USA Men lost to Brazil at World Grand Champions Cup

NAGANO, Japan, November 22, 2005.- Brazil, Italy and Japan began their  Men’s World Grand Champions Cup campaigns on a winning note at Nagano Arena on Tuesday. World and Olympic champions Brazil downed Norceca champions USA 3-1, European champions and World No. 2 Italy outclassed wild card entry China 3-0, and Asian champs Japan held off African champions Egypt 3-2 in a thriller. Brazil, who won this title in 1997, lost the first set 27-25 to USA, but took the next three 25-22, 25-19, 26-24. The second game of the day passed by in a blur of Azzurri blue as Italy demolished 18th-ranked China 25-15, 25-15, 25-17 in just 58 minutes. In the evening game, 16th-ranked Japan, the recently-crowned Asian champions, beat Africa's first entry into the WGCC, Egypt, ranked 21st in the world, 15-5 in the tiebreaker after trailing 2-1 in sets. Japan won 25-16, 23-25, 14-25, 25-23, 15-5 when all looked lost at the end of the third set. Spanish

Brazil won the gold and USA took the silver

NAGOYA, Japan, November 20, 2005.- South American champions Brazil clinched their first inter-continental crown defeating Korea 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20) finishing the Women’s Grand Champions Cup with a perfect 5-0 record. USA, representing NORCECA, was the runner-up with a 4-1 record after beating Japan 28-26, 25-23, 25-16. China defeated Poland 3-1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-20) taking the third place. Third in 1997 and fourth in 2001, Brazil made no mistake this time, and went home with the first prize of US$300,000 and even more Japanese admirers, following their World Grand Prix success at Sendai in July. Sheilla Castro won the honour as the Most Valuable Player. The other players awarded were the following: Best scorer, Sheilla Castro (Brazil); best attacker, Zhou Suhong (China); best blocker, Fabiana Claudino (Brazil); best server, Welissa "Sassa" Gonzaga (Brazil); best setter, Feng Kun (China); best libero, Yuka Sakurai (Japan). The final placing was: Brazil, USA, China, Poland, Japan and Korea. Spanish

USA lost to Brazil in straight sets

NAGOYA, Japan, November 19, 2005.- In a high-profile battle of the Americas, Brazil showed who was boss by defeating USA in straight sets at the women's World Grand Champions Cup on Saturday. The two teams went into the fourth day's play at Nagoya Rainbow Hall with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record. Something had to give - and it was the South American champions who emerged victorious, beating the NORCECA champions in emphatic style, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19. Even though the Brazilians had played the late match Friday and were on first Saturday, they showed no signs of mental or physical fatigue as they blitzed the Americans with an intense, energetic display. Enjoying her best match of the tournament, Jaqueline Carvalho led the Brazilian assault with 16 points, and received solid support from Brazil's best two players here, Sheilla Castro and Welissa "Sassa" Gonzaga, who both scored 14. Korea then produced a major surprise by beating European champions Poland 3-2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-18, 15-25, 15-11) in a one-hour, 48-minute marathon. It was the first victory for Korea after three defeats and Poland slipped to 1-3. In the last match of the day, China beat Japan 3-1 in a fast-paced encounter to move to 2-2, while dropping the host to 1-3. The Olympic champions won 25-15, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19 for their second straight victory over Asian opposition. Spanish 

USA and Brazil remain unbeaten at Grand Champions Cup

NAGOYA, Japan, November 18, 2005.- United States and Brazil face a "High Noon Shootout" on Saturday after both teams improved their win-loss record to 3-0 at the World Grand Champions Cup on Friday.  The Americans downed European champions Poland 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19) to stay perfect, and Brazil followed up with a crushing 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-19, 25-15) over Japan in the evening's main course. Brazil and USA, neither of whom have won this title in the three previous editions, will meet in the fourth round of games on Saturday, starting at noon. The winner of this will then be the favourite to clinch the US$300,000 first prize on Sunday, the fifth and final day of the women's inter-continental championship. Tayyiba Haneef led the USA scoring against Poland with 21 points, including 20 searing spikes -- and promised there was more to come. "Overall we are very happy with our condition, and have a pretty healthy team," she said. "We are mentally strong and came here to fight, and will continue to have a lot of energy and spirit out on the court." In the first game of the day, China overwhelmed Asian rival Korea 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) in 64 minutes. Spanish

USA and Brazil share the lead at Women’s Grand Champions Cup

NAGOYA, Japan, November 17, 2005.- The United States are top of the standings after two rounds of games, but the furthest thing from their minds is actually winning the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup. “We came here with a goal, and that was to improve our level and play more consistently,” said the Americans’ Chinese head coach, Jenny Lang Ping, at a news conference on Thursday. We want to take this opportunity to give more experience to the team, and right now we have still not changed our goal. We have three hard matches to play and I will focus on each one and try to play as consistently as possible, and learn as much as possible from all the teams.” The six teams are now in Nagoya, preparing to resume play on Friday at the Rainbow Hall after playing the first two rounds at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.  More..Spanish

Marte to preside Control Committee of Grand Champions Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, November 10, 2005.- Dominican Cristóbal Marte will preside the Control Committee of the Grand Champions Volleyball Cup s to be held in Tokyo, Japan on November 15-27. The designation of Marte, president of Norceca, as head of the competition’s supervising body was requested by the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) and ratified by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), of which he is executive vice president. Marte was indeed this year president of the Control Committee of the U-21 Men’s World Championships held in Vizakhapatnam, India in August, and has presided over the same body in different editions of the World League. Besides, he was member of the organization during the Olympic Games at Athens, Greece. The Grand Champions Cup will be held on November 15-20 for the women and on 22-27 on the men’s side. The participating women’s teams will be China, Poland, USA and Brazil as champions for Asia, Europe, Norceca and South America respectively, besides Korea, as wild card guest, and the organizer Japan. The men’s teams will be Egypt, Italy, Brazil and USA as continental champions for Africa, Europe, South America and Norceca with China as wild card and Japan as host country. Spanish

Puerto Rico is the first option for the 2007 U-18 Girls World Championships

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, November 10, 2005- Puerto Rico is the first option to stage the 2007 U-18 Girls’ World Championships as it was notified by the International Volleyball Federation. Mr. Bob Clark, director of events for the FIVB informed the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation that they still need to complete some official documents before November 30. “We already have made contacts with the Mayaguez authorities because we want to complete all needed information as soon as possible,” said Carlos Beltran, president of the Puerto Rican Federation. Beltran stated that once the FIVB gathers all the documents at its offices in Switzerland, an inspection visit shall be programmed between January and March of next year. Only once, in 1995, Puerto Rico hosted a Volleyball World Championship and it was a U-19 Boys event The last time a country of the American Continent organized a World Volleyball Championship was in 2001 with the U-18 Girls event successfully held in Santo Domingo and Santiago, Dominican Republic. Spanish

Meier praised the conditions of Regional Development Center

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, November 7, 2005.- Swiss Max Meier, director of the Level III Coaches Course held in Santo Domingo on October 24-November 6, praised the conditions under which professors and students worked at the FIVB Regional Development Center located here. “We met the perfect conditions to work for a level III course,” said Meier before departing. “The conditions at this center, with teams always available for the different type of instructions, made things easier for everybody.” “The most important thing was the high level of competence of the people working here,” he added. Meier also had encouraging words for the students during his speech at the closing ceremony. “The results of the exams were very good and the participants worked really hard,” said Meier. “This also speaks loudly about the level reached by the coaches of the region.” The course was lectured also by Carlos Diaz Bancalari of Argentina and Gilberto Herrera of Cuba. Coaches from 19 countries took part. Spanish

Cuban Jorge Garbey achieved the highest grades at Level III Coaches Course

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, November 6, 2005.- Cuban Jorge Garbey achieved the highest grades during the International Course for Coaches Level III dictated at the FIVB Regional Development Center in the Dominican Republic located in Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte of Santo Domingo. Puerto Ricans David Quinones and Juan Cartagena were tied as the second most outstanding participants in the course directed by Swiss professor Max Meier with the assistance of professors Carlos Diaz Bancalari of Argentina and Gilberto Herrera of Cuba. A total of 35 coaches of 45 participants, from 19 countries approved the final exams of the course that covered 112 hours.  More..Spanish

Spikedown Beach Volleyball continues to grow

MARACAS BAY, Trinidad, November 7, 2005.- With the continued sponsorship from STAG “A Man’s Beer” the 2005 STAG Spikedown Beach Volleyball tournament continued to grow. The partnership between the TTVF and STAG Beer allowed the Spikedown Competition to be taken to four (4) community venues concluding with a Caribbean Beach Volleyball Tournament held on the most popular beach on the island, Maracas Bay. The Caribbean Beach Volleyball tournament featured teams from Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Jamaica, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago. Total prize money was $ 4000.00 USD. It was held on our Republic Day weekend which ensured large beach crowds and media coverage. While pairs from Trinidad & Tobago filled the top three positions of the women’s side, Barbados was the meat of the sandwich with Trinidadians taking first and third places of the men’s competition. Spanish

Pairs from Guadeloupe and Barbados winners at Antigua Beach Bash

CASTAWAYS BEACH, Antigua, November 5, 2005.- .- Guadeloupean pair of Philippe Pignol and Robin Darchicourt won the Antigua Beach Bash in the men’s division while Lauren Whitehall and Sharon Bovell of Barbados took the title in the women’s side. The event was part of the Sizzlin Sand Beach Volleyball Caribbean Series whose final competition is scheduled for this weekend in Barbados. Pignol and Darchicourt prevailed over Andrew Culpepper and Elwyn Oxley of Barbados in a thrilling match by score of 21-23, 21-15, 15-13 while the duo of Whitehall and Bovell defeated Guadeloupeans Beatrice Aucan and Veronique Berthelot by 21-16, 24-22. Nineteen teams representing five countries took part in the event hosted by Leisure Entertainment and the Antigua and Barbuda Volleyball Association. More..Spanish

Beach Volleyball Circuit with four stops

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, November 3, 2005.- The NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit, an event planned to start with four stops in 2006, was announced during the recent Congress held in Punta Cana. A total prize of US$30,000 will be up for grabs at each tournament equally divided by genders. Also a bonus prize of US$5,000 will be available for the pairs with more total points at the end of the tour. The competition is scheduled to start in Cancun, Mexico (March 23-26) then moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (April 6-9), Boqueron, Puerto Rico (April 13-17) and Feria Ganadera, Santo Domingo (April 27-May 1). Spanish

Andres Hevia passed away in Cuba

SANTO DOMINGO, October 26, 2005.- It is with great sadness that we inform of the death of Andres “Machito” Hevia of Cuba, one of the most respected referees of all-time whose contributions to the development of volleyball went beyond the frontiers of the North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation. The death of Mr. Hevia, also a fomer player and coach, was announced here by Mr. Omelio Castillo, president of the Cuban Volleyball Federation. On this year celebration of the Centennial of Volleyball in Cuba, Hevia was considered among the top ten most influential persons for the current prestige of Cuban volleyball. Despite his advanced age and recent illness, Mr. Hevia was able to attend the IV Women’s Pan American Cup here in June as member of the refereeing committee in what was his last official assignment in the Confederation. “Andres Hevia is part of the history of the Norceca Confederation and we all will remember him as a great contributor to the improvement of the volleyball in our region,” said Cristobal Marte, president of Norceca. “He will be sadly missed by the entire volleyball family.” Spanish

Dominican Republic the site of Course for Coaches Level III

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, October 25, 2005.- .The Dominican Republic is the site since yesterday of an event that because of its complexity had not been celebrated in fourteen years: The Internacional Course for Coaches Level III. “And our country has been selected, after three years of evaluation, because of the excellence of the Development Center located here,” said Cristóbal Marte, vice president of FIVB and president of Norceca, during the opening of the event. The course is supervised by the Swiss technician Max Meier, who is assisted by Argentinean Carlos Diaz Bancalari and Cuban Gilberto Herrera. “They are 112 hours of hard work, is a course of the highest level, and those who approved it will be ready to coach at any level,” said Meier, who remarked the attendance of coaches from 19 countries and three continents. More..Spanish

NORCECA supports unanimously the re-election of Acosta 

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 22, 2005.- The Executive Committee and Board of Administration of the Norceca Confederation and all its 34 National Federations voted unanimously to support the re-election of Doctor Ruben Acosta Hernandez for a new term as president of the FIVB during the period 2006-2010. The decision was adopted during the XVIII Congress of Norceca held for two days in this touristic resort in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic. "I am very pleased with this kind of support in favor of Doctor Acosta," said Cristobal Marte, president of Norceca. "Volleyball as sport has developed into one of the most important discipline under the leadership of him and we are very proud of that because he was the founder of our Confederation." The representatives of the National Federations and the members of the Executive signed the following statement to support the president of the FIVB: The Executive Committee and Board of Administration of the Volleyball North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation and its affiliated National Federations, gathered on the occasion of the XVIII Congress of the institution...More Spanish

Marte re-elected as President of NORCECA

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 22, 2005.- Cristobal Marte Hoffiz of Dominican Republic was re-elected as president of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation during the second and final day of the XVIII Congress of the organization. Along with Marte, also were elected Alejandro Salinas of Mexico as Executive Vice President and Marta Centeno of Guatemala as General Secretary. Alan Ahac of Canada, Mushtaque Mohammed and Edgar Alvarado, of Canada, Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica respectively were chosen as Zonal Vice Presidents and Carlos Beltran of Puerto Rico as Vice President of Beach Volleyball. John Griffith of Barbados, will be the treasurer. Elected as members of the Board of Administration were Angel Iglesias of Cuba, Doug Beal of United States, Bertha Cuadra of Nicaragua, Rupert Sorahindo of Dominica and Glenn Quinlan of St. Kitts. Spanish

Four National Federations awarded during the XVIII Congress

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 21, 2005.- Four National Federations of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation were recognized for their excellent work in the past two years during the first day of the XVIII Congress Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez. The Federations awarded with plaques were those of Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico for their contributions with Norceca hosting international events and developing volleyball in their respective countries. Mr. Cristobal Marte, president of NORCECA, especially praised the Puerto Rican Federation pointing out the success achieved in the field of marketing the Superior League in both genders. Marte also announced the inauguration of the Men’s Pan American Cup next year, an event where teams will qualify for the America’s Cup. He informed that during the first three years the tournament will be held in Mexico, as it happened with the Women’s Pan American Cup, a qualifier for the World Grand Prix. The morning session was attended by the Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Felipe Payano, the president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, Mr. Luis Mejia Oviedo, and by Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello, President Ad Vitam of the Dominican Olympic Committee and past president of the Central American and Caribbean Sport Organization (ODECABE). Spanish

Acosta praises Marte and National Federations of NORCECA

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 21, 2005.- The President of the FIVB, Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez is very proud of the achievements reached by the NORCECA Confederation in the recent years under the presidency of Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz. In a message read by Mr. Jacques Joachim of Haiti, member of the Board of Administration of the FIVB; during the first session of the XVIII Norceca Congress, Dr. Acosta Hernandez described Marte Hoffiz as not only a driving force of the Norceca volleyball family but also of the world family. The president of FIVB also praised the National Federations who overcame geographical, economical and political obstacles to make possible the holding of a series of successful Continental Rounds leading to the 2006 World Championship. Acosta Hernandez wished all the Federations here present or represented “that all your dreams come true in a short time and that this General Assembly constitute a Congress full of decisions leading toward new achievements in the world of Volleyball.” Spanish  (Complete message pdf)

Sixteen candidates proposed for the Board of Administration

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, October 18, 2005.- Sixteen candidates for the Board of Administration of the North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) have been submitted by their respective National Federations. The elections for a new governing body of the NORCECA will take place during the XVIII Congress Dr. Rubén Acosta Hernández to be held at Punta Cana Beach Resort on October 21-23. The ten most voted candidates will win their election to the Board of 13 members. Two members have been already selected as presidents of zone association besides the president of the institution who is chosen in a separate election. The presidents of zones associations are Mr. Edgar Alvarado for Central America (AFECAVOL) and Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed for the Caribbean islands (CAZOVA). The proposed candidates are in the alphabetical order of their National Federations are the following: More Spanish

Beltran has big aspirations in NORCECA

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, October 11, 2005.- Even thought the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation is supporting one-hundred percent Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz as President of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation, it does not rule out the possibility of Carlos J. Beltran for the Vice Presidency. Beltran will be one of the federations’ leaders and directors of Norceca who will be attending the XVIII Norceca Congress to be held on October 21-23 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Elections of new authorities of Norceca for the period 2005-2009 will take place during the Congress. Beltran is one of the candidates presented by the FPV for several positions in Norceca. “What we want is Puerto Rico to be represented in all the groups,” said the President of the FPV. “And what about the Presidency?” he was questioned. “I don’t think so. Cristobal Marte must remain there, but I don’t know if they have any plan with me for the vice presidency. If that is the case, I would be willing to,” he said. More..Spanish

Farewell of Evelyn Carrera to the international competitions 

San Juan, Puerto Rico,October 10, 2005.-Defense specialist Evelyn Carrera said her farewell to the international competition but no so to the Women’s Volleyball Superior League. The Dominican-Puerto Rican player was the most missed during the recently concluded North Central American and Caribbean Women’s Championship in Trinidad & Tobago. Her absence also will be notable during the V Pan American Cup, the World Grand Prix and the World Championships in Japan, events all to be held in 2006. “It has been many years with the National Team,” said Carrera in a telephone interview with Primera Hora from the Dominican Republic. “I spent 21 years with the National Team. I have been playing this sport since I was 10 years-old and finally I am tired,” said the 33 years-old player.  More ...Spanish

Marte Hoffiz will propose unanimous support for the re-election of Dr. Acosta Hernandez as President of FIVB

The President of Norceca Confederation, Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, will propose to the XVIII Congress of the institution the unanimous support of all its 35 National Federations to the re-election of Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez as President of the Federation Internazionale de Volleyball (FIVB) for the period 2006-2010. Marte Hoffiz stated the the presence of Dr. Acosta Hernandez, as the top leader of the world’s largest sport institution, is a guarantee of excellence and success. With 218 National Federations affiliated and more than 35 million registered players, the FIVB marks the difference among all international sports organizations while achieving an unprecedented growth, both financially and the sport itself, since Dr. Acosta Hernandez was first elected as President of FIVB in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Acosta Hernandez decided to launch his re-election for a new term during the Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece in August 2004, receiving the unanimous approval from all members of the Executive Committee and Board of Administration. More..Spanish

Agenda of the Congress is announced

The agenda for the XVIII Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez Norceca Congress was announced today by the President of the organization, Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz and include the election of new authorities to a four-year term. The event will be held at Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on October 21-23. The opening ceremony will have the presence of Mr. Felipe Payano, Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic and Mr. Luis Mejia Oviedo, President of the Dominican Olympic Committee. Also, Mr. Ramon Alexis Garcia, President of the Dominican Republic Volleyball Federation, as host country. During the first day, the Norceca Confederation will paid a homage in honor of Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez, President of the FIVB and founder of Norceca, for his great contributions in favor of the development of volleyball around the North, Central American and Caribbean Continent. Each Zonal Association and Commissions within Norceca will present its reports as also will do the representatives from the 2005 Central American Sports Games and the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Sports Games. The agenda also include, among numerous topics, the participation of teams from the Norceca region in the World League, World Grand Prix, Olympic Games and the 2006 World Championships. Also, will be discussed the report on the XXX FIVB World Congress 2006, the Constitution, Code of Conduct, and the General, Financial and Sports Regulations. At the end of the two-day meetings, the General Elections will take place for the Presidential position and the Board of Administration. Spanish

XVII Norceca Congress 2005 in its final stage

The XVIII NORCECA Congress 2005, programmed to be held on October 21-22, 2005 in the beautiful Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort Convention Centre in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with a special dedication in honour of Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez, President and Founder of NORCECA Volleyball Confederation and President of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball, FIVB, is now in its final stage of organization. NORCECA’s Staff led by its President Lic. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, are working around the clock to ensure that all details are foreseen. A special section in NORCECA’s website, has been posted with all necessary information for participating delegates from 35 countries of the North, Central American and Caribbean Region. The official invitation to the Congress has been circulated to all National Federations affiliated to NORCECA, as well as, the procedures for the accreditation of participating delegates. Accommodation forms have been received from a total of 33 National Federations who have confirmed their active participation. All Candidature presentation for NORCECA’s President, Board of Administration and Commission Members have been received in due time. Also, the Central American Region, AFECAVOL, and the Caribbean Region, CAZOVA, have presented the nomination of their candidatures to be elected for NORCECA’s Board of Administration. NORCECA Congress 2005 handbook/working documents and agenda have been already circulated to all participating National Federations. The Agenda is also available in NORCECA’s website special section for the Congress. Spanish

Caguas won the crown in Puerto Rico Women’s League

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 21, 2005.- Caguas surprised everyone by sweeping Mayagüez in the best-of-seven  final playoffs of the Women’s Puerto Rican League. The score in the fourth match was 13-25, 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23. Caguas was the runner-up in last year tournament and took its first title since 2002 and seventh overall. American Kim Willoughby was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the final series. Canadian Stacey Gordon led the Caguas attack with 24 points followed by Willoughby with 21. Puerto Rican Jetzabel del Valle scored 17, including five blocks. Juan Carlos Rodríguez, coach of the new  champions, was elected as Coach of the Year with a total of 101 points. He received 18 first place votes of 28 electors. During the regular series, Caguas finished with an unbeaten record of 18-0. Rodriguez made his debut this year at the helm of Caguas Team. Spanish

Bameso takes a 2-0 lead in Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, April 21, 2005. - Bameso Team took a 2-0 lead in the final series of the Men’s side of the Metropolitan League of Santo Domingo after a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19 and 25-21) win over Jose Marti. Once again Jose Caceres was the offensive leader of Bameso and he has now 64 points in the first two victories of his side. The best-of-seven series continues on Friday also with the beginning of the Women’s final playoff between Los Prados and Juan Guzman. Los Prados is the favourite of the female side against a Juan Guzman team that is participating for the first time in a final series. Spanish

Mayaguez and Caguas to the finals in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 13, 2005.- Nancy Metcalf hammered 41 points and Shannon Torregrosa and Devon Foster each one added 11 and the Mayaguez Indians advanced to the final series of the Women’s Puerto Rican League with a five-set victory over the Bayamon Cowgirls. The tie-breaker was equaled eight times, the last at 13-all when two spikes of Annerys Vargas and Sheila Lopez were too wide and sealed the triumph for the Indians.  Vargas led Bayamon with 30 points and Barb Bellini had 17. The final score was 16-25, 25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 15-13. Mayaguez will meet Caguas in the final series starting next Thursday. Caguas finished the semifinal phase with a win in four sets over Corozal by score of 25-27, 25-11, 25-18, 25-18. Kim Willoughby led four Caguas players in double figures with 24 points. Jetzabel del Valle scored 16 and Vanesa Velez and Stacey Gordon 14 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Indians secured a tie at first place in semifinals

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 10, 2005.- The Mayagüez Indians secured a tie in the first position of the round robin semifinal series of the Puerto Rican Women’s League with a victory over Caguas 25-23, 25-20, 25-19. The Indians are now 4-1 and Caguas slipped to a 3-2 mark and a tie with the Bayamon Cowgirls in the second place of the standings. Nancy Metcalf led the Indians with 20 points followed by Shannon Torregrosa and Devon Foster with 16 and 10 respectively. For Caguas, Kim Willoughby had 18 points. In the other match on Saturday, Bayamon beat Corozal in three sets by score of 25-16, 25-21, 25-21 with Annerys Vargas leading all the scorers with 16 points seconded by Barb Bellini with 11. For Corozal Brittany Hochevar scored 10. Teams rest on Sunday and on Monday, Mayaguez visits Bayamon in a crucial match for the Cowgirls, while Caguas plays against Corozal which is winless at 0-5.Spanish

Bayamon is still alive in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 9, 2005.- The Bayamon Cowgirls kept alive their chances of advancing to the final playoffs with a victory in straight sets over the Criollas of Caguas by score of 25-22, 26-24, 25-23. With their win, the Cowgirls evened their record at 2-2 while Caguas is now 3-1 and tied at the top of the semifinals with the Mayaguez Indians. Corozal is already eliminated of possibilities with a 0-4 record.  Dominican Annerys Vargas was the top scorer of Bayamon with 22 points and Canadian Barb Bellini followed her with 12. For Caguas, Canadian Stacey Gordon scored 21 points and American Kim Willoughby cooperated with 15. Spanish

Indians took an easy win over Corozal

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 8, 2005.- The Mayagüez Indians took their third victory in the semifinal series defeating the Corozal Pinkin in consecutive sets by score of 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 in just 66 minutes. After losing their first semifinal match against Caguas, the Indians are 3-1 and look a as solid candidates for a berth in the final playoffs. Corozal is out of possibilities. American Nancy Metcalf was the top scorer of Mayaguez with 17 points, Shannon Torregrosa had 16 and Jessica Lopez 11. For Corozal (0-4), Jessenia Resto scored 10 and Brittany Hochevar 9. Spanish

Mayaguez defeated Bayamon in five sets

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 7, 2005.- The Mayaguez Indians had to battle for five sets with the Bayamon Cowgirls to get their second triumph in the semifinal series of the Women’s Puerto Rican League. Nancy Metcalf led a comeback by the Indians scoring 11 of her 40 points in the fourth set and sending the match to the tie-breaker. The score was 25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 25-16, 15-9.Mayaguez is now 2-1 and Bayamon fell to 1-2. Caguas is leading with 3-0 mark while Corozal is winless at 0-3. Shannon Torregrosa scored 13 points for Mayaguez and Devon Foster added 11. For the Cowgirls, Annerys Vargas had 27 points, Barb Bellini 15 and Sheila Lopez 10. Spanish

Burgos topped the scorers in the Dominican-Chinese exchange

SANTO DOMINGO, April 7, 2005.- Dominican Dahiana Burgos was the top scorer of the women’s friendly series of six matches between the Dominican Republic U-20 and the Chinese Team of Tainjin Province. The Chinese showed their superiority winning all but one of matches by score of 3-0. The second one went to five sets also a victory for the Tainjin side. Burgos totaled 87 points followed by Chinese Yang Jie with 64 and Li Shan and Li Juan both with 59. Priscila Rivera had 57. Burgos was also the best server of the competition with 14 aces with an average of 0.70 by sets and Yang topped all the spikers with 46.30 percentage of success. Yang Yanan led the blockers with 0.80 and Ding Hongying was the best setter with 5.65 by sets while Alexandra Casso ended as the top digger (1.45), receiver (73.86) and libero. Spanish

Caguas came from behind and is 3-0

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 6, 2005.- Caguas had to come from behind to grab its third victory without losses in the semifinal series and are halfway to the final playoff of the Women’s Puerto Rican League. The Criollas erased a 0-2 deficit to defeat the Corozal Pinkin by score of 26-28, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 17-15. Corozal is now 0-3 and on the edge of elimination. The defense of Yanira Santiago, digging for balls and blocking at the net, was a key ingredient in the comeback of Caguas. Kim Willoughby had 28 points and Stacey Gordon added 22 for the Criollas while Brittany Hochevar scored 24 and Jennifer Jones 18 for Corozal. Today, the Bayamon Cowgirls meet Mayaguez at the home of the Indians. Spanish

Caguas is 2-0 in the semifinal series

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 4, 2005.- Caguas defeated Bayamon 3-1 for its second victory without losses in the semifinal series of the Puerto Rican Women’s League. After losing a huge battle in the first set by score of 26-28, Caguas won easily the next three by 25-21, 25-20, 25-17. American Kim Willoughby led Caguas with 20 points followed by Stacey Gordon with 19 and Jetzabel del Valle with 16. Dominican Annerys Vargas was the best scorer for Bayamon with 17 and Barb Bellini added 14. In the other match on Sunday, Mayaguez evened its record at 1-1 good for a second place tie with Bayamon, with a straight sets triumph over Corozal (0-2). The score was 25-17, 25-21, 26-24. Nancy Metcalf was the top scorer for Mayaguez with 18 points followed by Shannon Torregrosa and Devon Foster with 11 and 10 respectively. For Corozal, Jennifer Jones had 13 and Brittany Hochevar added 11. Spanish

Good Start for Bayamon Cowgirls

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 3, 2005.- The Bayamon Cowgirls had everything under control in their first match of the Women’s Puerto Rico League semifinal series defeating the Corozal Pink n in straight sets by score of 25-19, 25-23, 25-18.“Thanks to the Lord this is a very positive start,” said Michelle Cardona, the setter for the Cowgirls who play Caguas on Sunday. Since the start of the match, the Cowgirls played more consistent volleyball than their rivals showing solid blocking and serving. Besides the solid blocking, Bayamon was also superior in the variety of its offense. Dominican Annerys Vargas was joined in the attack by Canadian Barb Bellini and Puerto Rican Leslie de Jesus. Vargas finished with 14 points and Bellini with 10. Darangelis Yantin had 9, including three blocks and de Jesus added 8. Spanish

Caguas defeated Mayagüez starting semifinal series

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 2, 2005.- Caguas erased a three point deficit in the fifth set and opened the semifinal series of the Women’s Puerto Rican League with a victory over Mayagüez by score of 25-22, 22-25, 29-27, 20-25, 16-14 before more than 4,000 spectators at the Hector Sola Bezares Gymnasium in Caguas. Kim Willoughby led Caguas with 38 points while Stacey Gordon and Jetzabel del Valle each added 19. Nancy Metcalf hammered 44 points but could not avoid the loss of Mayaguez. The semifinal series continues today with a match between Bayamon and Corozal. Each team will play six games in this phase of the tournament with the top two ranked teams advancing to the final series. Spanish

Puerto Rico will have new champions in 2005

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 1, 2005.- The Puerto Rican Women’s League will have a new champion in 2005. The Corozal Pinkin beat the Carolina Giants last night for the fourth time this season - and third in the quarterfinals- by score of 25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, finishing the two-year reign of the Giants. Despite the 19 points of Lilly Denoon and the 18 by Kristee Porter, Carolina once again appeared out of sync for the first two sets as it was last Wednesday against Caguas. The Giants reacted to take the third set and battled in the fourth but ran out of gas. Jennifer Jones had 22 points for Corozal, followed by Brittany Hochevar and Jesenia Resto with 15 and 11 respectively. The semifinal series starts tonight with a big game between Mayaguez and Caguas, the two teams favored by the experts to take the title. On Saturday, Corozal meets Bayamon. Each team will play six matches in this phase of the post season with the top two advancing to the final playoffs. Spanish

