TIJUANA, Mexico, August 5, 2007.- Mexico and Puerto Rico took their first victory at the FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship in the round for the 9 to 16 positions which started on Sunday.

Mexico defeated Peru in four sets 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 in Pool G and Puerto Rico defeated Tunisia 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 in Pool H.

Diana Rubio and Nancy Ortega were the best for the Mexican team with 17 and 15 points and Carla Rueda (16) and Keith Meneses (14) topped Peru. Joedly Narvaez and Grace Salado scored 11 apiece for Puerto Rico. More Spanish

TOKYO, Japan, August 5, 2007.- Cuba won its three matches during the first weekend of action in the 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix while USA took two out of three. The Dominican Republic remained winless.

Cuba defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) with Nancy Carrillo scoring 13 points and Bethania de la Cruz totalling 10 for the losers.

In their second match in Japan, the Cubans beat Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-20) with Carrillo again as the best scorer with 12 tallies and Kenia Carcaces and Yanelis Santos each contributing 11 points. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 3, 2007.- The Dominican Republic advanced to the round of the top eight teams taking the most difficult path in volleyball: the five-setters. Not just one but three of them.

After defeating Peru, Russia and Italy by going to the limit, the Dominicans will be the lone representative of NORCECA Confederation in the top bracket of the 2007 FIVB Girls’ World Championship.

Thanks to Jeoselyna Rodriguez and some courageous of her teammates the Dominican Republic will battle for one of the top eight positions in the world event for girls under 18 years-old. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 1, 2007 - Brazil, Japan and Serbia became the first teams to win spots in the top bracket of the 2007 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship, but the biggest news tonight was the victory of the Dominican Republic over Russia in five sets in Pool C.

It was the first triumph in history for the Dominican volleyball against a major power as Russia. The Caribbeans defeated the Europeans 10-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13 with Jeoselina Rodriguez scoring 29 points for the second night in a row. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 1, 2007.- The Dominican Republic was the only team from NORCECA with a winning start at the 2007 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship with USA, Puerto Rico and Mexico coming out on the loser end in Day One of action.

The Dominicans edged Peru in a five-set gruelling battle between Latin Americans in Tijuana. The Dominicans came back from a 1-2 deficit and triumphed 15-25, 25-11, 18-25, 25-22, 18-16.

Jeoselina Rodriguez was the best Dominican scorer with 29 points, Lisvel Eve added 13 and Yenifer Calcano and Marifranchi Rodriguez chipped in 9 apiece.

“I felt a big responsibility to do well and only thought of my country when the decisive set came in,” said Rodriguez. “I hope to win another match and advance to the second round.” More Spanish

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TIJUANA, Mexico, July 30, 2007.- There are sixteen teams competing from today in the 2007 FIVB Girls’ Youth Volleyball World Championship. In a dozen of days, everyone will know which one is the best of the best.

There were a lot of optimistic faces and comments today during the press conference with the head coaches, but Branko Gajic of Serbia was the one who better resumed the kind of competition expected in Tijuana and Mexicali.

“Every team here is good, but at the end only one will finish at the top,” More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, July 30, 2007.- Four teams from NORCECA Confederation will taken part of the 2007 FIVB Girls’ World Championship starting tomorrow in Tijuana and Mexicali. USA, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and host Mexico are part of the sixteen-squad competition to be played on July 31-August 11 in these two cities of Baja California.

The tenth edition of the event finds Brazil, China and Japan tied as two-time champions in the history of the competition for athletes under 18 years-old.

Brazil, the defending queens, won the title in Macau, China in 2005 and in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1997, China took consecutive gold medals in 2001 and 2003 in Pula, Croatia and Pila, More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007.- Brazilian Gilberto Godoy, better known by his nickname of “Giba” by the volleyball crowds around the world, was elected today as the Most Valuable Player of the Men’s Tournament of the Pan American Games.

Fresh from the victory in the World League, the powerful attacker and all-around player led Brazil to its first crown in the continental multi-sport competition since 1983. Brazil defeated USA in the match for the gold medal.

