Dominican Republic wins third consecutive gold

MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, July 23, 2010 – Dominican Republic out-dueled Puerto Rico in a five-set clash (25-19, 19-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-4) to claim a third consecutive women’s volleyball gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The blocking of Dominican Republic was a key for the victory with an 18-9 margin led by Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera who recorded 6 and 5 respectively.

Rivera charted 21 points while Vargas and Gina Mambru each notched 15 points with Mambru recording 5 serving aces. Milagros Cabral contributed 11 points. Puerto Ricans Aury Vruz and Sarai Alvarez registered 20 and 17 points respectively.

“I am so happy with this victory and we achieved our objective of winning a third consecutive gold medal,” Milagros Cabral said. “I think it is about time to open the gate to another Dominican generation of players who are showing their talent.”

“It was a great final match and I want to give credit to the coaching staff and specially to a player like Gina Mambru who replaced our star player Bethania de la Cruz and did a great job,” Coach Marcos Kwiek said.

Puerto Rican coach Yarelys Rodriguez said: “Congratulations to Dominican Republic. It was a very close match against a team with a lot of power. Their strong serves hurt us.”