Bayamon enters the semifinals in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 31, 2005.- The Bayamon Cowgirls are in the semifinals of the Women’s Puerto Rican League with a victory over Corozal in straight sets last night. Dominican Annerys Vargas scored 19 points, including three blocks, leading the Cowgirls to their ticket for the next round. Bittany Hochevar was the best scorer for Corozal with 18 points. The score was 25-22, 25-23,25-15. In the other match of the day, Caguas defeated Carolina 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-22) with Kim Willoughby leading the attack with 22 points including 5 aces. Stacey Gordon and Jetzabel del Valle had 14 and 10 points respectively for Caguas and Kristee Porter and Linnette Moster scored 14 and 12 for Carolina.Bayamon, Carolina and Corozal finished in a three-way tie at 4-6, but the Cowgirls advanced via a better “goal-average”. The other two teams meet tonight in a sudden-death playoff to decide the fourth side in the semifinals. Mayaguez and Caguas were already qualified. Spanish

Mayagüez finished with 8-2 in PR Quarterfinals

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 30, 2005.- The Mayagüez Indians closed their participation in the quarterfinals series of Puerto Rican Women’s League with an easy victory over the already eliminated Toa Baja. The score was 25-21, 25-23, 25-19. American Nancy Metcalf led the Indians with 22 points while Venezuelan Graciela Marquez was the best scorer for Toa Baja with 17. Mayaguez finished in first place of this phase with 8-2 record. Caguas can tie with the Indians with a victory tonight against Carolina (4-5), but anyway will finish second after losing its two matches against Mayaguez. The Bayamon Cowgirls (3-6) play against Corozal (4-5) needing a victory to keep alive their chances of a berth in a playoff game. Spanish

Griffith announces new era for Volleyball in Barbados

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, March 30, 2005.- The Barbados Volleyball Association has appointed local expert Kenmore Bynoe to the position of Manager of Volleyball Operations with a view of carrying the sport to the next level of excellence.In 2004 Barbados hosted another successful Caribbean Volleyball Championship winning the men's title for the ninth time and the women's crown for the fifth time.  The BVA also won the National Sports Council's Association of the Year Award for the fourth time. President of the BVA John Griffith in disclosing Mr. Bynoe's appointment highlighted that 2005 will be a critical year for Barbados' volleyball with this country hosting first round World Championships Qualifiers for men and women in June. Barbados men will compete later at Norceca in Canada while the women will battle in Trinidad & Tobago. Barbados women will also make their debut at the Pan Am Cup in the Dominican Republic in June while July will see the Junior boys and girls competing at the Caribbean Volleyball Championships in Aruba. More Spanish

The Cowgirls with their backs against the wall

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 29, 2005.- Caguas sent the Bayamon with their backs against the wall dealing the Cowgirls a big loss in four sets on Monday night. With the victory by score of 26-24, 15-25, 25-22, 25-20, Caguas tied with Mayaguez at the top of the quarterfinals round-robin with a 7-2 record. Bayamon fell to 3-6 needing a victory over Corozal next Wednesday to keep alive its chances for a berth in the semi final phase. Dominican Annerys Vargas was the leading scorer of the match but her performance could not avoid the loss of Bayamon. She had 34 points, with 23 kills, 9 blocks and 2 aces.American Kim Willoughby led Caguas with 24 points, Puerto Rican Jetzabel del Valle had 18 and Canadian Stacey Gordon returned to action and chipped in 15 points. For Bayamon, Canadian Barb Bellini had 13 points and Sheila Lopez added 11. Spanish

Chinese once again dominated Dominicans

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 29, 2005.- The Chinese Team of Tainjin Province once again dominated the U-20 National Team of Dominican Republic continuing with the friendly series between the two sides. In three of the four official contests played thus far, the Chinese have won by score of 3-0. The other match stretched to five sets with the visitors prevailing over the host young squad.Yang Jie and Yang Yanan each had 10 points leading the triumph decided by score of 25-23, 25-22, 25-10 in 71 minutes. Dahiana Burgos and Sidarka Nunez had 15 and 13 for the Dominican Republic. These teams have two remaining official matches to be played on Thursday and Monday at the Gymnasium of University of Santo Domingo where good crowds have watched the action. Spanish

Carolina, Corozal and Bayamon battling for two spots

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 28, 2005.- Kristee Porter had 29 points and Lilly Denoon added 21 leading the Giants of Carolina to a 3-1 victory over the Indians of Mayagüez, leaders of the quarterfinals round-robin in the Women’s Puerto Rican League. Carolina now has a record of 4-5 and improved its chances of advancing to the semi finals while Mayaguez is 7-2 and already in the next phase of the competition. The score was 25-14, 22-25, 25-21 and 25-20. Carolina, Corozal and Bayamon will dispute the remaining two berths for the semi finals with Caguas also having joined Mayaguez for the next round. Carolina and Bayamon are tied at 4-5 and Bayamon has a 3-5 record. The Indians played without Devon Foster and Shannon Torregrosa, both battling with the flu, and once again had in Nancy Metcalf their biggest weapon with 26 points. In the other match, the Bayamon Cowgirls defeated Toa Baja 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-13 and 25-18) with Annerys Vargas scoring 30 points and Bar Bellini 12. For Toa Baja Graciela Marquez had 21 points and Ania Cruz 12. Spanish

Havana is the Men’s Cuban League Champion

HAVANA, Cuba, March 28, 2005.- Havana Team is the champion of the Men’s Cuban League with a sweeping of Santiago de Cuba in the best-of-five series played at Kid Chocolate Pavilion in the capital of the country. Havana took the title with a victory of 25-27, 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 with the duo of Tomas Aldazabal (21) and Yasser Portuondo (13) as the top two offensive weapons. In the first match, Havana won in straight sets by score of 25-22, 25-14, 27-25 with Aldazabal and Portuondo scoring 14 and 13 respectively, while in the second meeting the eventual champions won by 25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20 with Raydel Poey totalizing 24 points and Portuondo adding 10. Aldazabal deserved the honor as Most Valuable Player and Portuondo was the top attacker. Jorge Luis Gonzalez was elected the most outstanding in defense, reception and as libero while Javier Gonzalez was the best server. Yoandri Diaz of Santiago was the top setter. Walter Aguiar of Pinar del Rio, the top scorer and leading attacker during the three preliminary rounds, received a special mention. Spanish

Tainjin wins for third time over Dominicans

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 23, 2005.- The Tainjin Team of China maintained its dominance over the rookies of Dominican Republic in the third official friendly match between the two squads. The Chinese, who won a five-setter in the second match, came back strong to win in straight sets by score of 25-15, 25-23, 25-23 in the game played at the University of Santo Domingo Gymnasium Li Juan scored 12 points for Tainjin, Li Shan and Yang Jie had 9 apiece and Yang Yanan added 8. For the Dominican Republic, Sidarka Nunez scored 12 and Dahiana Burgos and Cindy Rondon 11 and 10 respectively. The teams have been training together for the last 10 days under an agreement between the Tainjin Sports Administration and the Dominican Volleyball Federation. On May, the Dominican Team will travel to China to spend one month training and playing in preparation for the Pan American Cup and the World Grand Prix. Spanish

Mayagüez Indians have a 6-0 record in PR

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 22, 2005.- The Mayagüez Indians kept their unbeaten record in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Puerto Rican League with an easy victory in straight sets over the Bayamon Cowgirls. Mayaguez is 6-0 and Bayamon is 2-4. Nancy Metcalf (16), Shannon Torregrosa (15) and Devon Foster (12) combined their attack to carry Mayaguez to the triumph 25-16, 25-19 and 25-15. Annerys Vargas was the only Bayamon player in double figures with 15 points. In the other match of the day, Kristee Porter scored 42 points but her effort  was not enough for the Carolina Giants who lost to Corozal Pinkin in five sets by score of 21-25, 25-23, 15-25, 31-29 and 15-8. Brittany Hochevar and Jennifer Jones scored 26 and 25 respectively for Corozal who is now 2-4 and is tied with Bayamon in the fourth place. Spanish

Wilson and Green were MVP in Jamaica Tournament

SPANISH TOWN, Jamaica, March 22, 2005.- Daney Wilson, the 2004 Caribbean male most valuable player,  got his third MVP award in as much major tournaments, on the final day of the 16th Venus International Club Championship. Wilson who plays for local club Vikings was part of the winning team to whip Kyotics (Cayman Islands) in three straight sets, 29-27, 25-20, 26-24. The female MVP award was taken by Shanique Green of UWI who also helped her team to win over first timers, 2 Blocks Away (North Carolina), three sets to one, 25-20; 24-26; 25-19; 25-20.  Both UWI (female) and Vikings (male) are Jamaica's national club champions. Trinidad and Tobago All Stars took the third place title over defending Champions Creole (NY) while in the female third place play off, Mercy Flyers (NY) won over local-based MOSA in two straight sets.  All Star selections went to Males: Nolan Tash (T&T); Justin Schnor  (Cayman); Mike Salik, Christopher Hosley (Creole); Daney Wilson and Mark Lewis (Vikings) and for females Shanique Green, Ashareen Maxwell (UWI); Orita Stewart, Mariola St. Fleur (Mercy Flyers); Millicent Sylvan (2 Blocks Away) and Nardrake Hutchinson (MOSA). The tournament attracted six female and seven male teams over the three days. Spanish

Havana is the champion of Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, March 22, 2005.- Havana is the champion of the Women’s Cuban League after sweeping Camaguey in the best-of-five final series. Havana’s Nancy Carrillo, star member of the National Team, was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the playoff while also being the best blocker and the best server of the event. The third match went into five sets with Havana prevailing by score of 25-14, 23-25, 25-17, 22-25 and 15-3. The girls from the capital won the first two matches by 3-1 and 3-0. The power of Carrillo serves and kills and the spikes from the corners by Rosir Calderon were keys for the victory along with the job by setter Anniara Munoz and Maibelis Martinez. Calderon (HAV) was the best attacker, Maisbelis Martinez (HAV) the best receiver, Liana Mesa (CAM) the best defense and Lisbet Arredondo (CAM) the best libero. Spanish

Mayagüez remains unbeaten in Puerto Rican League

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 20, 2005.- Mayagüez remained as the only unbeaten team in the quarterfinals series of the Women’s Puerto Rico League after their triumph over Caguas last Saturday coming from behind in four sets. Mayaguez, who is now 5-0, defeated Caguas (4-1) by score of 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 with Nancy Metcalf leading the attack with 27 points. Devon Foster added 11 and Shannon Torregrosa and Jessica Lopez added 10 each. For Caguas, Stacey Gordon scored 26 and Kim Willoughby and Jetzabel del Valle 16 and 14 respectively. In the other match on Saturday, Toa Baja (2-3) defeated Corozal (1-4) tying with Bayamon at third place. Venezuelan Graciela Marquez was the best scorer for Toa Baja with 21 points and Yamihily Cabrera cooperated with 17. For Corozal, Jennifer Jones had 15, Brittany Hochevar 13 and Jessenia Resto 10. Spanish

Dominican Republic and China sign a cooperation agreement

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 19, 2005.- The Dominican Republic Volleyball Federation and the Sports Administration of the Tainjin Province of China, signed this Friday a cooperation agreement. Mr. Cristobal Marte, President of the Women’s Development Program of the DR Federation, and Mr. Xie Delong, Vice President of China Volleyball Association and President of the Tainjin Sports Administration, signed the document along with Mr. Cai Weiquan, Representative of the Commercial Office of the People’s Republic of China in the Dominican Republic, and Mr. Antonio Acosta, Secretary of the DR Olympic Committee. Through this agreement of assistance and sport exchange, the women’s team from Tainjin is currently training in Santo Domingo in a one-month period, and the National Team of Dominican Republic will establish a training camp in Tainjin from May 4 to June 4 in preparation for the Women’s World League to be played in the Chinese cities of Ningbo and Dalian with the participation of teams from Cuba, Japan, Poland, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic and China. Additionally, the Tainjin Sports Administration will provide technical assistance -via international instructors- to the staff of coaches of the Dominican Republic Program and all the aid needed with sights to the participation of DR in the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China in 2008. Spanish

Rosir Calderon tops Havana with 25 points

HAVANA, Cuba, March 19, 2005.- Havana defeated Camaguey 3-1 in the first match of the final playoff of the Cuban Women’s National League played at the Kid Chocolate Pavilion. Rosir Calderon led the team from the Cuban capital with 25 points and was helped by the 11 points of Anniara Munoz. The best for Camaguey was Daimi Ramirez with 13 points. The playoff is a best-of-five competition and will be played in consecutive days finishing on Tuesday, if needed.In the men’s round at Alejandro Urgelles Pavilion in Santiago de Cuba, the host team kept its unbeaten record (11-0) defeating Santa Clara 3-0 and Havana beat Matanzas 3-1. Spanish

Caguas ties with Mayagüez at the top in PR

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 19, 2005.- Caguas is once again tied with Mayagüez at first place of the Women’s Puerto Rico League after defeating Carolina in four sets this Friday. The Criollas won by score of 20-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-22. Both Mayaguez and Caguas have identical unbeaten records of 4-0. Kim Willoughby led the attack of Caguas with 30 points and was arded by Jetzabel del Valle and Stacey Gordon with 17 and 14 respectively. For Carolina, Kristee Porter had 27 and Lynnette Moster added 14. In the other match on Friday, Bayamon scored its second consecutive victory in defeating Toa Baja in five sets by score of 18-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11. Dominican Annerys Vargas led Bayamon with 31 points while Barb Bellini scored 18 and Sheila Lopez 13. For Toa Baja, Venezuelan Graciela Marquez scored 25 and Ania Ruiz and Yahimily Cabrera had 19 and 13 points. Spanish

Chinese defeat Dominicans in five sets

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 18, 2005.- Tainjin Team of China defeated the Dominican Republic Rookie Team in an emotional five-setter during the second official match of the friendly tournament between these two sides. The match was played before a big crowd at the University of Santo Domingo and the visitors won by score of 19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 23-25 and 22-20. It was a huge battle for the two young teams who have been training together during one week now. The Chinese team capitalized numerous errors of the Dominicans while minimized their own, and that was the key for the triumph. Yang Jie had 20 points for Tainjin and was joined in double figures by Li Juan with 15, Li Shan with 12 and Wang Li with 10 points.Dahiana Burgos led the Dominican Republic and all the scorers with 35 points, including 6 aces and 2 blocks. Priscila Rivera had 21, Sofia Heredia 13 and Ginette Selmo 12. Spanish

Annerys Vargas was incredible in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 18, 2005.- Dominican Annerys Vargas was head and shoulders above the rest of her peers during the victory of Bayamon Cowgirls over Corozal in the quarterfinals round robin of the Puerto Rico Women’s Superior League. In just 61 minutes, Bayamon won by score of 25-19, 25-19, 25-10. Vargas spiked from everywhere scoring 19 points giving Bayamon its first victory against three defeats in this phase of the Puerto Rican event.  Besides her crushing offense, the middle blocker also had two positive blocks and one ace.  If Vargas was outstanding in the first set, her performance in the second was unbelievable scoring from all angles in route to the victory. She abused against Corozal frontline scoring four of the first six points of her side. Canadian Barb Bellini and Puerto Rican Darangelys Yantin added 11 apiece for Bayamon while American Jennifer Jones scored 10 points for Corozal. The Cowgirls have a rest day on Friday before they meet Toa Baja in a very important match this Saturday. Spanish

Bethania de la Cruz shows her power and versatility 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 17, 2005.- Bethania de la Cruz scored 28 points leading Mirador to a five-set victory over Juan Guzman in a match of the Women’s Metropolitan League of Santo Domingo. Mirador erased a two set deficit and won by score of 18-25, 18-25, 27-25, 25-18, 15-9. The promising De la Cruz displayed all her power and versatility with 18 points in attacks, six in blocks and four with a potent serve. She was escorted in the offensive by Juana Savinon and Cinthia Pineiro with 13 and 10 points respectively. Mirador evened its record at 3-3 while Juan Guzman fell to a 2-4 mark. Dahiana Burgos led the Juan Guzman with 26 points and Sidarka Nunez and Rosa Medrano had 19 and 10. The match was played at the University of Santo Domingo Gymnasium where today the Chinese Team from the Tainjin Province play against the Dominican Republic Rookie Team. Spanish

Metcalf leads Indians to fourth triumph

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March  17, 2005.- Nancy Metcalf and Shannon Torregrosa combined for 60 points leading Mayagüez Indians to their fourth consecutive victory without defeats in the quarterfinals round robin of the Women’s Puerto Rican Superior League. After losing a hard fought first set by score of 27-29, the Indians took control of the match and beat the Carolina Giants the rest of the way by 25-17, 25-22, 25-19. The Giants are now 1-3. The lefthander Metcalf had a superb performance scoring 11 points in each of the first two sets before adding 16 in the last two.  Torregrosa had 22 and Devon Foster chipped in 12. For Carolina, Kristee Porter had 27 and Lilliana Denoon and Linnette Moster had 13 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Cuban National League is down the stretch

HAVANA, Cuba, March 16, 2005.- The Cuban National League enters its final stretch this Friday with the women’s playoff at the Kid Chocolate Pavilion in Havana, while the men traveled to Santiago de Cuba where the third and final preliminary round will be played. Camaguey and Havana, at the top of the standings since the beginning, and fairly superior than the sides of Santiago de Cuba and Sancti Spiritus, are ready to stage an attractive show with both teams looking pretty equaled. Some experts consider the host Havana as the favorite mainly due the consistency showed throughout the event by the best players of the team, like Nancy Carrillo, Rosir Calderon and Rachel Suarez.Meanwhile, the followers of the girls from Camaguey are confident of the ability of players like Liana Mesa, Natali Grinan, Yanelis Santos and Daimi Ramirez, if the latter has finally recovered of her hand injured.The best –of- five women’s championship playoff will be stretched until March 22 if goes to the limit. More Spanish

Caguas tied with Mayaguez in Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, March 16, 2005.- The unbeaten Criollas of Caguas had an easy match against Toa Baja and now are well rested for their next rival Carolina this Friday. In 1 hour and 20 minutes of action of the quarterfinal round-robin series of the Women’s League of Puerto Rico, Caguas crushed its rival by score of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-16 and now has a 3-0 record good for a first place tie with Mayaguez Indians. Toa Baja fell to 1-2. The first set was easy for Caguas taking an early lead and the cruising to the victory. It was during the second set when Toa Baja presented more opposition to the Criollas taking an 18-14 lead only to lose it at the end. The third set was identical to the first one with Caguas keeping the intensity all the way. Puerto Rican Jetzabel del Valle led Caguas with 17 points, Canadian Stacey Gordon added 16 and American Kim Willoughby scored 13. For Toa Baja, Venezuelan Graciela Marquez was the only one in double figures with 14. Spanish

Modeca dispone de Los Cachorros

Suspenden el partido Bameso y Liga Guzmán

Santo Domingo. Republica Dominicana.- 16 de marzo del 2005 El sexteto Modeca logró su segunda victoria del torneo Metropolitano de voleibol al disponer en cuatro parciales a su homólogo Los Cachorros en una incidentada jornada celebrada ayer en el Pabellón del Centro Olímpico. Los parciales concluyeron 25-23, 25-19, 18-25 y 25-23, a favor de Modeca, que desarrolló un buen partido defensivo y aprovechó al máximo la debilidad de su rival. El cuarto set fue bastante disputado y una corrida por 9-3 de las ganadoras finalmente les dio el triunfo. El primer choque entre los equipos Bameso y La Liga Juan Guzmán fue aplazado y la comisión técnica no informó en lo inmediato la fecha para la celebración del encuentro.

Carolina defeat Bayamon, Mayaguez is unbeaten

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, March 15, 2005.- The Giants of Carolina defeated the Cowgirls of Bayamon for its first victory in the quarter final round-robin series of the Women’s Puerto Rico League prevailing in five sets by 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 25-19 and 15-9. Help by the 35 points of Kristee Porter, the Giants improved their chances of advancing to the semi finals, while Bayamon still needs a victory in three outings. Dominican Annerys Vargas made 23 points for the Cowgirls. Mayaguez has an unbeaten record of 3-0 and Caguas follow with 2-0. Then follow Toa Baja (1-1), Corozal (1-2), Carolina (1-2) and Bayamon (0-3). Dominican Vargas is leading all the scorers in this phase of the competition with 91 points in three matches for an average of 30.33 per game. Spanish

Chinese from Tainjin defeated Dominican rookies

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 15, 2005.- The Women´s Chinese Team from the Tainjin Province defeated by score of 3-0 a side from the Dominican Republic formed by rookie players. The match was played before a packed house at the Gymnasium of University of Santo Domingo. The sets finished 25-19, 25-22 and 25-17. Li Juan led the Chinese with 12 points while Juan Li and Li Wang added 11 and 9 respectively. Dominican Bethania de la Cruz led all the scorers with 15, Cindy Rondon added 11 and Dahiana Burgos 10. Mr. Felipe Payano, Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, and Mr. Luis Mejia, President of the Dominican Olympic Committee, attended the opening ceremony in the company of Mr. Cristobal Marte, President of the Women’s Program of the Dominican Volleyball Federation. Spanish

Los Prados, imponentes

Los Cachorros ganaron y Bameso perdió

SANTO DOMINGO.-14 de Marzo 2005.- Los equipos de Los Cachorros y Los Prados demostraron sus condiciones de líderes del torneo al derrotar ayer a sus respectivos rivales en la cancha del Ensanche Luperón, que fue el escenario de la doble cartelera en la que Bameso fue otra vez el conjunto más débil del campeonato. En el primer juego, Bameso sufrió su quinta derrota del torneo, esta vez ante Los Cachorros (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-19), que contaron con el ataque efectivo de Gina Mambrú que marcó 24 puntos y fue respaldada por Sofía Heredia, que agregó 10. Mambrú y Heredia se unieron para ser  una pareja ofensiva difícil de controlar por el bloqueo de Bameso, que no pudo más que conformarse con extender el partido a cuatro períodos y pese a que disputó el cuarto, se quedó con las aspiraciones de llegar al quinto y decisivo set. Ana Ligia Hernández, de Bameso, marcó 13 y su compañera Roselyn Ángeles 12, fueron las que comandaron la ofensiva. Mas

Los Prados y Mirador se imponen

SANTO DOMINGO.-12 de Marzo 2005.-  El sexteto masculino de Los Prados dio cuenta 3-1 anoche de su similar de Varias Luces en la continuación del Torneo Metropolitano de Voleibol Superior, evento que tiene una especial dedicatoria a la primera dama Margarita Cedeño de Fernández.Los sets del encuentro escenificado en el polideportivo de la barriada de Cristo Rey, concluyeron con pizarra de 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19. Con su triunfo, los excampeones del torneo distrital pusieron su marca en 3-0 y se mantienen liderando la justa. Por Los Prados, Felipe Henríquez tuvo 21 puntos y Eury Almonte 20, mientras que por el Varias, Eduardo Concepción facturó 13. En Femenino, Mirador doblegó a Modeca con scoce de 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 27-25. Por Mirador, Juana Saviñón y Bethania de la Cruz marcaron 22 puntos cada una. Por Modeca, Cindy Rondón anotó 31. El evento continuará hoy con otra jornada triple a partir de las seis de la tarde. En el techado de Los Cachorros se medirán los sextetos de Modeca y la Liga Juan Guzmán, en la rama femenina. Asimismo, a esa hora también se iniciará el encuentro entre Bameso y Los Prados, en femenino. Luego chocarán los clubes Bameso y José Martí en masculino.

¡De primera !

El VOLEIBOL FEMENINO DE REPUBLICA DOMINICNA TIENE UNA EXHAUSTIVA PROGRAMACION HASTA 2008 CON ESPECIALISTAS ALTAMENTE CALIFICADOS QUE LLEVARAN AL PAÍS AL MÁXIMO NIVEL

SANTO DOMINGO.-11 de Marzo 2005.- El proyecto de selección de voleibol femenino superior elaboró una exhaustiva programación de aplicación día a día desde enero hasta 2008 y que aplicará un equipo de técnicos internacionales de máxima calificación, lo que de seguro catapultará al colectivo nacional a dar el próximo paso en el alto nivel mundial.Los planes se extienden más allá del ámbito de la selección superior, pues contempla cobertura a las del juvenil e infantil. El enorme talento de iniciación, toca el sector masculino y profundizará en la preparación de los entrenadores nativos.Cristóbal Marte, forjador y líder del proyecto femenino, explicó que los trabajos del proyecto están ahora a cargo de un equipo que encabeza el tecnólogo cubano Francisco -Panchy- Cruz Jiménez. Lo acompañan su connacional Ismael Ortega Hernández y el japonés Miko Fujimoto, a quienes reforzarán otros cubanos recién contratados por la Secretaría de Deportes. Mas

Dominican Republic and China will play 23 training matches

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 11, 2005.- The National Teams of Dominican Republic and the People´s Republic of China will play a total of 23 matches in preparation for all the events of the current year. The details of the exchange were given by Mr. Ramon Alexis Garcia, President of the Dominican Volleyball Federation, and Mr. Cristobal Marte, President of the National Women´s Program, during a press conference this Wednesday. Both Garcia and Marte were in the company of Mr. Ramon Cuello, President of the Dominican Sports Writers Association. The Chinese delegation from the Tainjin Province will arrive tomorrow and will have closed door training sessions during the weekend.The matches between the two teams will begin on Monday starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo. Garcia remarked the importance of the exchange that will benefit the development of volleyball in the Dominican Republic. Marte said these matches are part of the preparation of the Dominican Republic Team for all the competitions of the year that include the Pan American Cup in Santo Domingo, the World Grand Prix in Italy, South Korea and Hong Kong and the rounds of the 2006 World Championships.

Los Prados barren a Mirador y José Martí vence tres sets por dos

Santo Domingo. República Dominicana.-10 de marzo del 2005.-Los sextetos de Los Prados y José Martí se impusieron ayer en la continuación del Torneo Metropolitano de Voleibol superior, encuentros celebrados en el techado “Tony Barreiro” de la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). Los Prados, en femenino, derrotó en tres sets a Mirador, con parciales de 25-16, 25-20 y 25-20, respectivamente. En la rama masculina, el combinado de José Martí se impuso, tres sets por dos, a Varias Luces.  Los períodos culminaron 26-28, 27-25, 25-13, 21-25 y 15-8. La justa descansa hoy y se reanudará mañana con la celebración de tres partidos. En el Palacio del Voleibol del Centro Olímpico, Mirador se enfrenta, a las ocho de la noche, a Modeca en la rama femenina. En Cristo Rey, en masculino, Los Prados se miden a Varias Luces, partido programado para las seis de la tarde y dos horas después, las muchachas de la Liga Juan Guzmán chocarán ante los Cachorros.

Los Cachorros dominan con facilidad a Los Prados

Gina Mambrú y Sofía Heredia lideraron el ataque

Martes 8 de marzo del 2005.-Contrario a los dos primeros partidos, la defensa, el bloqueo y el saque se conjugaron en uno solo para imponer su dominio durante todo el trayecto del encuentro. Los parciales concluyeron 25-21, 25-17 y 25-23, este último el más debatido entre ambos equipos.  Los presentes en el techado de Los Cachorros tenían la impresión de que el encuentro se extendería a un cuarto debido al ataque por parte de Los Prados, que lograron sacar ventaja de cinco puntos (11-6), pero los remates de Gina Mambrú (21 puntos) y Sofia Heredia (13) fueron clave en el repunte de las muchachas de Cristo Rey para alzarse con la victoria. La acción continúa hoy con tres partidos. En el techado del Luperón, la Liga Juan Guzmán,  se enfrentará a Bameso (femenino), a las seis de la tarde, mientras que a las ocho, en masculino, Los Prados se medirá a Bameso. En el techado de la UASD, el combinado femenino de Modeca tendrá de frente a Los Prados, juego pautado para las 7:30 pm. Elección. Bethania de la Cruz y Eury Almonte fueron elegidos como los más destacados en la premiación “La Estrella de la Semana” del Torneo Metropolitano de Voleibol Superior. De la Cruz, de Mirador, y Almonte, centro estelar de Los Prados, fueron electos con 12 y 11 votos, respectivamente, por parte de los cronistas presentes en el Salón Don Jorge del Hotel Naco.

Ramon Alexis Garcia re-elected as President of DR Volleyball Federation

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, March 7, 2005.- Mr. Ramon Alexis Garcia wa re-elected as President of the Dominican Republic Volleyball Federation during the last meeting of the organization held at the Coral Costa Caribe Resort in Juan Dolio. Mr. Garcia will be at the helm of the Dominican Federation for the next four years and this is his third term as president of the organization. There was not another candidate for the position.  He will be joined in the Executive Committee by Mr. Cristobal Marte, executive vicepresident; Luis David Sanchez, technical vicepresident; Nelson Ramirez, General Secretary; Conrado Valdez, Co-Secretary; Victor Gil, Treasurer; Eric Coiscou, Organization Secretary and Donibal Alvarez, Public Relations. Also members are Jose Aybar, Yanira Pascual and Eladia Cordero. “I am very grateful of this general assembly and do not have any doubt that our Federation will continue on the path of success,” said Garcia. During the Congress, it was presented the plan of the 2006 National Professional League made by Mr. Miguel Beato Cruz.

Los Prados, Los Cachorros y la Liga Juan Guzmán se imponen

Lunes 7 de marzo del 2005.-Los sextetos de Los Prados, Los Cachorros y la Liga Juan Guzmán se estrenaron ayer en el Torneo Metropolitano de Voleibol Superior, encuentros celebrados en los techados de Cristo Rey y ensanche Luperón, respectivamente. En la rama masculina, Los Prados dispusieron del combinado José Martí tres sets por dos (25-21, 25-18, 26-28, 21-25 y 15-10). Los mejores por los ganadores fueron Enrique Felipe, con 23 puntos y Eury Almonte, con 20, mientras que por los derrotados se destacó Miguel Merán, con 26 tantos. En la femenina, Los Cachorros dispusieron del sexteto del Movimiento Deportivo El Caliche (Modeca) tres sets por cero, finalizando los parciales 25-18, 25-12 y 25-19, respectivamente. Sofía Heredia fue la más destacada al concluir el encuentro con 16 puntos y Gina Mambrú, con 15. Por Modeca, Cindy Rondón fue la mejor con 14 tantos. En el único encuentro celebrado en el techado del Luperón, las muchachas del Juan Guzmán se impusieron con facilidad a las integrantes del equipo del Mirador tres sets por uno (29-27, 25-17, 25-18 y 25-22). sidalka Núñez y Dahiana Burgos guiaron al sexteto de Manoguayabo a su primera victoria, con 17 y 16 puntos. La acción del Metropolitano de Voleibol continúa esta noche con la celebración de un solo encuentro, en la rama femenina, pautado para celebrarse en el techado del ensanche Luperón entre Los Cachorros y Los Prados a partir de las 7:30 de la noche.

