Dominican Republic preserves against Mexico in First Win

LEÓN, Mexico, August 19, 2024. - Dominican Republic defeated Mexico 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-16)  in Pool A on Monday at the XXI Women’s Pan American Cup at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.

Dominican Republic (1-1) continues the pool-play against Suriname (0-2) at 2:00 pm (local time), while Mexico (1-1) faces Canada (1-1) at 8:00 pm.

The Dominicans dominated in attacks (47-43) and blocks (19-11). Mexico led in serves (7-2), committing 33 unforced errors compared to 24 by Dominican Republic.

Dominican outside hitter Madeline Guillen was the top scorer with 17 points (15 attacks, 2 blocks). Middle blocker Candida Arias and opposite hitter Gaila González also contributed to the victory with 11 points each. Arias recorded a match-high of 9 blocks.

Outside hitter Grecia Castro led Mexico with 15 points, supported by Uxue Guereca and middle blocker Jocelyn Urías with 12 points each.

After tying at 16 points in the first set, the Dominican Republic pulled ahead with attacks from Madeline Guillen and Gaila González. Mexico’s María Rodríguez neutralized with her serve, but Florangel Terrero sealed the set for the Dominican Republic through the middle. The Caribbean team doubled Mexico's score in the second set (12-6), but Mexico fought back offensively, narrowing the gap, but not enough. Mexico forced a fourth set by applying pressure with their serves, needing three set points before Urías blocked Guillen to close it out. The Dominicans dominated the fourth and final set, scoring 11 points off Mexico's errors and controlling the match with their blocking.

Madeline Guillen, top scorer for Dominican Republic: “They served very well, and we had problems with reception. We were able to come back and win the match by focusing better. Our weakness is reception, and we need to improve in that area, as well as try to be more aggressive in blocking and defense”.

Nicola Negro, Head Coach of Mexico: “It was exciting because both teams fought hard on the court. It wasn’t a good game for us because we lacked tactical discipline, had poor defense, and attacked poorly. Now we need to focus on Canada, which is a strong team”.