USA and Puerto Rico won in Day Two at the Worlds
KOBE, Japan, November 1, 2006.- USA overcame a 0-2 deficit to
defeat The Netherlands in five sets and Puerto Rico beat Cameroon
3-0 as the two winning teams from NORCECA in the second day of
action of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championship.
Meanwhile, Cuba lost to Serbia & Montenegro, Dominican Republic
was defeated by China, Mexico lost to Germany and Costa Rica was
downed by Japan.
Nancy Metcalf and Tayyiba Haneef each scored 21 points for the
Americans who one day earlier also needed five sets to prevail
against Kazakhstan in Pool C. Heather Bown and Danielle Scott had
19 and 17 respectively for the 19-25, 22-25, 29-27, 25-20, 15-7
USA victory.
“Another tough math, but at the end the adjustments worked out,”
said Lang Ping, the American coach. “I think we were pressed a
little after being ahead in the first two sets. Now we have to
evaluate the failures and work in our need for the next three
matches.”
Puerto Rico used its blocking to defeat Cameroon 25-17, 25-23,
25-20 to even its record at 1-1 also in Pool C. Karina Ocasio led
the victory with 14 points, Aury Cruz had 12 and Sheila Ocasio 9.
“I'm very happy to have won today. Yesterday, I saw Cameroon for
the first time and I noticed they are a very athletic team.
Tomorrow is a rest day and we will work on teamwork. I felt our
counterattacks were weak today and I want to work on the flow of
the ball to our advantage,” said Juan Carlos Nunez, the Puerto
Rican coach.
Cuba lost to Serbia & Montenegro 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 in
Pool D. Rosir Calderon had 19 points and Yumilka Ruiz added 17
while Nancy Carrillo and Daimi Ramirez each scored 15 tallies.
"Serbia
and Montenegro are an excellent team. They were good at
controlling their emotions and feelings on the court, and kept
their feet on the ground until the end. I think that was the key
to their victory,” said Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach.
Dominican Republic fell to China in Pool B by score of 25-19,
25-17, 25-23 with Nurys Arias and Cosiris Rodriguez scoring 12 and
10 points respectively.
“We thought before the match that it would be very difficult for
us but we also felt that we could play better than we did against
Germany. China is very good at quick attacks and our blocking was
not really our strong point in this match,” said Miguel Beato
Cruz, the Dominican coach.
Mexico was beaten by Germany in straight sets by 25-18, 25-21,
25-19 also in Pool B. Bibi Candelas and Migdalel Ruiz had 12 and
11 points respectively for the Mexicans.
"This tournament is very difficult for us and we only hope to
learn as we play against top international teams. We have lost two
matches and it will be hard to qualify for the second round.
Hopefully we can win at least one match,” said Orlando Samuels,
the Mexican coach.
In Pool A, Costa Rica was crushed by Japan in straight sets 25-9,
25-11, 25-14 and Verania Willis topped the losers with 13 points.
