USA and Dominican Republic go for the gold at U20

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, July 23, 2016 – USA and the Dominican Republic square off on Saturday afternoon for the U20 gold medal at the 2016 USA Volleyball Indoor High Performance Championship.

Both teams are undefeated with 4-0 win-loss record, with USA at the top of the standings with 12-0 mark in sets against 12-3 for the Dominican side.

In Friday’s matches, the Dominican Republic defeated USA Youth 1 Team 3-1 (25-19, 25-13, 19-25, 25-18, while USA swept Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17).

Vielka Peralta and Natalia Martínez were the leading scorers for the Dominican squad with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Massiel Matos contributed 11 points.

In the other match of Friday, Canada registered its first win by defeating USA Youth 2 Team 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19).

In the U18 Girls Division, the Dominican Republic advanced to the semifinal round with a 7-0 win-loss record following two more wins to conclude in first place of Pool 1 ahead of USA Selection Red (6-1).

The Dominicans won 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20) over Arizona and concluded with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-16) victory over New England.

Yanlis Feliz led the winners in both matches with 23 and 15 points, respectively, followed by Yaneiris Rodríguez with 15 and 9 points.

In Saturday’s medal matches round, the Dominican Republic meets Florida who finished second in Pool 2, while Iowa, winners of Pool 2, will play against USA Selection Red.