Cuba defeats Canada, finishes fifth

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, June 19, 2014 – Cuba outplayed Canada 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 25-15) to claim the fifth place at the XIII Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup at Juan de la Barrera Gymnasium of Mexico City on Thursday.

Young sensation Melissa Vargas, who turns 15 next October, topped Cuba with 24 points, followed by Alena Orta, Daymara Lescay and Sulian Matienzo with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Kyla Richey was the best for Canada with 18 points, including two blocks and three aces, while Brittney Page added 15 in the loss.

Cuba took advantage of 34 errors by Canada while committing 25 of their own. The winners held margins of 10-7 and 6-5 in blocks and aces.

“I am very happy with my team,” Cuba’s Coach Juan Carlos Gala said. “We played against a strong Canada team and performed very well. The fifth place is good for us and I hope the team continues growing up and get the chance to play other competitions of this caliber.”

“I wanted to test some of the players who had not seen a lot of playing time,” Canada’s Coach Arnd Ludwig said. “We stayed in the game for the first three sets, but then they looked a little bit tired. We have works to do since this is the start of the season.”