ESPINHO, Portugal, May 30, 2008 - The Organizers Portugal and the big favorites Poland were the heroes of the first day of the 2008 Men’s World Qualification tournament after both teams set their first victory over Indonesia and Puerto Rico respectively her at Nave Municipal de Espinho in Portugal on Friday. Poland led the tournament with the point ratio ahead of Portugal with an exciting final expected between both teams on Sunday.

Poland returned back to their usual track after the simultaneous failure in the European championship qualifier and drowned Puerto Rico in straight sets 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 in 73 minutes of thriller action specially in the first set that was the most competitive. More 

MEXICALI, Baja California, May 29, 2008.- Twelve women’s teams from NORCECA and South America start on Friday 30 the Seventh Pan American Cup, a qualifier to the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix.

USA, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and host Mexico will be competing in Pool A in Mexicali, while Cuba, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Venezuela and Puerto Rico will play in Pool B in Tijuana.

The matches of the Pan American Cup will be available on TV via internet through Media Sports TV. (For more information you can contact www.mediasports.tv). More Spanish

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, May 27, 2008.- The future of U.S. Women's National Volleyball will be showcased during the Pan American Cup, the 2008 season-opening event for Team USA, held May 30-June 7 at Mexicali and Tijuana, Mexico.

While the future will be displayed, some of the American players will also be evaluated for one of 12 roster spots at the 2008 Olympic Games. The future may be now for some of these athletes.

"We will use the Pan American Cup Tournament for evaluation," U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach 'Jenny' Lang Ping said.  More Spanish

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad.- University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) maintained their stranglehold over IGECON Glamorgan as the curtain fell on the inaugural International Women's Volleyball League Saturday night at Jean Pierre Complex, Port of Spain.

After they appeared to be in shambles midway through the one-week tournament with two losses from three matches, UTT won their last three matches in style to walk away with the US$4,000 first prize. Coincidentally, their transformation began and ended with four-set victories over Glamorgan. More

TOKYO, Japan, May 26, 2008.- Puerto Ricans Karina Ocasio and Aury Cruz and Dominican Annerys Vargas finished as leaders in scoring, serve and blocking respectively during the Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament that concluded here on Sunday.

Ocasio tied with Yelena Pavlova of Kazakhstan with 128 points during the seven games played by each team. Puerto Rican Aury Cruz and Dominican Bethania de la Cruz followed with 122 and 121 points.

Cruz led the serve category with 10 aces for an average of 0.40 per set. More Spanish

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, May 25, 2008.- Veterans Raul Papaleo and Ramon Hernandez were crowned on Sunday as kings of the Coors Light Carolina Beach Volleyball Tournament dominated by Puerto Ricans in the men’s division.

Papaleo-Hernandez of Puerto Rico 3 defeated Abdel Otero-Juan Carlos Rivera of Puerto Rico 2 by score of 21-17, 28-26 in the match for the gold medal. Orlando Irrizarry and Roberto Rodriguez of Puerto Rico 1 obtained the bronze medal with a 21-14, 24-22 victory over Jorge Gonzalez and Javier Mendez of Puerto Rico 4.

In the semi final round, Papaleo-Hernandez scored a 21-13, 21-13 triumph over Irrizarry-Rodriguez, and Otero-Rivera beat Gonzalez-Mendez 23-21, 21-12. More Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 25, 2008.- The Dominican Republic stormed back to beat Korea 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15) and picked their fourth win at the tournament against three defeats, but were not enough for them to enter the top three. Korea, who was beaten by another Asian rival Kazakhstan in straight sets, finished their tourney in the tournament with only two wins against five defeats.

Bethania de la Cruz was the best scorer for Dominican Republic with 27 points. Sidarka Nunez cooperated with 17 and Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera each had 11.  More  Spanish

DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 25, 2008 – In front of 5,000 enthusiastic spectators at the ISS Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany beat Spain to earn its Olympic berth by finishing the tournament unbeaten.

Germany’s dream came true in another five set thriller beating the team from Spain 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10). Germany will go to the Olympics after 36 years (East German was second and West German eleventh in 1972).

