Dominican Republic stops Puerto Rico to top Pool C

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 26, 2014- Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico in straight sets 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 on Thursday to top Pool C at the Girls’ U-18 NORCECA Continental Championship at Gimnasio Nacional of San Jose, Costa Rica.

It was another strong performance by the Dominican Republic squad neutralizing Puerto Rico’s attacks. Both teams displayed talented young players who battled strongly all the way, with Dominicans winning Pool C and a bye to semifinals.

The Dominicans were better in attacks by 36-26 while Puerto Rico topped the blocking category by only one point (9-8). Dominican Republic took advantage of Puerto Rico’s 28 errors, with 21 on their side

Natalia Martinez with 13 points, all kills, was Dominican Republic’s best scorer, followed by Massiel Matos with 11 points. Vielka Peralta and Rosario Martinez each added 9 points. Puerto Rico’s top scorers were Paola Salas and Alejandra Negron with 10 points apiece.

Dominican captain Yokaty Perez said: “It was a well disputed match; we tried to play our best with the minimum of errors. We played nervous because it was an important match”.

Puerto Rico’s captain Alejandra Negron said her team was also nervous. “Playing for first place made us anxious, we weren’t able to close our defensive line; we were not reading well neither our own plays nor that of the Dominicans”.

“There’s too much in stake in the tournament and the team is nervous, when we called for time outs our indications were to keep calm and play more concentrated. We must practice harder to qualify for the World Championship” said Brazilian coach Alexandre Ceccato for Dominican Republic.

“The Dominicans have a lot of power in their attack and we had many defensive errors; we weren’t able to score in crucial moments and we must read our opponents better if we want to advance in tournament,” said Puerto Rican coach Javier Cruz.