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. 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.” More Spanish P-2 form

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.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. 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.” 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.” 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

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,” 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.

More Spanish P-2 form

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.  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.  More Spanish P-2 form

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.  More Spanish P-2 form

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. 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.” 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. More Spanish P-2 form

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

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

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.

  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.” 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.  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. 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.. 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. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2007.- Puerto Rico will play against the Dominican Republic for the fifth place of the Women’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games.

The Puerto Ricans defeated Mexico 25-19, 25-21, 25-18 despite playing losing its captain Aury Cruz midway the second set with a leg injury.

“It is not a big deal and I think I will be ready for tomorrow’s match against Dominican Republic,” said Cruz during the post game press conference. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2007.- Brazil had an easy victory over USA 3-0 moving to the match for the gold medal of the Women’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games.

Once again, the fans crowded the Maracanazinho Gymnasium to watch their team winning 25-13, 25-20 y 25-20 in a match where Paula Pequeno and Sheila Castro had 16 and 15 points respectively. Walewska Oliveira had 10 points.

"Our team is playing minimizing errors and that has been a very important part for our victories,”More Spanish

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2007.- Dominican Republic defeated Costa Rica 3-0 and earned the chance to play for the fifth position of the Women’s Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games.

The sets finished 25-17, 25-6 y 25-15, and Bethania de la Cruz once again was the Dominican offensive force with 17 points, solidifying her position as leading scorer of the competition.

“We are going for the fifth place, we couldn’t defend the crown but we are not going to let it down,” said Cosiris Rodriguez, the Dominican captain. More Spanish P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 17, 2007.- The second day of beach volleyball at the Pan Am Games in Rio featured the start of men’s competition.

The action kicked off with men’s pool A matches and the host Brazil team of Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos defeating Rafael Cabrales/Diego Narajo Barbosa of Colombia 2-0 with scores of 21-6, 21-14.

“The first match is always the most difficult,” commented Rego.  We played against a young and unknown team, but were able to impose our game.  We have objectives for each match so that we can get the Pan American title we still don’t have.” More Spanish 

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 16, 2007.- The host country duo of Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca defeated the American pair of  Angie Akers and Brooke Niles to open the Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament of the Pan American Games.

The Brazilians pleased their fans by winning 21-10, 21-16 and providing lessons for Akers and Niles in a match of Pool E.

Also in Pool E on Monday, Ivonne Soler- Laura Molina of El Salvador More Spanish 

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 16, 2007.- Peru scored a big surprise by defeating Dominican Republic in five sets coming back from a 1-2 deficit to advance to the semi finals of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The sets finished 14-25, 25-13, 23-25, 29-27, 15-8.

The Dominicans clearly dominated the first set, but the South Americans recovered and established their good overall defense causing discomfort to the Dominican offense.  More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 16, 2006.- Cuba qualified atop of Pool B by finishing USA 3-0 in a match of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The Cubans won 25-16, 25-23 y 25-15 in just 58 minutes and had a perfect record in three outings. They will meet in semi finals with the winner between Dominican Republic and Peru.

Cuba used its whole arsenal led by Rosir Calderon who hammered thunderous spikes over the defense at the net. More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 16, 2007.- Host Brazilians finished unbeaten in three outings after defeating Mexico 3-0 (25-16, 25-15 y 25-17) in Pool A of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games.

By finishing first, Brazil now will meet in the semi finals with the second team of Pool B to be decided by the match between USA and Cuba later on Monday.  More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 16, 2007.- Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica 3-0, qualifying in third position of Pool B. The victory enables Puerto Rico to battle for the fifth position of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games.

The Puerto Ricans got their first victory by scores of 25-14, 25-19 y 25-14 with a good offensive performance from Sarai Alvarez who scored 14 points.  More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 15, 2007.- Brazil qualified to the semi finals of the women’s volleyball tournament with a 3-0 victory over Dominican Republic in Pool A. After a tough first set that ended 28-26, the Brazilians easily won the next two 25-16 y 25-15.

