2018 NORCECA U-18 Girls’ Continental Championship
- August 27th-September 1st, 2018
- Tegucigalpa, Honduras
- Tournament Site
With the United States and Cuba already in the semifinals after the pool play round, the final four field was rounded out in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Dominican Republic and Canada won going away to move to Friday’s semis with a run at the gold still on the table.
With its dominating win over Nicaragua, the DR earned a meeting with the United States. Meanwhile, Canada is now set for a rematch of Group A’s opening contest with Cuba. The Cubans won that match 25-19, 25-20, 25-20.
Dominican Republic def. Nicaragua 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-16)
The Dominican Republic outdid Nicaragua in offense alone, posting 39 kills, while their foes managed just 33 points total in the match. The DR boasted a 39-13 lead in putaways, a 12-3 advantage in blocks and a 5-3 edge in aces.
“Yesterday we came away with a defeat, but today we made a better game,” Dominican coach Alexandre Ceccato said. We took the opportunity to do some tests with players, thinking about the game we will have against the United States, which we will try to play in the best way. ”
Dominican captain Geraldine Gonzalez racked up 16 points on nine kills and seven stuffs. Flormarie Heredia tacked on 11 points (9 kills, 2 blocks) and Romina Cornelio added seven points (6 kills, 1 ace). Joeliza Fis served up three of the team’s five aces.
Maria Belen Arcia was tops among the Nicaraguan players with eight points (5 kills, 2 aces, 1 block). Her nearest help came from three players with three points each: Yaren Llanes, Marjorie Medrano and Masiel Brenes.
“For them it represents a good experience to play against teams of that level, that realize that with training and effort you can compete against them,” Nicaraguan coach Claudia Noguera said.
Canada def. Honduras 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-16)
Eleven aces, off the hands of six different players, helped lift Canada past Honduras in just over an hour. The Canadians ace tally matched the Honduran’s offensive output, making the rest of the stats merely a bonus.
Canada outdid Honduras 37-11 in kills, 3-2 in blocks and 11-4 in aces. Thirty Canadian miscues helped keep Honduras in the game, accounting for 30 of the team’s 47 total points, while the team gave away 24 points of its own on errors, just one third of Canada’s scores.
Outside hitter Katarina Pantovic and middle blocker Anna Smrek notched 12 points apiece to lead Canada. Smrek downed a match-high eight kills and served up a team-best four aces. Pantovic added seven putaways, three aces and a team-high two blocks. Opposite Hannah Duchesneau also registered seven putaways and an ace.
Outside hitter Dazly Duran managed a team-best six points for Honduras on five putaways and an ace. Opposite Rocio Duron was next on the team with five scorers on two kills, two blocks and an ace.
The Canadians, which are vying for their first NORCECA U18 medal since 1998, are in their first tournament back after a 12 year layoff.
“We felt very well, very happy, this was our main goal to be in the semifinal after so many years,” Canadian coach Dale Melnick said. “I feel very good because the team played before a large audience, and a good team, because Honduras played very well. Our athletes played very calm, very calm and enjoyed the game. ”
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