Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic Women Punch Ticket to 2018 Worlds

NORCECA CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP A

• Oct. 11-16, 2017
• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Schedule/Results

Puerto Rico def. Guatemala 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-13)

Dominican Republic def. Jamaica 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-6)

Puerto Rico earned its fifth straight World Championship berth with a sweep of Guatemala to move to 2-0 in Group A, while the Dominican Republic claimed its eighth appearance with a sweep of Jamaica.

Puerto Rico 3, Guatemala 0

Puerto Rico doubled its opponent’s kill tally (33-17) and put up nine blocks in an easy sweep on Saturday night.

Daly Santana racked up a match-high 16 points, with 14 kills and two aces. Stephanie Enright and Alba Hernandez turned in nine points apiece to aid the effort. Enright notched seven kills, a block and an ace, while Hernandez chalked up four aces, three kills and two blocks.

 “I am super happy with the qualification because not everybody has the chance to play in a world championship and we have achieved it one more time,” Puerto Rican captain Natalia Valentin said. “This victory is for our Island to get good news in the difficult times we are going through.”

Betriz Gomez Guzman Rut led the way for Guatemala with eight points, tallying seven kills and a block. Ada Patricia Villalobos Lopez followed with six points, notching four kills and two blocks.

“The team entered under pressure in the first set but our game improved in the next sets,” Guatemalan coach William Fernandez said. “Now we have to think about defeating Jamaica tomorrow, that´s the game we have to win. We will work on the lessons learned the past two days.”

Dominican Republic 3, Jamaica 0 

The Dominican Republic will have a chance to best its 2014 fifth-place finish at the World Championships after claiming its spot at the 2018 event with a sweep of Jamaica on Saturday.

The Dominicans served up 11 aces in the match, including six by Yonkaira Pena, while also besting the Jamaicans 4-2 in blocks and 44-11 in kills.

Bethania De La Cuz de Pena was the top scorer in the match with 11 points for the Dominicans, notching nine kills, a block and an ace. Gina Mambru Casilla added nine points, while Pena, Brayelin Martinez and Jineiry Martinez chipped in eight points apiece. Brayelin put down seven kills, while Jineiry and Casilla added six apiece.

Cherine Richards and Tahleia Bishop accounted for four points apiece for Jamaica. Richards scored all of her points on kills, while Bishop tallied three kills and a block.

Dominican Republic worlds berth