Mirador logra su segunda victoria y Bameso barren al sexteto Varias Luces

Bethania de la Cruz se destacó con 34 puntos

Domingo 6 de marzo del 2005.- El sexteto femenino de Mirador logró su segunda victoria al hilo al disponer del combinado de Bameso tres sets en el primer encuentro de una doble cartelera del Torneo Metropolitano de Voleibol, partidos celebrados en el Palacio de Voleibol del Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte. Los parciales finalizaron 22-25, 25-19, 25-21 y 25-17. Bameso sumó su segunda derrota. También el combinado masculino del Barrio Mejoramiento Social (Bameso) dispuso en tres sets a sus homólogos de Varias Luces. Los parciales finalizaron 25-18, 25-23 y 25-23, respectivamente. El mejor por Bameso fue Amaurys Martínez, con 12 puntos. El ataque de Mirador estuvo comandado por Bethania de la Cruz, a quien sus contrarios no pudieron detenerla en los momentos decisivos de los sets. “El triunfo nuestro radicó en que jugamos mejor que el partido anterior. Hubo más confianza. El trabajo en conjunto fue clave ante Bameso”, dijo De la Cruz, que finalizó el encuentro con 34 puntos. Mas

Mirador se inauguró con su primer triunfo

Derrotó a Los Cachorros en la apertura del torneo

Viernes 4 de marzo del 2005.- La intensidad de juego comenzó temprano entre los dos equipos que disputaron la final de 2004 y una vez más Mirador sacó la mejor parte al triunfar en cinco disputados sets contra Los Cachorros. El partido terminó 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23 y 15-13 para Mirador que se inauguró con un triunfo en la apertura del primer torneo Metropolitano que comenzó ayer y tuvo como escenario el Polideportivo del Ensanche Luperón. Los Cachorros comenzaron a ponerle ritmo al compromiso desde el primer período, pero Mirador se resistía a esa realidad y marcó un mejor ritmo de juego en el segundo set para igualar las acciones. El corazón de Los Cachorros varió el juego a su favor en el tercer set, pero una mejor coordinación de Mirador, en el ataque, en la defensa en el piso y de forma determinante en la red, definió la victoria. La ventaja en la red fue un arma con la que Los Cachorros no contaron y el trabajo de sus jugadoras centrales en ese renglón fue inferior al de las campeonas del pasado año, que martillaron en los momentos más exigentes del partido para contarlo por victoria. Mas

Lang Ping Pleased with USA Women’s National Team Tryout 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. March 2, 2005 – After two days of dressing up and attending countless meetings, new USA women’s national volleyball team head coach “Jenny” Lang Ping felt right at home in the gymnasium this past weekend. Dressed in a blue Mizuno warm-up suit and volleyball shoes, Lang Ping quietly patrolled three courts as she observed an open tryout for the 2005 USA Women's National Team and associated training programs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.Players from all over the United States, 105 to be exact, invaded Sports Center II to put their talents on display for Lang Ping and the rest of the USA Volleyball High Performance evaluators. “This is the main reason I am here this week,” said Lang Ping, the former star player and coach for the Chinese women’s national team.  “I have had the chance to see a lot of different players.  I am very happy because they are so focused.  They give all of their effort and they are taking this tryout very seriously.  I have seen a lot of passion here today. More Spanish

Metropolitan Tournament of Santo Domingo start on Thursday

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 2, 2005The Metropolitan Volleyball Tournament of Santo Domingo start on Thursday with the participation of six women teams and four men squads. Mr. Richard Martinez, President of the Organizing Committee said the event has raised a lot of expectations and promise to be a complete success. “The draft we conducted before the tournament will guarantee a very equalled competition with the best players and top rookies divided among the different teams,” said Martinez. “So we are expecting very close matches and therefore a heavy support from the fans and the media.” Martinez, who is also a Secretary of State for Aqueduct of Santo Domingo, announced that a total of 26 matches will be nationally televised. The women teams are Mirador, Los Prados, Bameso, Cristo Rey, Modeca and Juan Guzman League and the men sides are Bameso, Los Prados, Jose Marti and Varias Luces. Several of the matches will be staged in the local courts of the clubs and the final rounds will take place in the Volleyball Palace of Santo Domingo. Spanish

Rodríguez made the All-Star Team at Copa de la Reina 

LAS PALMAS, España, March 1, 2005.- Dominican Cosiris Rodriguez of CV Tenerife Champions was included in the All-Star Team of the Thirtieth Edition of the Copa de la Reina  Women’s Tournament.On its way to their tenth title and nine in a row in the traditional competition, CV Tenerife dispatched Alvemaca Excentric, CV Albacete and Caja de Avila with identical score of 3-1.Dominican Rodriguez collaborated to the Tenerife success, especially in the second match of the event against Albacete where she combined her strong spikes with those of Brazilian Rosangela Correia. Brazilian Luciana Marques of Caja de Avila was elected the Most Valuable Player and her teammate Sarah Perez of Spain was the Best Setter. Correia was the Best Attacker and Spaniard Esther Lopez of Tenerife the Best Libero. Spanish

Kenia Moreta had a strong return

MODENA, Italy, March 1, 2005.- Dominican Kenia Moreta returned to action last Sunday and was a key player in the victory of Curtatone 3-2 over Collecchio in the continuation of the Italian Volleyball League Series A-2.Moreta, who was out for five matches with a muscle injury in the abdominal area, scored 12 points in the come from behind triumph after erasing a 0-2 deficit.Curtatone lost the first two sets by score of  23-25 and 31-33 but recovered to prevail the rest of the way by score of 25-18, 28-26 and 15-9.The Curtatone team has an overall record of 11-10 good for eight place in the standings and the victory on Sunday was its fifth going to the limit of sets.In the Series A Division, Monte Schiavo Marche Jesi defeated Volley Modena 3-0 with Dominican Yudelkis Bautista leading the losing cause with 14 points. Spanish

Ceremony in Memory of the Puerto Rican Women’s National Volleyball Team 

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. February 16, 2005. The Dominican Republic National Volleyball Federation held a significant ceremony in memory of the Puerto Rican Women’s National Volleyball Team that passed away in a tragic airplane accident occurred on February 15, 1970, after participating in a series of friendly matches with the Dominican Republic Women’s National Volleyball Team in preparation for the XI Central American and Caribbean Sport Games that were held in that year in Panama City, Panama. Prof. Ricardo Arias, who at that time was the Head Coach of the Dominican Republic Women’s National Volleyball Team, during the ceremony made a historic remembrance of the tragic airplane accident occurred 35 years ago and that took away the fruitful life of one of the best Women’s National Volleyball Team of America at that time. More Spanish

Dominican arms highly regarded in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, February 10, 2005.- Two of the four arms that blocked for the final Dominican Republic point, in the match for the gold medal in Santo Domingo 2003 against Cuba, were those of Annerys Vargas, the imported player of Bayamon Cowgirls. The other two were those of Cosiris Rodriguez, who played for the Guaynabo Conquerors in the decade of the 90’s. Thousand of other victorious arms in the stand embraced the Dominican Selection which became in that moment heroes of the country along with the also gold medallist in Santo Domingo 2003, Felix Sanchez. Thanks to victories as that one, the volleyball players of the Dominican Republic have gained popularity in a country dominated by baseball an lately by Sanchez, who as the volley players, are of Olympic and world level.“I think that behind the baseball players and Felix Sanchez, is the volleyball team. Now the Dominican people can trust that we are going to be there,” said Vargas. More Spanish

Camaguey and Santiago lead the Cuban League

Cuba, February 8, 2005 The Cuban National League will complete its first round this weekend with matches in two cities. On Friday the sport momentarily will have a farewell from its main scenario, The Kid Chocolate Pavilion in Havana, and the next day will go to the 19 de November Gymnasium in the western city of Pinar del Rio. If something have distinguished during the first round of the tournament is the balance of the four women and the five men squads, and the rivalry in each gender. Nevertheless, Santiago de Cuba and Havana City in the men’s side, and Camaguey and also Havana City among the women, have shown with its performances thus far they are the best options for the finals next March. The big news during the last weekend was the victory by the boys from Matanzas who were flirting with the triumph since the start of the tournament thanks to an excellent size despite their young age and the fact that they know how to play, independent that they show their immaturity in the big moments. More Spanish

Lang Ping Selected to Become New USA Women’s National Team Head Coach 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. February 8, 2005 – “Jenny” Lang Ping of China, one of the most famous and respected individuals in the history of volleyball, has been hired as the new head coach of the USA women’s national volleyball team, USA Volleyball announced Monday. Lang Ping takes over the position from former Team USA coach Toshi Yoshida, who resigned late last year to accept a professorship position at Biwako Seikei Sport College in Japan. “USA Volleyball is honored to be able to reach an agreement with ‘Jenny’ to be the next USA women’s national team coach,” said USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer, Doug Beal.  “Lang Ping is perhaps the most decorated, successful women’s volleyball personality in the world, and I am excited that we are going to be able to have her leading our women’s national team for the next quadrennial. Known as the “Iron Hammer” during her playing days, Lang Ping, 44, was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame as a player on October 18, 2002, culminating an incredible career that saw her establish herself as one of the finest female volleyball players ever. More Spanish

Cuban Samuels in Portugal

Cuba- February 4, 2005,Cuban Orlando Samuels has been named as new head coach of the Portugal Men’s Nacional Team and arrived to Oporto to take charge of his new responsibilities. For Samuels it means a comeback to the familiar Portuguese soil since he coached the junior team of Portugal seven years ago. One of the all-time best Cuban players, former coach of the Cuban National team and more recently responsible for the Beach Volleyball area, Samuels will have Daniel Lacerda and Carlos Maia as his assistants. Meanwhile, the Cuban Men’s National team will start its participation in the 2005 World League with a three-week tour around Europe where they will meet their three rivals in Group B. On May 27-29 they will be in Bulgaria, then on June 3-5 will be visiting Italy and on June 10-12 will play in France. The team coached by Roberto Garcia will return home to face those teams in the same order at Ciudad Deportiva on June 17-18 and 24-25 and on July 1-2. Spanish

McCutcheon Named New USA Men's National Team Coach

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. February 04, 2005 – Hugh McCutcheon has been selected to become the new head coach of the USA men’s national volleyball team, USA Volleyball announced Feb. 3.McCutcheon takes over the position from long-time head coach Doug Beal, who resigned to become the new Chief Executive Officer of USA Volleyball. “It is a great undertaking, obviously, but I am honored and privileged to be the coach of this team,” said McCutcheon, 35. “I am genuinely excited to work with the guys and to continue my relationship with USA Volleyball. McCutcheon, a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, played on the New Zealand junior and senior national teams from 1988-90 before coming to the United States. He was also a member of New Zealand’s national team in 1996 and represented his country on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 1997. More Spanish

Ross and Carrera are the best in Puerto Rican League

Puerto Rico, February 3, 2005,-Ponce’es teammates April Ross of United States and Evelyn Carrera of Dominican Republic are currently the best offensive and defensive players respectively in the Women’s Puerto Rican League. Ross of Ponce is leading the circuit in points with 187 and in attacks with 163 while libero Carrera is the best in total defenses with 196 and tops all players of her position with a 10.90 average. The Puerto Rican Women’s League announced the leaders on a press release dispatched today by its Communications Department. In the scoring class, Ross is followed by Canadian Stacey Gordon of Caguas with 165 points and Dominican Annerys Vargas of Bayamon with 164. Siblings Eva and Aury Cruz complete the top five with 154 and 153 for Juncos and Toa Baja. Gordon is escorting Ross in attacks with 148 and American Nancy Metcalf of Mayaguez has 135. Vargas follows with 133 and Aury Cruz has 131. More Spanish Pic: Evelin Carrera

Puerto Rico take major step with “Live Matches”

Puerto Rico, January 31,2005,The Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation took a major step the past weekend when started the transmission via internet of live results of the Women’s League matches directly from the different venues. “We had to work several weeks and finally completed all the technical process in order to keep fans away from the stadiums informed about what is going on in the matches,” said Carlos Beltran, President of the Puerto Rican Federation. The fans may access to the Puerto Rican Federation website at www.fpvoleibol.com and the look for “Live Matches” with details about the individual performances. This system is used in major events by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and also by the Italian League, but they only have information about the scoreboard of the sets. Spanish

Edgar Alvarado re-elected as President of AFECAVOL

San Jose, Costa Rica, January 22,2005, Costa Rican Edgar Alvarado Ardon was re-elected as President of the Association of Central America Volleyball Federations during the General Assembly of the organization in San Jose, Costa Rica on January 22. Mr. Alvarado will be in the position for the period 2005-2008 and this is the third time he is elected as President of AFECAVOL. He took the oath in the presence of Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA). The other members of the Executive Committee elected during the meeting were Ms. Bertha Cuadra of Nicaragua, First Vice President; Mr. Julio Farach of Honduras, Second Vice President; Mr. Jose Luis Jimenez of Costa Rica, Secretary; Mr. Jose Remon of Panama, Treasurer; the directors will be Mr. Norman Quijano of El Salvador, and two representatives of Guatemala and Belize to be named later. More Spanish

Carrera and Vargas with good start in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, January 25, 2005,-Dominicans Evelyn Carrera and Annerys Vargas are enjoying good start in the 2005 Women’s Puerto Rican League playing with Ponce and Bayamon respectively.The veteran Carrera is the best libero of the league with and average of 13.75 for the Lions. The average results from the division of the total of receptions and defenses by the total of sets played. Carrera is 21 defenses shy of the 1,000 for her career after collecting 92 in her first three matches with Ponce. Evelyn, who plays as native in the Puerto Rican League, recently had 39 defenses in one match –two less than the record of 41 set by Lyann Puig in 1998. Vargas, who is having her first experience playing in a foreign league, is the fourth best scorer of the circuit with an average of 18.75 points per match for the Cowgirls.Vargas is trailing American Nancy Metcalf (Mayaguez) 22.75, Canadian Stacey Gordon (Caguas) 21.0 and Puerto Rican Eva Cruz (Juncos) 18.80. Spanish

Howard Reflects on Her Tenure as USA Volleyball CEO as Retirement Nears 

COLORADO SPRINGS. January 25 2005, – Rebecca Howard’s greatest challenge is about to come to an end.  On January 28, 2005, Howard will retire as Chief Executive Officer of USA Volleyball, the sport’s National Governing Body. “I have held many positions within this organization.  Including the office of President, without a doubt I have found being the CEO to be the most challenging and the most draining,” admits Howard.  “I am absolutely positive that only some of the most senior of staff would know how much business goes through the offices of USA Volleyball or of the unrelenting demands of being a part of the international volleyball community. “Thank goodness for our dedicated staff,” she added.  “I will miss them more than they will miss me.” Howard became interim CEO of USA Volleyball in September 2002 at the request of the USAV Personnel Committee.  What started out to be a six-month “patch” for the staff became a two-and-a-half year stay. More Spanish

The Cuban League starts tomorrow

HAVANA, Cuba. January 20, 2005,- Nothing better to start the celebration of the centennial of volleyball in Cuba than a good pair of tournaments gathering the cream of the crop in both genders. On January 21 starts the National League with the participation of four women teams representing Havana, Camaguey, Santiago de Cuba and Sancti Spiritus and five men squads from Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara, Matanzas and Pinar del Rio. The opening ceremony will be at the Kid Chocolate Pavilion in the legendary Paseo del Prado of the Cuban capital. The schedule of competition will be composed by three rounds of play until March 19. The top two teams of each gender will go to a best of five playoff on March 24-28 also in the same venue. The organizers have also scheduled matches in Sancti Spíritus, Pinar del Río, Camagüey, Villa Clara, Matanzas and Santiago de Cuba. You only have to take a look to the different roster to conclude that Havana is the heavy favorite in the women’s tournament. More Spanish  Pic: Daimi Ramirez (Camaguey)

Nnamani Selected as Honda Award Winner for Volleyball 

NEW YORK – January 19,2005,-Volleyball superstar Ogonna Nnamani, from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has been voted the nation's top college female volleyball player.  The honour was based on the results of national balloting among NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 29th year. Nnamani's selection earns her the Honda Award, given annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, as well as an automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year honour. Nnamani hails from Normal, Illinois.  A senior majoring in Biology/Chemistry, she's an outside hitter who led her team to an NCAA championship last month and was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the final round after setting an NCAA record with 62 kills in the semi final and final matches, combined.Her 823 kills this season set both Pacific-10 Conference and school records and ranks seventh in all-time NCAA competition.  She holds the conference record for career kills (2,450) placing her sixth in all-time NCAA rankings. More Spanish

Moreta Contributes to Curtatone Victory 

January 17,2005,-Dominican Kenia Moreta contributed to the 3-0  victory of Burro Virgilio Gabbioli Curtatone over Zazzeri Figurella Firenze this past Sunday in the 15 day of competition of the A-2 Italian Volleyball League. Moreta scored 9 points and joined italians Lucia Bacchi and Natalia Serena who had 14 points apiece in the 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 victory. It was a good comeback for Moreta who only had 4 points in her previous match lost by Curtatone 0-3 against Original Marines Arcano. Curtatone has a 7-7 record and Moreta has 198 points for an average of 14.1 points per match second in her team behind Bacchi who has 221 and average of 15.8.  In Division A-1 play, Volley Modena lost to Despair Perugia 0-3 and Dominican Yudelkis Bautista scored 5 points. Perugia had and easy ride winning by score of 25-14, 25-14, 25-10. Spanish

Canada’s Sarah Pavan Named NCAA Freshman of the Year

January 14, 2005,-Team Canada’s youngest superstar Sarah Pavan was honored this past week as the American Volleyball Coaches Association released its 2004 NCAA All-American teams. Pavan, who played in her rookie year for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, was named as a first team All-American, and also received the NCAA Freshman of the year award. Pavan was the first Husker freshman to ever earn All-American honours or be named Freshman of the Year.  Also the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection, Pavan ranked fourth in the conference with 4.54 kills per game, while also ranking seventh in hitting percentage (.322). She set Husker freshman marks for kills (481) and kills per game, while recording 20-or-more kills seven times, the most since Nancy Metcalf had 10 in 1999. Pavan had a career high and NU postseason record 35 kills in the regional final loss to USC, the fifth-highest single-match total in school history. She is the first freshman to be a first-team All-American since Stanford’s Logan Tom in 1999. The Huskers finished the 2004 season with a 30-2 record and were ranked No. 1 in the final AVCA regular-season poll. More Spanish

Canada’s Stacey Gordon named Co- Player of the Year

January 14, 2005,-The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced last week that Canada’s Stacey Gordon, an Ohio State University senior outside hitter, was named the 2004 AVCA Division I Co-National Player of the Year. Gordon will share the honors with Stanford University senior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani.  Both players are four-time AVCA All-Americans. The presentations were made last week at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet in Long Beach, Calif. "Stacey was recognized as the best player in USA College Volleyball this year which measures her hard work and leadership as a player," stated Team Canada Women’s Head Coach Lorne Sawula. "I talked with many coaches about her and they all said that she had a phenomenal season and led her team to their best ever finish at the NCAA National Championship." "We look forward to her involvement with Team Canada now that she has graduated, hopefully bringing her winning ways to our National Team," added Sawula.  "With her in our line-up we have an excellent chance to obtain two long awaited goals for this upcoming season – that of qualifying for both the Grand Prix and the World Championships. Both are the first steps to possible Olympic involvement in 2008." Spanish

Cosiris Rodriguez debuts with right foot

TENERIFE, December 7,2005,- Spain.- Dominican Cosiris Rodriguez was one of four players in double figures in the victory of Spanish Tenerife over Kalisz of Poland 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 24-26, 25-20) in a match of the Women’s Indesit European Champions’s League. In her debut with the defending champions, Rodriguez scored 12 points (8 attacks, three blocks and one ace)  and played excellent defence joining forces with Ingrid Visser, Yelena Pavlova and Rosangela Correia who had 15 points apiece. Anna Wozniakowska led all the scorers with 21 for Kalisz. Tenerife, coached by Brazilian Chico Dos Santos, did not have its full squad, with Magaly Carvajal and Susana Rodriguez both injured but still managed to obtain an important triumph guaranteeing third place in Pool B. Novara of Italy is sure of making the next round after a hard fought victory over Istanbul of Turkey in five sets. Dutch Manon Flier was the best player on court with 24 points. Defending champion Tenerife and Baku of Azerbajian are the main candidates for the other two places from this group. Both teams are one triumph away from making the next phase. Spanish

The PR Women’s League is ready to start

Puerto Rico, January 4, 2005,-The Puerto Rican Women’s Superior Volleyball Tournament is slated to start on January 14 and the Preliminary Technical Meeting took place in the Santurce Recreation and Sports Department under the supervision of Norman Davila, Director of the Event, and Salvador Ortiz, President of the Referee Commission. All the Rules of the Tournament were explained with most of it following the Rules of the International Volleyball Federation. It was introduced the new competition format for the Regular Series with each team playing 18 matches (Guest and Host). Then a total of six teams will advance to the second round in accordance with the following system: The best five ranked teams (win-loss record) at the end of the Regular Series automatically advance. The sixth team will be determined with two sudden death matches. The eighth ranked will visit the seventh best ranked and the winner will play as visiting team with the team ranked sixth with the prevailing side completing the six qualified teams for the second round. More Spanish Pic: Carolina Team

Cuban Poey was the MVP at Norceca’s Men Continental

Winnipeg, Canada, September 15, 2005.- Cuban silver medallist  Raidel Poey was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships won by USA tonight. The All-Star Team of the competition was dominated by the Dominican Republic, a fourth place side, which sent three players to the honour squad. Dominican Elvis Contreras was the best scorer and fellow countrymen Jose Caceres was the best attacker and Amaury Martinez was the best defender and libero. USA gold medallists Ryan Miller and Donald Suxho were the best blocker and server respectively, Canadian Scott Koskie the best setter and Panamanian Domingo Avila, the best receiver. The final ranking of the tournament was as follows: 1.USA, 2. Cuba, 3. Canada, 4. Dominican Republic, 5. Puerto Rico, 6. Mexico, 7. Panama, 8. Barbados. Spanish

USA wins the gold and Cuba settles for silver

Winnipeg, Canada, September 15, 2005.- The USA Men's National Volleyball Team held off a stubborn Cuban squad, 3-1 (25-22, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22), to win its second-consecutive NORCECA Continental Championship at the MTS Centre Thursday night. It was the second victory for American volleyball over Cuba in less than a week. Last Sunday, the American women defeated the Cubans in five sets at the continental event held in Trinidad & Tobago. Clay Stanley scored a team-high 14 points to lead a balanced attack. Jim Polster scored 11 points while Ryan Millar and Tom Hoff added 10 points apiece in the win. Raidel Poey scored a match-high 19 points for Cuba and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. The Americans, who also won the last NORCECA Championship in 2003, have now earned back-to-back crowns for the first time in 20 years. In addition to bragging rights in the NORCECA zone for another two years, Team USA qualifies for the Grand Champions Cup in Japan on November 22-27, a six-team tournament that features the champions from four confederations (Africa, Europe, NORCECA and South America), the host team (Japan) and one wild-card team (chosen by the FIVB).Cuba, currently the world's 12th-ranked team, and the United States, number 5, are the traditional powers in the NORCECA zone, which encompasses North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Since the first men's NORCECA Championship in 1969 (the tournament is held every other year in odd-numbered years), Cuba has won 13 out of 19 times. The United States has won the remaining six championships (1973, 1983, 1985, 1999, 2003 and 2005) and has finished second eight times. Spanish

Canada wins Bronze over Dominican Republic

Winnipeg, Canada, September 15, 2005.- Canada avenged a five-set loss to Dominican Republic during the preliminary round, with a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-19, 25-13) good for the bronze medal at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships. Fred Winters was the best Canadian with 14 points and Jose Caceres led the Dominican attack with 12 points. Canada drew first blood but the Dominican kept it close down 7-8 at the first technical time out. Canada jumped ahead 13-10 to force a Dominican time out. The Dominican Republic would get one back but still trail 13-16 at the second technical time out. The Dominican’s would go on a 3 point run that would tie it up at 16-16 force a Canadian time out. Canada immediately responded with two points of their own taking an 18-16 lead. Canada maintained the 2 point gap to win set one 25-22. Canada took a quick 6-3 lead in set two forcing a Dominican time out. Hitting errors by Canada would give one back, but maintaining a 2 point gap up 8-6 at the first technical time out. Canada added two more to their lead to go up by four leading 16-12 at the second technical time out. The Dominican Republic would take runs at the Canadian lead but would never get close enough as Canada cruised on to a 25-19 second set victory. Canada took control of set three early leading 6-3 and forcing the Dominican’s to time out. Canada maintained the lead going into the first time out up 8-4. Canada continued to roll doubling up on the Dominican’s 12-6. It was clear by the second technical time out that Canada wanted this match leading 16-9. The Dominican Republic would never come back as Canada walked away with a 25-13. Spanish

Cuba prevails over Canada for shot at gold

Winnipeg, Canada, September 14, 2005.- Cuba defeated Canada in consecutive sets and will play against USA for the gold medal at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships and also for the ticket to the Grand Champions Cup in Japan next November. Raidel Poey once again was the top Cuban force with 16 points in the victory by score of 25-20, 25-20, 25-22. The best scorer for Canada was Paul Duerden with 12 points. It is no surprise that this contest was going to be a close one. At the first technical time out Cuba was up by one 8-7. Cuba was the first to move away opening a 12-9 lead and remained on top 16-12 at the second technical time out. Canada would come with in two, but Cuba quickly came back forcing a Canadian time out up 20-16. That’s as close as Canada would get in the first set losing 20-25. Canada took a quick 2-0 lead in set two but it was quickly dissolved as Cuba tied it up at 4-4. Canada still held the advantage and led 8-7 at the first technical time out. At 11-11 Cuba made their move taking a 12-11 lead and held on to lead 16-15 at the second technical time out. Tough serves put Cuba up by four and ended by five. More...Spanish

USA dominates the Dominican Republic and goes for the gold

Winnipeg, Canada, September 14, 2005.- USA dominated Dominican Republic in straight sets (25-13, 25-17, 25-15) advancing to the gold medal match against Cuba at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships. Riley Salmon with 11 points was the best American scorer while Elvis Contreras with 7 led the Dominicans who now will face Canada in the match for the bronze medal. The Dominican Republic has proven that they are here to play but the USA quickly showed that they were a force opening up an 8-3 lead at the first technical time out. The USA maintained the lead up 16-9 at the second technical time out. The USA continued to be the stronger team holding an 8-5 lead at the first technical time out and increasing it to 16-10 by the second. From there the USA dominated the Dominican Republic on their way to a 25-17 second set victory. Set three was much of the same as the USA led 8-4 at the first technical time out and 16-10 at the second. The USA widened the gap further to lead 22-14 forcing a Dominican time out but it was too late as the USA walked away with a 25-15 victory. Spanish

Puerto Rico earns fifth at 2005 NORCECA Championships

Winnipeg, Canada, September 14, 2005.- Puerto Rico defeated Mexico 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19) and ended in the fifth place at the Norceca Men’s Championships. Mexico took a quick 2-0 lead and held on to a narrow 8-7 advantage at the first technical time out. With Mexico still leading 12-11 Puerto Rico scored two quick ones to gain the edge 13-12. Puerto Rico would add another to lead 16-14 at the second technical time out. Down 23-19 Mexico took a time out but it would be to late as Puerto Rico came right out to take set one 25-21. Mexico again jumped to a 3-1 lead but it was quickly swallowed up by Puerto Rico as they led 8-7 at the first technical time out. The lead would change 3 times with Puerto Rico still in front 16-15 at the second technical time out. They would add another to go up by two 19-17 and would hold the lead for the win 25-22. Puerto Rico was looking to end this match opening a 5-1 lead in the third forcing Mexico into a time out. The gap would remain the same with Puerto Rico up 8-4 at the first technical time out. Puerto Rico would add a couple more to lead 16-10 at the second time out and would never look back winning 25-19. Spanish

Panama finished in the seventh position

Winnipeg, Canada.September 13, 2005.- Panama finished in the seventh position at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships with a victory over Barbados 25-18, 30-28, 25-21. Jose Cunningham was the best scorer for Panama with 15 points while Fabian Cox  of Barbados, led all the players with 18 points. Both teams came out swinging with Barbados holding an 8-7 edge at the first technical time out. Panama jumped into the action to turn the table opening a two point gap leading 13-11. Panama added one more to lead 16-13 at the second time out. Panama would hold that lead and go on to win set one 25-18. Set two Panama took a four point advantage up 16-12 at the second technical time out. Barbados would tie it up at 21-21 and the lead would exchange hands 4 times before Panama struck to jump ahead by two and take the set 30-28. Set three was deadlocked from the start with Panama hold an 8-7 lead at the first technical time out. Panama would increase that lead to three and hold it forcing a time out up 19-16. Barbados would not get any closer as they dropped the set 25-21. Spanish

Dominicans to face USA in semi finals

Winnipeg, Canada. September 13, 2005.-The Dominican Republic won its third consecutive match at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships and moved to a semi final contest against USA after scoring a victory over Mexico 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 28-26,25-23). Elvis Contreras led the Dominican attack with 20 points and was joined by Jose Caceres (18), Felipe Henriquez (15) and Eury Almonte (14) as players with double digits. Mario Becerra and Juan Garcia each had 15 points for Mexico and Jorge Quinones and Luis Marquez added 13 and 11 respectively. The Dominican Republic was the clear favorite going into the match, however Mexico was not about to hand over the win. The Dominican Republic held a one point lead through both technical time outs up 8-7 and 16-15 before they were able to break away and go up 23-21. A couple of quick points and the Dominican Republic had locked up set one 25-22. Set two the Dominican Republic gave themselves a little breathing room leading 8-5 at the first technical time out, but again Mexico fought back to tie it at 10-10. From there it was Mexico who took control of the set opening a two point lead and held on to take set two 25-21. More..Spanish