Brazil sent two more players to the All-Star Team with setter Marcelo Elgarten and Sergio Santos who took the medals as best libero and receiver.

Puerto Rican Hector Soto finished as the best scorer and his fellow countryman Gregory Berrios was the best defender.

American Sean Rooney and Delano Thomas qualified as the top spiker and server respectively, and Cuban Roberlandy Simon resulted in the best blocker. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007.- Reigning Olympic and World Champion Brazil added another title to its big collection by winning the men’s volleyball gold medal of the Pan American Games.

The Brazilians crowned their campaign of 3-0 victories with a straight sets triumph over USA 25-16, 25-20, 25-22, claiming their first gold medal of the quadrennial event since the 1983 edition in Caracas. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007.- Cuba won the bronze medal with a five-set victory over Venezuela by scores of 25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 17-25 and 18-16.

“We won by combining our skills, but I consider the serves as the key element,” said Orlando Samuel, the coach of Cuba.

“It was a good game for both teams and the outcome could have gone either way,” said Ricardo Navajas, the coach of Venezuela. “I am satisfied of what I have seen from my team and I think we have a good potential for future competitions.”

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007.- Puerto Rico qualified in the fifth position of the Pan American’s men volleyball tournament with a 3-0 victory over Argentina by scores of 25-22, 25-22, 30-28.

Puerto Rican Hector Soto produced 20 points and cemented his position as the leading scorer of the competition. Victor Rivera and Luis Rodriguez contributed 14 and 13 points respectively. Argentina had in Lucas Chavez (13) and Gaston Gianni (10) its best scorers.

“We did not come here looking for a fifth place, but at least we improved from the last edition,” said Soto. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007.- Canada downed Mexico in straight sets and the victory was good for the seventh place in the men’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The Canadians won by scores of 26-24, 25-22, 25-20 in 80 minutes.

Canada played with good control and had effective blocking in route to the victory over a Mexican squad that left the competition without any success.

Paul Duerden led Canada with 16 points, Nicholas Cundy added 12 and Murray Grapentine and Fred Winters each had 10.  More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 27, 2007.- Brazil defeated Venezuela in straight sets 30-28, 25-18 y 25-16 and moved to the final of the Men’s Tournament of the Pan American Games against USA.

Venezuela was ahead 23-19 in the first set but could not close it and the Brazilians tied with a block by Giba Godoy followed by powerful serves from Andre Nascimento to even the score at 23-all.

From that point on, the teams embraced in a tough exchange until a spike down the middle by Gustavo Endres gave the victory to the owners of the house.

In the second set, Brazil controlled the match and took advantage of the defensive mistakes of Venezuela. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 27, 2007.- USA had five players with double figures in scoring and beat Cuba 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 24-26 y 25-23) advancing to the final of the Men’s Tournament of the Pan American Games.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match because Cuba always plays strong and we were prepared for it,” said Ron Larsen, the American coach. “We are very satisfied for winning this very difficult match. The guys prepared well, and never lost the confidence and the concentration.”

The best scorers for USA were Brook Billings with 16 points, David Lee and Sean Rooney with 15 apiece, Jim Polster 14 and Delano Thomas 13. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 27, 2007.- Puerto Rico scored an easy triumph 3-0 (25-19, 25-19 y 25-18) over Mexico and will meet Argentina for the fifth place of the Men’s Tournament of the Pan American Games.

“We came looking to dominate every aspect of the game and did it,” said Luis Ruiz, the Puerto Rican coach. “We have to credit the boys, who played great today and put the opponents to the defensive.”

Hector Soto again was a key piece for his team with 16 points, including 11 kills,  More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 27, 2007.- Argentina defeated Canada in a five-set thriller  (16-25, 25-23, 30-28, 19-25, 25-23) and will play for the fifth place of the Men’s Tournament of the Pan American Games.

