Dominican Republic Dominates Cuba at U17 Pan Am Cup

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, May 29, 2024.- The Dominican Republic dominated Cuba 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-11) in the final match of pool-play at the Girls' U17 Pan American Cup held at Guatemala City’s Dome.

Dominican Republic finished second in Pool A with a 2-1 record and will play in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The first place of the pool went to Peru (3-0), and third place to Mexico (1-2).

Cuba, with a 0-3 record, will play in classification matches for positions 5 to 8.

Both teams were equal in attacks (28 points) and blocks (8 points). Dominican Republic led in aces (8-2) and scored 31 points on Cuba’s errors, while conceding 18.

Team captain Estel Santos and opposite Rayni Mondesi were the top scorers for Dominican Republic with 11 points each. Middle blocker Cristal Mercedes collected 9 points, including a match-high of 4 blocks.

The top scorer of the match was Cuba’s Salet Castillo, with 13 points on 11 attacks and two blocks.

In the second set, Cuba failed to maintain a four-point lead (13-17) and despite avoiding two set points for the Dominicans (21-24) thanks to two errors, they couldn’t close the set. Dominican Republic dominated the third set without complications.

“There was greater harmony among us in the third set”, said Dominican libero Nashly Lithgow. Speaking about Cuba, she said that Cuba managed to pressure them with attacks and blocks in the first two sets. "I think yesterday’s victory against Mexico gave us more confidence”, she added.

The top scorer of the match, Salet Castillo of Cuba, indicated that Dominican Republic played strongly and about the first two sets she highlighted, “our reception worked well, allowing us to attack with strength, combined with the team’s good spirits”. Speaking about how they dropped in the third set, she said, “definitely, if the team’s spirits had remained high, the outcome could have been better. We need to work on that”.