USA, Canada, El Salvador and Mexico Advance
to Women’s Semifinals at U23 NORCECA Beach Tour
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, October 17, 2026.–
The United States, Canada, host El Salvador and Mexico secured
their places in the women’s semifinals of the 2026 U23 NORCECA
Beach Volleyball Continental Tour following Saturday’s
quarterfinal matches at the Beach Volleyball Stadium Flor Blanca
in San Salvador.
American sisters Avery and Addison Junk, Canada’s Julia
McDougall/Natalia Casas, El Salvador’s Jimena Castañeda/Daniela
Vigil and Mexican twins Giselle and Vanessa Chay completed the
semifinal lineup, with three teams advancing in straight sets
and the hosts producing a comeback victory.
The Junk twins continued their dominant run with a convincing
2-0 (21-7, 21-7) victory over U.S. Virgin Islands sisters
Vernecia and Verneeci Caines. The Americans controlled the match
from start to finish, allowing their opponents just 14 points
across two sets.
Canada’s McDougall/Casas were equally impressive, defeating El
Salvador’s Gabriela Flores/Adriana Vargas 2-0 (21-11, 21-12).
The Canadian pair maintained a steady advantage throughout the
contest to earn their place among the tournament’s final four
teams.
Host duo Jimena/Vigil delivered the day’s comeback, recovering
from a difficult opening set to defeat Dominican Republic’s Zoe
Paniagua/Yerelin Reyes 2-1 (12-21, 21-11, 15-6). After falling
behind, the Salvadorans turned the match around with a
commanding second set and carried that momentum into the
tiebreaker to keep the home country in medal contention.
Mexico’s Giselle and Vanessa Chay completed the semifinal field
with a dominant 2-0 (21-6, 21-9) victory over St. Kitts and
Nevis’ Shaylee Pinney/Jontelle Hensley Philip. The Mexican twins
conceded only 15 points in the match, delivering one of the most
decisive performances of the quarterfinal round.
Sunday’s semifinals will feature the United States’ Junk sisters
against El Salvador’s Castañeda/Vigil at 10:45 a.m., while
Canada’s McDougall/Casas will face Mexico’s Chay twins for the
remaining spot in the gold medal match.
Earlier on Saturday, the final pool-play matches determined the
quarterfinal lineup.
The Junk sisters completed an undefeated run in Pool A with a
2-0 (21-8, 21-6) victory over Nicaragua’s Silva/Narváez, while
the Chay twins swept Pool B after defeating Honduras’
Rodríguez/Acosta 2-0 (21-8, 21-8).
McDougall/Casas finished atop Pool C following a 2-0 (21-8,
21-5) win over the Cayman Islands’ Kelly/Swaby. In Pool D,
Jimena/Vigil secured first place with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-15)
victory against Guatemala’s Mendoza/González.
The Dominican duo Paniagua/Reyes advanced as Pool B runners-up
after defeating Costa Rica’s Molina/Chavarría 2-0 (21-13,
21-16), while El Salvador’s Flores/Vargas earned second place in
Pool A with a 2-1 (21-12, 16-21, 15-11) victory over Barbados’
Layne/Grant.
The U.S. Virgin Islands’ Caines sisters finished second in Pool
C after defeating Anguilla’s Richardson/Fleming 2-1 (21-10,
14-21, 15-7). St. Kitts and Nevis’ Pinney/Hensley Philip claimed
second place in Pool D with a hard-fought 2-1 (27-25, 14-21,
15-7) win against Bermuda’s Hands/Gazzard.
The competition concludes Sunday, October 18, with the
semifinals and medal matches determining the women’s champions
of the U23 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour.
Other Results:
Classif. 9/12: Molina/Chavarría (CRC) d Hands/Gazzard (BER) 2-0
(21-12, 21-14); Silva/Narvaez (NCA) d Kelly/Swaby (CAY) 2-0
(21-10, 21-11).
Classif.
13/16: Gonzalez/Mendoza (GUA) d Acosta/Rodriguez (HON) 2-0
(21-7, 21-13).
