NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup
- July 8-14, 2018
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Schedule/Results
Colombia rallied to edge Puerto Rico in five sets for fifth place, despite a match-high 29 point effort from Puerto Rican outside hitter Daly Santana. With the win, Colombia claimed the final spot in next year’s Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
Meanwhile, Ailama Cese starred as Cuba edged past Peru in four sets for seventh place in a match which featured the highest scoring set in Pan American Cup history.
Colombia def. Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-15, 22-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Four Colombian players posted double-digit scoring efforts as the team edged Puerto Rico in five sets for fifth place.
“We have improved our technical quality and now we need to improve in attitude,” Colombian coach Antonio Rizola said. “Today was a good example of progress winning this match after trailing 1-2. Now we need to prepare for Barranquilla.”
Amanda Coneo (24), Dayana Segovia (20), Melissa Rangel (15) and Maria Margarita Martinez (14) combined to lead Colombia to victory. Coneo and Segovia downed 18 kills apiece, while Martinez chipped in 12 putaways. Rangel notched nine putaways, a team-high four blocks and two aces. Coneo managed three blocks and three aces.
Daly Santana (29), Pilar Marie Victoria (19) and Noami Santos (13) did the heavy lifting for Puerto Rico. Santana downed a match-high 28 kills, while Victoria chipped in 17 putaways. Santos added nine kills, two blocks and two aces. Neira Ortiz put up a team-best three stuffs.
Colombia edged Puerto Rico 66-62 in kills, 15-8 in blocks and 6-5 in aces. Puerto Rico had help from 23 Colombian miscues, while committing 21 of its own.
“The difference was that in the fourth and fifth set we had to come from behind and that’s very difficult against a team like Colombia who plays the side out so well,” Puerto Rican coach Javier Gaspar said. “At the end Colombia executed and we didn’t.”
Cuba def. Peru 3-1 (25-23, 38-40, 25-11, 25-22)
The seventh place match between Peru and Cuba was full of record breaking moments and standout performances.
Set 2 of the match was the highest scoring in tournament history, ending in a 40-38 score in favor of Peru. The 78 combined points surpassed a 36-34 first set effort between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic from 2009.
Aileme Cese joined an elite group of just 13 players to surpass the 30-point mark in tournament history, notching 31 points. Cese joined fellow Cubans Heidy Casanova (41) and Melissa Vargas (30) as members of the group.
Cese downed 26 kills and added four blocks and an ace to lead Cuba to victory. Claudia Hernandez Aguila (15) and Diaris Perez Ramos (14) followed. Perez Ramos tacked on 13 kills, while Hernandez Aguila posted 11 kills, three blocks and an ace. Yamila Hernandez Santas managed eight points on a team-best five blocks and three aces.
Brenda Lobaton led the way for Peru with 23 points on 22 kills and an ace. Karla Ortiz notched 18 points with 14 kills and a team-leading four blocks, while Kiara Montes also managed double-digit points with nine kills and a block.
Cuba put up 16 blocks to just six for Peru, and also edged its foes in kills (60-58) and aces (8-3). Both teams committed 29 miscues.
30-Point Club
- 41: Heidy Casanova (Cuba)
- 37: Sidarka Nunez (Dominican Republic)
- 35: Kristin Richards (United States)
- 32: Samantha Bricio (Mexico); Angela Leyva (Peru); Sheilla Castro (Brazil)
- 31: Kenny Moreno (Colombia); Angela Leyva (Peru); Ailama Cese (Cuba), 31;
- 30: Nicole Fawcett (United States); Verania Willis (Costa Rica); Aury Cruz (Puerto Rico); Melissa Vargas (Cuba) and Brayelin Martinez (Dominican Republic).
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