Dominican Republic undefeated at Lima 2019 Pan Am Games

LIMA, Peru, August 7, 2019.- Dominican Republic undefeated in pool A after winning 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) to Canada on day two of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games being held at the Multisport Complex El Callao.

Dominican Republic’s performance in not at their best rhythm as they struggled in sets two and three to keep their distance in scores. Dominicans move into the last day of the preliminary round with a solid 2-0 undefeated record and a high possibility to qualify to semifinals.

Dominican Republic held 39-32 advantage in kills and 5-3 in service points, scoring on 26 errors of Canada against 20. Canada held a slim 6-5 margin in blocks.

Middle blocker Jineiry Matinez was Dominican Republic best hitter with 13 points on 10 kills, one block and 2 aces, followed by opposite player Gaila Gonzalez with 12 points and outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz who tallied 11 points. On Canada’s side, captain Brianna Beamish led with 8 points.

Dominican Republic (2-0) resumes pool-play on Friday playing against host Peru (1-0) and Canada (0-2) faces Colombia (0-1).

Comments:

Gaila González, opposite player of Dominican Republic: “It was a good victory for the group, we are looking to advance to the semifinals and we are adapting to the cold”.

Marcos Kwiek, Head coach of Dominican Republic: “We improved from yesterday, our serves were more aggressive, and our blocking worked better. We are improving day by day, getting used to the temperature”.

Sarah Chase, outside hitter of Canada: “I think we battled really hard as a team. We lost against a really large opponent, they are a great team, and they got tough blocks and transitions as well. We just couldn’t close it and I am really proud the way that we played”.

Shannon Winzer, Head coach of Canada: “Dominicans are a good team and we knew we wouldn’t stand well if we didn’t take some risks that paid off in the second and third sets and we were able to play with them. For us it was a good game. They are a lot bigger than us, more experienced than us but we executed a good game plan and I’m happy with that but I think we can still do better”.