Now three vacancies for the Men’s teams are still available. One will be assigned in Espinho, Portugal (Indonesia, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, May 30 – June 1).. More  Spanish

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, May 24, 2008.- Puerto Rico sent two pairs into the men’s semi finals of the Coors Light Carolina Beach Volleyball.

The couple of Abdel Otero and Juan Carlos Rivera representing Puerto Rico 2 edged fellow countrymen Orlando Irrizarry and Roberto Rodriguez of Puerto Rico 1 in a sensational match that finished 22-20, 22-24, 26-24. In the other quarterfinal match on Saturday the veteran pair of Ramon Hernandez and Raul Papaleo defeated the USA tandem of Ivan Mercer and Stephen Vanzwieten by score of 22-20, 23-21.

In the quarterfinals scheduled on Sunday morning Irrizarry-Rodriguez will meet Jamaicans Danny Wilson and Mark Lewis... More  Spanish

DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 24, 2008.- Nothing is decided yet after Germany beats Cuba 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18, 15-13).  The top match of the day between Cuba and Germany – and also one of the most important matches of the tournament – was a real thriller. 

After losing the first two sets, host Germany came back with a great performance and, supported by more than 4,100 fans, forced Cuba to play five sets. In the tie-break the host was the team with the better nerves and may now continue to dream of an Olympic participation.  More

TOKYO, Japan, May 24, 2008 – The sixth day competition started with Dominican Republic playing against Puerto Rico. The 14^th ranked Dominican Republic had little trouble in beating Norceca rivals, who were already eliminated from the Olympic path before the match, in straight sets 25-23, 25-14, 25-18. With nine points from three wins and three defeats, the Dominicans would have their chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games, but their hope was completely dashed by Poland’s win. 

Poland booked the third of the four tickets available to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after absence from the Olympic for 40 years. Kazakhstan clinched their first win on Saturday,  More

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad.- IGECON Glamorgan and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) set up the International Women's Volleyball League final that everyone had predicted from the start but few believed would actually materialise just two nights before.

The top clubs in the country convincingly won straight-set semi finals in the inaugural tournament on Friday night at Jean Pierre Complex, and played for the title and US$4,000 after press time last night.

But when UTT suffered their second defeat -- from three round-robin matches -- on Wednesday night, the dream final did not seem possible. More

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, May 23, 2008.- Teams from Puerto Rico, USA and Mexico enjoyed a good first day at the Coors Light Carolina Beach Volleyball Tournament presented by Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the sixth stop of the 2008 NORCECA Circuit.

In the Men’s division, Puerto Ricans Orlando Irrizarry-Roberto Rodriguez finished with 2-0 mark in Pool A, while veteran countrymen Ramon Hernandez-Raul Papaleo dominated Pool C with 3-0 record. Americans Ivan Mercer-Stephen VanZwieten were unbeaten in three outings in Pool B. More  Spanish

DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 23, 2008.- Cuba caused the first big surprise of the tournament by defeating the European Champion from Spain with 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17) in the top match of the day. Middle blocker and captain Simon and setter Jurquin played an outstanding match.

The Spanish team performed well, however had to struggle with the hard attacks of the Cuban spikers and didn’t score the big points. Now the Cuban team has any chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Tomorrow’s match Cuba against Germany might already be the trend-setting match of the tournament. More

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, May 23, 2008.- Players representing nine countries were to start on Friday morning the sixth stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit 2008 in Carolina.

The General Technical Meeting of the Coors Light Carolina Beach Volleyball Tournament Presented by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, was held on Thursday at the Holiday Inn Hotel in San Juan.

Players were divided in three pools per gender with the top two of each pool advancing to the Saturday’s main bracket after the development of pool play on Friday. More  Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 23, 2008.- Dominican Republic recorded their second victory of the competition, sweeping Kazakhstan 3-0 in the first match of the fifth day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Friday.

In a surprisingly one-sided contest, the Dominicans romped to a 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 success to improve their win-loss record to 2-3.  Kazakhstan dropped to 0-5 with two games remaining.

