Dominican Republic Finishes Pool Play

Undefeated and Advances to Semifinals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 23, 2026.- Defending champion Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23) to finish pool play undefeated and advance directly to the semifinals of the 2026 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship at the “Prof. Ricardo Gioriver Arias” Volleyball Palace.

Las Reinas del Caribe finished with a perfect 3-0 record and dropped only one set during pool play to secure first place in Pool B. Puerto Rico finished third with a 1-2 record and will face the United States in Monday’s quarterfinals.

After Puerto Rico took the opening set 25-21, the Dominican Republic responded by winning the next three. The defending champions took the second 25-19 and the third 25-21 before closing out a tightly contested fourth set 25-23.

The Dominican Republic held advantages in attacks 65-56, blocks 11-9, and aces 4-2. Puerto Rico committed fewer errors, 16 compared to the Dominican Republic’s 21.

Dominican captain Brayelin Martínez led all scorers with 24 points, followed by her sister Jineiry Martínez with 21. Gaila González contributed 20 points and Yonkaira Peña added 10.

For Puerto Rico, Decelise Champion led the offense with 16 points, followed by Paola Santiago with 15 and Valeria Vázquez with 14.

Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic: “We had some difficult moments, but we made changes that were really effective. We also had situations we need to improve, and now we have another day to think, study, and try to correct those mistakes for the next match.”

Juan Carlos Núñez, coach of Puerto Rico: “We prepared to come here and play, and we did. We were able to close out the first set, but we couldn’t do the same in the others. Now we have to prepare for tomorrow’s quarterfinals.”