienced team and it showed at the crucial moments of the close three sets,” Cuba’s Coach Juan Carlos Gala said.

 “We had options of winning one set against a team like that. We are on the right track with this group of players and our goal still is the same, to be among the top three in the pool and qualifying to the Grand Prix.”