Canada will meet Cuba in semi finals

Winnipeg, Canada. September 13, 2005.- Murray Grapentine and Fred Winters led Canada to a 3-0 triumph over Puerto Rico and one semi final berth against Cuba in the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships, a qualifier to the Grand Champions Cup in Japan next November. Grapentine scored 13 points and Winters added 12 in the easy victory by score of 25-15, 25-20, 25-14. Puerto Rico and Mexico will meet today in a match for the fifth place. It was do or die for the Canada if they were to remain in the hunt for the top of the podium. Puerto Rico always plays with great emotion and it was evident at the start of set one that both teams were on fire. Canada had the early edge taking a narrow 8-6 lead at the first technical time out. Canada would widen the gap going up 14-8 and leading 16-8 at the second technical time out. Canada continued to roll from their posting a lop-sided 25-15 victory. More..Spanish

Cuba won Pool A with perfect record

Winnipeg, Canada,  September 12, 2005.-  Cuba remained unbeaten (3-0) at the Norceca Men’s Continental  Championships with a triumph in consecutive sets over host Canada who suffered its second defeat. The score was 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 and with their triumph, Cuba qualified automatically for the semi finals of the competition as winner of Pool A. Canada finished third and will play against Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals. Raidel Poey was the top Cuban scorer with 20 points while Paul Duerden was the best of the Canadians with 12 points. It was a packed house at the MTS centre with the anticipation that the home team was going to be victorious. It was Cuba drawing first blood going up by 2 to lead 3-1 and remain up 8-5 at the first technical time out. Canada responded to the challenge to tie it up at 8 and it was a side out war from that point on. At the second technical time out it was Cuba a head 16-15. They would add a few more on their way to a first set victory 25-22. More..Spanish

Mexico advanced to the quarterfinals

Winnipeg, Canada, September 12, 2005.- Mexico was a winner over Barbados in three sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships finishing in the third position of Pool B.  Now the Mexicans will face the Dominican Republic which finished second in Pool A. Barbados was eliminated and will play Panama for the seventh position. Juan Garcia was the top attacker of Mexico with 15 points and Fabian Cox was the best scorer for Barbados with 10 points. It was all Barbados early in this match as they took a lead in set one up 8-5 at the first technical time out. Barbados would add to their score going up by as much as 12-8. Mexico would mount an attack that would change the landscape of this set taking the lead 16-13 at the second technical time out. Barbados would not recover and Mexico went on to win the set 25-17. Set two was another tight affair with Barbados leading at the first technical time out 8-7. Mexico would again turn it up to lead by one at the second technical time out and add the difference to win the set 25-21.Set three it was Mexico who led 8-6 at the first technical time out. Mexico would double their lead to go up 13-9 and then further to 20-11 and the eventual win 25-18. Spanish

USA won Pool B with 3-0 mark

Winnipeg, Canada, September 12, 2005.- USA moved to the semi finals of the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships with an easy victory over Puerto Rico by score of 25-16, 25-16, 25-18. The Americans finished the preliminary round with 3-0 mark in Pool B while the Puerto Ricans ended in second place and won a berth for the quarterfinals against  Canada. Riley Salmon led the Americans with 13 points and also Phil Eatherton and Jim Polster finished in double digits with 11 and 10 respectively. The USA stormed out of the blocks to go up 6-0. Puerto Rico would get on the board but the USA still led 8-3 at the first technical time out. The USA continued to add to their tally going up 16-9 at the second technical time out. The USA did not let up in this first set cruising on to a 25-16 win. Some uncharacteristic errors on the part of the USA kept set two close with the Americans up 8-6 at the first technical time out. A few solid blocks after the time out and the USA found themselves back in command leading 13-8. From there it was all USA spreading the gap and cruising on to a 25-16 victory. Puerto Rico would keep with in two of the USA down 10-8; however a few solid plays by the USA would put them back up by 6 leading 16-10 at the second technical time out. The Americans closed the door from that point taking the set 25-18 and the match. Spanish

Dominican Republic enjoyed a much needed break

Winnipeg, Canada, September 12, 2005.- The Dominican Republic enjoyed a much needed break with a victory in straight sets over Panama after being stretched to the limit in its previous two matches. The Dominicans won by score of 25-13, 25-17, 25-9 and qualified in second place of Pool A. Now they will meet Mexico in the quarterfinals and Panama and Barbados will play for the seventh position. Eury Almonte led four Dominicans in double figures with 12 points followed by Jose Caceres and Elvis Contreras each with 11 and Victor Batista with 10. The Dominican Republic seemed to have a new found confidence after a close match with Cuba and their win over Canada last night. The Dominican’s jumped out to a commanding 8-2 lead at the first technical time out and continued to increase on that tally going up 16-7 at the second technical time out. Panama would not get any closer as they were defeated 13-25. Sets two and three were much of the same as the Dominican Republic took control winning 25-17, 25-9. Spanish

USA remains undefeated with win over Barbados

Winnipeg, Canada, September 11,- USA used all its power to crush Barbados in a match of the Norceca Men’s Continental  championships, a tournament where the winner will claim a ticket to the Grand Champions Cup. The Americans won the one-sided contest by score of 25-11, 25-12, 25-8. Not a surprise that the USA jumped out to lead the set 8-5 at the first technical time out. Although Barbados was lesser team in size and skill, they continued to fight. Despite the effort, the Americans were clearly too much winning the set 25-11. Set two and three where much of the same as the USA was flawless in their execution winning the next two 25-12, 25-8 to move to 2-0 in their pool. Spanish

Cuba dominates Panama to go to 2-0
Winnipeg, Canada, September 11,- Cuba dominated Panama in consecutive sets (25-15, 25-15, 25-10). It was all Cuba in the first set of this match up. After holding a narrow 8-6 lead at the first technical time out, Cuba began to unleash their power and went on to take the set 25-15. In the second set Cuba continued to lead the way posting an 8-5 lead at the first technical time out. Panama seemed deflated as Cuba continued to score at will leading 16-10 at the second technical time out. Cuba continued to dominate and won the match handily 25-15. Set three was much of the same with Cuba opening up an 8-4 lead at the first technical time out. Cuba extended the lead to 16-9 at the second time out and continued on from there to defeat Panama 25-10. Spanish

Canada stunned by Dominican Republic in 5 set loss.

Winnipeg, Canada, September 11,- Dominican Republic scored a major upset while edging Canada in a five-setter by score of 19-25, 19-25, 29-31, 26-24, 19-17 in Day Two of the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships. This was Canada’s first big test after the Dominican took Cuba to a fifth set on the opening day. Both teams seemed to feel each other out exchanging points and at the first technical time out it was the Dominican Republic up 8-7. Canada would go on run to go up 14-11 and hold the lead up 16-14 at the second technical time out. Canada continued to dominate on the attack and cruised on to take set one 25-19. In set two Canada experienced some difficulty right from the start and found them selves down 12-16. More..Spanish

Puerto Rico defeats Mexico in 4 sets

Winnipeg, Canada, September 11,- Puerto Rico defeated Mexico in four sets in a match of two spirited and relatively evenly matched teams. The score was 27-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-23. In the first set Puerto Rico opened a narrow lead and held onto it up by two 16-14 at the second technical time out. Tied at 17-17, both teams exchanged kills but it was Puerto Rico who finally gained the advantage to win the set 27-25. Set two was much of the same as neither team was giving any ground. At the first technical time out Puerto Rico held a two point lead up 8-6. Puerto Rico capitalized on a number of Mexican errors to jump ahead 13-9 and remained in the lead at the second technical time out up 16-13. Mexico would reel Puerto Rico in to tie it at 22-22, but a couple big kills put them back up, which was just enough as they went on to take set two 26-24. Set three was all Mexico as they stormed out to an 8-2 lead, increasing it to 12-4 and 16-8 at ht second technical time out. Puerto Rico rallied back to get within 6 down 12-18, but Mexico was not giving up their lead and took the set 25-18. Set four Puerto Rico seemed to regain their composure and we were back to a battle at the net. Puerto Rico was in control up 8-7 at the first technical time out and held onto that advantage to lead 16-15 at the second. Puerto Rico would add a little space and go on to win the set 25-23. Spanish

Nancy Metcalf was MVP at Norceca’s Continental

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 11, 2005.- American Nancy Metcalf was elected the Most Valuable Player of the Norceca Women’s Continental Championship, leading three USA players included in the All-Star of the event. The other members of the USA in the team were Lindsey Berg (Setter) and Tayyiba Haneef  (Scorer). The Dominican Republic and Cuba each had two players in the ideal team. The Dominicans were Cindy Rondon (Blocker) and Alexandra Caso (Libero) along with Cubans Nancy Carrillo (Server) and Zoila Barros (Spiker). The team was completed with Canadian Annie Levesque (Defense) and Puerto Rican Aury Cruz (Receiver). Spanish

USA is the Women’s Continental Champions of Norceca

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 11, 2005.- USA edged Cuba in five thrilling sets and won the gold medal at the Norceca Womem’s Continental Championships while claiming also a ticket to the Grand Champions Cup in Japan next November. A touch by Tayyiba Haneef landed on the Cuban side for the victory point of a match that lasted 114 minutes and finished by score of 25-13, 22-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10. Veteran Danielle Scott was the top American scorer with 20 points followed by Nancy Metcalf with 19 and Haneef and Therese Crawford with 12 and 10 respectively. For Cuba, Zoila Barros totaled 21 points and Yumilka Ruiz (12) and Nancy Carrillo (10) were also in double digits. The high wall of the USA blocking was a key in the outcome of the first set with Scott playing a star role. Also Crawford hit some potent kills and the Americans led 8-5 and 16-7 at the technical pauses. USA led 8-4 at the first time out of the second set, but the difference lowered to 16-15 at the second pause. The serves of Carrillo and Barros helped the Cuban side to erase the deficit. More…Spanish

Dominicans with a convincent victory over Puerto Rico for the bronze medal

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 11, 2005.- Dominican Republic won the bronze medal at the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships with a convincing victory over Puerto Rico in straight sets by score of 25-19, 25-19, 25-13. The triumph avenged the loss suffered by the Dominicans to the Puerto Rican in the preliminary round of Pool A. Cindy Rondon and Annerys Vargas had 16 and 13 points respectively for Dominican Republic and siblings Eva and Aury Cruz were the best for Puerto Rico with 11 and 10. The Dominicans recovered from a 5 to 8 deficit and took the first set with the combined attack and blocking of Vargas. Kenia Moreta’s spikes sent Dominican Republic to an 8-6 lead in the second set which increased to 16-10 with Rondon’s blocking opening the way. Then Vargas came up with some potent kills to seal a set where Eva Cruz excelled for Puerto Rico. The good Dominican blocking led by Vargas was the key for the success in the one-sided third set. Aury Cruz, captain of Puerto Rico: “Congratulations to the Dominican Republic. They came out to play very hard and deserved the victory. We did not do as we planned and our serves and reception were not good.” More…Spanish

Cuba edges Dominicans as USA, Puerto Rico and Canada win

Winnipeg, Canada, September 10, 2005.- Cuba edged Dominican Republic in five thrilling sets in Day One of the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships, a competition where the winner will claim a ticket to the Grand Champions Cup later this year in Japan. The Cubans won by score of 25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 17-25, 15-10 and Olvedis Dominico was their best attacker with 13 points and Dominican Elvis Contreras led all the scorers with 23 points. In the first match of the first day of action, Puerto Rico defeated Barbados by score of 25-20, 25-23, 25-18. Oswald Antonetti led the winners with 11 points and Fabian Cox topped Barbados with 13 points. USA beat Mexico in straight sets (25-15, 25-14, 25-12 ) with Riley Salmon leading the Americans with 9 points, equalled by Mexican Antonio Capetillo. In the last match of the opening day, Canada did not disappoint the home crowd scoring a victory with comfortable margin over Panama by score of 25-12, 25-22, 25-18. Fred Winters was the most outstanding offensive player for Canada with 11 kills and tree aces good for 14 points and Domingo Avila led Panama with 6. USA. Puerto Rico, Mexico and Barbados are competing in Pool A, while Cuba, Canada, Dominican Republic and Panama play in Pool B. The winner of each pool automatically advance to the semi final phase of the events and teams that finish second and third will play crossed matches in the quarterfinals. The winner of the competition gets a ticket to compete at the Grand Champions Cup to be played in Japan next November where $1 million dollars will be available in prizes. Spanish

Cuba will dispute USA the ticket to Japan

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 10, 2005.- Cuba will meet USA in the decisive match of the Norceca Women’s Continental Championship with the winner of the contest advancing to the Grand Champions Cup in Japan next November. Cuba moved to the gold medal match after an easy victory over Dominican Republic in straight sets by score of 25-12, 25-12, 25-18. Nancy Carrillo was the best Cuban with 12 points and Yaima Ortiz and Zoila Barros added 10 and 9. Cindy Rondon, Kenia Moreta and Bethania de la Cruz each had 5 points for Dominican Republic. In the first set with the score 8-7 in favour of Cuba, Nancy Carrillo recorded four consecutive aces sending her side to the triumph. The blocking of Cuba was its main weapon in the second set which ended with identical score as the first one. The third set was not very much different than the others. Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: “It was a tough match and we had a lot of problems with our reception.” More…Spanish

USA to dispute the gold medal

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 10, 2005.- USA advanced to the gold medal match of the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships with a comfortable triumph over Puerto Rico by score of 25-18, 25-18, 25-18. Nancy Metcalf was the top American scorer with 12 points and Therese Crawford and Tayyiba Haneef had 11 and 10 respectively. Eva Cruz scored 11 for Puerto Rico. In the first set, USA relied on the strong blocking of Elisabeth Bachman and a couple of aces by setter Lindsey Berg. Puerto Rico was ahead 8-7 in the second, but Crawford led 7-0 rally of USA in route to the victory. After a tie at 13-all in the third set, USA dominated with its taller players blocking the attacks of Puerto Rico. Aury Cruz, captain of Puerto Rico: “Our serves today were not as effective as in previous matches. USA served and blocked very well. We did not give up and we will take this a preparation for tomorrow.” Robyn Ah Mow Santos, captain of USA: “Puerto Rico played real good defense and we also did a good job on defense. I think we could have played a little bit better.” Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: “We played harder than the last time we faced USA. Their serves were very strong and forced the location of our attack to the corners where they concentrated the blocking.” Lang Ping, coach of USA: “It was really a tough match. I am satisfied with the way we blocked today. We were patient and did a good job.” Spanish

Canada finished in the fifth position

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 10, 2005.- Canada placed fifth at the Norceca Women’s Continental Championship after routing Barbados 25-20, 25-10, 25-14 despite using a reserve squad for most of the match that lasted only 63 minutes. Tara Smart was the top Canadian scorer with 10 points followed by Gina Schmidt and Tawana Wardlaw with 9 apiece and Cheryl Stinson and Lies Reimer each with 8 points. Kristanella Allain led the Bajans with 11 tallies. The rest of the matches of Saturday featured the semi finals between USA and Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic vs. Cuba. The winner of this event will claim a ticket to the Grand Champions Cup to be disputed in Japan next November. Spanish

USA complete the Final Four teams at Norceca

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 9, 2005.- USA will face Puerto Rico in one of the two semi finals matches to be played on Saturday at the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships. The Americans advanced winning over Barbados in straight sets by score of 25-16, 25-9, 25-5. The Bajans resisted in the first set with some good blocking but at the end the superiority of USA was too big. It was almost a no-contest in the second and third sets. Elisabeth Bachman was the top scorer for USA with 13 points and Nancy Metcalf added 9. Anthazia Yearwood, captain of Barbados: “We set the goal of 15 points for the first set and we scored 16 so we enjoyed a lot. Then USA took charge and their serves were too strong.” Robyn Amow Santos, player of USA: “We also set some goals and that was to keep them in low scoring in the next two sets. They played a good first set.” Paul Payne, coach of Barbados: “It is very different to play against a team like USA. We played a good first set but they came back with those serves and were really tough. We tried very hard.” Lang Ping, coach of USA: “I called a time-out in the first set and told my players to use the technique against the blocking. We still have a long way to go. I am not thinking about Puerto Rico or Cuba. Against Cuba we did not have the chance to play and I have never seen in my life, playing or coaching, so many mistakes in the passing.” Spanish

Dominican Republic reached the semi finals

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 9, 2005.- The Dominican Republic advanced to the semi finals of the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships with a triumph in consecutive sets over Canada (25-22, 25-19, 25-14). Cindy Rondon had 18 points, including 11 blocks, to lead the Dominicans. Kenia Moreta and Annerys Vargas added 13 and 12 respectively. Julie Salyn led Canada with 9 points. The excellent blocking of Rondon was the key for the Dominicans in the first set where Canada led 8-7 and 16-15 at the technical pauses. Rondon’s overall game carried Dominican Republic in the second set, and Kenia Moreta’s spikes sealed the victory in the third set. Melissa Raymond, captain of Canada: “We played very well for the first two sets, but then Dominican Republic improved its blocking in the third one.” Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: “We had a shaky start but then recovered and set the pace of the game. That was the key.” Lorne Sawula, coach of Canada: “The Dominican libero (Caso) did a good job covering the holes and the attack of them was very consistent.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “I am very satisfied with the job done by Kenia Moreta tonight. She is a very important player in our team and it is good to see her back in shape.” Spanish

México finished in the seventh position

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 9, 2005.- Mexico finished in the seventh position at the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships after recording an easy victory over host Trinidad & Tobago in the first match of Day Four action. The match lasted only 49 minutes and the score was 25-10, 25-11, 25-12. Claudia Rodriguez had 19 points to lead the Mexican attack and Mariela Garcia and Migdalel Ruiz added 10 and 8 points respectively. Trinidadian coach Macsood Ali used only reserved players and Darlene Ramdin was the top scorer of her side with 10 points. The next matches on Friday featured Dominican Republic vs. Canada and USA vs. Barbados in the quarterfinals. Spanish

Barbados eliminates Trinidad & Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 8, 2005.- Barbados prevailed in a battle of teams from the Caribbean zone defeating host Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-9), on the last game of Day Three of the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. The Bajans advanced to a quarterfinal encounter with USA while Trinidad & Tobago will meet Mexico in a match for the seventh place. The other quarterfinal match will have Dominican Republic facing Canada on Friday.  Cuba and Puerto Rico will rest until Saturday when they will meet the winners of the quarterfinals in the semi final phase of the event. The winner of the tournament will receive a ticket to represent the Norceca Confederation at the Grand Champions Cup next November in Japan. Spanish

Cuba displayed exhibition of good volleyball

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 8, 2005.- Cuba crushed USA in consecutive sets (25-13, 25-22, 25-16) and confirmed its condition of favourite to win the ticket to the Grand Champions Cup available at the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. The powerful serves of Cubans caused major damage to the Americans reception during the whole match. Cuba joins Puerto Rico in the semi finals while the Americans will meet in the quarterfinals with the winner of Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. Rosir Calderon, one of four Cuban with double figures, led all the players with 18 points. Yumilka Ruiz, Yanelis Santos and Nancy Carrillo had 15, 12 and 10 respectively. Nancy Metcalf was the best American with 10. Lang Ping, coach of USA: “I don’t know if we played bad or Cuba played too good. Congratulations to Cuba. Their serves were too strong for us tonight.” Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “It is a very important victory because gives us a rest day tomorrow and a chance to prepare better for the semi finals. I think the key for the victory was our serves.” Spanish

Puerto Rico advanced to the semi finals

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 8, 2005.- Puerto Rico scored a surprising victory in three sets over Dominican Republic advancing to the semi final round of the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. The score was 25-23, 25-21, 25-22. It was the first loss of Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico since the preliminary round of the 2002 World Championships in Germany. Aury Cruz was the only Puerto Rican in double figures with 14 points and Sheila Ocasio and Tatiana Encarnacion added 9 and 8 respectively. Cosiris Rodriguez and Annerys Vargas were the best Dominicans with 14 and 12. The Dominican side lost outside hitter Prisilla Rivera in the first play of the match with an injury to her right ankle in a block attempt. She is day to day. Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: “We did not play at all. They had a great game and the important thing now is that we are still in the second round.” Aury Cruz, captain of Puerto Rico: “The service is one of our strengths and we came out to make it a little tough to their passing. That was the key. Our goal is to go back home with one of the medals.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “Puerto Rico played a good game and we lost our best attacker in the first play of the match. My team did not recover motionally of that loss and could not play well for the three sets.” Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: “The service was the key for the victory. We tried to avoid their middle-blockers and force their attack to the corners. It is a great victory but we want to keep our head cool.” Spanish

Canada qualified to the quarterfinals

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 8, 2005.- Canada qualified to the quarterfinals of the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships with a triumph over Mexico in the first match of Day Three. The score was 25-17, 25-22, 25-15. The Canadians finished the preliminary round with a 1-2 record in Pool B and Mexico was eliminated after losing its three matches. Gina Schmidt and Melissa Raymond scored 14 and 13 respectively for Canada while Claudia Rodriguez and Migdalel Ruiz had 14 and 12 for Mexico. Melissa Raymond, captain of Canada: “We started really slow during the first two sets until finally got our rhythm. We qualified for the next round and that was our goal today.” Lorne Sawula, coach of Canada: “We had moments of brilliance but we have to maintain that level for a longer period of time.” Spanish

Dominicans are one of four unbeaten teams

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 7, 2005.- Dominican Republic joined three other teams with unbeaten records after two days of competition at the Norceca Women’s Continental Championships. The Dominicans defeated host Trinidad & Tobago 25-8, 25-20, 25-10 and equalled with USA, Puerto Rico and Cuba with record of 2-0. Bethania de la Cruz led Dominican Republic with 13 points and Prisilla Rivera and Kenia Moreta had 10 and 9 respectively. Anne Kelly Billingy was the best Trinidadian with 13 points. Anne Kelly Billingy, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “Congratulations to Dominican Republic. We played a good second set and it was a good chance for our young players to go against a great team.” Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: “Trinidad & Tobago played very well in the second set. They have good talent and I hope they can make the next round.” Macsood Ali, coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “Get 20 points against a team who beat USA in the Olympics and Japan two months ago is a great honour. We need to keep competing at this level.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “We made some changes to rest my main players for the coming matches. I am satisfied with the way the young players performed in the third set after some difficulties in the second one.” Spanish

Cuba defeated Canada

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 7, 2005.- Cuba followed the steps of USA and Puerto Rico taking its second victory at the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. The Cubans beat Canada by score of 25-21, 25-18, 25-18. The Canadians battled during the whole match but at the end of each set Cuba dominated relying on its strong blocking and consistent play. Cuban Zoila Barros was the only player with double figures in the match with 13 points. Yumilka Ruiz, Nancy Carrillo and Daimi Ramirez each had 9. Gina Schmidt was the top Canadian scorer with 9 points. Lisa Raymond, captain of Canada: “We had a good first and third set when we managed to handle the big serves of Cuba. It is always fun to play against a team like Cuba.” Yumilka Ruiz, captain of Cuba: “I think we are improving step by step. I am very satisfied with our performance so far. Canada played very well tonight.” Lorne Sawula, coach of Canada: “Every time you have the chance to play against Cuba is a bonus. We battled against them but at the end their experience gave them the triumph when they took the game to the next level.” Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “Congratulations to Canada for a great match tonight. They served well and put us in trouble. It is a well prepared team tactically and they showed it today.” Spanish

Second victory for USA

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 7, 2005.- USA obtained its second victory in as many outings at the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships while defeating Mexico in straight sets by score of 25-4, 25-22, 25-16. The Americans crushed their rivals in the first set when they enjoyed excellent serves by Tayyiba Haneef combined with outstanding blocking. The next two sets were closer but with USA using its superiority to prevail. Haneef was the leading scorer for USA with 19 points, Jennifer Joines added 10 and Danielle Scott, Elisabeth Bachman and Katherine Wilkins had 8 apiece. Migdalel Ruiz and Elizabteh Salas each had 9 for Mexico. Claudia Rodriguez, player of Mexico: “This is a great opportunity for our younger players to learn. We only came here with nine players and we are trying to do what we can.” Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, player of USA: “We played better than yesterday but lost concentration after the first set. We will get better.” Marco Heredia, coach of Mexico: “It is very tough to play against a team like USA under the conditions we are. The Federation sent me with nine players and two were injured yesterday. I think USA will be a contender for the crown here.” Lang Ping, coach of USA: “We don’t have the consistency you need to be among the top teams in the world. We make too many errors. We have a long way to go, but today we served better.” Spanish

Puerto Rico is 2-0

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 7, 2005.- Puerto Rico is 2-0 at the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships after a victory over Barbados  25-14, 25-10, 25-5. The Puerto Ricans were superior in all aspects of the game and cruised to the victory without any difficulties. Shannon Torregrosa led Puerto Rico with 14 points, Vanessa Velez and Sheila Ocasio added 8 apiece and Tatiana Encarnacion and Aury Cruz each produced 7. Anthazia Yearwood, captain of Barbados: “We came out with enthusiasm in the first set but we need to work more as a team. I like the style of Puerto Rico, a good team.” Aury Cruz, captain of Puerto Rico: “We came out to play hard and trying to minimize the errors. We passed very well and I am very satisfied with our game today.” Paul Payne, coach of Barbados: “Puerto Rico came prepared to play us and they took their game a step higher than yesterday. Their serving was a significant difference.” Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: “I agree with the coach of Barbados that our serves carried us today. I like the consistency level we kept today and I hope to maintain the aggressiveness of our services.” Spanish

Dr. Ruben Acosta Trophy Challenge was announced 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 6, 2005.- The Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez Trophy Challenge was announced tonight during the opening ceremony of the Norceca's Women Continental Championships. The Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Roger Boynes, presented the trophy to Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, president of the hosting national volleyball federation and Mr. Edgar Alvarado, president of the Control Committee of the event.Both Mohammed and Alvarado are regional vice presidents of the North, Central American and Caribbean Confederation, whose president is Mr. Cristobal Marte of Dominican Republic. Mr. Boynes said during his speech that this is a recognition to the contributions in favour of volleyball in America and worldwide by founder and first president of Norceca and president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) since 1984. Mr. Mohammed informed that the team who wins the championship for three editions will keep the trophy permanently. Eght teams from the Norceca region are competing here for one ticket to the Grand Champions Cup to be played in Japan next November. The teams are: Barbados, Cuba, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and USA. Spanish

USA recovered to beat Canada

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 6, 2005.- USA recovered from losing the opening set and went on to take the next three in a victory over Canada 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-14 in Day One of the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships.The Canadians were tough rivals for the first three sets of the match, but in the fourth seemed a little bit tired and the Americans dominated. Four Americans finished in double digits with Tayyiba Haneef leading the way with 17 points. Nancy Metcalf followed with 14 and Katherine Wilkins and Elisabeth Bachman had 12 and 11 respectively. Melissa Raymond was the best Canadian with 10 followed by Lies Reimer and Emely Cordonier with 8 apiece.Lisa Raymond, captain of Canada: “It was a good game for us where we went out to battle. At the end they executed better than us.” Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, player of USA: “We were very slow at the beginning but we were lucky to come back and recover. Canada played very good.” Lorne Sawula, coach of Canada: “They continue to find a way to beat us. You are never happy with a loss, but it was a good learning experience for us.” Lang Ping, coach of USA: “It was a very difficult match and we did not have good concentration in the first set, but we also did not make many mistakes. Canada played a great game.” Spanish

Puerto Rico complete the victorious quartet

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 6, 2005.- Puerto Rico defeated host Trinidad & Tobago in consecutive sets during the last match of the opening day at the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. The Puerto Ricans used their better experience to beat a physically talented side of Trinidad & Tobago. The score was 25-14, 25-9, 25-6. Shannon Torregrosa and Aury Cruz were the leading scorers of Puerto Rico with 11 points apiece. Anne Kelly Billingy topped the host side with 10 points. Anne Kelly Billingy, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “During the first set we played very well but then we made too many errors. We were not talking and the team of Puerto Rico improved a lot. Congratulations to them.” Aury Cruz, captain of Puerto Rico: “It was a nice first set for Trinidad & Tobago. It is the first time we play against them and we didn’t know what to expect. They came out pretty hard.” Macsood Ali, coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “Puerto Rico is a team with experience. We could not negotiate their serves after the first set. The biggest problem of our team is the lack of exposure.” Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: “It is the first time we play against them. We made a few errors in the first set and they played hard, especially Kelly with her effective spikes. Then we found the needed consistency.” Spanish

Comfortable victory for Dominican Republic

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 6, 2005.- The Dominican Republic scored a comfortable victory over Barbados (25-14, 25-12, 25-12) in Day One of the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships. Annerys Vargas led three Dominicans in double figures with 13 points and Cosiris Rodriguez and Cindy Rondon added 11 and 10 respectively. Anthazia Yearwood, captain of Barbados: “The Dominicans are taller than us and their blocking made it tough for us. We played a good first set and then lost the focus.” Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: “We had a good start and I hope we are going to improve from it. The girls of Barbados played very well.” Paul Payne, coach of Barbados: “We played much better than the last time we faced them at the Pan American Cup. We have some new players who need exposure.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “We played very well as a team. The most important thing is that we kept the same level and the same focus using a mix of veteran, young and intermediate players. That gives me a great satisfaction because we are working at long term and it is a good sign.” Spanish

Cuba defeated Mexico in straight sets

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 6, 2005.- Cuba defeated Mexico in consecutive sets to open the Norceca’s Women Continental Championships, a qualifier for the Champions Cup. The score was 25-18, 25-18, 25-20. Nancy Carrillo and Daimi Ramirez led the Cuban balanced attack with 11 points apiece and Yaima Ortiz added 8. The best scorer of Mexico was Mariela Garcia with 9 points. Celida Cordova, captain of Mexico: “Cuba is a very strong team and we did our best. Their jumping serves gave problems to our reception.” Yumilka Ruiz, captain of Cuba: “Mexico played very well. We need to make some adjustments in order to play more as a unit.” Marco Heredia, coach of Mexico: “I am happy with the way we played with our reduced team due to injuries. Cuba is one of the best team in the world.” Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “Our technical staff is satisfied with our performance in this first match. Mexico played very well and that is the reason they qualified to the World Championships.” Spanish

