Dominican triumph over Barbados opens Norceca U-21

HAVANA, Cuba, August 27, 2018 - Dominican Republic opened the Norceca U-21 Volleyball Tournament with triumph over Barbados 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum, where a ticket for the FIVB World Championship of the category will be played until next Saturday.

It was predicted greater dominance by the winners, but they only took a slight advantage in blocking (8-7), a little more in the service (7-2) and in the attack they were behind by a bit (31-32), however the Dominicans imposed their defense and knew how to close each partial.

Captain Bayron Valdéz was the top scorer of the match with 20 points, while the Barbadians added double digits Akeel Oxley (15) and Akeil Williams (11).

Bayron, corner player, said "I saw my team well, but I know we can put more in. It was the first game, there are players who are new, debuted here and looked good, but they lack a little more confidence , that will come with time, the rival was not be very strong, but they played excellent, sometimes they hit us a lot, they made us stronger".

The Dominican Republic's technical director, José Dante Mañón, said "I am satisfied because we won, but not in terms of technical matters, since the reception was falling for a moment, the boys were shy on the court, we did not develop the game that we are used to doing, however I trust in an improvement and tomorrow a better match ".

John Stuart, the coach of Barbados, said that "the Dominican team was more consistent and did more to win, we insisted, but it was not possible to get to their level."

The wing spiker Akeel Oxley, top scorer of the losers, acknowledged that "our opponents played much better and we made too many mistakes, we must do a more quality job in the defense, something that the Dominicans do very well".