First victory for Peru in Pool A

MEXICO CITY, Mexico, June 13, 2014 – Peru outplayed Trinidad & Tobago 26-24, 25-21, 26-24 to claim its first victory in the XIII Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup at Juan de la Barrera Gymnasium on Friday.

The Peruvians were able to execute the key plays in the crucial turning-points late in the sets, a different story in the case of the less experienced Trinidadians. The winners have now a 1-2 record while the losers remained winless in three dates.

The Trinidadians outscored the Peruvians in blocks (12-5) and service winners (6-3) but gave away 34 points with errors to 22 by the winners.

Peru’s Maguilaura Frias and Karla Ortiz finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively, the same figures achieved by Trinidad & Tobago’s Krystle Esdelle and Channon Thompson.

“We were able to communicate better today and play as a team, something that didn’t show in the first two matches,” Peru’s Captain Karla Ortiz said. “We play as a unit today.”

“We played against a big team today and our control of the fundamental skills helped us,” Peru’s Coach Natalia Malaga said. “Our defense was a key factor.  I am not satisfied but we got the result and they need to keep working and learning. Trinidad & Tobago is a promising team but they made too many errors.”

“Peru played awesome in defense and passing,” the Trinidadian Esdelle commented. “They showed how commitment and focus will help a team. We have a lot to do in dealing with those key situations.”

“As my captain said, we have a lot of work to do,” Trinidad & Tobago’s coach Francisco Cruz said. “We play better against bigger teams but the fast pace used by the smaller teams give us a lot of problems.”