U20 Pan American Cup grants two tickets to World Championship

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, May 5, 2017 – The fourth edition of the U20 Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup will grant two tickets –one for the top ranked Norceca team and one for the top qualified South American team- to the FIVB World Championship in Boca del Rio and Cordoba, Mexico.

The nine teams set to compete at San Jose National Gymnasium have been divided into three pools following the serpentine system according to their current FIVB rankings.

Argentina, Dominican Republic and United States have been placed in Pool A, with Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Uruguay seeded in Pool B. Chile, Cuba and Peru will be playing in Pool C. The Dominican team, as champions of Norceca, is already qualified to the world championship.

The two pool winners with best record will advance directly to the semifinals phase while the pool winners with the lowest record will play in the quarterfinals with the three second-places finishers.

The past history of the competition suggests a tough battle for the age-group intercontinental supremacy as each one of the three previous tournaments have produced different champions.

Playing at home in the inaugural cup held in 2011, Peru claimed the top place on the podium. Mexico won in Cuba two years later and the Dominican Republic triumphed at home in 2015.

Reigning world champions Dominican Republic have finished among the top-three qualified teams as they qualified as runners-up in 2011 and 2013.

After coming up short in their first two attempts, the Dominican Republic claimed the gold at home on April 24, 2015 when they outplayed Argentina 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 25-15).

Past medals winners: