Mexico digs deep to beat the Dominican Republic

GATINEAU, Canada, June 17, 2011  – Setter Pedro Rangel not only sparkled with his powerful serve and precise passing but led Mexico with 11 points in a 25-21, 25-22, 25-23 win over the Dominican Republic in a consolation semifinal match at the Pan American Cup volleyball tournament.

With the win Mexico advances to the fifth place match against Venezuela.  The Dominicans will battle for seventh spot against Argentina.

Mexico’s Jorge Quinones and Tomas Aguilera added nine points each. Pedro Luis Garcia was the game’s top scorer in a losing cause with 18.  Elnis Palomino added 14 and Eduardo Concepcion 13 for the Dominican.

‘’It wasn’t an easy game,’’ said Mexico’s head coach Jorge Azair.  ‘’We’re both young restructuring teams.  On our side we paid the price for preparing well enough physically for this tournament.’’

“The Dominican Republic are always a tough team to play against,’’ added Mexico’s captain Quinones. 

‘’We hoped we would be fighting for fifth place,’’ said Dominican Republic’s coach Jacinto Campechano.  ‘’This is a young group.  Our goal is to win our next match against Argentina.’

‘’It’s been a great experience so far,’’ added Concepcion.  ‘’We fought as best we could with a very new team.’’