Puerto Rico Spikes St. Lucia

OMAHA, Nebraska, September 16, 2013 – Puerto Rico overwhelmed St. Lucia 25-8, 25-15, 25-12 Monday afternoon on the opening day of the Visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship at Ralston Arena.

Karina Ocasio paced Puerto Rico with 10 points, while Lynda Morales matched her total with 10 points. St. Lucia captain Natalie Edward totaled six points in leading her team.

Puerto Rico led every statistical category with a 43-15 margin in kills, 8-0 advantage in aces and 3-0 edge in blocks.

St. Lucia completes Pool C on Tuesday versus Canada, which is idle Monday in the three-team group, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT. Puerto Rico is off on Tuesday before facing Canada on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.

Puerto Rico Captain Yarimar Rosa: “We were excited to play the first game of the tournament. I think in the second set we lost our focus. I think we underestimated them a little bit so we weren’t playing our best. That’s something that we have to get better at.”

Puerto Rico Coach Jose Mieles: “We had a lot of errors. We have to play hard regardless of who we are playing. We have to play our own level of volleyball.”

St. Lucia Captain Natalie Edward: “This is like nothing we have ever experienced, playing at this level. We are just trying to take it all in and play our best.”

St. Lucia Coach Florian Combie: “I thought we were a bit nervous. It’s our first journey to this level of tournament. As we gain experience I think our fear will diminish.”

Photos of the match can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rbjo1hprsoprtg7/CApJy59uL4. 

All matches in the Visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship can be viewed online at http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Events/Live-Webcast.