Bethania de la Cruz topped Dominican Republic with 15 points, Cindy Rondon added 13, including five blocks, and Sidarka Nunez had 12.

Head Coach Beato Miguel Cruz: “This win was very meaningful and important because we can still keep our hopes alive of qualifying for the Olympics. We played at a high level, and could execute our tactics against Kazakhstan's attacks. We did not have much time to practise for this tournament as a team because three of our players play in the Japanese league, but we feel we are getting better day by day. From now on we will try to reach our best.” More  Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 21, 2008.- Puerto Rico collected their first win of the week, beating Kazakhstan 3-2 in the second match of the fourth day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The NORCECA team edged the Asian representatives 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 on their first match point to improve their win-loss record to 1-3. Kazakhstan dropped to 0-4 with three matches to play.

Karina Ocasio and Aury Cruz carried the load of the Puerto Ricans offence with 31 and 29 points respectively.

Puerto Rican Coach Juan Carlos Nunez: “Today we knew we had to win the game, so we analysed the data from our game in 2006 and prepared for today. All the Asian teams are very strong and are a threat to us, so we worked on the offence.”

In another match on Wednesday, Japan kept its unbeaten record at 4-0 with a 3-1 victory over Dominican Republic (1-3). More  Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 20, 2008.- Poland fought back from one set down to beat Dominican Republic 3-1 in the third match of the third day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Tuesday.

After losing the first set 25-23, Poland swept the next three 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 to improve their win-loss record to 2-1. The Dominicans dropped to 1-2 after three of the seven games in this eight-team tournament.

Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale led Poland with 20 points. Annerys Vargas was the best Dominican with 13 points and Bethania de la Cruz, Cindy Rondon and Sidarka Nunez each had 12. More  Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 18, 2008.- Serbia recovered from one set down to beat Dominican Republic 3-1 in the first match of the second day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday.

After losing the first set 25-23, the world No. 7 took the next three 27-25, 25-21, 25-20 to improve their win-loss record to 2-0. Jelena Nikolic and Jovana Brakocevic led Serbia with 18 points apiece. Bethania de la Cruz topped Dominican Republic with 18 tallies and Sidaka Nunez added 15. Cindy Rondon had 13 points, More  

TOKYO, May 17, 2008.- Dominican Republic swept Thailand 3-0 in the opening match of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday.  The world No. 14 beat the 18th-ranked Asians 26-24, 25-22, 26-24 but had to save set points in the first and third sets.

Meanwhile, Korea held off Puerto Rico 3-1 in the second match. The 11th-ranked Asians won 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21 against No. 19 Puerto Rico, the lowest ranked of the eight teams taking part.

The Dominican Republic packed more power, in contrast to the swift-moving Thais.  More  Spanish

Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2008 - The eight Head Coaches of the National Teams competing in the Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament made no secret of their hopes for the upcoming tournament in Tokyo during the official FIVB press conference on Friday, with all of them wanting to clinch a place in the Beijing Games.

There are only four berths (best three teams plus the best Asian team, even if any of the best three teams are Asian) More  Spanish

Lausanne, May 14, 2008 – Dr. Rubén Acosta (Mexico), President of the International Volleyball Federation since the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, has expressed his intention to retire on the occasion of the next FIVB Congress on 16 & 17 June in Dubai, 2 years before the end of his current mandate.

ANAHEIM, California, May 15, 2008.- The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 3 in the world, defeated Germany 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) on Tuesday and, in doing so, won the Four Nations Tournament in Leipzig, Germany.

Although the United States and Germany, ranked 19th in the world, both finished the tournament with records of 2-1, the U.S. Men lost only four sets along the way while Germany lost five.

In Tuesday’s other match, 27th-ranked Czech Republic defeated 2008 Olympic host China, 27-25, 26-28, 25-21, 25-22. China, ranked 21st in the world, still finished third with a 1-2 record since it lost six sets while Czech Republic lost seven. More  Spanish

LAUSANNE, Switzerland.- The Volleyball Pan American Union held its Second Ordinary Congress on May 9, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The President of the UPV, Ary Graça, greeted the Presidents of the National Federation of the Americas and stressed out the importance of the UPV for the development of the sport in the region.