The best Argentineans scorers were Lucas Chávez with 25 points, Gustavo Scholtis had 21, Gaston Giani 15 and Diego Stepanenko 11. Canada had Nicholas Cundy with 24 puntos, Paul Duerden added 21, Fred Winters 20, Brett Youngberg 12 and Murray Grapentine 10.

“Even though it was a match with many mistakes from both sides, I think in general it was a good game because it was close and with a lot of alternatives. I am very happy with the victory,” said Jon Uriarte, the coach of Argentina. More Spanish P-2 form

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 27 2007.- USA Team finished in fourth place at the Junior Women’s World Championship after losing its last two matches of the competition won by Brazil with a victory over China in four sets 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-14.

Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, the other two teams from NORCECA, placed ninth and eleventh respectively.

The Americans lost to the Brazilians in the semi finals by scores of 25-14, 25-19, 25-15 and were edged by Japan in a spectacular five-setter for the bronze medal by scores of 25-16, 14-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23.

In the eliminatory for the 9-12 positions, Puerto Rico first defeated Dominican Republic 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 and then beat Croatia 27-29, 25-19, 26-24, 25-17. In the match for the eleventh place, the Dominicans beat Egypt 25-15, 25-21, 25-11.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 25, 2007.- Cuba beat Canada in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) of Pool A and moved to the semi final phase of the volleyball competition in the Pan American Games.

On Friday, the Cubans will play against USA while Venezuela will meet Brazil in the semi finals. The winners will go for the gold and the losers will dispute the bronze medal.

Pedro Iznaga led the balanced Cuban attack with 10 points. Michael Sanchez and Roberlandy Simon each had 9 points, and Oriol Camejo and Osdelvis Dominicano each produced 8 tallies. Paul Duerden and Fred Winters with 14 and 10 points topped Canada. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 25, 2007.- The USA Men’s Team swept Puerto Rico 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 to conclude the preliminary round with an undefeated record in three outings.

Sean Rooney and Brook Billings were the best scorers for USA with 14 points apiece. Jose Rivera topped Puerto Rico with 12 points and Victor Rivera provided 10.

“We are going to have to play better the rest of the tournament,” said coach Ron Larsen. “However, we pride ourselves on working hard. We can control our own effort, but we can not always control our performance.” More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 25, 2007.- Brazil blanked Mexico and advanced to the semi finals with an unbeaten record. Despite keeping on the bench their starting players, the World Champions easily downed their opponents 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.

Anderson Rodrigues was the top Brazilian scorer with 17 points and Samuel Fuchs and Murilo Endres had 15 and 10. Mexican Gustavo Meyer scored 11 tallies.

“We don’t have a preferred rival for the semi final match, we just go out and play our game,” said Bernardo Rezende, the Brazilian coach. “It is not our choice to pick an opponent. Our goal is to win at least by two points in five sets.” More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 25, 2007.- Venezuela defeated Argentina 3-0 taking an important step toward the defense of the gold medal in the Men’s Volleyball Tournament. After losing in their first match, the Venezuelans won the next two and finished with a 2-1 mark in Pool B with their 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Argentina (0-3).

Harry Gomez with 19 points led Venezuela and Tomas Ereu and Luis Diaz had 16 and 10 respectively. Argentina had Gustavo Scholtis with 9 points and Diego Stepanenko and Lucas Chavez with 8 apiece.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 24, 2007.- Brazil advanced to the semi finals of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament by sweeping Cuba  25-23, 25-20 y 25-20 in Pool A. The second victory without losses assures the Brazilians one spot in the next phase.

Giba Godoy led the Brazilians with 16 points, Andre Nascimento added 11, and Rodrigo Santana had 10. Cubans Michael Sanchez and Roberlandy Simon had 14 and 11 respectively.

The first set was very close and was tied 22-22 with Cuba showing great blocking. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 24, 2007.- Behind four players scoring double-figure points, the U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team swept Argentina 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 in Pool B action.

Brook Billings led the U.S. with 12 points, Sean Rooney and Jim Polster turned in 11 points apiece and Delano Thomas provided 10. Lucas Chavez paced Argentina with 13 points despite only starting the third set.

