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GUADALAJARA, Mexico, August 28, 2021.- Defending
champion Dominican Republic beat Mexico 3-1
(28-30, 25-19, 25-13, 31-29) advancing to
semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA Continental
Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Dominicans earned a direct spot into the
semifinals of the event that gives two vacancies
to the 2022 FIVB World Championship, after
winning pool B with a perfect 3-0 win-loss
record. Mexico will play (2-1) the quarterfinal
round against Puerto Rico (1-1) that finished
third in pool A.
Mexico started aggressively while Dominicans
never lost confidence to recover from a
six-point deficit (15-21) in the first, but came
off short, losing three set points. Dominican
Republic came back with strength forcing a four
set finish on five match points as Mexico
attackers pressured stronger for an intense
finish.
Dominican Republic led their offense by a 61-49
advantage and a slim 3-2 margin in serves, both
teams scored 9 points in the blocking category;
Dominicans committed 31 unforced errors and
Mexico a total of 36.
Dominican opposite hitter Gaila González led all
scorers with 23 points on 18 kills, 2 blocks and
3 serves. Other three Dominicans also scored
double-figures, outside hitter Bethania De La
Cruz with 17 points, joined by middle blocker
Jineiry Martínez and outside hitter Yonkaira
Peña who registered 14 points apiece.
Opposite hitter Andrea Rangel topped Mexico with
20 points; outside hitter Samantha Bricio scored
18 points and middle blocker Jocelyn Urías
collected 13 points.
Prisilla Rivera, Captain
of Dominican Republic: “We push ourselves, it
doesn’t matter who is our opponent. Today showed
how much they have improved, they didn’t give
away anything, it was an intense match, a high
level of play and it was a good learning
experience for both teams. Now
we must think of our next match”.
Marcos Kwiek, Coach of Dominican Republic: “It
was good for us such a demanding match, we
needed it for our next matches after playing
with less difficulty. The rhythm of the
tournament is bigger and now we focus on what
lies ahead”.
Jocelyn Urías, Captain of Mexico: “We really
want to win and that is we played our hearts
out, we showed we’re here to win. Dominican
Republic knew how to press in key moments and it
was their turn to win”.
Rafael Petry, Coach of Mexico: “The small
details made a difference; our recovery in the
fourth set was excellent but nevertheless Mexico
had a good performance. I value my player’s
performance and we will look to reach our goal
to qualify for Worlds”.
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