De la Cruz paces Dominican Republic in 3-0 triumph over Germany

NAGOYA, Japan, October 11, 2018 - Bethania De La Cruz scored a match-high 18 points as the Dominican Republic defeated Germany 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-17) in the second round at the FIVB Women's World Championship on Thursday afternoon.

Prisilla Rivera contributed 11 points and Lisvel Mejia added 10 in the win for the Dominicans. Louisa Lippman was the high scorer for Germany in the loss with 14 points.

Germany entered the match with a 5-3 record, while the Dominican Republic was 4-4. Both teams had already been eliminated from advancing in the tournament.

The Dominican Republic was energized from the outset, while Germany appeared flat. The Dominicans attacked successfully from the wings, served and received well. The height and power of the Dominican Republic was too formidable.

Germany came on a bit late in the second set, but could not string together enough points to be competitive in the contest.

Lippman was the only effective scorer on this day for Germany, as they simply could not contend with the multiple weapons of their opponents.

Dominican Republic coach Marcos Kwiek: Our block and defense worked intensively today. It was important for us to finish the world championships with a match like this. We had good service today. We could have done more in this competition, so we will go home and practice more.

Dominican Republic captain Bethania De La Cruz: This was an important match for us as the last one. We wanted to finish with a win. It will be good for us in our next moves.