The Dominican team suffered a tough loss when stellar Milagros Cabral sustained an injury to his right ankle. She is likely to play on Monday night against Peru in battle for a semi final berth, said Victor Figueroa, the team doctor.

More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 15, 2007.- Cuba defeated Costa Rica 3-0 and advanced along USA to the semi finals of the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The Cubans 25-17, 25-12 y 27-25 and will meet the Americans on Monday to define the top place in Pool B.

Antonio Perdomo, the Cuban coach, did not use stellar player Yumilka Ruiz and also benched Zoila Barros midway of the second set.

“I knew we could win without them so I rested them saving both for the tough upcoming matches,” said Perdomo. More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 15, 2007.- Peru attained its firs victory in Pool A by defeating Mexico 3-0 in the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The score finished 25-16, 25-23 y 25-17 and was the second defeat for Mexico who still has to play the powerful Brazilian team.

“Today we looked better, we are in a rebuilding process hoping to get Peru back to its former condition of a world class team,” said Brazilian Enio Figueiredo.

Meanwhile, Mexican Macario Gonzalez remarked the importance of these matches for his team, More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 15, 2007.- USA had two big reactions to beat Puerto Rico 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-16 y 25-22) in Pool A of women’s volleyball at the Pan American Games.

The Puerto Ricans had a very consistent first set, but in the second and third the Americans imposed their blocking and potent kills. Puerto Rico was ahead 16-13 in the fourth set, but the Americans rallied 12-6 to take the match.

“We played more stable and placed well our attacks,” said Susan Woodstra, the American coach. More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 14, Brazil got a comfortable win 3-0 over Peru to close the first day of action in the women’s volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games. The sets finished 25-15, 25-19 y 25-12 before a capacity crowd of more than 13,000 spectators.

The Peruvians led 16-13 at the second pause of the second set, but the Brazilians recovered and dominated with their powerful kills to tie at 19-all and cruised the rest of the way.

Fabiana Claudino led Brazil with 17 points and Mari Steinbrecher and Paula Pequeno added 13 and 10 respectively.  More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 14, 2007.- Cuba defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 in a women’s volleyball match of the Pan American Games at Maracanazinho Gymnasium. It was a tough battle for the last two sets of the Cuban victory by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 24-26 y 25-23.

“Our rivals made too many errors at the beginning and we took advantage of that,” said Yumilka Ruiz, the Cuban captain. “When they reacted it was a little bit too late.” More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 14, 2007.- The Dominican Republic debuted with a 3.0 over Mexico in the second match of women’s volleyball at the XV Pan American Games. The scores were 25-23, 25-16, 25-19 in a match of ups and downs that did not satisfied coach Beato Miguel Cruz.

“We did not have the necessary concentration to win by a wider margin, and we have to go over that matter,” said the Dominican coach. More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 14, 2007.- USA got an easy 3-0 (25-9, 25-19 y 25-12) over Costa Rica in the opening of the women’s tournament of the XV Pan American Games Rio 2007.

The Americans relied on its powerful game at the net and displayed an explosive attack with great defense that tied-up their rivals’ game.

“We are going to try to advance in the preliminary round and then go after a medal,” commented Captain Danielle Scott.  More Spanish  P-2 form

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 13, 2007.- Danielle Scott-Arruda will lead the USA delegation into the Opening Ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Opening Ceremony takes place today at 6:30 at Maracanã Stadium.

Scott-Arruda,  a three-time Olympian and four-time Pan American Games Volleyball Team member Danielle Scott-Arruda will be the flag bearer for Team USA.

“It is such an honor to be nominated to carry our flag into the Opening Ceremonies,” Scott-Arruda said. “It never even crossed by mind that I would be elected to be flag-bearer, but it really means a lot, especially since I was nominated by the other athletes. It is pretty incredible. I’m really looking forward to it.”  More Spanish