USA beats Dominican Republic in U21 semifinal

Toronto, Canada. June 29, 2024: The United States U21 team defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-12) in the semifinals of the Women’s NORCECA U21 Continental Championship at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

USA led in attack points 42-21, blocks 7-4, ace serves 11-3, but made more errors 17-15 than its opponent.

Dominican player Ariana Rodríguez was the match top scorer with 13 points.

Outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, who led her team in scoring with 12 points (10 attack points and 2 aces), said: “We knew they were going to come in strong since we played them once before this tournament. We were expecting their best and I think we just really had to fine tune some things and then work together as a team to come out on top. I’m really excited for the finals. It will be a great game and I think we’re ready for it.”

Coach Heather Olmstead of team USA said: “We’re just trying to play our best style of volleyball.  We’re still working on rotations and fighting hard together. I like that we got a lot of players in the match and we just keep working on our system, as it’s a new group. I thought we did some really good things – we served well, got them in some tough spots and our offense was good, and Bergen (Reilly) set a good match.

“We’re really excited about advancing and we feel grateful for the opportunity to play tomorrow.”

The final will be held on Sunday June 30.