Mexico score second victory at Pan American U-18 Cup

HAVANA, Cuba, March 29, 2017 – Mexico obtained its second triumph in Pool C by defeating Uruguay 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-20) at the IV Pan American U-18 Girls’ Cup taking place at the Coliseum of the Sports City.

Amaya Guereca, a wing spiker, was the only scorer with double digits (10) while Mireles Valdés and Grecia Esther Valdez added 9 points apiece. On the opposing team, Melissa Paez scored 9 times.

Ricardo Naranjo, Mexican coach: “We were much centered on attacking with our service which was a key factor for the first two sets and at the third one we allowed all the players to play. We should take advantages of these opportunities as we have not trained enough to prepare these players for the future.”

 Luis Baladón, Uruguayan coach: “I have not seen my team yet. I thought they were taking advantages of this rival, but they only reacted at the third set. We had a very bad pass and the service was not hard. We have lost the option to go to the World Championship.”

Mireles Valdés, Mexican captain: “This match demanded us much more than the one we played against Guatemala yesterday. However we knew how to solve our problems and we also prepared ourselves for a better teamwork tomorrow against the Dominicans.”

 Natalia Rodríguez, Uruguayan captain: “We were aimed at winning today to move forward, but things did not work it out as trained; and we could not really block the rivals.”

Thursday will be Mexicans’ next match against Dominican Republic who are already qualified for the World Championship to be held in Argentina as NORCECA title winner at this age category.