Canada ties Dominican Republic atop Pool A

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, June 12, 2014 – Canada battled to claim their second victory in Pool A of the Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup in defeating a resilient Trinidad & Tobago 25-23, 25-14, 26-24 on Thursday at Juan de la Barrera Gymnasium.

The victory earned Canada a share of first place in the pool tied with Dominican Republic, winners over Cuba in four sets earlier in the day.

Lisa Barclay led the balanced offense of Canada with 13 points while Marissa Field and Rebecca Pavan each charted nine points, including four blocks, in the win.

“I am happy with the win,” Canada’s coach Arnd Ludwig said afterwards. “Trinidad came in very strong playing a lot better than yesterday. They played a better structured game and gave us a hard time. I am happy with our performance. We were able to score the key points at the end ot the first and third sets.”

“We played a lot better than yesterday, especially with our pass,” Trinidad & Tobago’s coach Francisco Cruz stated. “That’s our biggest challenge to take the next step as a team, to improve our passing.”

“We limited our errors and that was part of the key today,” Canada’s Brittney Page said. “The Trinidadians are very athletic and posses strong attack. Today we were able to put it away when we needed.”

“Canada played steadier than us, we had many ups and downs,” Trinidadian Krystle Esdelle said. “They train more than we do. I think we played a very good match.”