Minister of Sports formally launched the Tournament

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 3, 2005.- The minister of Sport and Youth Affairs formally launched the NORCECA Women’s Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, host of the tournament. The tournament was launched at the Press Centre at the venue for the tournament.  The competition will be the qualification event for the Grand Champion’s Cup to be held in Japan later this year. At the launch, the Minister of Sport Mr. Roger Boynes, pleased the government support for the tournament and indicated that the government is pleased with the work of the Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation over the years. This year the National Volleyball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago was the host of the World Championships Qualification Tournament (NORCECA Group B Men) and also the host of the Caribbean Junior Women Tournament. After the NORCECA women’s Tournament they will be the host of a Caribbean Beach Volleyball Tournament. “We are very proud of the efforts of the Volleyball Federation as they cater for the youths of the nation and also has contributed to the Sport Tourism policy of the Government” said Boynes. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation said: “We are honored to host this event, the glory of women’s volleyball in this region especially since this tournament has the prestige of being the qualification tournament for the Grand Champions Cup in Japan.  We are also honored to host USA, Cuba and Dominican Republic, who participated in the last Olympic Games in Greece”. The tournament will start on September 6 and the Champions on NORCECA will be crowned on September 11. Spanish

Women of Cuba will go as favourites at Trinidad & Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, September 2, 2005.- Olympic bronze medallist Cuba, a team who placed fourth at this year World Grand Prix, is the favourite to take the gold medal at the Women’s Norceca Continental Championships to be staged here on September 6-11. USA and Dominican Republic are the other major powers of the region on the women side with Puerto Rico making some improvements lately. The threesome of Yumilka Ruiz, Zoila Barros and Nancy Carrillo lead the Cuban attack with Rosir Calderon emerging with an explosive offence. USA has prolific scorer Nancy Metcalf and big Tayyeba Haneef as their main producers along with Elizabeth Bachman and Jennifer Joines. Veteran Cosiris Rodriguez and young Prisilla Rivera lead the Dominican squad joined by promising Dahiana Burgos. The siblings Aury and Eva Cruz and Shannon Torregrosa are the main Puerto Rican players. Mexico, a team qualified to the next year World Championships has Bibi Candelas and Ana Mercado as its main power supplier while Canada will count with Barb Bellini and Emely Cordonier as their top producers. Teams from Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago are newcomers to this competition and their young squads will participate looking for learning experience. Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago will play in Pool A and Cuba, USA, Mexico and Canada will compete in Pool B. The winners of each pool advance to the semi final round while the teams placed second and third will go to a crossed quarterfinal confrontation. Spanish

Cuba is the favourite in Men’s Continental at Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Canada, September 2, 2005.- Cuba, winner of the bronze medal in the World League this year, is the favourite to get the gold at the Norceca Men’s Continental Championships to be disputed here on September 10-15. Cuba is one of the four Norceca’s teams already qualified to the Final Round of the Men’s 2006 FIVB World Championships in Japan. The others are USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. The winner of the continental competition will get the only ticket available for the Champions Cup to be played in Japan next November. Cuba was the most pleasant surprise at the World League this year featuring a mix of veterans and youngsters. In their quest for the ticket to the Champions Cup, Cuba will count, among others, with Raidel Poey, the MVP at the Norceca-E Tournament, as well as Henry Bell, Yasser Portuondo, Olvedis Dominico, Osmany Juantorena and captain Pavel Pimienta. USA, unbeaten winner at the Norceca-D last month, is considered the main opposition for Cuba and will present a squad led by Riley Salmon, Brook Billings, James Polster, David Lee and Richard Lambourne. More..Spanish

Havana and Dominican’s Proyecto Nacional playing in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil, August 30, 2005.- Havana Club and Proyecto Nacional of Dominican Republic are taking part at the Salonpas Cup, an invitational women’s tournament being played in this Brazilian metropolis. Havana has a 1-2 record while the Dominican team has a 0-3 mark. The Minas Club is leading the competition unbeaten in two outings. Minas Club defeated Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15) with Joyce Silva scoring 22, Veronica Brito 15 and Fernanda Rodrigues 8. For the Dominicans the best scorers were Dahiana Burgos, Bethania de la Cruz and Cindy Rondon with 14, 11 and 10 points respectively. Havana needed five sets (25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15) with Yusleinis Alvarez leading the route with 19 points and Martha Sanchez and Anniara Munoz adding 17 and 10. Four Dominicans scored in double figures: Rondon (20), Gina Mambru (17), Prisilla Rivera (15) and Ginette Selmo (14). Rexona-Ades Team defeated Havana 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-15) with Rosangela Nascimento and Thaisa Menezes scoring 14 and 12 and Yusidey Frometa leading the Cubans with 10 points. Finally, Belgium All-Stars beat Dominican Republic 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-17). Virginie de Carne and Liesbeth Vindevoghel had 15 and 10 points respectively for Belgium and Burgos and Rondon scored 10 and 8 for the Dominicans.

Rosir Calderon was the MVP in Santiago

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 28, 2005.- Cuban Rosir Calderon was elected the Most Valuable Player at the Norceca-E Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships. Calderon was also the best attacker of the competition and Cuban Nancy Carrillo received the award as Best Server. Felipe Calderon of Cuba was the choice as Best Coach. Five Dominicans made the All-Star Team. They were: Cosiris Rodriguez (Best Scorer), Annerys Vargas (Best Blocker), Juana Gonzalez (Best Setter), Sofia Heredia (Best Receiver) and Ana Lara (Best Libero). Walda Maldonado of Guatemala was the Best Receiver. Spanish

Cuba finish with perfect record

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 28, 2005.- Cuba finished with a perfect record of 4-0 at the Norceca-E Women’s Tournament while defeating Dominican Republic in consecutive sets (29-27, 25-19, 25-18) in a match between sides already qualified for the Final Round of the 2006 FIVB World Championships. Cuba took the lead 8-5 with the big serves of Zoila Barros who had three consecutive aces. Dominican Republic tied up at 8-all with the offence of Juana Gonzalez and Cosiris Rodriguez. After a tie at 12-all, Barros again served two aces sending Cuba to a 16-14 advantage at the second technical time-out. The Dominicans came back to take a 24-22 lead with Rodriguez leading the way, but a couple of errors evened the score at 24-all. Finally, the serves of Nancy Carrillo decided the frame where Cuba saved five-set points. In the second set, the attack of Barros and Carrillo was the key for Cuban’s lead at 8-5 and 16-12. Cuba controlled the set since the beginning and Yaima Ortiz closed it with a pair of smashes. More…Spanish

Costa Rica got the ticket to Japan 2006

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 28, 2005.- Costa Rica qualified to the Final Round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships with a victory in consecutive sets over Guatemala taking advantage of their bigger size at the net. The score was 25-22, 25-15, 25-19. Angela Willis and Ingrid Morales had 13 and 10 points respectively for Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans recovered from a shaky start in the first set and led 8-6 and 16-11 at the technical time-out with Angela Willis supplying some good attacks. The taller Costa Ricans also controlled the net. Guatemala led 8-6, but Costa Rica tied up at 8-all behind a block of Paola Ramirez and a touch by Dionisia Thompson. After a tie at 12-all, the Costa Ricans jumped to a 16-12 lead at the second technical time-out benefiting from the blocking of Verania Willis. The third set was very competitive with Costa Rica leading 8-7 and 16-15 at the pauses. Ana Ramirez made a great effort for Guatemala. A big block by Angela Willis sealed the ticket to Japan. More…Spanish

American Salmon was the MVP in Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 28, 2005.- American Riley Salmon was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the Norceca-D Qualification Tournament for the FIVB 2006 Men’s World Championships. Salmon was also the best attacker of the event where USA and Puerto Rico won the two remaining tickets for the Final Round to be played in Japan next year. Mexican Ivan Contreras was the only member of the All-Star not a member of USA or Puerto Rico. Teams from Guatemala and Barbados also participated in the event. Americans David Lee (Best Blocker) and Richard Lambourne (Best Receiver) joined Salmon in the awarding ceremony. Puerto Ricans Angel Perez (Best Setter), Gregory Berrios (Best Defender and Libero) and Jose Rivera (Best Server) completed the squad. Also were recognized during the closing ceremony USA coach Hugh McCutcheon and referee Pedro Garcia of Puerto Rico. Spanish

USA completed a perfect record

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 28, 2005.- To Qualify to the Men’s World Championships next year in Japan was not enough for USA. They wanted something else and got it without problems. The American squad was prepared to face the team who played better against them during the competition and beat Puerto Rico in straight sets (25-22, 25-12, 25-21) to win the gold medal at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualifying Tournament. Both teams entered the court with its regular starters looking for the gold, but the Puerto Ricans committed too many mistakes with their serves in the first set. The errors of Puerto Rico continued in the second set where the Americans excelled with their attack and blocking. In the third set, the Americans took an early lead and never relinquished despite a late charge by the host team. Spanish

Mexico finished in third place

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 28, 2005.- Ivan Contreras, Carlos Guerra and Gustavo Meyer scored in double figures in leading Mexico to a victory over Guatemala 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-16) in the bronze medal match of the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament. Mexico and Guatemala had been eliminated of possibilities for the Final Round of 2006 FIVB World Championships after losing to Puerto Rico and USA in the semi finals on Saturday. Contreras had 17 points, Guerra 13 and Meyer 11, while Erick Garrido led Guatemala with 13 points and Erick Calvillo added nine. Spanish

Cuba qualified to Japan 2006

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 27, 2005.- Cuba qualified to the Final Round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships with a victory over Guatemala at the Norceca-E Qualification Tournament. The score was 25-12, 25-11, 25-12. Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez each had 13 points, and Kenia Carcaces and Yanelis Santos had 11 and 10 respectively. Cuba won the first set using strong serves and solid spikes by Rachel Sanchez. It was a consistent performance by the Cubans who led 8-4 and 16-8 at the technical time-outs. In the second set, Kenia Carcaces led the Cubans with potent spikes and serves. The accurate serves of Cuba continued in the third set combined with good blocking. María Orellana, captain of Guatemala: “I think this match prepared us for the game of tomorrow against Costa Rica. We improved our reception and we hope for the best on Sunday.” Rosir Calderón, player of Cuba: “Our team played very well. This year is my first in the starting line-up of Cuba. I still need to develop more in order to be the top attacker of our squad.” David Aldana, coach of Guatemala: “The matches against Cuba and Dominican Republic as also some friendly contests against the junior teams of those countries have prepared us for the game against Costa Rica.” Felipe Calderón, coach of Cuba: “We continued to use our young players and if they are needed on Sunday, against Dominican Republic, we will have the veteran players.” Spanish

Costa Rica defeated Jamaica

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 27, 2005.- Costa Rica took the first step toward the Final Round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships with a victory over Jamaica in consecutive sets (25-17, 25-13, 27-25) at the Norceca-E Qualification Tournament. Angela Willis led three players in double figures with 15 points. The attack of Angela Willis and Dionisia Thompson was a key for Costa Rica in the first set. In the second, the service game guided the Central Americans with Verania Willis and Marianela Alfaro leading the way. In the third set, Jamaica wasted a four-point lead at 24-21 and the Costa Ricans prevailed winning the match taking advantage of the opponent’s mistakes. Angela Willis totalled 15 points and Verania Willis and Thompson had 11 and 10 respectively. For Jamaica, Georgette Crawford had 10. Verania Willis, captain of Costa Rica: “We committed many errors, especially in he third set and we need to avoid that in our match tomorrow against Guatemala for the ticket to Japan.” Braulio Godinez, coach of Costa Rica: “I think the girls were a little over confident after winning the second set by a wide margin. We came from behind in the third set and that was a good sign of improvement.” Spanish

USA continue to dominate

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 27, 2005.- USA continued its playing rhythm and its dominion of offence and blocking defeating Guatemala in straight sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-9) qualifying to the 2006 FIVB Men's World Championships. Guatemala had moments of brilliance in the first two sets leaving a good impression of the Central American volleyball, but the experience of USA was enough to get the victory and the first of two tickets available in the Norceca-D Tournament. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: "This is my first year with the team. It has been a good year for us. We have had good games and good victories. We are going to rthe Worlds looking to be among the top eight and from there hope to be in the final four and maybe the podium." Riley Salmon, captain of USA: "The final match is always very emotional. Whoever is the rival is going to be a good one. We will be in shape." Alvinzi Pelaez, coach of Guatemala: "I am very content because I know the team did its best." Spanish

Puerto Rico complete the list of participants in Japan

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 27, 2005.- The Final Round of the 2006 FIVB Men's World Championships have its 24 participants. Puerto Rico completed the list with a straight sets victory over Mexico at the Norceca-D Qualification Tournament. The score was 25-20, 26-24, 25-23. The match was close since the start and in very set the teams played evenly until the 16-point level but the host team, supported by around 6,000 fans, executed the key plays for the triumph. In the third set, the Mexicans showed its desire to extend the match, but Puerto Rico had a boost and after several ties took control of the set. With the score 24-23, as also happened with the women Puerto Rican team, a block finished the match and gave the ticket to Japan. This will be the first participation for Puerto Rico since the World Championships in Mexico 1974. Hector Soto led the Puerto Rican offence with 15 points and Carlos Guerra had 14 for Mexico. Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: "This is great for the volleyball of Puerto Rico. The opportunity came and we took advantage of it. I am very satisfied with the job done by my players. We could recover from bad moments and mistakes. the team kept the composure and executed at the crucial moments to get the victory." Hector Soto, player of Puerto Rico: "I improved with the tournament. I am not yet at my peak, but it was a good game. I only can say in advance that I will be in Japan." Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: "I would have changed the structure of the team, but that was the way it was formed. Congratulations to Puerto Rico and good luck in Japan." Spanish

USA is one step away from Japan

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 26, 2005.- USA is one step away from qualifying to the Final Round of the FIVB 2006 Men's World Championships after defeating Mexico 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 at the Norceca-Tournament. During the match, USA made few substitutions, but the Mexicans worked with most of their personnel to prepare it for the semi final against Puerto Rico.  Riley Salmon and James Polster were the best attackers for USA with 12 points apiece, while Carlos Guerra had 13 for Mexico. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: "I am very happy with the way my boys performed because during the whole week the level have been up and down and today was very consistent." Riley Salmon, captain of USA: "Tomorrow we have to play against Guatemala who defeated Barbados. We are going to play with great respect but with a lot of intensity because is the match for the qualification." Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: "I think we could have played better. Now we will concentrate in the match of tomorrow against Puerto Rico." Spanish

Guatemala moved to the semi finals

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 26, 2005.- Guatemala took a major step for the Central American volleyball in defeating Barbados 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22). The Guatemalans played effectively and combined good defense on the court and in the blocking. Guatemala could dominate the strong offence of the islanders even after losing its middle blocker Edgar Villalobos with a sprained ankle in the third set. Barbados had an afternoon to forget and only its captain Elwyn Oxley was consistent and scored 26 points, the highest total in the tournament so far. For Guatemala, whio qualified to the semi final, Erick Garrido had 16 and Alfredo Gonzalez added 13 points. Alvinzi Peláez, coach of Guatemala: "We accomplished our goal. Now we know we still have two matches to play and will go out to get more experience that shall be very valuable for the future in our zone." Miguel Marroquin, captain of Guatemala: "We established our rythm and got the victory. Now we are going to take advantage of the two matches we still have to play." Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: "Congratulations to Guatemala. They played a greta game and got the victory." Spanish

Dominican Republic won the ticket to Japan                                                          Match Schedule

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 26, 2005.- The Dominican Republic won a ticket to the Final Round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championship with a victory over Jamaica 25-10, 25-10, 25-15 at the Norceca-E Qualification Tournament.  Cosiris Rodriguez scored 16 points and Annerys Vargas added 13. Georgette Crawford had 9 points for Jamaica. The more experienced Dominicans dominated the first set with effective blocking and Rodriguez producing well placed spikes. The host team was ahead by 8-3 and 16-6 at the technical time-outs. The serves of Dominican Republic caused problems to the Jamaica’s reception in the second set. Rodriguez and Vargas led the offence for the host team. It was more or less the same pattern in the third set, but a more relaxed Dominican side allowed some liberties to the opposition. More....Spanish 

Cuba wins its second match

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 26, 2005.- Cuba is 2-0 at the Norceca-E FIVB Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament after a straight sets triumph over Costa Rica by score of 25-7, 25-12, 25-20. Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez led Cuba with 10 points apiece. Cubans Yumilka Ruiz and Zoila Barros remained on the sides for the second consecutive day. The big serves of  Sanchez gave Cuba an 8-3 lead in the first set and the margin escalated to 16-5 with the spikes and blocking of Nancy Carrillo. Calderon’s spikes sealed the victory. Cuba was leading by two points at the first technical pause in the second set, but the kills of Carrillo provided a boost and the gap improved to 16-9 at the second stop. Sanchez finished the job with excellent overall performance. Costa Rica led 8-7 in the third set thanks to effective attack of siblings Verania and Angela Willis combined with inconsistent serves by Cuba. The Costa Rican were still ahead 16-15 at the second time-out, but Daimi Ramirez led a Cuban charge to close the match. More....Spanish 

Puerto Rico got its third consecutive win

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 25, 2005.- In a match that must be a preview of a semi final encounter, Puerto Rico defeated Mexico in consecutive sets (25-16, 25-23, 26-24) for its third victory in a row at the Norceca-D Men’s FIVB World Championships Qualification Tournament.The Puerto Ricans established an effective game with middle and corners offense besides consistent defense both at the net and the field. Hector Soto and Jose Rivera led Puerto Rico with 16 points apiece, and Ivan Contreras was the best for Mexico with 22. Luis E. Ruiz, coach de Puerto Rico: “I think we placed well but we must sep the respect for Mexico, which is a great team and Ivan Contreras, a great  competitor. On Saturday Hill be a new match and this one is in the past.” Héctor  Soto, player of Puerto Rico: Ï think we need to maintain the concentration for the match of Saturday which is very important.” Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: “We did not have our best game. We need to make the adjustments and go well focused to the qualification match on Saturday.” Iván Contreras, captain of Mexico: “By what we saw today, I am sure we are going to play again on Saturday in the semi finals. I think we have to forget about tomorrow’s match against USA and concentrate for the match of Saturday looking for the ticket to Japan.” Spanish

Easy victory for USA over Barbados

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 25, 2005.- USA defeated Barbados in straight  sets (25-18, 25-10, 25-13) for its third victory at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the FIVB World Championships. USA had an effective game from its setter Donald Suxho and the offensive of David McKienzie, David Lee and Riley Salmon while Elwyn Oxley was the only consistent performer for Barbados. McKIenzie had 8 points the same total of Oxley. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “It was a good game for us. We started a little slow like we did against Puerto Rico but we made the needed adjustments to take the first set and then win the match. Barbados played hard but their level is different.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “Our game has improved and these past matches help us to go to the match against Guatemala, a team that work very hard on defense, We have to be ready against them and avoid the errors.” Spanish..........Match Schedule

Dominicans improve to 2-0 mark

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 25, 2005.- Dominican Republic got its second triumph in as many days beating Guatemala in straight sets by score of 25-10, 25-12, 25-12 at the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament Norceca-E. Annerys Vargas and Cosiris Rodriguez were the top scorers for the host team with 16 and 13 respectively.  The spikes of Kenia Moreta sent Dominican Republic to an 8-2 lead at the first technical time-out of the opening set and Rodriguez closed it with a streak of potent kills. Rodriguez continued her devastating offensive performance in the second set when the Dominicans led 8-4 and 16-8 with good use of their size advantage at the net. Vargas enjoyed an overall good performance in the third set, blocking, spiking and serving with excellence. Maria Orellana, captain of Guatemala: "It is always source of pride to compete against a team of the high level like the one of Dominican Republic. I think we have improved  and hope to do good against Costa Rica on Sunday."  Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: "It was a beautiful match for us. We played better than yesterday and improved our reception. We also have one objective for next Sunday against Cuba." David Aldana, coach of Guatemala: "It is not everyday that you have the chance to play against a team like Dominican Republic. Our goal is to play better and to develop our team." Ismael Ortega, coach of Dominican Republic: "Things were better for us today. We received better and the team is very united. We will be ready for a good match against Cuba on Sunday." Spanish........Match Schedule

Cuba displayed powerful attack

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 25, 2005.- Cuba made an impressive debut at the Norceca-E 2006 Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament while dominating Jamaica in straight sets 25-10, 25-11, 25-14. Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez led the Cubans with 14 and 11 points respectively. Neither Yumilka Ruiz nor Zoila Barros, the two main stars on the Cuban side, saw action during the one sided match. The first set was completely one-sided with the powerful serves of Cuba producing major damages on the Jamaican side. Cuba led 8-3 and 16-4 at the time-outs. Sanchez had three aces, Nancy Carrillo had two and Daimi Ramirez added another one. Calderon’s thunderous spikes were the main weapons utilized by Cuba in a second set where the Olympic bronze medallists led 8-2 and 16-6 at the two technical pauses. Cuba played mostly with reserve players in the third set, but the outcome was very similar. Tracyann Pryce, captain if Jamaica: “Just the fact of playing against a team like Cuba was a pleasure. We played better than the day before but there is still room for improvement.” Yumilka Ruiz, captain of Cuba: “I think the girls of Jamaica did a great effort. It was also a game where our young players received the opportunity to play and develop.” O’Neal Ebanks, assistant coach of Jamaica: “It is always good to play against Cuba. We learned a lot and improved from yesterday. Our goal is to keep playing better as the competition continues.” Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “We knew about the possibilities of Jamaica so it was good opportunity to give playing time to some of our younger players.” Spanish

Dominican Republic beat Costa Rica

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- Dominican Republic won in straight sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-20) over Costa Rica in Day One of the FIVB Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament Norceca-D. Cosiris Rodriguez, Annerys Vargas and Kenia Moreta had 13, 12 and 11 points respectively for the Dominican Republic, while siblings Verania and Angela Willis each scored 11 for Costa Rica. The Dominicans dominated 8-3 and 16-8 in route to winning the first set with Moreta and Vargas providing the attack. Veteran Rodriguez and Vargas led the way for the host team in the second set where Costa Rica presented some resistance with good blocks. The Costa Ricans led most of the third set with the offence of Verania Willis but they could not maintain the rhythm after a tie at 18-all, when Rodriguez led a Dominican comeback. Braulio Godinez, coach of Costa Rica: "We had a good game and tried to give a battle to the Dominicans who had much more experience than us. But we cannot lost the perspective and need to maintain the focus on winning the third place." More…Spanish

Puerto Rico took second victory

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2005.- Puerto Rico defeated Guatemala with comfortable margin for its second victory at the 2006 FIVB Men’s World Championship Norceca-D. The score  was 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 and the match gave the Puerto Rican coach the chance to use some of his reserve players with Oswald Antonetti leading the offence of the host team. There were moments during the match when the Guatemalans showed signs of improvement and battled hard, but the strength of Puerto Rico was too much. Antonetti was the best scorer for Puerto Rico with 17 points, followed by Roberto Munoz with 12. Erick Garrido topped Guatemala with 6 points. Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We touched the ball in the blocking and that is good. We also looked better in our serves but still need to minimize the errors.” Víctor Rivera, player of Puerto Rico: “We had to go motivated for this match. I am a professional and always, no matter the rival, I like to play well. We have to reduce the errors and the match was useful for our match against Mexico.” Miguel Marroquín, captain of Guatemala: “I think we showed improvement in our game. Now we have to concentrate in the match we came looking form and that is to beat Barbados.” Spanish

Guatemala started on the right track

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- Guatemala started on the right track its quest for a berth at the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships taking a four-set victory over Jamaica in the Norceca–E Qualification Tournament. The score was 25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-7. Maria Orellana led Guatemala with 18 points while Ana Ramirez had 16 and Samantha Arias 11. For Jamaica Cheryl Daley scored 9 and Paula Porter and Crawford each had 8. Guatemala won the first set with good offensive actions by Ramirez and Aneliesse Burmester combined with Jamaica’s continued reception problems, but Jamaica prevailed in the second frame with improved blocking and strong spikes by Georgette Crawford. Ramirez led the attack in a third set dominated by Guatemala with margins of 8-3 and 16-10 at the technical time-outs. The serves of Orellana gave Guatemala a comfortable early lead in the fourth set and the rest was history. Oneal Ebanks, assistant coach of Jamaica: "We do not have much international experience and it showed today, even our girls made the effort, but we lacked fighting spirit." More…Spanish

Mexico won over Barbados

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2005.- Mexico capitalizad the errors of Barbados to take its second victory at the Norceca-D Men’s FIVB World Championship Qualification Tournament. The Mexicans, relying on the game of their captain Ivan Contreras and attackers Carlos Guerra and Gustavo Meyer won in consecutive sets by score of  25-16, 25-14, 25-21, but for moments needed a big effort to stop the strong attack of Barbados at the corners. Contreras led Mexico with 13 points and Guerra added 12, while Adam Price, who did not start for Barbados was the best of his side with 11 points. Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: Ït was not our best game, but we managed to get the win. Now we have to be ready for our next match against Puerto Rico.” Ivan Contreras, captain of Mexico: “After winning the first two sets it was normal to relax a little bit, even myself. But we won because of their mistakes.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “We made too manyerrors and we paid for it, but the game help us to be ready for the match that can qualify us to the semifinals.” Spanish

What the coaches said before Santiago

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- The teams of Cuba and Dominican Republic are considered a lock to reach the final round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships. So in the competition that starts tonight, three teams will be battling for the one spot available. Here is what the coaches said during the press conference after the technical meeting: Ornel Findlay, coach of Jamaica: “We know that Cuba and Dominican Republic are teams of world level, but anyway we come here with the goal of reaching Japan along with them. We are ready for the battle against all the rivals looking for that place in the Worlds.” Luis Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “We have had a tough year with an intense preparation to arrive here looking for the ticket to the Worlds. In the sport there are no small enemies, and even we are given as favourites, we always go to the court willing to show it. We have our complete squad well prepared to make the jump to Japan. If I have to mention two key players, I would say they are Yumilka Ruiz and Zoila Barros.” David Aldana, coach of Guatemala: “Thanks to the new qualification format within Norceca, we are here and hope to keep advancing. I think this situation will take our volleyball to make the quality jump and we are winning just being here. But anyway, we are ready to take the ticket.”..More..Spanish

Puerto Rico has a 1-1 record

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 23, 2005.- Puerto Rico got its first win at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships while beating Barbados in straight sets. The score was 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 and Puerto Rico has a 1-1 record while Barbados is winless in two outings. The match was one where the Puerto Ricans presented much strength in blocking and good serving, although Barbados battled back on several occasions and showed its continued improved in the region. The Puerto Rican offence counted with 11 points from Victor Rivera and 8 produced by Rene Estevez. For Barbados, the best scorer was Renier Grace with 6 points. Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “I thing we could evaluate our players. They (Barbados) have their offensive game but we controlled them. Now we have to think in Guatemala, which is our next rival and we don’t know anything about them.” José Rivera, player of Puerto Rico: “Personally, I finished some kind of tired because I still had the load of yesterday’s match against USA, but we could made our game and get the victory.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “We are going match by match. We are looking to improve our game because still we have to play against Mexico and USA and the match with Guatemala. The tournament has been of great experience for us and we will learn from it to improve our game.” Spanish

USA obtained its second triumph

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 23, 2005.- USA obtained its second victory of the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament, defeating Guatemala in only 55 minutes. The score was 25-10, 25-13, 25-10. Hugh McCutcheon, the coach of USA, used only six players who did not play the day before. The Americans took advantage of their height for the blocking and attack, while dominating their opponents without major problems. Opposite attacker Brook Billings was the top scorer for USA with 17 points and Peter Olree added 13. Edgar Villalobos led Guatemala with six points. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “We tested other players and see all the options that we have. We did not have to make any adjustments and could dominate with six players. Now, we have to prepare for our next game.” Brook Billings, player of USA: “The team has one week working out and I was not there during the preparation phase, but calmly I am ready for when it is needed.” Alvinzi Peláez, coach of Guatemala: “We know that the game was going to be tough, but we could test some alternatives and improve everyday for the match we want to win against Barbados.” Mario Marroquín, captain of Guatemala: “It was another great experience for our team. We play tomorrow against Puerto Rico and we will go out with the same enthusiasm of today.” Spanish

Good start for Mexico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 22, 2005.- Mexico enjoyed a good start at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament defeating Guatemala in just 60 minutes with a good combination of attack, blocking and serves. The score was 25-13, 25-14, 25-11 with the offensive help from attacker Gustavo Meyer and opposite Ivan Contreras. Meyer had 17 points and Contreras added 15 while Guillermo Castillo was the best for Guatemala with 6. Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: “The match gave me the chance to test all my players and make all the offensive adjustments looking for the big matches, especially the semi finals on Saturday.” Iván Contreras, captain of Mexico: “We have one of the better teams in recent time, I only hope this matches prepare us for the important one.” Alvinzi Peláez, coach of Guatemala: “These matches are good for learning, besides prepare us for the match against Barbados and dispute the fourth place which is our goal.” Spanish

USA defeated Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 22, 2005.- USA defeated Puerto Rico in Day One of the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships. The score was 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22). The Americans combined the offence of David McKenzie and Riley Salmon and the blocking of David Lee to dominate the first set. In the second set, the host team improved but could not keep the consistency. Although the third set was close, the Americans could maintain the control with their experience.McKenzie was the best scorer for USA with 12 points and Jose Rivera led Puerto Rico with 13 points. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “We could establish the consistency in the blocking. It was a good match that could have gone either way. Now we will continue to work for the coming matches.” Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We made many mistakes that cost us but now we have to erase that and concentrate in the next matches.” Spanish

What the coaches said before Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 21, 2005.- The five participating coaches at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships, considered this is “The Group of Death” in the area and predicted very close matches. This is what the coaches said during the press conference following the technical meeting: Luis Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We are ready for this competition of high level where there are no small enemies. The system established by FIVB, is very good and it give us the chance to play at high level and battle for several tickets for the Worlds.”Alvinze Paleaz, coach of Guatemala: “We have come to this competition with great desire of playing with consistency. Our goal is to be in the semi finals and win our match against Barbados. We will use the other matches to gain experience and prepare us for the game against Barbados.”.More..Spanish

