Cuba wins thriller against Canada

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 8, 2016 – Cuba won a thrilling five-set duel against Canada 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 16-14) to move to a semifinal match against hosts Dominican Republic on Saturday at the XV Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup.

Sulian Matienzo led four Cuban players with double figures in the scoring charts with 20 points and Heidy Rodriguez added 17 of her own. Daymara Lescay finished with 12, including 6 blocks, and Alena Rojas added 10, with four blocks.

Canada’s Shainah Joseph had a match-high 23 points in the losing cause. Michaela Reesor was next with 17 while Danielle Brisbois and Jennifer Cross tallied 12 and 10, respectively.

Cuba held the advantage in blocks 16-13 and made 22 errors compared to 37 by the Canadian side.

“It was a great match and our blocking functioned well at the end. We reduced the errors and that was the key,” Cuba’s coach Roberto García said.

“It is a tough loss 16-14 in the tie-breaker,” Canada’s Arnd Ludwig said. “My team made too many errors and that was the game. We made 15 serving errors and 14 errors in attacks. Both teams played at the same level.”