Dominican Republic Advances Directly to

the Santo Domingo 2026 Semifinals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 4, 2026. – The Dominican Republic maintained its perfect record and secured first place in Pool B of the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-16) victory over Puerto Rico, earning a direct berth to the semifinals before a packed and enthusiastic crowd at the Prof. Ricardo Gioriver Arias Volleyball Palace.

Dominican fans celebrated from start to finish. The crowd rose to its feet before the final point, and although the match extended after the hosts lost serve on their first match point opportunity, the arena erupted in celebration when the home team closed out the victory to finish the pool stage undefeated.

The Dominican Republic controlled the opening two sets with strong net play and a consistent offense. Puerto Rico responded in the third set, taking advantage of a dip in the hosts' rhythm to extend the match, but the Dominicans regained control from the start of the fourth set. Behind a dominant blocking performance, the defending champions sealed the victory without allowing another Puerto Rican comeback.

Blocking proved to be the decisive factor, as the Dominican Republic held a commanding 15-4 advantage. The hosts also led Puerto Rico 53-44 in attacks and 3-2 in service points, despite committing more unforced errors (28-23).

Yonkaira Peña led the Dominican offense with 23 points, while Gaila González added 18 and Brayelin Martínez contributed 11.

Valeria Vázquez was Puerto Rico's leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Dariana Hollingsworth with 10.

With the victory, the Dominican Republic advanced directly to the semifinals as the winner of Pool B. Puerto Rico finished third in the pool and will face Mexico in the quarterfinals, while Cuba will take on Venezuela in the other quarterfinal matchup.

After the match, the coaches of both teams reflected on their teams' performances and looked ahead to the next stage of the competition.

Marcos Kwiek, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic: “We accomplished our first objective. Tomorrow will be a day to train, study, and watch the quarterfinal match to prepare for what comes next. Today we dropped our intensity a little, and Puerto Rico took advantage of that. It was a good lesson for us because our players can't underestimate any opponent.”

Juan Carlos Núñez, Head Coach of Puerto Rico: “The girls gave a great effort and fought until the very end. Now our most important match is tomorrow. We'll go out there looking to earn a place in the semifinals.”