Americans finished second in Pool B

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 3, 2006.- USA finished in second place of Pool B with a 4-1 mark and will meet in quarterfinals with the loser of the match between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico later today. The Americans defeated Venezuela 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-14). Venezuela had two well fought sets but could not keep the consistency while the Americans found out their rhythm with young setter Samantha Tortorello. Katherine Wilkins led USA with 14 points and Heather Bown and Nancy Metcalf each had 11. Jayce Andrade led Venezuela with 15 points. American coach Lang Ping said she has no preference to meet either Dominicans or Puerto Ricans. “They are both strong teams and with the rally point system you never know. I am only worrying about the preparation of my team and we have one free day tomorrow to do it.”