Dominicans defeat Puerto Rico in classic battle

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 3 2011 - Dominican Republic outdueled Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) in a classical Caribbean volleyball battle at the U-18 Girls’ Pan American Cup.

The first set was very explosive for both teams while the match lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Brayelin Martinez finished with 12 points for the Dominicans, and Stephanie Massanet tallied 13 for the Puerto Ricans.

“We knew that we had to play a very tough match, because Puerto Rico’s minor teams always dominate the fundamentals,” stated Dominican coach Wilson Sanchez.

For Puerto Rico the key was on the first set, but the team showed excess of confidence, according to Coach Eric Gonzalez. “If you don’t dominate them on the first set Dominican teams become very dangerous opponents,” he said.

“I feel very proud of my teammates. We did not have a good start but we won this match. I also want to congratulate Puerto Rico, because even though they were down in the score, they kept on playing hard,” stated Dominican captain Pamela Soriano.

For Puerto Rican Jizzyan Gesualdo, “this was a very intense match but I think we could give more than we did and the Dominicans played very well”.

Puerto Rico will face Peru on Monday, while Dominican Republic takes on El Salvador.