"Tonight was a nice match by both teams," Polster said. "Our young guys did well again. Both Sean and Brook played well, and we are one step closer to our goal." More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 24, 2007.- Canada came back from a poor first set and defeated Mexico 3-1 for its first victory in Pool A of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament. The sets finished 17-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-19, with Dallas Soonias scoring 20 points coming from the bench.

The Canadians evened their record in 1-1 and sent Mexico to a 0-2 mark with one match to play against host Brazil.

“We could stabilize our game, leaving behind the mistakes and going back to the fundaments,” said Gleann Hoag, the Canadian coach.

Murray Grapentine had 15 points for Canada and Dan Lewis and Fred Winters each provided 10 points.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 24, 2007.- Venezuela got its first victory by defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 in Pool B of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games.

Following a well fought first set which ended 31-29 in favour of Puerto Rico, the Venezuelans commanded the match and prevailed in the next three sets by scores of
25-16, 25-18 y 25-19.

Ivan Marquez was the big man of Venezuela with 21 points. Luis Diaz had 14, Harry Gomez 13 and Tomás Ereu 12. Hector Soto led Puerto Rico with 21 and Jose Rivera added 10. More Spanish P-2 form

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 24, 2007 –USA and Japan joined China and Brazil in the semi-finals of the FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship on Tuesday.

USA, the Norceca champions, sprang a big surprise on Tuesday when they definitely put in their best effort to stun China in a close match 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21.

Brazil defeated Puerto Rico 25-17, 25-10, 25-17, and host Thailand crushed Dominican Republic in straight sets 26-24, 25-15, 25-6.

In the do-or-die semi-finals on Thursday, Brazil takes on the USA, with Japan challenging China in the all-Asian  More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 23, 2007.- Olympic champion Brazil defeated Canada 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) in Pool A of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament.

The three-time Pan American monarchs did not have any difficulties to get their first victory with Dante Amaral as their best scorer with 12 points and Rodrigo Santana adding 10. Dan Lewis and Bret Youngberg each had 9 apiece for Canada.

“It was a good start for our team. We had not played for a long time in Rio de Janeiro so we have overcome that pressure,” said Coach Bernardo Rezende. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 23, 2007.- USA swept Venezuela 25-19, 25-22, 25-20 in Pool B of the men's volleyball segment of the Pan American Games held at Maracanãzinho Gymnasium.

"This match was a good, collective effort as we got some young guys out there who contributed well," Larsen said. "I am excited how we played. Now we have Argentina and Puerto Rico, and we will see how the young players focus."

Sean Rooney topped four U.S. scorers in double figures with 14 points, Brook Billings totalled 12 points,  More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 23, 2007.- Cuba opened with a comfortable victory over Mexico in straight sets 25-20, 25-18, 25-20 dominating with a strong blocking that practically stopped the Mexican offense.

The Cuban squad blanked Mexico 18-0 in the blocking category led by the threesome of Roberlandy Simon, Michael Sanchez and Pedro Iznaga.

“We established our game of attack and defense over the net, and that was the key for the victory,” said Orlando Samuel, the Cuban coach. “This is a tough tournament, and you have to go out to play hard every day, it’s not going to be easy.”

Sanchez with 18 points led Cuba and Simon added 15. Gustavo Meyer and Jose Martell had 9 and 7 for Mexico. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 23, 2007.- Puerto Rico recovered from a first set loaded with defensive mistakes to defeat Argentina 3-1 in the opening match of the Men’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games at the Maracanazhino Arena.

Puerto Rican captain Hector -Piky- Soto scored 21 points to lead the winners in the 22-25, 26-24, 25-21 y 25-22 triumph in Pool B, which consists also of Venezuela and USA.

Victor Rivera and Jose Rivera had 13 and 10 points for Puerto Rico and Marcos Milinkovic and Gustavo Scholtis had 18 and 16 for Argentina. More Spanish P-2 form

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 23, 2007.- USA got its third victory in Pool A of the 2007 FIVB U-20 Women’s Junior World Championship by scoring a lop-sided victory in straight sets over the representative of Dominican Republic.

