Dominicans are the champions of U18 Final Four

LIMA, Peru, August 6, 2017 -  Dominican Republic relied on their serves to subdue Argentina claiming the gold medal of the U18 Final Four Herbalife Cup with a straight-set victory 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) at Manuel Bonilla Coliseum of Miraflores in the Peruvian capital.

The Dominican got the victory led by the offense of Madeline Guillén, who had 19 points, while Natalia Martínez contributed 12 points. For Argentina, the best scorer was Melisa Corzo who finished with 9. The winners dominates in attacks (43-27), blocking (10-2) and aces (5-2).

Alexandre Ceccato, coach of Dominican Republic: It was a tough match because Argentina is a team with very strong serve and a lot of defense, they were great rivals for us in this final. The tournament has been very important to reach the level as a team. We will stay In Peru for a week to continue training because there are things that need improvement.

Natalia Martinez, captain of Dominican Republic: Thanks to God for this victory in the final. It will be of benefit for us in the face of the world championship because we know that in Argentina the groups are going to be very strong.

Etanislao Vachino, coach of Argentina: I am very happy even though we didn’t get the victory. Everything that happened since the start of the tournament has been positive. Today we lost against a great team like Dominican Republic. We need to fix some physical and technical aspects but we are on the right track.

Pilar Cina, captain of Argentina: After losing the final we have a bitter taste in our mouths because we think we could have won it. The Final Four was a great lesson because reaching the final with so many good teams, motivates us to continue battling for the objectives we want to.