Mexico is a Semifinalist in Santiago 2023 after defeating Puerto Rico
SANTIAGO, Chile, October 24, 2023. - Mexico became a semifinalist in the
Women’s Volleyball Tournament of the nineteenth Pan American Games
Santiago 2023 by defeating Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-14) in the
quarterfinals on Tuesday at the Parque O'Higgins Arena.
Mexico hasn’t won a medal in the Pan American Games since 1975 when they
took bronze. In the semifinals, Mexico will face either Brazil or the
Dominican Republic, pending the outcome of the match between Argentina
and Chile.
Mexico’s 57-23 huge advantage in attacking points was crucial in
advancing to the tournament’s finals. Mexico also led in blocks 9-4, and
both teams scored 4 points from serves. Puerto Rico gave away fewer
points from unforced errors (10-12).
With 22 points, outside hitter Grecia Castro once again led Mexico’s
offense. Opposite hitter Karen Rivera and outside hitter Aimé Topete
contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Puerto Rico's leading scorer was outside hitter Ivania Ortiz with 14
points.
Mexico’s coach, Nicola Negro, expressed, “First of all, I congratulate
my girls. This is a very important result for us because we’ve only been
together for 5 months. It’s been a challenging journey because we were
missing some of our team members. We had several weeks in competition
with only 8 or 9 players, so it wasn’t easy to develop our work. We
arrived here in good shape, with enthusiasm, and I believe we’ve played
well. Now we’re in a semifinal, and it’s time to dream of winning a
medal”.
Juan Carlos Morales, Puerto Rico’s coach, said, “Our service was too
comfortable, and our offense wasn’t our strong skill, and they (Mexico)
blocked well. The counterattack worked well. We also lacked energy.
Mexico has been together for several months, they are well-coordinated,
and we have a relatively new team with young players, and we’re still
working.
This is for the future”. |