Puerto Rico reach the women’s beach volleyball finals against Dominican
Republic
COSTA DEL SOL, El Salvador, June 26, 2023.-
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic advance to the women’s beach
volleyball tournament of the Central American and Caribbean Games after
defeating Mexico and Cuba respectively.
Puerto Rico with María González and Allanis Navas defeated Mexicans
Abril Flores and Atenas Gutiérrez 2-1 (20-22,
21-18, 15-9) in battled match where both tandems fought hard to reach
the finals.
The gold medal match will be played at the soccer beach National Stadium
in Costa del Sol at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday following the definition of the
bronze medal at noon between Mexico and Cuba.
Mexico recovered from a 3-point deficit in the first set to win 22-20,
but in the second set, Puerto Rica reached a 5-point advantage (15-10)
which they kept up to point 20 with Mexico trying to recover with three
consecutive points. María González won the set for Puerto Rico 21-18
with a block.
In the third set, González and Navas came out with determination and
jumped to a 5-1 lead which the Mexican duo was unable to overcome
falling 9-15.
Allanis Navas said “every time we come out on the court, we want to
leave our skins for our country, and this wasn’t the exception. We were
strongly prepared for this, and we made it, it has been a great effort
and we reached once again a final match”.
“In the past Games (Barranquilla) we came off short, we finished fourth,
but we knew we could give more”, said María González.
In the other semifinal, Dominicans Julibeth Payano and Bethania Almanza
controlled Cuba’s attack of Yenifer Rivera and Amanda Armenteros,
beating them 2-0 (1-18, 21-17), to advance in the first ever final match
for a Dominican team.
Cuba jumped to a 12-9 lead in the first set, but Payano’s good defense
and Almanza’s kills helped them recover and put distance after point 16
to win the first set and get on track to win the game.
“We are proud and excited to be in a final match for the first time. It
has been a mentally demanding, we have prepared physically for this, we
practiced yesterday with this match on our mind,” said Julibeth Payano.
Her partner, Almanza, stated “we dedicate this victory to all
Dominicans, to all the working team that supports us, to our families,
for everybody’s sacrifice. Now we must focus on Puerto Rico who is a
great opponent, but we know we can aspire for more”.
Semifinals Results
PUR 2-1 MEX 20-22, 21-18, 15-9
DOM 2-0 CUB 21-18, 21-17
Results for position matches
Puestos 15-16 .-
CAY 2-0 BER (21-11, 21-10)
Puestos 13-14 .- ISV 2-0 BIZ 21-12, 21-16
Puestos 11-12 .- TTO 2-1 JAM 21-17, 17-21, 15-13
Puestos 9-10 .- CRC – COL 25-23, 21-7 |