The women's competition gets off to a fierce start

at the U18 Qualifying Tournament in Juan Dolio

JUAN DOLIO, Dominican Republic, April 24, 2026 – The teams from El Salvador, the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico got off to a strong start at the NORCECA U18 Beach Volleyball Qualifying Tournament in Juan Dolio, closing out the first day of men's competition with two wins in as many matches.

The pairs from El Salvador and the United States finished the day undefeated in Group A. Fátima Rendon/Devora Medina (ESA) defeated Daniela Campos/Fátima Reina (GUA) 2-0 (21-13, 21-10) and Rzyra Denbow/Anna-Marie Figueroa of the Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-8, 21-8), while Lauren Leach/Janie McCanna (USA) beat Denbow/Figueroa 2-0 (21-8, 21-4) and Campos/Reina 2-0 (21-8, 21-9).

In Group B, the Canadian pair of Julia McDougall/Natalia Casas won both of their matches. First they defeated Destiny Layne/Gabrielle Sandiford of Barbados 2-0 (21-12, 21-20), and then they overcame Keila Moreno/Ingrid Núñez of Costa Rica, also in straight sets (21-11, 23-21).

Zoe Paniagua/Yerelin Reyes of the Dominican Republic and the Puerto Rican pair Ana Barcias/Coralys Pérez won both of their matches in Group C. Paniagua/Reyes defeated Julissa Kelly/Safirah Barbosa of the Cayman Islands 2-0 (21-10, 21-6) and Olivia Gazzard/Sophie Weikl of Bermuda 2-0 (21-15, 21-17), while Barcias/Pérez defeated Gazzard/Weikl 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) and Kelly/Barbosa 2-0 (21-6, 21-5).

The tournament will award berths to the top five teams for the U18 Beach Volleyball World Championship, to be held in The Hague, Netherlands, from July 8-12.

Other results:

Moreno/Núñez (CRC) d Kimberly Silva/Abdi Narvaez (NCA) 2-0 (21-10, 21-9); Silva/Narvaez d Layne/Sandiford 2-0 (26-24, 26-24).