Cuba beats Trinidad & Tobago in straight sets to improve their record 2-1 in Pool B

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 6, 2023.- Cuba beat Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-17) to improve their record 2-1 in Pool B of the Women’s Volleyball tournament at the 2023 San Salvador Central American and Caribbean Games on Thursday.

Cuba (2-1) is one step closer to reaching the semifinals, they have to wait for the result between Colombia (2-0) and El Salvador (1-1). Trinidad & Tobago ends Pool B in fourth place and will play the classification round for positions 5 to 8.

With a considerable improvement from their previous performances, Trinidad & Tobago was able to keep the score close to halfway in all three sets.

Cuba was superior in attacking points by far (48-23), while finishing with slight advantages in blocks (6-5) and points from serves (4-3). Trinidad & Tobago committed fewer errors (17-19).

Cuban opposite Yensy Kindelan, outside hitter Diaris Pérez and middle blocker Jessica Aguilera scored 10 points each for their teams’ victory.

Channon Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago led all scorers collecting 11 points (8 kills, 3 blocks).

Yensy Kindelan, Top scorer of Cuba: “I consider it was mostly errors on our side which kept the scores close; we committed 6 to 7 errors per set, that was the difficulty because after each error came consecutive points from their side. We adjusted and it will be harder in the next round because the opponent will be superior, Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico”.

Tomás Fernández Arteaga, Head Coach of Cuba: “My team was overconfident. Experienced players performed at our opponents’ level of play, and we committed unforced errors, which depended on our side. For me the next match is a transition to move into the bronze medal match because I believe we will face Dominican Republic, the best team in the competition”.

Channon Thomson, Top scorer of Trinidad & Tobago: “Our team had a considerable improvement. Now, we are in a process of development, rebuilding, after we qualified to the World Championship in 2018, unfortunately the continuity of the program broke. It’s going to take some time, it’s going to take losing many games, but in losing we can evaluate and go back to the drawing board and learn to play better”.