Cuba open CACG with a three setter victory over Colombia

CORDOBA, Mexico, November 15, 2014 - Cuba opened their participation at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games with a victory over Colombia 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-20) at the Cordoba Arena.

Melissa Vargas, the 13 year old, who was one of the revelations at the last World Championship in Italy, finished with a total of 18 points, while Regla Gracia concluded with 14 , both for Cuba.

For Colombia, the scoring distribution was with Margarita Martinez and Yeisi Soto, with 7 and 6 points respectively. Second set was the tightest up to the 16th point on both sides of the net. But in the end, Cuba dominated the blocking game 7-2 and 7-1 in service.

“The first match is always the most difficult and we have seen a Colombian team growing up. We have a very young but well prepared team with a 19 years old average,” said Juan Carlos Gala, head coach of Cuba.

Colombian coach, Mauro Marasciulo commented: “it was a very tough match. We played against a very tough rival like Cuba. We have a roster with a lot of U20 players”.

On the players’ side, Melissa Teresa Vargas, commented: “This is only a brief of what we want to do as a team at this competition.”

Sulian de la Caridad Matienzo, captain of Cuba, mentioned. “We came to contend for gold, and dominated easily the match.”

Colombian captain Alejandra Marin remarked: “We failed in the reception and Cuba could work with their serve.” Colombia will match Dominican Republic, while Cuba will play against Venezuela on Sunday.