“The start of this new entity, allows both NORCECA and CSV to access to additional funds to be invested in the growth of volleyball, through the participation that PASO concedes to the Pan American Confederations,” said Graça.

The Congress evidenced the absolute union of both Confederations that govern Volleyball in the Americas, NORCECA and CSV, More  Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, May 14, 2008.- The Dominican Republic Women’s Team arrived in Tokyo with great desire of triumph and three of its players fresh after receiving Most Valuable Player recognition following successful seasons in different foreign leagues.

“We are coming here with our spirit in high level to battle for the chance to be in the Olympics again,” said coach Beato Miguel Cruz. “Our stellar players joined the squad and we are ready for the competition.” More  Spanish

TSUKUBA, Japan, May 14, 2008.- The Puerto Rican Women’s National Team had its last warm-match before the start on May 17 of the Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament.

During their stay in Tsukuba, the Puerto Ricans played three friendly matches against Tsukuba United Team, in order for coach Juan Carlos Nunez to evaluate the performance of several players plus analyze possible options for the tournament.

“I could watch the middle-blockers, although not totally,” commented Nunez in reference to the rest given to Jetzabel Del Valle and Sheila Ocasio who are nursering injuries of knee and shoulder respectively. More  Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 14, 2008.- The FIVB Regional Development Center in the Dominican Republic successfully finished the International VIS Course held on May 6-10 under the supervision of Argentinean Diego Soler.

Mark Joseph Daniel and Dynell Williams of U.S. Virgin Islands, and Yakaira Portes and Jhasmil Abreu of Dominican Republic, were selected as the most outstanding participants of the course.

Mr. Soler praised the excellent conditions of the Development Center as well also the level of organization of the course and the interest showed by the participants. During the event, Mr. Soler was assisted by Mrs.Yanida Pascual and Mr. Bienvenido Mateo, international instructors of the NORCECA Confederation. More  Spanish

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, May 12, 2008.- Dominican Priscilla Rivera of Grupo Murcia 2002, was elected as the Most Valuable Player during the best-of-five final series of the EVE Spaniard Super League won by her team in four matches over Icaro Palma.

Rivera, member of the Dominican Republic National Team, scored 73 points during the series and received her MVP Trophy presented by Evedasto Lifante, President of Grupo Murcia 2002.

“This is an award that I did not expected and it makes me very proud,” said Rivera. “It is a fitting end of a great year that ends with two titles, the League and the Queen’s Cup. We can’t ask for more.”

Polish Malgorzata Glinka of Grupo Murcia led all the scorers during the series with 88 points. Puerto Rican Aury Cruz and Azerbaijani Natalia Mammadova were the best scorers if Icaro Palma with 69 and 67 points respectively. More  Spanish

Lausanne, May 12, 2008 – The FIVB Board of Administration held an extraordinary meeting in Lausanne on Monday at which a historical decision was reached regarding International Transfer Certificates (ITCs) that is set to regulate Volleyball Clubs’ activities throughout the world.

“We raised the problem last November,” said FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta, “and the Board of Administration in March started to discuss the problem of local players who don’t have the possibility to play in their countries’ championship. Today the Board agreed on a historical decision for the Volleyball Family. More  

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, May 11, 2008.- Mexicans Martha Revueltas and Diana Estrada won the women’s gold medal of the Guadalajara Beach Volleyball Tournament while Cubans Yoendri Kindelán-Leonel Munder repeated their success of a week earlier in Manzanillo.

Revueltas-Estrada triumphed in the fifth leg of the NORCECA Circuit with a victory in the final match over Rosario Reyes and Hilda Gaxiola of Mexico 2 by score of 21-14, 21-16. In the semi final phase, the eventual champions won 21-16, 21-13 over Cubans Ion Canet and Nirian Sinal.  More  Spanish

Lausanne, May 9, 2008 – The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball and special guests from around the world joined together in celebrating the grandest of occasions on Friday evening in Lausanne with the Opening Ceremony of  “Château Les Tourelles,” heralding a new home and new beginning for Volleyball’s world governing body.

