Peru advances to semifinal match against Argentina at U-18 Cup

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 6 2011 - Peru cruised to a victory over South American neighbor Chile 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-11) to qualify to the semifinals against Argentina in the Girls’ U18 Pan American Cup.

Peruvian Angela Leyva scored 15 points, and Rosa Valiente added 9, while Reyna Orellano scored 8 points. For Chile, Catalina Pulgar ended with four.

“We tried to do our best, but I think we should put our head more in the game”, said Sofia Romaguera about Chile’s performance, while her coach Italo Raggio, stated: “It was an interesting match but not good for us today, so we are going to focus on the fifth place classification”.

Anyway, Milagros Rodriguez, the Peruvian captain recognized the quality of her rivals.

“We’ve noticed that Chile has been growing up, and that made us play a good match,” she said.

This also was a opportunity for the youngest players in the Peruvian roster, according to coach Manuel Artieda.

“On the last set we used five of them, we gave them the chance because in volleyball you have to work for the future,” concluded Artieda.