José Cáceres is dominating friendly series DR-PR

SANTO DOMINGO, August 16, 2005.- Jose Caceres has been the most outstanding player during the first three matches, all won by his side, during the friendly series between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in preparation for the Men’s Norceca Continental Championship to be played in Canada on September 8-16. Caceres has scored 60 points in leading the Dominican Republic to three wins all by score of 3-1. The series is being played at the Volleyball Palace of Santo Domingo and two more matches will be contested. In the first match (26-24, 25-22, 26-28, 25-20), Caceres totalled 21 points and Elvis Pascual and Daverson Contreras added 14 and 12 respectively. For Puerto Rico, Victor Bird had 11 and Hector Soto 10. Caceres had 18 and Eury Almonte 10 in the victory 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18. Jose Rivera was the best Puerto Rican with 9 points. In the third match, Caceres led four Dominicans in double figures with 21 points. Pascual and Contreras each had 14 and Almonte added 12. Soto and Rivera each scored 13 and Luis Rodriguez scored 10 for Puerto Rico. Spanish

Cuba won the bronze medal at U-21 Men’s World

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 15, 2005 .- Cuba won the bronze medal of the U-21 Men’s World Championships by beating the Netherlands 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 30-28). In the match for the gold medal, Russia brushed aside Brazil 3-0 (30-28, 25-18, 25-23). It was Cuba's third medal in the 13th edition of the men's junior world championship, and followed a silver in 1987 and bronze in 1985. Cuba's powerful serves laid the foundations for the victory, notably from the brilliant Osmany Juantorena. Cuba's captain, Yadier Sanchez was the top scorer for Cuba in the bronze medal game with 16 points, including 13 spikes. "We are very happy to win the bronze medal, because all four teams in the semi-finals are of a high level," he said. "We played against the Netherlands how we planned to play in practice, and that is very satisfying." In other matches, Iran beat Korea 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19) to finish fifth, and Serbia-Montenegro downed USA 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-21) to finish seventh in the classification rounds. Spanish

Cuba will play for the Bronze medal

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 14, 2005 .- Cuba will play Netherlands in the bronze medal match of the Men’s U-21 World Championship after losing to Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-23) in 70 minutes. Marcus Jube was Brazil's inspiration with a game-high 23 points, and he was singled out by Cuban coach Ramon Lawrence Garcia as the architect of Brazil's success. Marcus had 18 thumping spikes, four blocks and one service point to keep Brazil moving forward toward an inevitable victory. Thiago Alves added 10. The best Cuban scorer was Osmany Juantorena with 12 points. Cuba now will face Netherlands in the bronze medal match while Russia will meet Brazil in the match for the championship. On Saturday, Korea beat the USA 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21) with the help of 29 spikes from Moon Sung-Min, and will now finish fifth or sixth. The Americans will be seventh or eighth, an admirable achievement in their first championship since 1981 and only their third in all. They have finished seventh on both previous occasions. Spanish

Cuba booked a place in semi finals of Men’s U-21

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 12, 2005.- Cuba wasted no time in booking a place in the last four of the Men's U21 World Championship on Thursday with a straight sets victory over Korea (25-13, 25-20, 25-16). The Cubans joined Russia from Pool A in Saturday’s semi-finals.Korea would have advanced with a victory, too, but must now settle for a place in the 5-8 classification rounds. Osmany Juantorena led the Cuban attack with 22 points and Oriol Camejo added 12, including six with his bullet serves. In the semi-finals, Cuba will meet Brazil while Russia will face Netherlands. In another match on Thursday, USA scored its second victory in a row and qualified in fourth place in Pool B. The Americans edged Germany in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10) and one day earlier, they had defeated Tunisia 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 27-25). Spanish

Canada left after a victory over Dominicans U-20

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 11, 2005.- Canada departed to Puerto Rico after a victory over the Dominican Republic U-20 Team. The Canadians will participate in the Norceca’s second round qualification tournament for the FIVB Women’s World Championships of next year in Japan. Canada battled in a marathonic match of 2 hours and 20 minutes and prevailed by score of 24-26, 25-16, 24-26, 25-18, 16-14. Tammy Mahon and Emely Cordonier each scored 18 points for the Canadians and Cheryl Stinson and Lies Reimer had 11 and 9 respectively. Dahiana Burgos and Prisilla Rivera had 21 and 20 points for the Dominicans and Ginette Selmo and Cindy Rondon each scored 11. During the friendly series, Dominican Republic A twice beat Canada while the Canadians scored two victories over the U-20 squad. Spanish

Cuba is one victory away from the semi finals

VISAKHPATNAM, India, August 11, 2005.- Cuba  has a crucial game today against Korea hoping to gain a berth in the last four round of the Men’s U-21 World Championship. The Cubans and the Koreans have identical record of 3-1 in Pool A. Cuba defeated India 3-0 (25-19, 31-29, 26-24) with Osmany Juantorena leading the attack with 16 points. India failed to convert six set points in the second set and one in the third. Looking forward to the Korea clash, Cuba's head coach, Lawrence Garcia Ramon, said it was a vital game for both teams, as the winner would enter the semi-finals from Pool A."Our block is not working like it is supposed to be, so we are going to have to block much better. We must also stay focused and concentrate more so we do not make as many errors." In Pool B, Brazil is already in the semi finals and the Netherlands is a favourite to advance in that pool after a victory over Iran 3-2. Spanish

Dominican Republic “A” wins over Canada

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 9, 2005.- The Dominican Republic A Women Team defeated Canada for second time in as many tries during the friendly series organized in preparation for the coming Qualification Tournaments for the 2006 World Championships. The score was 18-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-18. Annerys Vargas led the Dominicans with 16 points followed by Bethania de la Cruz with 12 and Prisilla Rivera and Cindy Rondon with 11 apiece. Emely Cordonier had 11 for Canada. Previously, the Dominicans beat the Canadians 28-26, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 with Rivera leading the attack with 19 points. Cosiris Rodriguez had 15, Vargas added 12 and Rondon 11. For Canada, Cordonier and Melissa Raymond scored 13 and 11 respectively. In another match of the series, Canada defeated Dominican Republic B by score of 25-17, 25-10, 25-18. Joanna Niemczewska was the top scorer for Canada with 11 and Cordonier had 8. Dahiana Burgos led the Dominicans with 11 and Sidarka Nunez had 9. Spanish

Cuba is 2-1 in Men’s U-21

VISAKHPATNAM. India, August 9, 2005.- Cuba is 2-1 after three outings during the U-21 Men’s FIVB World Championships and is placed second in Pool B topped by Russia (3-0). After losing to Russia in a close match (29-27, 28-26 25-22) during Day One, the Cuban squad put together a couple of wins over Morocco and Serbia & Montenegro. The Cubans beat Morocco 25-19, 25-13, 25-17 with 14 points from Michael Sanchez and 11 and 10 respectively from Yadier Sanchez and Osmany Juantorena. Yadier Sanchez scored 19 and Juantorena added 15 in the victory over Serbia & Montenegro by score of 25-22, 25-21, 25-18.USA, the other team from the Norceca Confederation is 0-3 in Pool A led by Brazil with 3-0 record. Cuba meets India on Wednesday and then play against Korea in a decisive match. Only the top two teams of each pool advance to the semi finals. Spanish

Puerto Rico scored impressive victory over Dominican Republic

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 28, 2005.- Puerto Rico advanced to the round of the 5th to 8th positions of the U-20 World Women’s Volleyball Championships with an astonishing victory over the Dominican Republic in four sets by score of  25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 27-25. Despite the loss of Yarimar Rosa due to a hand fracture late in the third set, the Puerto Ricans showed excellent floor defence and Sarai Alvarez scored 19 leading their attack.  Rosa scored 11 before being forced to leave and Jessica Candelario also had 11. Dominicans Bethania de la Cruz and Sidarka Nunez had 11 and 10 respectively while Dahiana Burgos and Ginette del Rosario had 9 apiece. Puerto Rico was the only team from the Norceca Confederation that moved to the next round. USA was eliminated by Turkey (25-14, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22). The Puerto Ricans will play against Japan on Saturday while Turkey will play against Russia in Istanbul. In the finals in Ankara, Brazil will play against Italy and China will meet Serbia & Montenegro. Spanish

Dominican Republic recorded its first victory

INSTABUL, Turkey, July 27, 2005.- The Dominican Republic got its first victory of the U-20 Women’s World Championships with an easy win over Egypt in straight sets by score of 25-9, 25-17, 25-17. The superiority of the Dominicans was evident throughout the whole match as they dominated in every aspect of the game especially their potent services. Altagracia Mambru was the best scorer for the Dominicans with 13 points, including 3 aces, and Bethania de la Cruz and Sidarka Nunez added 11 and 9 respectively. “The attack of the Dominican was too quick for my blockers”, said Raouf Abd El Kader, the Egyptian coach, “and also they served very strong and got a lot of aces. This is their first victory but they deserved better luck in the matches against Italy and China.” And Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic, said: “We had to play very strong teams during the first part and today we had a little breath for my stronger players. Tomorrow we go against Puerto Rico in a very important match for our chances to keep playing in this tournament.” In other matches today, Puerto Rico lost to China in three sets by score of 25-22, 25-18, 25-12 and USA lost to Croacia in five sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-13, 19-25, 15-13). Yarimar Rosa and Sarai Alvarez had 12 and 10 points in the Puerto Rican loss while Maurelle Hampton led USA with 17, Christa Hamotto had 14 and Alexis Crime and Foluke Akinradewo scored 13 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Russia beat Dominican Republic relying on the blocking

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 25, 2005.- Russia defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets ( 25-22, 25-20, 25-18) relying on the high blocking that caused problems to the opponent during the whole match. The Dominicans fought very hard all the way but their amount of errors contributed to their loss. Despite that fact, the Russians proved to be the superior team. Dahiana Burgos was the only player in double-figures in both squads with 13 points while Sidarka Nunez added 9. Ekaterina Gromova and Anna Arbuzova each scored 7 for Russia. “Our performance was not the best and we need to improve the level in the next matches,” said Karla Echenique, the Dominican captain. And the coach Francisco Cruz added: “The blocking of Russia was very good and we made many mistakes in our serves and trying to avoid the blocking of the opposition.” In other match here, Puerto Rico defeated Egypt in three sets by score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-13) for its first victory. Sarai Alvarez and Vanessa Velez each scored 11 points. In Ankara, USA defeated Japan in five sets (15-25, 25-20, 27-25, 19-25, 15-13). Alexis Crimes had 20 points and Christa Hamotto and Janet Okogbaa added 15 and 14 respectively. Spanish

Girls of Trinidad & Tobago won the gold medal

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, July 24, 2005.- Host Trinidad & Tobago was the gold medal winner at the Caribbean Junior Women’s Championships held here on July 20-24. The event was well organized and enjoyed good press and TV coverage. Bahamas and Jamaica took the silver and bronze medals at this four-team event. Netherlands Antilles placed fourth. Promising star Kelly-Anne Billingy of Trinidad & Tobago was instrumental in the crown obtained by her side. She was the best scorer and server and was elected as the Most Valuable Player. Trinidadian Nadiege Honore was the best spiker and Aniska Rolle of Bahamas took home the trophies as best libero and defender. Jamaica monopolized the rest of the awards as Najwa Pagon, Chaday Taylor and Keisha Parris were the best setter, blocker and receiver respectively. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of CAZOVA and of the Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation and Mr. Roger Boynes, the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, gave speeches at the opening ceremony which was held on the first day of the tournament. Spanish

China survived a five-setter against Dominicans

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 24, 2005.- China survived a phenomenal Dominican Republic reaction and scored its second victory in as many outings winning an exciting five-setter. The Chinese dominated the first two sets and saw the Dominicans play great volleyball the rest of the very emotional match.  The score was 25-14, 25-12, 15-25, 25-23, 16-14. Dominican Dahiana Burgos was the offensive star of the match with 21 points with Altagracia Mambru adding 16. China had Yin Meng and Yin Na each with 15 and Wang Chen added 13. Also in Istanbul, Puerto Rico lost in three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-10) against Italy. The Puerto Ricans made a good effort in the first two sets but could not match up with the bigger Italians who dominated the third set from start to finish. Yarimar Rosa scored 13 for Puerto Rico. In Ankara, Brazil beat USA 3-0 (25-19,25-20,25-14) in Pool A. The three teams of NORCECA Confederation are 0-2 after two outings. Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “China is a very solid team and the way we performed today after losing the first two sets, tells me a lot about the growing of my players. I am very happy with our performance. Never in the past we had this kind of reaction against adversity.” Cai Bin, coach of China: “We had trouble with our reception in the third set and also our mental power failed and could not focus. The Dominican Republic showed they are a very strong team with very good attack. I hope they can keep improving in this tournament and in the future.”..Spanish

Italy came from behind three times to beat Dominicans

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 23, 2005.- The European Junior Champions Italy needed to come from behind three times but finally beat a side from the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) in the third match of Day One at the U-20 Women’s World Championships Pool B. In another match here, Russia defeated Puerto Rico 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 while in Ankara, Serbia-Montenegro beat USA 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19). The Dominicans showed tremendous offensive power and athletic ability but committed too many errors (38-19) and that was a key ingredient in the outcome. Sandra Vitez led Italia with 11 points while Dahiana Burgos and Cindy Rondon had 12 and 10 for the Dominican Republic. “I think our better experience helped us to win the crucial points at the end of the matches and that was the difference,” said Luciano Pedulla, the Italian coach. “The Dominicans have improved a lot since our last meeting in Brazil last year.” Puerto Rican Yarimar Rosa topped all the scorers with 20 points but could not avoid the loss to Russia which was led by 13 points of Ekaterina Gromova and 12 apiece from Tatiana Soldatova and Anna Beskova. Serbia-Montenegro, silver medallists of European Junior Championship last year, played overwhelmingly during the whole the match against USA..Spanish

What the coaches said before the Istanbul Leg

Francisco Cruz, Dominican Republic: “We come to this tournament with a very young team. Seven of my players have the age to participate in the next edition of the U-20 Championships. Last time we participated in this event, we finished in the ninth position and are goal is to improve that performance. Being realistic we are going to try very hard to compete in the round for the 5 to 8 places.” Luciano Pedulla, Italy: “This round is very difficult. We have to play against strong teams like China, Russia and Dominican Republic. I don’t know Puerto Rico and Egypt very well. We hope to start well and finish in the top two positions and advance to the final phase. We are coming from a good European tournament but the team really didn’t have much time of preparation.” Cai Bing, China: “We will do our best against a very strong competition. This is a very tough pool but I am confident of my team’s chances. We are going to play match by match and I expect to play better and better with the tournament.” Abd El Kader Raouf, Egypt: “We are really very happy to participate in this event. We have lot to learn from three different volleyball schools present in this pool, China, Russia and Italy. It is very difficult pool but I am looking forward to see an exciting competition.” ...Spanish

Daran Gill was the MVP of CAZOVA Men’s Junior

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 19, 2005.- Daran Gill, whose exploits led Barbados to the crown at the Fifth Caribbean Junior Men’s Volleyball Championships, was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the seven-team event. Gill was the top scorer of the competition with a total of 96 points and Barbados defeated Aruba in the match for the gold medal. He was the only member of the new crowned champions who made the All-Star team. Guadaloupe sent three players to the ideal squad with Guadaloupeans Robert Bilionniere as the Best Spiker, Romana Brancourt as the Best Server and Thomas Murre as Best Receiver. Trinidad & Tobago was recipient of three awards when Trinidadians Hollis Charles was elected as Best Blocker, Aakeil Murray as Best Defensive and Libero. Aruba’s Stijn Wouters was the Best Setter. Barbados finished the Preliminary Round in Pool A with a 2-1 record with victories over Trinidad & Tobago and U.S. Virgin Islands in three sets and a four-set loss to Aruba. In the quarterfinals, they beat Bahamas in straight sets and edged Guadaloupe in five. Then, in the final, they scored a four-set win over Aruba. The Final Ranking was as follows: 1.- Barbados, 2.- Aruba, 3.- Guadaloupe, 4.- Netherlands Antilles, 5.- Trinidad & Tobago, 6.- Bahamas, 7.- U.S. Virgin Islands. Spanish

Barbados took the crown in Aruba

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 19, 2005.-  Barbados won the crown of the 5th Caribbean Junior Men’s Volleyball Championship played at the Centro Bertico Croes in the city of Santa Cruz. The U-21 Boys from Barbados needed 1 hour and 36 minutes to defeat hosts Aruba in the match for the gold medal. The score was 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-17. Both coaches only made one substitution during the final match played before 1,200 happy fans who enjoyed the spectacle. Jamal Branch hammered 20 spikes to lead Barbados while Daran Gill added 15, Alain London 12 and Damien Danzell 11. For Aruba, Vercellio Statie had 18 points and Roy Kroon and Shair Croes 15 and 10 respectively. In the match for the bronze medal, Guadeloupe beat Netherlands Antilles in straight sets by score of 25-12, 29-27, 25-22 in 1 hour and 16 minutes. Robert Bilionniere was the top scorer for Guadaloupe with 17 points and Manuel Baena, Romana Brancourt and Thomas Murre each had 8 points. For Netherlands Antilles, Reno Marta and Milvinho Vrutaal had 11 apiece and Fabian Cominencia added 10. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of CAZOVA, said the tournament was an overwhelming success and also praised the importance of these events in the junior levels for the development of volleyball in the region. Spanish

Three Norceca Teams will be at Women’s U-20 World Championships in Turkey

SANTO DOMINGO, July 18, 2005.- Women’s Junior National Teams from USA, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic will take part at the FIVB Under-20 World Championships to be held in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey on August 23-31. The Americans won the NORCECA Continental Championship with a perfect record of 4-0 last August in Winnipeg, Canada. They defeated the Dominicans in the match for the gold medal while Puerto Rico finished third. The tournament consists of 12 teams broken up into two pools playing in two different cities. Pool A which will play in Ankara, is composed of Brazil, Croatia, Japan, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and the United States. Pool B will compete in Istanbul and is made up of China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Italy, Puerto Rico and Russia. Marcie Hampton is the most experienced American player on a team that also features Foluke Akinradewo and Alexis Crimes. Cindy Rondon, Dahiana Burgos and Sidarka Nunez lead the Dominican attack and the three just finished their participation at the World Grand Prix while Sarai Alvarez, Jessica Lopez and Vanessa Velez are the top Puerto Rican players. The top two teams of each Pool will play the semi final and final matches in Ankara while the third and fourth teams in the rankings will play for the 5-8 positions in Istanbul. Spanish

Cuba finished fourth at the Grand Prix

SENDAI, Japan, July 18, 2005.- Cuba finished in the fourth position at the 2005 World Grand Prix after winning its last two matches over Japan and The Netherlands. The Olympic gold medallists posted a 3-2 record. Brazil won its fifth Grand Prix title with an epic victory over Italy in five sets by score of 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 27-29, 15-7 and Brazilian Paula Pequeno was elected as the MVP.  The Cubans only needed 66 minutes to dispatch the Netherlands 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 with Nancy Carrillo and Rosir Calderon leading the offence with 16 and 14 points respectively. On Sunday, in the triumph over Japan 21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 28-26, 17-15, Carrillo scored 20 followed by Yumilka Ruiz with 18 and Calderon and Daimi Ramirez each with 13. USA and Dominican Republic, the two other teams of the Norceca Confederation that took part in this year’s event finished in the eighth and eleventh positions. The rankings of the Final Round were as follows: Brazil (4-1), Italy (3-2), China (3-2), Cuba (3-2), Japan (1-4) and Netherlands (1-4). Spanish

International Referee Candidate Course Concluded in Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 17, 2005.- The FIVB Development Regional Center at Dominican Republic concluded this Saturday a Course for International Referee Candidate. The closing ceremony was presided over by Mr. Cristobal Marte, President of the Norceca Confederation and Mr. Nelson Ramirez, Director of the Development Center. Mr. Alexander Muhle of Germany was the director of the course with Russian Sergey Titov as instructor and Dominican Denny Cespedes as coordinator. The participants received more than 40 hours of theoretical and practical classes and at the end they officiated out matches of the Development Center First Men & Women Junior Cup. Mr. Muhle pointed out that the evaluations were very satisfactory and also remarked the quality level of the participants. During his closing speech he gave the students some valuable advices about the role of the referee in modern volleyball as part of the spectacle. Spanish Click the Picture for enlarge

Barbados won the Caribbean Junior Men’s Championships

SANTA  CRUZ, Aruba, July 16, 2005.- A complete success was the organization of the Fifth Caribbean Junior Men’s Championships played here on July 10-16 under the supervision of the Caribbean Zone Volleyball Association, a branch of the Norceca Confederation. Barbados won the gold medal of the event while host Aruba and Guadeloupe took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Netherlands Antilles (4), Trinidad & Tobago (5), Bahamas (6) and US Virgin Islands (8) also participated in the competition. Daran Gill of Barbados was the leading scorer and MVP of the tournament leading the All-Star team. Aakiel Murray of T & T was the best libero and defender and his countryman Charles Hollis was the best blocker. Guadeloupe had three members included in the honoured squad as Robert Bilioniere, Thomas Murre and Romana Brancourt were choose as best spiker, receiver and setter respectively. Stijn Wouters of Aruba completed the team as best setter. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, Vice President of NORCECA Confederation and President of CAZOVA, Mr. Ramon Lee, the Minister of Sport and Culture, Mr. Leo Maduro, President of the Olympic Committee and Mr. Clestino Lesire, President of the Aruba Volleyball Association attended the Opening Ceremony.The closing ceremony was conducted immediately after the end of the final match with the distribution of prizes and medals.  The tournament concluded with fireworks and a party with a live musical band. Spanish

Cuba lost to unbeaten Italy

SENDAI, Japan, July 16, 2005.- Italy won its third straight match in the Final Round of the 2005 World Grand Prix defeating Cuba in four sets (25-18, 21-25, 32-30, 25-15). Valentina Fiorin scored 23 points leading five Italians in double figures. She was joined by Nadia Centoni and Sara Anzanello each with 15, Jenny Barazza with 14 and Elisa Celli with 10 points. Italy is 3-0 in the six teams round-robin phase. Rosir Calderon led Cuba (1-2) with 23 points. Nancy Carrillo and Yumilka Ruiz each had 13 points while Zoila Barros and Daimi Ramirez had 8 apiece. In other matches on Saturday, defending champions Brazil kept its unbeaten record (3-0) with a four sets triumph over Japan 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22 and China got its first victory defeating The Netherlands 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19. The standings after three days are as follows: Italy (3-0), Brazil (3-0), China 1-2, Cuba 1-2, Japan 1-2 and Netherlands 0-3. On Sunday, Italy goes against Netherlands, China meets Brazil and Cuba plays against Japan. Spanish

Cuba beat China but lost to Brazil

SENDAI, Japan, July 14, 2005.- Cuba beat China but lost to Brazil, both matches in five sets, during the first two days of action of the 2005 World Grand Prix Final Round, the most important annual volleyball competition for women. On Wednesday, Cuba scored and incredible come-from-behind win over the Olympic Champion China by score of 10-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-13, but on Thursday the Olympic bronze medallists lost to the Brazilians, the defending World Grand Prix queens, by score of  25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 16-14. Italy is ahead of Brazil on points-ratio with both teams with 2-0 record. The Italians beat China in straight sets by score of 25-16, 25-21, 25-22.  Cuba and Japan have a 1-1 mark. Friday is a rest day and on Saturday, China meets Netherlands in a match of winless teams, Cuba play against Italy and Brazil faces Japan. Spanish

Caribbean Zonal Association held Annual Meeting

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 11, 2005.-  The Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association of NORCECA held their Annual General Meeting on 11^th July 2005 during the 5^th Caribbean Junior Tournament on the Island of Aruba.  The Activity report was presented by president of the Zone Mushtaque Mohammed.  This year the zone celebrated 13^th events which included the Leeward Islands tournaments, OECS tournaments and the Caribbean Senior tournament together with beach volleyball club tournaments.  There were four world championships qualification tournament held in the Caribbean (NORCECA Group A and B for men and NORCECA group A and B for women). There was an overwhelming response form the delegates for the successful year which has signaled the development of the zonal association. One of the most important decision taken by the delegates was to fully support the candidacy of Mr. Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz of Dominican Republic as the president at the next congress to be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  The delegates agreed that Mr. Marte has made a significant contribution to the region and has given tremendous support for the development of the Zone.  All the members present will make every effort to attend the NORCECA Congress from the 21 to 23 October 2005. Spanish

Cuba and USA lost in the final day of Grand Prix

TAIPEI, July 10, 2005.- Cuba lost to Brazil 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-23) in the final day of the Third Preliminary Round of the 2006 Women’s World Volleyball Grand Prix. Despite the loss the Cubans finished with a 8-1 record –the same as Brazil- and both advanced to the final phase in Japan. Paula Pequeno led the Brazilians with 18 points and Sheila Castro added 15. Rosir Calderon was the best Cuban with 17 and Nancy Carrillo, Kenia Carcaces and Zoila Barros had 12, 11 and 10 respectively. In Thailand, Poland eliminated the chances of USA to advance with a four-set victory of 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22. Katarzyna Skowronska was the highest Polish scorer with 20 points and Agata Mroz and Joanna Mirek each had 13. For USA, Nancy Metcalf and Tayyiba Haneef had 16 apiece and Elizabeth Bachman added 11. Spanish 

Prisilla Rivera led Dominican Republic to an exciting triumph

HONG KONG, China, July 10, 2005.- Prisilla Rivera led four players in double figures and the Dominican Republic left the 2006 Women’s World Grand Prix with one exciting victory over Germany in five sets by score of 21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7. Rivera scored 21 points and executed 26 excellent receptions in the best international performance of her career. She was positive in 52.6 percent of her spike attempts and was a key factor in the tie-breaker with two spikes and one block. “I am very satisfied with my performance,” said Rivera. “It was the last game of the tournament and I went to the court to give my best effort. I am really happy with the outcome.” Setter Juana Gonzalez was also fundamental in the turn-around of the Dominicans half-way in the third set. She not only contributed with accurate setting but also in the blocking. Yudelkis Bautista had 17 points for the Dominicans while Dahiana Burgos and Cosiris Rodriguez added 15 and 13 respectively. Kathy Radzuweit and Birgit Thumm each had 17 points for Germany and Cornelia Dumler and Christiane Furst had 15 and 13. “I am very happy for the girls,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “It has been a very tough event for a team making just its second appearance at the Grand Prix.” “Our team has been successful within the American Continent with a game based in strength,” he added. “In order to perform well at this level a team need to dominate the finesse aspects of the game. We are working on that technical part for the future.” Spanish

Cuba continue successful trip at the Grand Prix

TAIPEI, July 9, 2005.- Cuba continued its successful trip at the 2005 Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-21) victory over Netherlands. Cuba is now 8-0 while Netherlands has a 4-4 record. Both teams battled with a lot of intensity during the first set with the Cubans prevailing needing to stretch it over regulation. Netherlands could not match the high level of the Olympic bronze medallists the rest of the way. Kenia Carcases led Cuba with 15 points and Rosir Calderon and Nancy Carrillo added 13 and 12 respectively. Francien Huurman led the Netherlands with 12 points. Meanwhile, in Thailand, USA lost to Japan 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18) and have a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. Ari Otomo led Japan with 17 points and Miyuki Takahashi added 16. For USA Nancy Metcalf and Kristin Richards each had 16. Spanish

Dominican Republic suffered its eighth straight loss

HONG KONG, China, July 9, 2005.- The Dominican Republic suffered its eight consecutive defeat at the 2005 Women’s World Grand Prix losing to Italy in straight sets by score of  25-21, 25-10, 25-18. On Sunday, the Dominicans will try for its first win when meet Germany a team they played previously in Reggio Calabria and lost in five sets. Italians Nadia Centoni, Serena Ortolani and Valentina Fiorin scored in double figures with 14, 12 and 11 respectively. Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera with 8 points apiece were the best Dominicans. “We have played our two worst matches of this Grand Prix against Italy,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “Obviously, Italy is a great team that combine block and defense very well.” “We committed mistakes by streaks when the players lost their concentration after the performance of the Italian team,” Cruz added. “The match of Sunday against Germany is one that we can win, but we need to put everything together after this loss,” he said. The Italian blocking was the difference in the first set building up a five-point margin at the second technical time-out. The Dominicans came back at the latter part of the set behind the attack of Rivera and Kenia Moreta and a pair of blocks from Yudelkis Bautista and Vargas, but Ortolani closed it out with a spike. In the second, the tandem of Fiorin and Cristina Vicenzi caused most of the damage for the first part with Centoni’s show time in the other half. The third set saw Ortolani combining serving and killing abilities leading the Italians to a very important victory while they maintained alive their chances of advancing to the Final Round in Japan. Spanish

Cuba lost to Poland in World League

BELGRADE, July 8, 2005.- Cuba lost to Poland in five sets during Day One of the World League’s Final Round at the Beogradska Arena. In the other match, Brazil beat hosts Serbia and Montenegro 3-1. The young and athletic Cubans, the biggest surprise of this year’s event, made the Polish win every point of the well fought match. The score was 23-25, 26-24, 25-16, 22-25, 15-13. Cuban Raidel Poey Romero was the highest scorer of the game with 24 points, while Osmany Juantorena, Henry Bell and Pavel Pimienta added 19, 13 and 10 respectively. The best scorer for Poland was Grzegorz Szymanski with 20 followed by Piotr Gruszka with 16 and Sebastian Swiderski with 15 points. In the Brazilian victory 25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21, Andre Nascimento had 19 points, Dante Amaral added 13 and Giba Godoy, Gustavo Endres and Rodrigo Santana each had 12 points. On Saturday, Cuba go against Brazil and Poland play Serbia and Montenegro. Spanish Pic: Cuba captain Pimienta A. Pavel

Cuba qualified to final round and USA is still alive

TAIPEI, China Taipei, July 8, 2005 - Olympic bronze medallists Cuba became the first side to join hosts Japan in the final round when they beat Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) in the opening match of the Taipei leg on Friday. The world number five collected their seventh straight victory and are only one of two teams - China being the other - to remain unbeaten. The seven victories assured Cuba to finish in the top six. Nancy Carrillo led Cuba with 16 points and Daimi Ramirez, Rosir Calderon, Kenia Carcases and Zoila Barros each had 10. In Bangkok, Thailand, USA kept alive its chances of making it to Japan with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 13-25, 25-22) victory over host Thailand. Left-hander Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 21 points, Tayyiba Haneef and Elizabeth Bachman each had 12 and Jennifer Joines added 10. Spanish