After losing to Germany in their debut, the American girls have won three matches in a row including the 25-16, 25-11, 25-12 triumph over the Dominicans who are now 1-3. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 22, 2007.- The Brazilian duo of Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego added today the only missing gem in their huge collection of medals and trophies: The Pan American Gold.

Ricardo & Emanuel defeated Americans Ty Loomis & Hans Stolfus 21-19, 21-13 in the final match of the Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games Rio 2007 played on Sunday before a packed arena in the famous Copacabana Beach.

The Athens Olympic champions now have been crowned four times as monarchs of the FIVB World-Tour in 2003-06 and three times as champions of the Brazilian circuit. More Spanish

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 22, 2007.- The Dominican Republic defeated Egypt 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22 for its first victory in Pool A of the 2007 FIVB U-20 Women’s Junior World Championship.

The powerful hitter Ana Fabian Hernandez scored a match-high 31 points to lead the Dominican victory after two losses. Solangel Aquino added 18 and Ingri Carmona had 11. Egyptians Nada Naseef and Salma Badr had 18 and 15 respectively.

In another match in Pool A, USA got its second triumph against one loss by defeating host Thailand in straight sets 25-20, 25-18, 25-19. Alix Klineman and Kelly Murphy had 13 points apiece and Kimberlee Roleder and Zoe Garrett had 12 and 11 respectively.

In Pool B, Puerto Rican Yarimar Rosa scored a tournament-high 38 points but could not avoid a loss to Croatia in five sets 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-11. It was the third defeat for Puerto Rico. Emily Calderon had 17 and Stephanie Enright had 12. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 21, 2007 – It was a glorious day at Copacabana Beach, in particular for host nation Brazil.   

The feature match of the day saw the gold medal match between Brazil’s team of Juliana Silva & Larissa Franca and Cuba’s Dalixia Fernandez & Tamarra Larrea.   While the Cubans put up a good fight, Brazil did not disappoint the crowd, and defeated the Cubans in straight sets with scores of 21-15, 21-17. 

“We had butterflies in our stomachs at the beginning of the match, but then we could focus and went back to be the real Larissa and Juliana,” said Larissa.  More Spanish

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 21, 2007.- USA won the hardly-contested first set and defeated Egypt 32-30, 25-12, 25-23 to even its record at 1-1 in Pool A of the 2007 FIVB U-20 Women’s Junior World Championship.

Alix Klineman and Zoe Garrett each had 14 points for USA and Kelly Murphy added 10. Nada Naseef was the top Egyptian scorer with 18 points.

Puerto Rico lost to Ukraine 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 in Pool B  More Spanish

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand, July 20, 2007.- The three  teams from NORCECA playing in the 2007 FIVB U-20 Women’s Junior World Championship took losses in the opening day of the competition.

In Pool A, Germany defeated USA 3-1 (27-25, 14-25, 25-18, 25-21) and China defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-8, 25-8, 25-13). In Pool B, Puerto Rico lost to Italy in four sets by scores of 22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-16. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 20, 2007 – Cubans Dalixia Fernandez and Tamara Larrea advanced to the semi finals of women’s beach volleyball relying on their strong net play against Maxwell/Lessard of Canada winning 21-13, 21-16.

In the other semi-final, Brazilians Larissa/Juliana advanced by defeating the Mexican team of Candelas/Garcia 21-12, 21-13 in front of an enthusiastic Brazilian crowd.

The Cuban Fernandez admitted the Brazilians have to be considered the favourites to win the gold medal as they are two-time world champions.  More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 19, 2007 – Canada, Cuba, Mexico and Brazil were successful in their quarter-final matches today and advance to the semi-finals in women’s beach volleyball.

Lessard/Maxwell from Canada defeated Mena/Hernandez from Uruguay in the first quarter-final match of the day with scores of 21-11 and 21-10.  The Canadian pair was pleased with the support of the fans. “With many fans cheering us, we felt confident,” commented Sarah Maxwell following the win, “We knew how the other duo plays and we knew that we were going to run a lot on the court.  Our defense was required many times, but it was worth the effort now that we are qualified for the semi-finals.”

