Dominican Republic beat Cuba with a solid 3-0

LIMA, Peru, August 4, 2017 – The Dominican Republic captured five points in the overall standings of the U18 Final Four Herbalife Cup after a decisive 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-16) over Cuba at Manuel Bonilla Coliseum in Miraflores.

Madeline Guillen had 15 points in the victory, backed in the offense by Natalia Martinez and Yanlis Felix each with 12 points. For Cuba Ailama Cese registered 9 points.

Alexandre Ceccato, coach of Dominican Republic: I am surprised with the outcome, because after playing five sets in the morning, I thought it would be tougher but everything went good for us.

Natalia Martinez, captain of Dominican Republic: Tonight we played focused until the last point. We were able to take advantage and keep the momentum when we were ahead in the score. We took advantage of Cuba’s weakness with the reception and kept the consistency with the serve to get the win.

Martin Fernandez, coach of Cuba: In this match we didn’t start with the regular lineup because the morning session was exhausting. The girls did not comply the tactical instructions and even though the attack worked well down the middle, the reception failed. I achieved the goal of using my 12 players in the opening day.

Elizabeth Vicet, captain of Cuba: We lacked the concentration and did not follow the tactical instructions to locate our serves. I think that the fatigue of playing five sets in the morning had its effects, but also our blocking failed and they took advantage of it pressing with their attack.