Dominican Republic outduel Puerto Rico in five-setter  

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 18, 2011 – Dominican Republic clinched the final berth in the semifinal round of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games after defeating a resilient Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 26-28, 22-25, 15-8) on Tuesday night.

The winners scored 24 blocks including 7 by Lisvel Eve and four each by Bethania De la Cruz and Milagros Cabral.

De la Cruz was the top Dominican scorer with 20 points followed by Eve, Sidarka Nuñez and Cabral with 13, 11 and 10 respectively. Stephanie Enright and Aury Cruz finished with 18 and 17 for Puerto Rico while Sarai Alvarez tallied 15 points.

Marcos Kwiek (Coach of Dominican Republic): “We are very happy because of the berth to the semifinal, but there are still a lot of things to do. It took a lot to solve and adjust our reception, but the key was when we could get back on the match. Puerto Rico had two good sets, but on the fifth we kept on blocking and that was very important.”

David Aleman (Head coach of Puerto Rico): “In that first set we were dominating, and they advanced. I think that was the difference, but the double change in the blocking game really affected us. I think there were some positive things. Our team has been working for five months and is improving.”

Milagros Cabral (Captain of Dominican Republic): “It was a very tough and tight match for the fans. Mi team knew how to recover in the best moment. We are decided to go out and win against the best team in this tournament. This was a tremendous match, and tomorrow we will give the 200 percent of us.”

Vilmarie Mojica (Captain of Puerto Rico): “This was a very intense match. Dominican Republic knew how to block us very well. That was the advantage they had over us. I am angry because we know we could make it, and every time we face Dominican Republic, we play matches like this.”