Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic leading pools at Women Stars Cup 

MONTERREY, Mexico, September 25, 2006.- Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic lead their respective pools at the first TV Azteca’s Women Stars  Volleyball Cup after two days of action.

On Monday, Puerto Rico scored a four set victory (25-20, 25-18, 24-26, 25-21) over Cuba relying on the effectiveness of their serves and defense at the net, and Dominican Republic had an easy triumph over Costa Rica in straight sets (25-12, 25-13, 25-17).

Aury Cruz led the Puerto Rican offense with 18 points and Eva Cruz and Sheila Ocasio each added 13 points. Yusleyni Herrera was the best Cuban with 16 points.

Sofia Heredia led the balanced Dominican attack with 14 points, including five aces, Cindy Rondon had 12 and Bethania de la Cruz contributed 11 points.

The Puerto Ricans had a big celebration after their victory against the young Cuban squad. It was the first win of Puerto Rico over Cuba at the senior level since the IX Central and Caribbean Games in 1962 in Jamaica.

“Our serves have been the key in our two matches and it has not been the case in our recent competitions,” said Juan Carlos Nunez, the Puerto Rican coach. “It is a big win for us because Cuba is a world power and you always have to prepare well against them, the first or the second team.”

In the other two matches, Peru defeated Mexico in Pool A and USA beat Canada in straight sets in Pool B. Both teams have 1-1 records.

Peruvians Patricia Soto and Milagros Moy each had 17 points, Leyla Chihuan added 16 and Luren Baylon chipped in 10. Mexicans Bibi Candelas and Claudia Rodriguez each had 13 points and Martha Revuelta charted in 12.

“It was a very interesting match with both teams giving their best,” said Chihuan. “We have improved from yesterday and step by step we can overcome our errors. Mexico was a great rival.”

Veteran Elizabeth Bachman led the USA victory over Canada (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) with 17 points while Kathleen Olsovsky and Jane Collymore added 12 and 11 respectively. Emily Cordonier with 13 points was the only Canadian in double figures.

The standings after two days of preliminary round are as follows:

Pool A: Puerto Rico (2-0), Cuba (1-1), USA (1-1), Canada (0-2). Pool B: Dominican Republic (2-0), Peru (1-1), Mexico (1-1), Costa Rica (0-2).