Dominican Republic lost a battle with China 

HONG KONG, China, July 8, 2005.- The Dominican Republic presented a tough battle for two sets with China before losing to the Olympic champions 25-20, 27-25, 25-19 in the opening day of the third and last Preliminary Round of the 2005 Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix. Hao Yang was the best Chinese scorer with 21 points while Yimei Wang and Yanan Liu added 10 and 9 respectively and Suhong Zhou had 7. Cosiris Rodriguez and Annerys Vargas had 11 and 10 for Dominican Republic and Prisilla Rivera and Dahiana Burgos had 7 apiece. “It was a beautiful match and we played with a lot of intensity for the first two sets before letting it down a little in the third set,” said Dominican Rodriguez. “I hope this one will help us for the next two matches against Italy and Germany.” Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach, said: “I am satisfied with the way we played tonight. We practiced some tactics against a rival like China and the players now know that can work with good results.” Chinese coach, Zhonghe Chen, said: “The Dominican team had a great performance during the first two sets and my team committed some mistakes, especially in the passing.” ...Spanish

Cuba and Poland to open Final Round of World League

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 6, 2005 – Two of the most electrifying teams in men's Volleyball – Cuba and Poland - have been given the honour of playing the opening match of the 2005 World League Final Round, which starts on Friday in the "Belgrade Arena" in Serbia and Montenegro. The official match schedule for this breathtaking climax to the premier annual men's Volleyball tournament has been confirmed with Cuba and Poland playing at 17:00 (local time) before defending champions Brazil take on hosts and last year’s bronze medallists Serbia and Montenegro in the second match at 20:00. The winner from each of the opening day matches will play the loser from the opposing match on Saturday to find out who will reach Sunday’s final to play for the honour of 2005 World League champion. The losers of Saturday’s matches will play for third and fourth. Cuba, ranked 16th in the world, have been the revelation of the tournament, with their young and athletic squad revisiting the Cuban World League glory days of the 90’s when Cuba finished no worst than fourth. Cuba had eight wins and four defeats during the Intercontinental Round confirming their place with victory in their final match against France. Spanish

Cuba complete another unbeaten weekend

MANILA, Philippines, July 3, 2005 – Olympic bronze medallists Cuba recorded three wins from three to claim the Manila leg title and maintain their unbeaten record in the Preliminary Round following Sunday's triumph over Italy 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21).However, the weekend was a test of pure skill and guts from Cuba who, after beating Thailand 3-0 on Friday, had to fight back from a set down to Italy and battle over five sets with the Netherlands on Saturday before prevailing 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13).Nancy Carrillo, named the tournament MVP and best scorer, led Cuba with 13 kills, four blocks and two service aces. Daimi Ramirez finished with 13 points, including 12 kills, while Yumilka Ruiz had 11 points. In Seoul, USA beat Japan 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 29-27) to improve to a 3-3 record in the Preliminary Round. Nancy Metcalf scored 31 points, Tayyiba Haneef added 22 and Kristin Richards and Elizabeth Bachman had 14 and 11 respectively. Spanish

Korea beat Dominican Republic in straight sets

SEOUL, Korea, July 3, 2005.- Korea defeated the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-15) in the final day of the second preliminary week of the 2005 Women’s World Grand Prix. Kwang-Hee Choi was the best scorer for Korea with 13 points and Youn-Joo Hwang followed with 12. Annerys Vargas topped all the scorers with 15 for Dominican Republic, while Cindy Rondon and Prisilla Rivera added 11 and 9 respectively. “Our team has two major problems,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. “One is the lack of concentration and mental strength and the most important is the lack of technical abilities to perform at this competition level.” “Korea, being a smaller team in size, plays with more stability than us in all elements of the game like passing, blocking and serving,” said Cruz. In the first set, the Dominicans took an 8-4 lead at the first technical time-out, but the strong blocking of Korea quickly erased the margin. The teams were tied last time at 16-all when one ace by Kim Sa-Nee after a service error opened the gate for the Koreans who won four of the next five points to built a comfortable lead. The host team was ahead since the beginning of the second set and with the score at 16-14 scored a three-point rally to cruise the rest of the way. Once again the blocking of Korea worked well in the third set and combined with several unforced errors by the Dominican’s reception gave the Koreans an 8-2 advantage taking off from there toward the triumph. Spanish

Cuba pip the Netherlands in a stunner

MANILA, Philippines, July 2, 2005 – The Netherlands, ranked 14th in the world, played out of their skins to push Olympic bronze medallists Cuba to five sets before losing 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) in over 100 minutes of sensational Volleyball in the opening match of day two action in Manila. The win propels Cuba to the top of the 2005 World Grand Prix standings with five victories from as many matches while the Netherlands now have a 3-2 record. Yumilka Ruiz was the best scorer for Cuba with 16 points followed by Zoila Barros with 14. Nancy Carrillo, Daimi Ramirez and Rosir Calderon had 12, 11 and 10 respectively. For the Netherlands, Francien Hurman totalled 23 and Manon Flier 21. Ingrid Visser and Chaile Staelens had 16 and 14. Spanish

USA came from behind to beat Dominican Republic

SEOUL, Korea, July 2, 2005.- United States came from behind to win the last three sets of the match and defeated the Dominican Republic in a tie-breaker (23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 15-6) at the Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix.It was the second victory against three losses for USA in the event while the Dominicans remain winless in five outings.Nancy Metcalf led USA with 19 points, Tayyeba Haneef and Kristin Richards added 15 and 11 respectively and Elisha Thomas and Elizabeth Bachman each had 9 points. Prisilla Rivera was the best Dominican with 16 and Cindy Rondón and Annerys Vargas had 12 and 11 respectively. Dahiana Burgos and Cosiris Rodriguez had 7 apiece. “For the first two sets we did not have rhythm and Dominican Republic played very well,” said Lang Ping, the USA coach. “We committed too many unforced errors and had problems with our passing.” “Then from the third set on we got better with the attack of Haneef and everything changed for us,” she added. ...Spanish

Cuba off to a great start in Manila

MANILA, Philippines, July 1, 2005.- Cuba got off to a rousing start by posting a 3-0 victory over Thailand (25-19, 25-17, 25-17) with Nancy Carrillo shining for the three-time Olympic champions Cuba, coming up with 21 points from an impressive all-around game. Cuba is now 4-0 after four outings in the 2005 World Grand Prix, the premier women’s annual event of the FIVB. Team captain Yumilka Ruiz and Daimi Ramirez delivered the points in the first two sets, finishing with nine points each. Rosir Calderon had six points while Liana Mesa added five points. The Cubans used both veterans and new players in the first two sets and in the third set, knowing they were in control of the match, the new players were given more playing time. Spanish

Japan defeated Dominican Republic and Korea edged USA

SEOUL, Korea, July 1, 2005.- Japan defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets (27-25, 25-22, 25-17) in the opening day of the Korean leg of the 2005 World Grand Prix. Earlier, Korea edged USA in five sets (25-23, 13-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-13). The Dominicans were leading at the two technical time-outs of the first set behind the spikes of Prisilla Rivera and Dahiana Burgos, but at the end it was the Japan’s blocking the key factor. After a tie at 10-all, the Japanese took control of the second set with blocks by Sachiko Sugiyama and Ai Otomo combined with a couple of spikes by Miyuki Takahashi for a four-point lead (14-10). At 18-22, the Dominicans came back with the attack of Burgos but fell short. The third set was dominated by Japan with the Dominicans committing several reception mistakes. “It was a very interesting match for the first two sets, but at the end the faster game of the Japanese was too tough for our blocking possibilities,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “I hope we can learn very much of today’s match for the future of our team.”  ...Spanish Pic: Burgos Herrera Dahiana (DOM)

Dominican Republic hope to break duck against Japan

Seoul, Korea, June 28, 2005 - World number 12 the Dominican Republic have their eyes firmly fixed on their opening encounter in Week Two when they take on world number seven Japan on Friday at 08:00 GMT (17:00 local time). The Caribbean side are in 11th spot after losing all three of their matches - to Germany, Cuba and Italy - on the opening weekend and will be out to alter their course against Japan, who have two wins (over Poland and Korea) and a defeat (to Brazil). The other match on Friday sees Korea take on USA at 10:00 GMT (19:00 local time).

Cuba won the leg of Reggio Calabria

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 26, 2005.- Cuba won the Reggio Calabria leg of the 2006 World Grand Prix with a hard fought victory over host Italy in three sets by score of 27-25, 25-20, 30-28. The Olympic bronze medallists won their three matches while Italy finished with a 2-1 record. Germany ended in third place with 1-2 and the Dominican Republic was winless. Yumilka Ruiz led Cuba with 14 points, Rosir Calderon had 10 and Nancy Carrillo 9. For Italy, Serena Ortolani scored 13 and Sara Anzanello and Valentina Fiorin each had 10. Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach: "Italy gave us a lot of troubles in the first and in third set. We managed to win staying cool and calm in the crucial moments of the match." Yumilka Ruiz,  the Cuban captain: "The match was very tight since its very first beginning. Cuba and Italy are very competitive team. Our victory has a reason. All worked out very very well." Spanish

Germany relied in strong blocking to prevail over Dominican Republic

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 26, 2005.- Germany needed five sets to obtain its first victory in the 2005 World Grand Prix by defeating Dominican Republic by score of 25-12, 25-27, 21-25, 25-9, 15-11. Christiane Furst led four Germans in double figures with 17 points and Cornelia Dumler, Christin Guhr and Birgit Thumm added 15, 13 and 11 respectively. Cosiris Rodriguez led the Dominicans with 18 points and Yudelkis Bautista and Prisilla Rivera added 12 and 9. Germany converted 21 blocks against only 3 by the Dominican Republic. The blocking and the serves carried out Germany in the one-sided first set with Dumler and Kathy Radzuweit leading the way. The Dominicans led by one point in both technical time-outs but had to come from behind (18-22) guided by the attacks of Rodriguez and Rivera before closing out with aces from Cindy Rondon and Karla Echenique. ...Spanish

USA swept Thailand for its first triumph

NINGBO, China, June 25, 2005.- USA obtained its first victory in the preliminary round of the World Grand Prix with an easy win over Thailand in straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-22). Recovering from Friday's 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands, the United States dominated the lowly Thais, who have an average height of just 1.77 meters. The United States easily took the first two sets as Thailand could hardly tear open the American defense led by the 1.91-meter Jennifer Joines and the 1.93-meter Elisabeth Bachman. USA head coach Lang Ping: “I told the players to try to decrease errors before the match. I am happy that they did what I told them to do today. We improved our serving today and took advantage of our height to do well in blocking. Thai players have very good skills, but they do have a disadvantage in height.” Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 23 points and Joines added 11. Spanish

Cuba beat Dominican Republic in duel of Norceca’s teams

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 25, 2005.- Cuba scored its second victory in the preliminary phase of the World Grand Prix defeating the Dominican Republic in three sets by score of 28-26, 25-17, 25-18.The Cubans needed to erase a seven-point deficit (13-20) to win the first set relying in the attack of veteran Yumilka Ruiz and at the end behind the blocking and spiking of Nancy Carrillo who scored five of the last six Cuban’s points. In the second set, once again Cuba came from behind (12-14) with a four-point rally led by three aces of Yanelis Santos and took off from there. The Olympic bronze medallists built an early lead in the third set with two blocks and one spike by Carrillo and never looked back the rest of the way. Ruiz scored seven of her game high 16 points in the final set. Ruiz was followed by Carrillo and Rosir Calderon with 9 and 8 respectively and Santos, Rachel Sanchez and Daimi Ramirez with 6 apiece. Prisilla Rivera led the Dominicans with 8 points and Cindy Rondon added 6. ...Spanish

Italy dominated Dominican Republic

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 24, 2005.- The Dominican Republic suffered a crushing defeat to the host Italy in the opening day of action of the 2006 World Grand Prix. The score was 25-12, 25-12, 25-10. Italy dominated the match from start to finish using superb blocking ability while the Dominicans committed too many mistakes in their reception. The three sets were almost a perfect copy with the consistency of Italy with their wall and their attackers performing with a high degree of efficiency. Nadia Centoni was the best scorer for Italy with 12 points followed by Serena Ortolani and Valentina Fiorin each with 11 points. Dahiana Burgos was the best for Dominican Republic with 9. “Italy played a very solid match,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “I have not seen Italy before but what I saw today was a team with a blocking that tortured us the whole game and played excellent defence on the floor.” Spanish

Cuba won with a mix of young and veterans

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 24, 2005.- Olympic bronze medallist Cuba used a blend of rookies and veterans to edge Germany in straight sets for its opening victory at the 2005 World Grand Prix. Coach Felipe Calderon rested veterans Zoila Barros and Yaima Ortiz the whole match sending into action young Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez who responded to the occasion both scoring in double igures.Despite the victory all the sets went over the regulation with Cuba prevailing 29-27, 27-25, 27-25.Captain Yumilka Ruiz and Calderon each had 18 points while Nancy Carrillo and Sanchez had 11 and 10 respectively. Birgit Thumm and Cornelia Dumler each had 10 points for Germany. “The inconsistency of our game was due the fact we used those young players,” said Calderon. “But our plan is to keep them playing during the tournament because this a good chance for them to mature and get experience for the future.” In Ningbo, China, USA lost badly to The Netherlands in straight sets by 25-17, 25-14, 25-17. Jane Collymore was the only American in double digits with 10. Lang Ping, the USA coach said: “The result is not surprising because these players have trained together for only three days. We tried our best, but we just need time to play better.”  Spanish

World Grand Prix starts today in three countries

Lausanne, Switzerland, 24 June 2005 - Three countries from the Norceca Confederation (Cuba, USA and Dominican Republic) are taking part in the World Grand Prix, the prestigious competition that each year brings together 12 of volleyball's top women's teams. The feminine grace, emotion, and outstanding technique of the players make this a thrilling contest! This year again, as in 2004, a large part of the tournament is taking place in Asia, starting today and running through 18 July.Four weeks of fierce struggle with a suspenseful outcome guaranteed. A telling figure: last year, the World Grand Prix was broadcast in 195 countries by more than 20 television networks. Reggio Calabria, the Pearl of South in Italy and site of the 2003 finals, will be hosting the Group B competition. Cuba and Dominican Republic start playing here while USA is in Ningbo, China.  ...Spanish

Cuba confirmed as major power in Women’s Pan American Cup 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 18, 2005.- Cuba showed why is one of the major power in women’s volleyball conquering the Pan American Cup with an easy victory over Dominican Republic by score of 25-16, 25-17, 25-19. Brazil, with the U-20 team that will play in Turkey next month, took the third place defeating USA in four sets (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17). Yumilka Ruiz led the Cubans with 13 points and Nancy Carrillo, Yaima Ortiz and Dami Ramirez had 11, 9 and 8 respectively. Kenia Moreta was the best Dominican with 10 points. Suelle Oliveira was the best Brazilian with 17 and Fernanda Rodrigues and Regiane Bidias each scored 16. Jennifer Joines and Nancy Metcalf each had 16 for USA and Patrice Arrington and Elisha Thomas scored 11 points apiece. “I am very happy with the victory and the team showed a lot of determination,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “It is always very interesting to play against Dominican Republic at their home. Our original goal was to be in the final four and we finished there. So winning the title is a plus.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “I am satisfied with the result because the team is going through a renovation process. We need to keep working hard in order to close the distance with the top teams in the world.”  ...Spanish

Cuba and Dominican Republic win Pan Am Semifinals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 17, 2005.- Cuba and Dominican Republic will play the final match of the Pan American Cup. Cuba reached the gold medal match with a victory in consecutive sets over Brazil (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) and Dominican Republic scored a triumph over USA by score of 25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-23. Yumilka Ruiz and Nancy Carrillo tallied 16 and 12 points for the Cubans and Fernanda Rodrigues was the best for Brazil with 13 points. Cosiris Rodriguez, Yudelkis Bautista and Annerys Vargas each had 18 points and Prisilla Rivera added 14 for Dominican Republic. Nancy Metcalf and Cynthia Barboza had 18 and 12 respectively for USA. “We kept the consistency and took advantage of some mistakes by a young Brazilian team, which maintained its tradition and responded well most of the time,” said Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Our blocking was the key for the victory,” said Francisco Cruz the coach of Dominican Republic. “It has been the best match of our team in this tournament and now we are prepared to play against Cuba.” In the match for fifth place, Puerto Rico defeated Canada 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, marking the first time ever the Puerto Ricans score a victory over Canada in an official event. Mexico needed five sets to obtain the seventh place with a victory against Venezuela 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12. Jetzabel del Valle, Aury Cruz and Eva Cruz had 13, 11 and 10 points respectively for Puerto Rico and Emely Cordonier scored 15 for Canada. In the Mexican victory, Ana Mercado and Migdalel Ruiz had 22 and 20 points and Jayce Andrade and Desiree Gold led Venezuela with 22 and 19. Spanish

Brazil and USA advanced to the semifinals 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 16, 2005.- Brazil and USA advanced to the semifinals of the Pan American Cup with victories over Canada and Puerto Rico. The Brazilians now will face Cuba and USA will meet hosts Dominican Republic on Friday. Brazil won in straight sets by score of 25-14, 25-20, 25-16, while the Americans overcame a one set deficit to win 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20. Fernanda Rodrigues was the leading scorer of the Brazilians with 13 points followed by Michelle Pavao and Suelle Oliveira with 9 and 8 points respectively. Emely Cordonier with 12 and Lisa Raymond with 10 led the attack of Canada. Nancy Metcalf led USA with 22 points and Jane Collymore and Jennifer Joines each had 14. For Puerto Rico, Aury Cruz had 18 and Jetzabell del Valle 13. “We forced the Canadian errors and took advantage of them,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “I am not completely satisfied with our performance but after getting the victory now we need to do is correct our serves and receptions mistakes.” ...Spanish  Pic: USA Nancy Metcalf (12) spiking

First Lady hosted a typical dinner to all delegations

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 16, 2005.- The First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, hosted a local typical dinner to all the participants delegations at the Fourth Pan American Cup. The activity took place at the Club del Banco Central during the rest day of the competition and was attended also by the Minister of Sports, Mr. Felipe Payano and the president of Norceca, Mr. Cristobal Marte. Dr. Cedeno de Fernandez presented with Dominican handcrafts to each team’s captain and she received a volleyball signed by all the members of the National Team presented by Sofia Heredia and Cosiris Rodriguez and also a shirt allusive to the Pan American Cup by Mr. Alexis Garcia, president of the Dominican Volleyball Federation. A typical country band performed during the event as also the folkloric ballet of the City of Santo Domingo. The First Lady posed for pictures with each of the teams and stated that the purpose of the dinner was to make all teams feel like at home and experience the traditional hospitality of the Dominican people. Spanish

Barbados and Jamaica make winning starts to their World Championship campaign

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 15, 2005 -Caribbean number one team Barbados and number two Jamaica made slow but successful starts to their World Championships Qualifier bid in Norceca Group A here at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Barbados. Playing before an excited crowd, the Bajans led by the high leaping Fabian Cox dismissed the inexperienced British Virgin Islands, 25-20, 25-22, 25-15.  Earlier Jamaica stopped the Cayman Islands, 25-17, 25-14, 25-15. The Caymans, in an admirable display of sportsmanship agreed to play Jamaica as their original opponents the Netherlands Antilles were delayed by flight problems.  However, the Cayman islanders could not contend with the taller and more aggressive Jamaicans. In the post match interview the long serving coach of Jamaica, Phillip Greenland indicated that his team was just trying to come to terms with the court and the conditions to get battle ready for the Netherlands and Barbados. The Caymans’ coach Shannon Emslie stated that his team did not contain the depth of talent like the other squads but they were committed to developing and learning for future competitions. ...Spanish

Organizers in Barbados hosted a reception 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 15, 2005.- The Organizing Committee of Barbados’ World Championship Qualifiers hosted a reception for the officials and visiting teams at the Sandy Bay Hotel on the eve of the competition. President John Griffith who is the internal auditor for FIVB as well as the Treasurer for Norceca extended a warm welcome to the visitors. Ms. Mona Alleyne, the Deputy Director of Sports also welcomed the visitors on behalf of the Barbados Government and she announced Government's monetary support of the venture. Secretary General of the Barbados Olympic Association disclosed that the BOA was putting $50 000 towards helping the BVA successfully stage the Qualifiers. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, the president of Cazova also addressed the gathering. Spanish

Puerto Rico in quarter finals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 15, 2005.- Puerto Rico completed the quarterfinalists of the Pan American Cup, defeating Venezuela in a tiebreaker 15-10.The fifth set of their match during the preliminary round was rescheduled after the control committee accepted a protest made by Puerto Rico for a rule violation in the rotation of players after a yellow card. The Puerto Ricans erased a 5-8 deficit winning 10 of the last 12 points, due mainly to the serves which caused severe problems to the Venezuelan reception. Spanish  Final Rankings in the preliminary round:

Dominican Republic won Pool A and go the Grand Prix

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 14, 2005.- Dominican Republic battled with Brazil for five sets before finishing at the top of Pool A and making the semi finals of the Pan American Cup and winning a ticket for next year World Gramd Prix. The Dominicans held off a comeback from the Brazilians and won by score of 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12. Yudelkis Bautista scored 24 points to lead the Dominicans and Annerys Vargas added 18. Prisilla Rivera and Cosiris Rodriguez each had 16. Brazilians Veronica Brito and Fernanda Rodrigues each scored 13. “We knew the match was not going to be easy, but we have worked hard especially in the mental part of the game,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “We have spent many hours working very hard and I think the team play better than we showed tonight.” In other matches in Pool A, Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica in three sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-20) and equalled its record at 2-2. The Puerto Ricans will play tomorrow a tie-breaker with Venezuela after it was accepted their protest of a rule violation during the fifth set of their match in the preliminary round. Shannon Torregrosa and Jetzabel del Valle had 12 points apiece for Puerto Rico and Aury Cruz added 10. For Costa Rica, Verania Willis scored 15. Venezuela scored an important victory over Argentina in straight sets  (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) keeping alive its chances of advancing to the next phase. Venezuelans Veronica Gomez, Desiree Gold and Jayce Andrade finished in double digits with 17, 16 and 11 points respectively. Spanish

Cuba qualified for 2006 World Grand Prix

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 14, 2005.- Cuba moved to the semifinals of the Pan American Cup with a well fought victory over USA 30-28, 26-24, 25-22. The win secure a place for the Cubans in the 2006 World Grand Prix. Nancy Carrillo led the balanced attack of Cuba with 14 points, while Yumilka Ruiz, Zoila Barros and Yaima Ortiz each had 11. For USA, Nancy Metcalf scored 13 and Jane Collymore added 10. “It was a match under pressure from start to finish,” said Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Our players served and killed at the key moments. The Americans, as always, showed their power game and were aggressive the whole match.” In other matches of Pool B, Canada finished in third place with a win over Mexico in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-12) advancing to the quarterfinals and Barbados recorded its first victory defeating Jamaica 3-0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-15). Canadians Emely Cordonier and Joanna Niemczewska scored 13 and 12 respectively while Ana Mercado (18) and Migdalel Ruiz (12) were the best for Mexico. Shari Mathews totalled 20 points in the Barbados triumph and Sharon Bowell chipped in 11. Spanish Pic: Cuba Zoila Barros spike

Young Brazilians play like veterans

SANTO DOMINGO, June 13, 2005.- Brazil won over Venezuela in consecutive sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) and is 4-0 in Pool A of the Pan American Cup. In other matches in Pool A, Dominican Republic tied with Brazil with an easy victory over Costa Rica 25-9, 25-17, 25-9 and Puerto Rico beat Argentina 25-22, 28-26, 22-25, 25-20. “I am very satisfied with the way we served and blocked today,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “This is young team but executed like a veteran one.” Thaisa Menezes and Adenizia Silva each scored 11 points and Fernanda Rodrigues and Michelle Pavao each had 10. Jayce Andrade and Desiree Gold had 15 and 12 respectively for Venezuela.  “I am happy with the performance of my young players,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “Our serves and blocks were very good. Tomorrow the mental attitude will be very important against Brazil.” Dahiana Burgos and Prisilla Rivera were the top scorers for the Dominicans with 15 and 11 points respectively. Eva Cruz led four Puerto Ricans in double-digits with 20 points. Shannon Torregrosa had 16 (7 blocks), Aury Cruz 15 and Jetzabel del Valle 10. For Argentina, Antonela Bortolozzi, Georgina Pinedo and Micaela Voger had 13, 12 and 11 respectively. Spanish

USA still tied with Cuba

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 13, 2005.- USA continued to be tied with Cuba in Pool B after beating Canada 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-14). In other matches in Pool B, Cuba defeated Jamaica 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-11) and Mexico beat Barbados 25-20, 25-16, 25-12. Lang Ping, coach USA: “We played well and practiced our reception system which we will need against Cuba in the match for first place in our pool. We go against a strong team but we will do our best with this young team.” Nancy Metcalf and Jane Collymore each had 14 points to lead USA and Shonda Cole added 10. For Canada, Falin Schaefer scored 10. Rachel Sanchez and Yanelis Santos, with 12 and 10 respectively were in double figures for Cuba. Ana Mercado and Marion Frias each scored 14 points for the Mexicans and Shari Mathews was the best for Barbados with 8. Spanish

Dominican Republic is unbeaten in Pool A

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 12, 2005.- Dominican Republic kept its unbeaten record in Pool A of the Pan American Cup with a four set victory over Argentina. The score was 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16. In the other matches Brazil beat Costa Rica 25-9, 25-12, 25-10 and Venezuela edged Puerto Rico in five sets 23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14. Yudelkis Bautista had 16 points for the Dominicans followed by Annerys Vargas with 14 and Cosiris Rodriguez with 11. For Argentina, Mirna Ansaldi had 15 points. “I am satisfied with the outcome because we could impose our system,” said Francisco Cruz. “The serve of Argentina is the best in our pool and we handled it well. The team played today with less pressure than the previous outings.” Regiane Bidias and Thaisa Menezes had 16 and 10 points respectively for Brazil who is tied with Dominican Republic in first place. Jayce Andrade had 25 points for Venezuela and Desiree Glod, Veronica Gomez and Jessica Paz cooperated with 16, 14 and 11 respectively. Aury Cruz scored 17 for Puerto Rico and her sister Eva totalled 15. Spanish

Cuba and USA tied at the top of Pool B

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 12, 2005.- Cuba is tied with USA at the top of Pool B with 3-0 record in the Pan American Cup after winning over Canada 25-17, 25-19, 25-18. In other matches in  Pool B, USA beat Barbados 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 and Mexico defeated Jamaica 25-21, 25-16, 25-20. Nancy Carrillo and Yumilka Ruiz, with 14 and 11 respectively, were the top Cuban scorers, while Joanna Niemczewska had 13 for Canada. “Our players were over confident and that is dangerous,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Canada played excellent and it was our first tough match. Our goal is to finish first in Pool B,” Patrice Arrington and Nancy Metcalf scored 14 and 13 points respectively to lead the American squad. Shari Mathews was the best scorer of Barbados with 9 points. Ana Mercado topped the Mexicans with 18 points and Blanca Chan and Marion Frias added 11 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Dominicans showed its talent

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- The Dominican Republic overcame a two-set deficit and defeated Puerto Rico in a electrifying five-set match, keeping alive its unbeaten record in Pool A at the Pan American Cup. The score was 22-25, 21-25, 27-25. 25-18, 15-13. Yudelkis Bautista led the Dominicans with 20 points and Cosiris Rodriguez and Annerys Vargas each added 15. For Puerto Rico, Eva Cruz had 14 and Aury Cruz and Shanon Torregrosa each had 13. In other matches of Pool A, Venezuela defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20) and Brazil defeated Argentina in four sets (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22) “The first two sets were negative due to lack of concentration but with some changes and the support of the fans we came back and overcame all difficulties,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. Juan Carlos Nunez, the coach of Puerto Rico: “After two losses in five sets never is easy, but we are prepared to keep playing with high expectations the rest of the event.” ...Spanish

USA share the lead with Cuba and Canada in Pool B

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- USA crushed Mexico in less than one hour by score of 25-13, 25-21, 25-8 and share with Canada and Cuba the lead in Pool B of the Pan American Cup. Cuba rested its star players and still routed Barbados 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15) for its second victory in as many outings. Canada beat Jamaica in straight sets by 25-20, 25-11, 25-13. Elisha Thomas and Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 13 and 12 points respectively and Patrice Arrington and Jane Collymore each had 9. “I expected more consistency from my players but they were overconfident in the second set,” said Lang Ping, the USA coach. “We are trying to reach a point of team-work mixing the young with the veteran players.” Rachel Sanchez led Cuba with 20 points, including 8 aces, and Kenia Carcaces added 5 aces and totaled 12 points. “I am very proud of the way our second team played,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba. “We came here looking for the first place but for respect to the rest of the teams I don’t like to make predictions.” ...Spanish

First Lady made the ceremonial serve in Pan Am Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- The Opening Ceremony of the Fourth Panamerican Cup was attended by the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, whom the event is dedicated. She made one of the two simultaneous ceremonial first serves with the other by the Minister of Sports Mr. Felipe Payano, who is also the president of the Organizing Committee. The folkloric ballet of the city council of Santo Domingo took part in the event. Payano and Cedeno de Fernandez delivered speeches and Mr. Cristobal Marte, president of Norceca declared the official opening of the tournament. Also in attendance were local and international authorities as Mr. Luis Mejia, President of the Olympic Committee, Mr. Alejandro Salinas, Mr. Edgar Alvarado and Mr. Jacques Joaschim, from the Executive Committee of Norceca, Ramon Alexis Garcia, president of the Dominican Volleyball Federation and General Jose Anibal Sanz, president of the Dominican Anti Drug Council. Spanish Pic: the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez

Brazil edged Puerto Rico in five sets

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, 2005.- Brazil overcame a 18-22 deficit in the fourth set and edged Puerto Rico in a thrilling match by score of 28-26, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11 in Pool A of the Pan American Cup. In other matches of Pool A, Argentina defeated Costa Rica 25-21, 29-27, 25-20, and Dominican Republic beat Venezuela 25-20, 25-17, 25-23. “I am very satisfied with the way my team reacted to erase deficits in the first and fourth sets,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “We made the adjustments and we have a great feeling after winning this match.” Fernanda Rodrigues led Brazil with 22 points, Adenizia Silva had 12, Michele Pavao 11 and Veronica Brito and Thaisa Menezes each had 10. For Puerto Rico, Eva Cruz scored 29 followed by Aury Cruz with 17, Jetzabel del Valle (13), Shanon Torregrosa (12) and Sheila Ocasio (10). Ileana Leyendeker with 13 points led four Argentinean players in double figures. Maria Frontera, Sabrina Segui and Antonela Borzola each had 10 points. For Costa Rica, the siblings Angela and Verania Willis had 14 and 11 respectively. In the Dominican victory, Cosiris Rodriguez and Yudelkis Bautista each had 12 points while Sofia Heredia and Annerys Vargas added 7 apiece. Veronica Gomez was the top scorer for Venezuela with 12. “I think the team had ups and downs especially in the third set,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. “We have some new players who don’t have the experience but need the competition to mature.” Spanish