“The FIVB is proud to receive you with open arms and with joy we extend you a warm welcome to our new premises,” FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta said to the assembled guests. “This place must be much more than an administrative centre: it must be a place with life and it must have a soul.” More  

The Federal Councillor Mr. Samuel Schmid, the FIVB President Dr. Rubén Acosta and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, May 10, 2008.- Mexican women enjoyed a fruitful Saturday at the Guadalajara Beach Volleyball Tournament advancing two teams to the semi finals and securing another berth in the battle for the podium.

The teams of Martha Revuelta-Diana Estrada and Alejandra Acosta-Vanessa Virgen became the first and second semi finalists respectively while Mexico 2 (Rosario Reyes-Hilda Gaxiola) and Mexico 4 (Norma Escobedo-Haydee Lopez) were set to face off in a quarterfinal match on Sunday. More  Spanish

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, May 9, 2008.- Teams of Cuba, winners in both genders during last weekend in Manzanillo, started with two victories in the first day of the Guadalajara Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fifth leg of the NORCECA Circuit.

In men’s action, Yoendri Kindelan-Leonel Munder triumphed over St. Kitts & Nevis (Shawn Seabrookes-St. Clair Hodge) 21-7, 21-9 and defeated Jorge Bolanos-Erick Garrido of Guatemala by score of 21-12, 21-14.

In the women’s division, Ion Canet-Nirian Sinal beat Mexico 2 (Rosario Reyes-Hilda Gaxiola) 21-13, 21-13, and Tammy Thomas-Kristina Long of Canada, 21-14, 21-12.  More  Spanish

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, May 9, 2008.- Teams from 13 countries started today the action of the Guadalajara Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fifth stop of the 2008 NORCECA Circuit.

The countries represented in the event are: Antigua, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis and United States.

The pairs registered are the following:

Men: Joseph Olsen-Henry Matthew (ANT), Reid Hall-Josh Chisholm (CAN), Andres Lopez-Jose Suarez (CRC), Yoendri Kindelan-Leonel Munder (CUB),  More  Spanish

HAVANA, Cuba, May 8, 2008.- The Cuban Men’s National team left the island on Wednesday plethoric of optimism as they look toward the Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany on May 23-25.

“The key match for us is the first one against Spain,” said coach Orlando Samuels. “If we win the opening, it could elevate the morale of the team and it can help to play more relaxed the next matches against Germany and Chinese Taipei.”

He made it clear that in every match is important and they will be looking to score the more points possible.

“That is a key in case of a tie,” he pointed out. “That’s our strategy and we hope to get good results despite of being a very young team, without much experience.” More  Spanish

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, May 8, 2008.- The National Federation of Puerto Rico announced the twelve players selected to represent the country during the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in Espinho, Portugal on May 30-June 1.

The team is scheduled to leave the island on May 13 and will play several training matches against the national teams of France and Italy before heading to Portugal where they will meet in consecutive days against Poland, host Portugal and Indonesia. The winner of the competition gets a ticket to Beijing.

The members of the squad are: Victor Rivera, Gregory Berrios, Jose Rivera, Victor Bird, Angel Perez, Enrique Escalante, More  Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 6, 2008.- An International Course of Volleyball Information System (VIS) is being addressed by Argentinean Diego Soler.

The activity is part of the 2008 Program of the FIVB Regional Development Center in the Dominican Republic and is supported also by the NORCECA Confederation.

The course last until next Saturday 10 and the participants are from Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, British Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic. More  Spanish

MANZANILLO, Mexico, May 4, 2008.- Cuba swept the gold medals of the 2008 Maeva Manzanillo Beach Volleyball that concluded on Sunday with a brilliant ceremony.

