Six Women’s Pairs Remain Undefeated on

Day 1 of the Punta Cana Tour

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 23, 2026 – Representatives from the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the United States, and Canada finished the opening day of the eighth stage of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, currently underway on the beach in Punta Cana, with undefeated records.

In Pool A, the Dominican pair of Julibeth Payano and Crismil Paniagua defeated Honduras Shanna Rivera and Daphnie Smith 2-0 (21-12, 21-14), while their other scheduled match resulted in a bye. Meanwhile, T’ara Austin and Taylor Buckner of the U.S. Virgin Islands also defeated Rivera and Smith 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) and likewise received a bye.

Puerto Rico duo Keishlyann Sánchez and Allanis Navas topped Pool B with a perfect record, having defeated El Salvador’s Karla Tovar and Danas Funes 2-0 (21-14, 21-7), with their other scheduled match resulting in a bye.

In Pool C, Cubans Kailin Garrido and Maykelin Drik dominated, winning both of their matches: they defeated Nicaragua’s Socorro López and Lolette Rodríguez 2-0 (21-10, 21-14), and Mexico’s Susana Torres and Abril Flores 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-9).

Pool D featured two teams with perfect records. The Canadian pair Darby Dunn/Alison McKay defeated Julissa Kelly/Elise Swaby from the Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-6, 21-4), and the Dominican pair Yerelin Reyes/Zoe Paniagua 2-0 (21-16, 21-12). Meanwhile, the American pair Ella Connor/Erin Inskeep also won both of their matches, defeating Reyes and Paniagua 2-0 (21-4, 21-2) and Kelly and Swaby 2-0 (21-3, 21-4).

The competition continues this Saturday starting at 9:00 a.m. (local time) with the final matches of the preliminary round, followed by the qualification round and the quarterfinals.

Other results:

(ESA) Tovar/Funes def. (GUA) Alvarado/Mendoza 2-1 (21-23, 23-21, 15-11); (MEX) Torres/Flores def. (CAN2) Almhjell/Malbrecht 2-0 (24-22, 21-14); (NCA) López/Rodríguez def. (CAN2) Almhjell/Malbrecht 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 20-18).