Melissa Vargas carries Cuba to win Pool A over Dominican Republic

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, July 10, 2014. -  Opposite player Melissa Vargas with impressive 31 points, carried Cuba to defeat Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 17-25, 25-20) and win Pool A at the Women’s NORCECA Continental Championship on Thursday at Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium.

The 92-77 victory of Cuba earned them a direct spot into the next round. It was an intense match, with a tactical display from the winners. Cuba showed power from the start while Dominican Republic reacted well only winning the third set and getting very close in the fourth.

Cuba’s offensive line was superior with a 54-34 margin, while the blocking and service categories finished tied by 11 and 8 points respectively. Dominican Republic wasn’t able to take more advantage of Cuban’s 24 unforced errors, while committing 19 of their own.

Melissa Vargas powered up against Dominican Republic with 31 points, a tournament-high, including 26 kills and 4 aces. Outside hitters Diaris Perez and Claudia Hernandez contributed with 13 and 12 points respectively. Opposite Gaila Gonzalez led Dominican Republic with 19 points, followed by outside hitters Natalia Martinez with 13 points and Brayelin Martinez with 12 points. 

“It was a very hard match, Dominican Republic is a formidable team and I believe they are better than us. We are all thrilled for the win and reaching the semifinals” said Cuban captain Carmela Massip.

Dominican captain Brayelin Martinez was disappointed with the result and expressed “I sincerely congratulate Cuba. It was a bad day for us and our efforts in the third and fourth sets weren’t enough to finish victorious, but the tournament isn’t over yet”.

“Dominican Republic has the best players in the world in this age-group and they were hard to beat; they are our thermometer to measure our own performance, I have a nice headache because of the intensity and significant win.  Our reception had difficulties in the third set, complicating our setter and not attacking as consistent as in the beginning” said Cuban coach Tomas Fernandez.

“Melissa Vargas is one of the best players in the world, I congratulate her and the Cuban team for the victory, I can say they are the favorites to win the championship” said Brazilian coach Wagner Pacheco. “Our team was too respectful of Cuba, which they took in their own advantage. We had the chance to turn the score around but today it wasn’t possible. I trust my players and we must continue forward thru a longer road.”