Canada, USA and Cuba cruised the opening day

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, Canada, USA and Cuba scored victories in consecutive sets during the opening day of Pool B at the Pan American Cup. All the Canadians saw action in the triumph over Barbados by score of 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 with Emely Cordonier leading the attack with 10 points. Falin Schaefer and Joana Niemczewska added 9 and 8. “The start was not good,” said Lorne Sawula, the Canadian coach. “We were a little slow but recovered in time to get the win. I am confident that our game will improve step by step.” Nancy Metcalf and Elisha Thomas had 14 points and the Americans cruised to defeat the team of Jamaica by 25-10, 25-16, 25-9. Nancy Carrillo had 13 points and Yumilka Ruiz and Daimi Ramirez each added 11 in the victory of Cuba over Mexico 25-15, 25-11, 25-11. “We brought the best Cuban team to this competition knowing the importance of the qualification for the Grand Prix,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach, who considered USA and Brazil as the stronger contenders.” Spanish

Argentina optimistic at the Pan American Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, 2005.- Argentina comes to the Pan American Cup very optimistic about its chances of taking the one available ticket for South America in the 2006 World Grand Prix. “I like our chances against Brazil who is bringing a junior but very experienced team,” said Alejandro Arconada, the Argentinean head coach during the press conference prior to the beginning of the event. “We also have a young team, but we are here to win that place and that’s our goal.” Here is what the rest of the coaches said during the press conference at luxurious Dominican Fiesta Hotel: Paul Payne, Barbados: “It is a good opportunity for us to compete at this level and shall be a learning experience for us. I am proud to be around so great coaches that I have seen only on TV.” Antonio Rizola, Brazil: “I respect the quality of the rest of the teams. We are once again in the Pan American Cup with a junior team but I am confident that we can take the berth of South America in next year Grand Prix.” ...Spanish

MONTREUX

Cuba and USA lost their first matches

MONTREUX, Switzerland, June 9, 2005.- The two Norceca teams participating in this year Montreux Volley Masters suffered losses in their first matches of the competition. Cuba lost to Brazil in four sets (24-26, 25-11, 25-19, 25-23) while the Olympic champions China beat USA 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) The team of head coach Jose Guimaraes defeated Cuba in an exciting match. The spectators in the almost sold out Pierrier Arena were witness of a excellent volleyball show in which both teams showed several highlights. The USA team, who is in Montreux with a mix of talents and experienced stars like Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, Danielle Scott and Tayyiba Haneef, didn’t find the right answer to the solid play of the Chinese team. Spanish

DR Minister of Sports presents the National Flag

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2005.- The Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, Felipe Payano, presented the national flan to the members and coaches of the women’s volleyball team that will represent their country during the Pan American Cup beginning this Friday in Santo Domingo. The ceremony took place at the meeting room of the Dominican National Federation and the minister was in the company of local authorities and the directors of the DR Federation. Head coach Francisco Cruz Jimenez stated that the Dominican Team “even with the absence of attacker Milagros Cabral due to injury, has the capability to win the competition.” “We have enough depth and the responsibility is shared among all the players,” he said. “We showed it during the past competition in China where we defeated teams like Japan and Bulgaria.” The Dominican Team is composed by Annerys Valdez, Yudelkis Bautista, Dahiana Burgos, Evelyn Carrera, Alexandra Caso, Sofía Heredia, Cindy Rondon, Juana Gonzalez, Karla Echenique, Priscila Rivera, Cosiris Rodriguez, Kenia Moreta and Sidalka Núñez. Spanish

Cuba is ready to defend the title at the Pan American Cup

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, June 08 2005.Cuba is ready to defend its title at the Fourth Pan American Cup, a qualifier event for the 2006 World Grand Prix beginning this Friday in two sites in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Two former MVP of this tournament, Yumilka Ruiz and Zoila Barros, lead the squad coached by Luis Felipe Calderon which also features Yaima Ortiz, the best spiker during the 2004 edition, along with setter Daimi Ramirez, middle blocker Nancy Carrillo and outside hitter Liana Mesa. Cuba won the first and third editions of the Pan American Cup while USA took the gold in the second. The Americans come to the 12-nation event with a team that includes opposite Nancy Metcalf, middle blocker Elisha Thomas, outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and veteran setter Lindsey Berg. The Dominican Republic Team, who recently won the bronze medal at the China International Tournament in Ningbo with victories over Japan and Bulgaria, is also a favourite to finish in the top-three. ... Spanish

Payano presents the Winners Trophy of the Pan Am Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2005.- Felipe Payano, the Minister of Spòrts of the Dominican Republic presented the Winners Cup to the organizers of the Fourth Pan American Cup to be held in Santo Domingo on June 10-18 with the participation of 12 countries. Payano also handed out a check for the sum of $3.4 million pesos to cover the lodging and meals of all the participating delegations. Payano who also presides the Organizing Committee praised the high level of quality of the Pan American Cup and called for the support of the fans. Alexis Garcia, President of the Dominican Volleyball Federation, and Cristobal Marte, President of the Norceca Confederation, were present during the ceremony at the minister’s office. Four teams –three from Norceca and one from South America- will qualify here for the 2006 World Grand Prix, the premier annual women’s event of the FIVB. The participating  countries are: USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Barbados, Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Spanish

USA and Brazil shared victories in Pan American Cup preparation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- USA and Brazil shared victories during the first two matches of new head coach of the American Team, Lang Ping. USA swept the Brazilians 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) in the second game with Nancy Metcalf blasting 15 spikes and one block. Both teams travel to the Dominican Republic later this week to compete in the Pan American Cup beginning on June 10. The United States, a member of Group B, plays Jamaica to begin the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix.  Brazil, a member of Group A, takes on Puerto Rico in its opening match. Middle blocker Jennifer Joines scored 11 points, while outside hitter Jane Collymore and middle blocker Elisha Thomas added 10 points apiece. Fernanda Rodrigues scored 11 points to lead Brazil while Natalia Manfrin added eight points. The day before, Thaisa Menezes scored a team-high 21 points and Adenizia Silva added 14 points in the 25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23 Brazil victory. Elisha Thomas scored 11 points for USA. Spanish

Puerto Rico scored two wins over Canada

WINNIPEG, Canada.- Puerto Rico defeated Canada in straight sets to win the gold at the 2005 Women’s Canada Cup. Both teams are preparing for the Pan American Cup which features 12 teams from the Norceca and South America Confederations beginning next Friday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Puerto Ricans finished the preliminary phase with 3-0 record, while the Canadians reached the final match with a 2-1 mark after losing to the eventual winners in five sets during the preliminary phase. Puerto Rico won the gold medal match by score of 25-23, 26-24, 25-23 while Japan took the bronze defeating Canada White 25-18, 30-28, 18-25, 25-22. During the first part of the competition, the 12^th ranked Puerto Ricans edged the 22^nd ranked Canada in a marathon match by score of 25-27, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-12. Aury and Eva Cruz and Lyan Puig of Puerto Rico made the All-Star team along with Canadians Tammy Mahon, Gina Schmidt and Annie Levesque and Japanese Chikako Kimura. Spanish

Cuba tops Pool B in World League

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 6, 2005.- Cuba lost their unbeaten record in Italy but still tops Pool B after losing their second match to the Azzurri 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16). After Friday’s 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22) victory, Cuba made too many mistakes on Sunday and Italy’s experienced players Alessandro Fei and Luigi Mastrangelo made their presence felt at the most crucial times.Fei scored 21 points and Mastrangelo added 12 for Italy while Cuban Raydel Poey led all the scorers with 29 and Osmany Juantorena chipped in 10 points.Italy is second in the group with two wins from two matches, equal with France who split their matches with Bulgaria in Nantes (3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13) and 0-3 (24-26, 19-25, 15-25)), who are bottom of the group with one victory. Spanish

Cuba with perfect record in three outings

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 4, 2005.- Cuba remained unbeaten with three victories in as many outings in the 2005 World League with a stunning triumph over Italy in the second round of the Intercontinental phase of the men’s tournament. Raidel Poey led the way for Cuba with 24 points and he has scored 63 in the three wins of his side. Coach Roberto Garcia made only one change to his starting line-up during the match in Busto Arsizio. “Why no changes?” asked Garcia. “Because all my players played an excellent game. It is clear that in certain conditions you won't change anything. We played well from the beginning until the last ball.”  “We played a great game,” Cuba captain Pavel Pimienta said. “We have to stay on this path and go further. We are only at the very beginning.” Spanish

Cuba opened World League with two victories

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 3, 2005.- Cuba managed to collect two wins in as many matches during the opening weekend of the 2005 World League while defeating last year’s finalists Bulgaria. Cuba went to the top of Pool B alone after beating Bulgaria 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-23) last Sunday. Last year’s silver medalists Italy (2) are second ahead of France (6) only on point ratio after both teams, boasting new lineups, shared straight set victories in Sicily. In the first match on Friday, the young and exciting Cubans took the victory 3-1 (26-24, 16-25, 25-20, 25-19) with Bulgaria making too many mistakes including 21 at the service line. Cuban Raydel Poey totalled 39 points in the two matches, Yasser Portuondo added 22, Osmany Juantorena 18 and Pavel Pimienta 14. Spanish

Salmon, Polster Guide USA Men to Season-Opening Win

SPOKANE, June 2, 2005 – The USA Men’s National Volleyball Team began the 2005 season with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands Thursday night at the Star Theater at Spokane Arena. Riley Salmon scored a match-high 16 points and Jim Polster added 11 points in the 25-20, 25-18, 28-26 victory for the United States in the first of three matches between the teams. The match marked the debut of Hugh McCutcheon as head coach of the USA Men. Salmon, a 2004 Olympian, had 12 kills, two blocks and two service aces. Polster, an alternate for Team USA’s Athens Olympic Team, posted nine kills and two blocks in the win. Middle blocker Phil Eatherton, another 2004 Olympian, tallied eight points on seven kills and one block, while Curt Toppel chipped in with seven points on six kills and one block. Spanish

Trinidad & Tobago advances to round 2 in Cuba

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad.May 29,2005- Hosts Trinidad & Tobago advanced to the second round of the 2006 Men’s World Championship in the Norceca Region with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Dominica. Gifted Nolan Tash led his team with 21 points and Sean Morrison and Mark Daly added 11 and 10 respectively. David Toussaint was the top scorer for Dominica with 10 points. Trinidad & Tobago showed in the first set why they finished the competition with an unbeaten record. Tash once again the main force of the host side with potent spikes benefiting from the settings of Saleem Ali. In the second set, Dominica responded with a great effort only to lose momentum at the latter stages. The third set saw the Trinidadians dominate and cruise to a great celebration after winning the ticket to the second round in Havana. Gideon Dickson, coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “We knew from then on set that we were going to move on from this round. For the next phase once T & T perform on the day in question, the better team will have to win. We are going out there to dictate our performance.” Nolan Tash, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “The guys showed a lot of depth and character and I appreciate the position we are going into the next round as the dark horse. I love being the underdog. I believe the team has the ability to perform.” Spanish

Dominicans won the bronze medal in China

NINGBO, China.May 28,2005- The Dominican Republic Women’s National Team conquered the bronze medal at the China International Tournament while defeating Bulgaria in four sets by 25-17, 25-27, 29-27, 25-23. The Dominicans are in the process of preparation for the Pan American Cup and the World Grand Prix. The foursome of Annerys Vargas, Cindy Rondon, Dahiana Burgos and Kenia Moreta was the leading force in the Dominican triumph. Vargas scored 17 points, Rondon 13, Burgos 12 and Moreta 10. Setter Karla Echenique scored 7 points including four aces and was brilliant as floor leader of the winners. Priscila Rivera came off the bench to cooperate with 8 points and libero Evelyn Carrera had 27 good defenses. One day earlier, the Dominicans had scored a historic victory defeating Japan, in five emotional sets, for the first time ever at this level. Now the Dominican Republic moves to another tournament in China and is seeded in the same pool with China, Japan and Poland. The other pool will be composed by Cuba, Bulgaria and The Netherlands. Spanish

Dominicans score historic triumph over Japan 

NINGBO, China.- The Dominican Republic recorded its first ever victory over Japan in a senior  event winning today in five emotional sets at the Women’s World League tournament. The score was 25-23, 26-24, 212-25, 17-25, 15-12. Veteran Yudelkis Bautista was elected as the best player of the match but it was Cindy Rondon who starred for the Dominicans at the right moment –the fifth set. Rondon, a rookie in the Dominican squad, made the most of her chance to play  in the tie-breaker and scored 11 points with superb blocking and powerful spikes. Annerys Vargas scored 19 and Sofia Heredia (14) and Priscila Rivera (12) finished also with double figures. Veteran Evelyn Carrera made 32 defenses and is tied at first place of the libero statistics while setters Juana Gonzalez and Karla Echenique enjoyed smooth performances. Coach Francisco Cruz said the combined western-eastern style of the Dominicans opened the eyes of technicians who praised the power and speed of the Caribbean team. The last time Dominican Republic and Japan had played was during the 2003 World Cup in Japan with the host team prevailing in four sets. The history records a win of Dominican Republic over Japan during the World Girls’ Championship in Croatia in 2001. Spanish Pic: Cindy Rondon

China, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic join Cuba in semis
Ningbo, Southeast China, May 26, 2005 - China and Bulgaria in Group A and the Dominican Republic of Group B joined Cuba in the semi-finals of the Shenzhou Cup China International Women's Volleyball Tournament on the last day of the preliminary round here on Thursday. Olympic and World Cup winners China beat Poland 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-17) for their third straight win to finish on top of Group A ahead of Bulgaria, who finished with two wins and a loss after beating the Netherlands in straight sets 25-21, 25-18, 25-19. In the other match on Thursday, the Dominican Republic squandered a 2-0 lead before clinching a victory against Japan 3-2 (15-12 in the tiebreak) and a semifinal fixture against China.In the match between China and Poland, Chu Jining, who replaced Olympic gold medalist Wang Li'na in the starting line-up, was in great form in the first set. Her crisp spikes from the wings caused a lot of trouble for the Polish defense. At 17-17, Chu completed three kills to lead China on a 5-1 run that gave the hosts a comfortable advantage at 22-18. Then 19-year-old Ma Yunwen, a new member in the Chinese team, sealed the set 25-20 with a smash. More

Norceca’s headquarters inaugurated in Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, May 21, 2005.- The headquarters of the North, Central America and Caribbean Confederation were inaugurated on Friday and its president Mr. Cristobal Marte said the occasion was “like a dreaming coming true.” “We have come a long way since I took charge of the presidency on Norceca,” said Mr. Marte. “But with all the support from the president of FIVB, Dr. Ruben Acosta, we have taken big steps toward transforming Norceca into the best of all the confederations.” Dr. Anne Peytavin, president of the Medical Commission of FIVB and representing Dr. Acosta, made the traditional cut of the ribbon during the ceremony on the presence of members of the Norceca’s Executive Committee. Mr. Marte expressed his recognition and gratitude to all the National Federations, Commissions Members and the Executive Committee for their work since the moment he assumed the presidency in 2001. During the ceremony it was unveiled a plaque naming “Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez” the meeting room of the Executive Committee. “This is a way we thank Dr. Acosta for all his support and also as the founder of this continental confederation,” said Marte. Spanish

Guatemalan Centeno de Sajche new member of Norceca’s Executive

SANTO DOMINGO, May 20, 2005.- Guatemalan Ms. Marta Centeno de Sajche was unanimously elected as new member of the Norceca’s Executive Committee and Board of Administration. Ms. Centeno de Sajche was presented as candidate by the president of the Norceca Confederation, Mr. Cristobal Marte. She replaces in both bodies Ms. Rebeca Howard, from USA, who announced her retirement. Mr. Marte praised the personal and professional qualities of Ms. Centeno de Sajche, a former member and captain of Guatemalan National Team in several international competitions. A graduated from Universidad de San Carlos of Guatemala with a degree in Electric Engineering, Ms. Centeno de Sajche also represented Guatemala in athletics as javelin and discus thrower and shot putter. Currently she is Vice President of the Confederacion Deportiva Autonoma de Guatemala, and member of the Women’s Commission of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee. Spanish

Cuba announces Team for World League

HAVANA, May 5, 2005.- The Cuban Men’s Nacional Team for the first matches of the 2005 World League was announced today by its coach Roberto Garcia. The 12 players selected from the group of 18 previously named for this year’s event are led by the veteran middle blocker Pavel Pimienta along with Yasser Portuondo, Osmany Juantorena, Henry Bell, Odelvis Dominico and setter Javier Gonzalez. Completing the squad are Raydel Poey, Raidel Corrales, Dariel Garcia, Sirianis Mendez, Yoandry Diaz and Roberlandi Simon.Talking about the preparation of the team, Garcia said that the days spent in Russia were very helpful, because in addition to training they played four matches against two Russian clubs and two against the Belarus team.The team will travel to Argentina next Monday where they will play four times against the Argentinean National Team, and then will go to Greece with identical purposes before their trip to Varna to start the World League against Bulgaria. Spanish

USA Women to Host Brazil in Colorado to Start 2005 Season

COLORADO SPRINGS, May 3, 2005.- USA Volleyball, in partnership with The Sports Corp (Colorado Springs Sports Corporation), presents the Front Range Tour, a series of three matches between the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team and Brazil from June 2-6. The matches, pitting the world’s second-ranked team (Brazil) against No. 3 Team USA, will be the American women’s first international competition of the 2005 season and the first under new head coach “Jenny” Lang Ping (Beijing, China).  Lang Ping was named head coach on Feb. 7. “The matches with Brazil will be a great test and prepare us for our upcoming tournaments since we will not have had enough time to get the team together for training,” said Lang Ping.  “It will also give us a good chance to get to know our players better in game situations.” Before the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece last summer, the United States captured the silver medal at the Montreux Volley Masters and a bronze medal at the World Grand Prix.  In Athens, Team USA finished the 2004 Olympics tied for fifth place after losing to Brazil in the quarterfinals, 3-2. ...Spanish

Puerto Rico and Argentina will play friendly matches

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 26, 2005.- The National Women’s Teams  of Puerto Rico and Argentina will play six friendly matches next May during the Twelfth Sports Festival organized by the Olympic Committee of Puerto Rico. The news was given by Mr. Carlos Beltran, President of the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation, during a press conference. With this competition, both teams will start their preparation for the Pan American Cup, a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix, to be staged in Santo Domingo on June 8-19. Mr. Beltran stated the squad will be coached by Juan Carlos Nunez who will be working full time with the team until the Norceca continental championship to be played in Trinidad & Tobago next September. The Puerto Rican team began its training this Monday at the San Jose College facility under the supervision of Mr. Jorge Perez Vento, advisor for the National Program. The players invited to train with the Puerto Rican Team are: Michele Cardona, Glorimar Ortega, Vilmarie Mojica, Sheila Ocasio, Alexandra Oquendo, Jetzabel del Valle, Jessica Lopez, Aurea Cruz, Eva Cruz, Dariam Acevedo, Tatiana Encarnacion, Vanessa Velez, Karina Ocasio, Ania Ruiz, Sarai Alvarez, Shannon Torregrosa, Yarleen Santiago and Lyann Puig. Spanish

Cuba concluded Training in Guatemala

HAVANA, Cuba, April 22, 2005.- The Cuban National Women’s Team concluded a 21-day training camp at the high sea-level of Guatemala as the first step of its preparation for the Fourth Pan American Cup to be played in Santo Domingo on June 8-19. The defending champions of the Pan American event also trained at the same centre prior the last Olympic Games in Athens where they took the bronze medal. Eugenio George, the technical director of the team, informed to Granma Newspaper that Cuba will send its first team to the competition in the Dominican Republic. “We must go there with all our strength if we want one of the top four places in the Pan American Cup, a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix,” said George. “We will complete our preparation for the event in the Dominican, training in Russia on May 7-18.” He (George) showed satisfaction for the good physical condition of new players like Yusidey Silié, Rachel Sánchez and Kenia Carcacés, and remarked that the experienced Marta Sánchez will continue playing. Spanish

April 11, 2005.- Puerto Rico is committed with Marte Hoffiz Candidacy ... Spanish

March 30, 2005.-Ponce studies feasibility of 2006 Pan American Cup. ... Spanish

March 30, 2005.-USA Women Juniors prepared for big challenge at FIVB U-20 ... Spanish

March 29, 2005 –Cuba and USA in different pools at FIVB U-21 ... Spanish

March 29, 2005.-The goal of Puerto Rico in Turkey is to be among the top eight. ... Spanish

March 28, 2005.-Dominicans hope to be among the top six in Turkey ...Spanish

March 24, 2005.-Puerto Rico and Dominican Rep. in Pool B,  in Women’s U-20 ...Spanish

March 22, 2005.- Jamaica will host the first round for 2006 World Champi.in NORCECA ...Spanish

March 19, 2005.- Beltran met with the Major of Ponce Spanish

February 19, 2005.-Pan American Cup Dedicated to Dominican Republic’s First Lady ... Spanish

January 22,2005,-Edgar Alvarado re-elected as President of AFECAVOL ... Spanish

January 19 2005,-Dominican Government Supports Pan American Cup in Sto. Dgo. ... Spanish

January 03, 2005-Milagros Cabral and Caceres: The Best in the Dominican  Spanish

January 03, 2005- Zoila Barros honored as the best Cuban in 2004 ...Spanish

Federations Archives 2004

Dominican Christmas Tournament was a success 

December 30,2004,- More Spanish

Nnamani Honored for Talent on Court and in Classroom

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado. December 29, 2004–  More Spanish

Cosiris Rodriguez joins the Club Tenerife in Spain

TENERIFE, Spain. December 28, 2004- More Spanish

Moreta making big splash in Italy
December 13,2004,- More Spanish

PR Coaches´s Commission start its works

Puerto Rico, November, 29,2004,- More Spanish

MILAGROS CABRAL
VOLEIBOLISTA QUE SURGIO DE LA NADA Y LLEGA A LA CIMA

 Mas

Cuba to celebrate 100 years of volleyball in the island

-Havana, Cuba, November 24, -More Spanish

Annerys Vargas will be Cowgirl

PUERTO RICO, November 23,2004,- More Spanish

USA Women's Coach Yoshida Accepts Professorship in Japan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 15, 2004,- More Spanish

Coach Doug Beal Named CEO of USA Volleyball 

COLORADO SPRINGS, November,12,2004,Colo.-  More Spanish

Mushtaque Mohammed re-elected in Trinidad and Tobago 

November 08, 2004,- More Spanish

Luis and Kirby inducted to the Hall of Fame

October 25, 2004-HOLYOKE, Mass. – More Spanish

Jamaica asked to host World Championship qualifiers 

October 21,2004,- More Spanish

Dominican Federation welcome new talents 

October 19, 2004,– More Spanish

Nineteen Puerto Ricans will play in foreign leagues

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, August 7, 2004.-  More Spanish

Dominicans were received with fanfare

More Spanish

USA nominated its Olympic squads in both genders

11 July,2004,-. More Spanish

Barbados’ Women repeat as champions 

7 July,2004,-More Spanish

Dominican Republic is the smallest and poorest country in the Grand Prix 

MIAOLI, Taiwan. July 08,- More Spanish

Barbados looks to dominate Caribbean Championships

5 July,2004, - More Spanish

Cuba looking for top shape in the Grand Prix 

July 03, 2004 Cuba,- More Spanish

USA Women Depart Monday July 5 for World Grand Prix 

July 02, 2004,COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – More Spanish

USA reserves keyed win over Tunisia 

AUSTIN, Texas (July 2, 2004) –  More Spanish

Bahamas suffered its third loss 

2 July 2004,- More Spanish

Costa Rica taking steps into the big picture 

June 15,2004,- More Spanish

Italy beat USA to win Montreux Volley Masters
June 14,2004,MONTREUX,- More Spanish

Argentina goes to Mexico with rejuvenated squad 

June 11,2004,-More Spanish

Brazilians go to Mexico with promising stars

June 11,2004,- More Spanish 

Cuba defeats Russia in real volleyball show
June 11,2004, -More Spanish

Italia vence a EUA y Cuba perdió de China
11 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

Canadá busca mejor presencia internacional

9 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

Puerto Rico espera gran progreso 

9 de Junio,2004,-Mas English

Cuba es uno de los favoritos en la Copa Panamericana 

8 de Junio,2004, Cuba, -Mas English

Cuba sorprende a Serbia-Montenegro 3-2

7 de Junio,2004,LA HABANA.-  Mas English

Dominicanas son uno de tres equipos clasificados para los Olímpicos 

7 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

EUA estará defendiendo la corona en México

7 de Junio, 2004,-. Mas English

Dominicanas de alto vuelo

República Dominicana en la elite del voleibol mundial

Mas Perfil de cada una de las integrantes del equipo

Mujeres de Canadá 2-1 frente a Japón

ALBERTA, Canadá.-  Mas English

Niemczewska y Ens, atletas del año en Canadá 

 Mas English

USA Volleyball, Mizuno Japan Renew Corporate Sponsorship Deal 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –  More Spanish

Más de 20 Mujeres compiten por puesto en Canadá 

 Mas English

Voleibol EUA de luto por la Pérdida del Pasado Presidente William Baird 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-  Mas English

 El Campeonato de Voleibol Masculino 2004 Comienza Hoy y Los Changos van Tras Su Cetro Número 20

29 abril 2004, Puerto Rico,  Mas

Listo el Equipo de las nenas que viajara a Japón

28 abril 2004,Puerto Rico   Mas

-Porter elegida Jugadora Más Valiosa del 2004

2 de abril de 2004, Mas

Reinas por segunda vez

 21 abril de 2004,Mas

Siguen con vida las Criollas.

20 abril de 2004,-Mas

Cerca la meta de Caguas

6 de abril 2004,-

Mirador barre a Bameso

6 de abril 2004,-

Bameso y Cachorros ganan, Concluye hoy serie regular femenina

5 Abril, 2004,-

Con sed de victoria las Gigantes ante las Criollas

5 abril 2004,-

Mirador y Bameso clasifican a las finales voleibol superior

4 Abril, 2004,-
La preselección de Puerto Rico entrena en la UPR camino a Japón

3 Abril de 2004,-
Cautelosas las Criollas pese a sus victorias

2 abril, 2004,-

Los Cachorros quita invicto a Mirador en debut Cosiris

1 Abril, 2004,-

Crucial el partido de hoy entre Llaneras y Leonas

31 marzo, 2004,-

Sin su mejor bloqueadora las Gigantes

31 marzo, 2004,-

Clave un triunfo llanero

29 marzo, 2004,-

Bameso avanza a semifinales en ambas ramas del voleibol

29 marzo, 2004,-

Bameso y Cristo Rey se imponen en voleibol superior DN

27 Marzo, 2004,-

Las Gigantes se apuntan el primero

27 marzo, 2004,-

En buen momento las Leonas

27 marzo, 2004,-

26 Marzo, 2004, -Mirador sigue invicto en voleibol superior del DN

26 marzo,2004,-Entran las Leonas a la fase semifinal

24 marzo, 2004,-Ponce se juega la vida

23 marzo 2004,-Ayuda vital para Toa Baja y Bayamón se agarra del cuarto puesto

22 marzo 2004,-Se quedan fuera las Pinkin

22 Marzo, 2004,-Bameso barre en voleibol; vencieron LP en ambas ramas en torneo

20 marzo, 2004, -Atenas: Selección Dominicana de Voleibol tendrá duro fogueo preolímpico

20 marzo, 2004,-Mirador sigue en primero; Bameso destrona José Martí

18 marzo, 2004,-José Martí y Cristo Rey triunfan en voleibol superior

18 marzo 2004,-Criollas se imponen a las Leonas

18 marzo 2004,-Receptividad con el uso de importadas

17  marzo, 2004,-Cerca del precipicio Isabela y Guaynabo

17  marzo, 2004,-Oficial la asesoría nacional de Pérez Vento

16 marzo 2004-Importante triunfo para las Criollas

16 marzo 2004-Fuera de juego Encarnación por una lesión

15 marzo de 2004, -Mirador sigue invicto; Bameso gana primero en voleibol

13 Marzo 2004,-Bameso y LP se reparten los triunfos y reveses en voleibol

15 de marzo de 2004,-Bien encaminado el sexteto de Toa Baja y las Criollas Mantienen su invicto

13 marzo 2004,-A probar las Leonas en Toa Baja si Ponce es Ponce

13 marzo 2004,-Cataño toma las riendas

12 marzo, 2004,-Cataño interesa el Norceca Pre-juvenil

11 de marzo de 2004,- En cuatro las Llaneras

10 de Marzo del 2004.-Campeonas de Mirador se imponen en partido inaugural voleibol DN

Marzo 2 ,2004.-Programados los juegos de Las Nenas

01 de Marzo 2004,-La Asovodina honra a la selección femenina

Febrero 28, 2004,-Priscila Rivera: “estoy lista para ser titular”

Febrero 24, 2004,- Premio Atleta del año a los ganadores de Oro en Panam, Incluyendo Equipo Voleibol

February 23, 2004,-"National Men’s Team Returning to Japan for Last Chance Olympic Qualifier"

Febrero 22 ,2004.- Importadas vencen a Nativas en Juego de Estrella en Puerto Rico

Febrero 18,2004,-Dominicana le devuelve el favor a Japón

Febrero 18,2004,-Japón derrota a Republica Dominicana en cuatro sets

Dominicana se Enfrentará a Japón

Febrero 17,2004,-

Alliance to provide training and resources to enhance youth sports programs

February 6, 2004 -

Olympic training starts for USA on Monday

February 5, 2004 -

 USAV High Performance Program Announces 2004 Coaches

January 30, 2004 –
Yoshida Adds Four Players as USA Women Resume Training

January 15, 2004 -

Officer Elections to Highlight USAV Winter Meeting

 January 15, 2004 -