The Cuban women’s pair of Ion Canet and Nirian Sinal, winners of the NORCECA Circuit’s first leg in Dominican Republic, repeated with a 21-19, 21-19 victory over Mexicans Martha Revueltas and Diana Estrada.

Yoendry Kindelán and Leonel Munder won the men’s division with a triumph over Puerto Ricans Orlando Irrizarry-Roberto Rodriguez by score of 21-17, 23-21.More  Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 3, 2008.- The NORCECA Confederation is pleased to announce the election of Mr. Hugh Wong, President of Volleyball Canada, as Vice President of NORCECA for the North American Region.

The decision was unanimously approved by the Executive Committee and Board of Administration during its annual meeting in Santo Domingo. Mr. Wong replaces Mr. Alan Ahac, who resigned the position after many years of fruitful contributions to the Confederation.

The Executive Committee and Board of Administration also decided: More  Spanish

Dominant!

That’s the word to better describe the performance of the imported Dominican Milagros Cabral during the final series of the Puerto Rican Superior League, which concluded last Thursday with a sweep by her Pinkin of Corozal, new champions of the tournament. But Cabral not only took the award as Most Valuable Player of the final series, but yesterday also it was announced she won the same recognition for the regular series of LVSF.

For Cabral, to get both awards come as a vindication, because in 2006, when she played for the Ponce Lionesses,  More  Spanish

MANZANILLO, Mexico, May 3, 2008.- Cuba qualified to the semi final round in both genders at the 2008 Maeva Manzanillo Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fourth leg of the NORCECA Circuit.

Cuba’s men couple of Yoendri Kindelan-Leonel Munder will meet the winner of the quarter finals match between Andres Lopez-Jose Suarez of Costa Rica and Thomas Hernandez-Cesar Perez of Mexico.

The other men’s semi final features Puerto Ricans Orlando Irrizarry-Roberto Rodriguez against the winner of the contest between Jorge Bolanos-Erick Garrido of Guatemala and Reid Hall-Josh Chisholm of Canada.

Cuba’s women pair of Ion Canet-Nirian Sinal is going to face the winner of the match of Paola Ramirez-Natalia Alfaro of Costa Rica and Rosario Reyes-Aidee Lopez of Mexico 2.More  Spanish

MANZANILLO, Mexico, May 2, 2008.- Three matches –all in the men’s division- went to the limit during the first day of action in the 2008 Maeva Manzanillo Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fourth stop of the NORCECA Circuit.

The American Team of Harold Johnson and Thomas Witt lost two of the longest matches of Friday.

The USA duo first lost to the Mexican pair of Cesar Perez and Thomas Hernandez by score of 21-16, 18-21, 15-11, and later were victims of Costa Ricans Andres Lopez and Jose Suarez by score of 18-21, 24-22, 15-9.

A tremendous battle was staged by Orlando Irrizarry-Roberto Rodriguez of Puerto Rico and Jorge Bolanos and Erick Garrido of Guatemala. The Puerto Ricans won by score of 23-25, 21-16, 19-17. More  Spanish

MANZANILLO, Mexico, May 2, 2008.- The General Technical Meeting of the 2008 Maeva Manzanillo Beach Volleyball Tournament –the fourth stop of NORCECA Circuit- was held on Thursday with 40 competitors in both genders from 11 countries in attendance.

Twenty pairs in each gender will participate in the competition during the weekend. They will be representing Antigua & Barbuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia and United States.

More Spanish

INFO..http://www.maevasports.com/

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, May 1, 2008.- NORCECA is pleased to announce that a Confederation’s record breaking of 65 teams from 33 countries have registered entries for next year’s World Championships Qualification Rounds.

“NORCECA has officially closed the registration of national teams and we are very proud to inform that a 98 percent of our members will take part in the process of qualifying their teams towards the final round in 2010 in Italy and Japan,” said Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of NORCECA.

He expressed that 33 men’s teams and 32 women’s squads are expected to participate in 17 World Championships Qualification Rounds (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd) in 2009.

“The NORCECA members have positively responded and supported the efforts of Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez to increase the number of National Teams participating in the 2010 World Championships,” he said. More Spanish