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MIAMI,
Florida, June 30, 2009.- The United States edged
Puerto Rico 25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23 in an
emotional battle of unbeaten teams on Tuesday
evening during the final day of five consecutive
pool play matches during the Eighth Women’s Pan
American Cup at the University of Miami’s
BankUnited Center.
U.S. (5-0), as the winner of Pool A, earns an
automatic berth into the semifinal round on July
3. In addition, the Americans earned a berth in
to the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix with the
victory and semifinal berth (top three NORCECA
teams in Pan American Cup earn berths). With the
loss, Puerto Rico finishes second in Pool A with
a 4-1 record and will play in the quarterfinal
round versus Pool B’s third-place team on July
2.
Kristin
Richards and Jordan Larson contributed matching
18 points for the U.S. in the victory, while
Nancy Metcalf added 17 points. Danielle
Scott-Arruda chipped in 10 points for Team USA.
Puerto Rico was led by Aurea Cruz’s match-high
21 points, while Sarai Alvarez added 15 points.
Yarimar Rosa charted 10 points off the bench.
Team USA
out-blocked Puerto Rico 13-4 and held a 5-1 ace
advantage. Both teams committed an
uncharacteristic number of errors – 28 for
Puerto Rico and 27 for USA.
“Puerto Rico
is a very good team and is well-coached,” U.S.
Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “On our side of
the net, we played within our system and that
may have been the difference as we were able to
win a few more points.”
“This was
exciting match,” Scott-Arruda said. “Puerto Rico
did a really good at challenging us, but we
played with heart and won points when needed.”
“Congratulations to USA for its well-organized
play,” Puerto Rico Head Coach Carlos Cardona
said. “The game was very emotional and
exciting.”
“We made a
lot of mistakes,” Puerto Rico captain Vilmarie
Mojica said. “At the beginning we were a little
cold. At the end, we were able to get our
offense going.”
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