Fernandex/Larrea from Cuba faced the Galindo sisters from Colombia in the other quarter-final afternoon match.  More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 19, 2007.- Cuban Nancy Carrillo was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Women’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan Americans Games Rio 2007.

Carrillo was one of the two Cubans who made the All-Star of the eight-team competition won by Cuba by defeating Brazil in five sets in the match for the gold medal. Daimi Ramirez, as the best spiker, was the other member of the champions elected to the ideal squad.

Dominican Bethania de la Cruz was the best scorer and she was joined by teammates Cindy Rondon and Carmen Rosa Caso as best blocker and libero respectively. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brasil (19 de julio, 2007).- The Dominican Republic took the fifth place of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games with a straight sets victory over Puerto Rico 25-18, 25-23, 25-18.

Bethania de la Cruz led the Dominicans with 22 points and she led all the scorers of the tournament with 98. Sidarka Nunez had 13 and Cindy Rondon 11. Sarai Alvarez with 13 points led Puerto Rico.

In another match, México edged Costa Rica 3-2 and captured the seventh place. The scores were 25-17, 22-25, 25-8, 16-25 y 15-12. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 19, 2007.- The USA Women’s National Volleyball Team collected bronze medals Thursday afternoon by defeating Peru 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 in the third-place match of the XV Pan American Games held at Maracanãzinho Gymnasium. Team USA has finished third in the tournament in the last three events held every fourth year.

Team USA advanced to the medal round by defeating Costa Rica 3-0 and Puerto Rico 3-1, before concluding Pool B action with a 3-0 loss to Cuba. The U.S. lost to Brazil 25-13, 25-20, 25-20 on July 18 in the semi final round.

Tayyiba Haneef-Park tallied a match-high 15 points for Team USA. Danielle Scott-Arruda and Foluke Akinradewo each totaled 14 points and Cynthia Barboza added nine points. Peru was led by Patty Soto’s 10 points and Carla Tristan added 9. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 19, 2007.- The first gold medal in team sport at the Pan American Games Rio 2007 belongs to Cuba. The Cuban National Women’s Volleyball defeated Brazil 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 34-32, 17-15) in a sensational match of 2 hours 11 minutes at the Maracanãzinho Gymnasium.

Rosir Calderon and Yumilka Ruiz were decisive for the Cuban triumph, with 22 and 20 points respectively. The Brazilian Sheila Castro was the match top scorer with 25 points.

In a very close and evened match, the Cuban blocking ended being the difference. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2007 – Pool play for the women’s beach volleyball competition wrapped up today in Rio with the teams from Mexico, Brazil, Cuba and Canada advancing undefeated.  

The Mexican team of Candelas/Garcia took the lead in pool H by defeating Uruguay’s Cardozo/Guerrero 2-0 (21-14, 21-11), relegating Uruguay to a second place finish in the pool.

In pool E, the hometown team of Silva/Franca from Brazil easily defeated Soler/Molina from ESA 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) while the USA team of Akers/Niles clinched second place in the pool by defeating Puerto Rico 2-0 (21-15, 21-17).

In pool F, Cuba took first place by defeating Ecuador 2-0 (21-12, 21-12) who consequently finished second going into the playoff round.

Ecuador’s Mercedes Gomes, already looking ahead to the quarter-finals and the next opponent, noted “Among Canada, Costa Rica and Colombia, we’d rather face the Canadian duo. More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2007.- Cuba got a convincing straight sets victory over Peru advancing to contend Brazil for the gold medal of the women’s volleyball of the Pan American Games. The score was 25-14, 25-23 y 25-22.

The Cubans displayed their usual strong attack with kills from the corners and down the middle mixed with the potent serves of Zoila Barros and Nancy Carrillo.

The Peruvians showed a brilliant floor defense while the Cubans thrived over the net limiting their rivals’ chances of attacking. More Spanish P-2 form