Dominican Republic Qualify to Paris 2024 with dramatic five-set win over the Netherlands

NINGBO, China, September 24, 2023 - The Dominican Republic clinched their direct ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday after defeating the Netherlands in a thrilling five-set match (25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-12) at the FIVB Road to Paris Qualifier in Ningbo, China.

This marks the fourth time that the Dominican Republic has participated in the Olympics, their  second consecutive one (Athens 2004, London 2012, Tokyo 2021).

The Dominican Republic started the Olympic qualifier ranked number 10 in the world, now holds position 8, surpassing Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany.

The top positions are Türkiye, Serbia, United States, Brazil, Italy, China, and Poland, in that same order.

The Caribbean Queens goal was to win two sets over the Netherlands to secure their Olympic qualification, achieving it when Brayelin Martínez managed to close the third set with a touch (25-19) in favor of the Dominicans. The Dominican Republic had won the first set.

With their sixth consecutive victory, the Dominican Republic closed the event with a 6-1 record, winning Pool A. The Dominicans triumphed over Canada, Ukraine, Mexico, Serbia, China, and the Netherlands, only falling in their opening match against the Czech Republic.

The Dominican Republic’s offensive attack was led by Brayelin Martínez with 23 points, all from attacks, followed by Yonkaira Peña with 17 (16 attacks, one block), Gaila González with 16 (15 attacks, one service ace), and Jineiry Martínez with 10 (7 attacks, 3 blocks).

The top scorers for the Netherlands were Nika Daalderop with 23 points, Celeste Plak with 18, and Jasper Marriet with 14.

Also in Pool A, Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-21), securing third place with a 5-2 record.

Canadian Kiera Van Ryk was the top scorer of the match with 17 points. Also contributing to the win were Emily Maglio with 13 points and team captain Alexa Gray added 10 points.