2018 Central American & Caribbean Games
- July 19 – August 3, 2o18
- Barranquilla, Columbia
- Schedule/Results
The Dominican Republic claimed the gold medal for women’s volleyball at the Central American & Caribbean Games on Wednesday, topping host Columbia for their fifth-consecutive title. Puerto Rico rounded out the podium, earning the bronze with a five-set win over Mexico.
Dominican Republic def. Columbia 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-19)
Brayelin Martinez and Gaila Gonzalez Lopez scored 15 points apiece and the Dominicans dominated the net in the sweep for gold, capping a 5-0 run through the tournament.
Martinez and Gonzalez each downed a match-high 14 kills and added a block. Lisvel Mejia also managed a double-digit scoring effort with 10 points (6 kills, 4 blocks).
The DR outdid Columbia 45-28 in kills and 10-3 in blocks. Neither team tallied an ace in the match. The Columbians did benefit from 24 Dominican miscues, while committing 20 of their own.
Dayana Segovia posted a team-best 10 points on eight kills and two blocks for Columbia in the team’s first ever Games podium effort. Amanda Coneo chipped in seven points, all on kills, while Melissa Rangel notched five points on four putaways and a stuff.
Puerto Rico def. Mexico 3-2 (26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-12)
Mexico rallied to send the match to tiebreak, but Puerto Rico was too strong in the end, claiming the bronze medal with a 15-12 fifth-set victory.
“It feels really good to win after searching for our rhythm the entire tournament,” Puerto Rican outside hitter Daly Santana said. “It was a very hard duel, that’s the way volleyball goes, you play with everything you got until you have no energy left. This is a young squad and earning this result at such a young age only promises a good future for Puerto Rico’s volleyball, there is space for improvement.”
The Puerto Ricans boasted slight advantages in kills (56-53) and aces (4-3), but the Mexicans countered with a 15-10 edge in blocks to outscore their foes 109-108 for the match.
Shirley Ferrer downed 16 kills and added two aces to pace Puerto Rico. Daly Santana tacked on 14 putaways and a block, while Noami Santos registered 12 kills, two blocks and an ace.
Samantha Bricio scored a match-high 19 points for Mexico with 16 kills, two aces and a block. Andrea Rangel chipped in 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and an ace and Melanie Parra Quintero notched 16 on 12 kills and four stuffs. Karina Flores Gamez and Jocelyn Urias also put up four stuffs apiece.
Trinidad & Tobago def. Venezuela 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20)
Thirty-three points off Venezuelan errors helped Trinidad & Tobago to the sweep for fifth place.
T&T also dominated the rest of the statistics, boasting a 43-27 lead in kills, a 15-0 advantage in blocks and a 7-3 edge in aces.
Channon Thompson racked up 17 points (15 kills, 2 blocks) for T&T, while Krystle Esdelle posted 17 points including a team-best five blocks and four aces. Sinead Jack added 12 kills, two aces and a block to round out the double-digit scorers.
Winderlys Medina put down 12 kills and Nelmaira Valdez Pol added 10 to lead Venezuela. Diana Paredes served up two of the team’s three aces.
“We wanted to improve our team’s game level for the World Championship and I consider we did; we came from less to more and physically the team has been recovering well, yesterday and today we played much better,” Trinidad & Tobago coach Francisco Cruz said. “Darlene Ramdin wasn’t able to play today because she has problems with her knee and we changed our game system with another player, therefore some imprecisions. We are leaving with much more experienced and well prepared; I hope it won’t be lost in Trinidad.”
Cuba def. Costa Rica 3-1 (25-19, 25-13, 23-25, 25-12)
Cuba earned their first victory of the Central American & Caribbean Games with a four-set win over Costa Rica for seventh place. Costa Rica dropped to 0-4 with the loss.
“It was a shameful tournament,” Cuban coach Wilfredo Robinson said despite the win. “Last week we had a good performance at the Pan American Cup as preparation for the Games to reach our goal of winning the bronze medal or finish in fourth place. We did not accomplish our plans. I am more ashamed of beating Costa Rica, than losing to Venezuela”.
The Cubans crushed the Costa Ricans with 14 blocks (to 3), while also boasting a 49-36 advantage in kills and 8-5 lead in aces. Cuba earned two more points on miscues (27-25).
Cuba’s Kitania Medina pounded down a match-high 15 kills and added two blocks and two aces for a match-high 19 points. Claudia Hernandez Aguila notched 11 kills, while Gretell Moreno added 10 points (3 kills, 4 blocks, 3 aces). Laura Suarez Hernandez managed five kills and a team-best five blocks.
Daniela Vargas Quiros downed 10 kills and served up two aces to lead the Costa Rican attack, while Yuliana Gonzalez Alfaro added nine putaways.
“Our strategy in the set we won worked out well, my players deserved to win it because they followed instructions and we made some variations,” Costa Rican coach Cesar Salas said. “As a conclusion, Costa Rica is building and working in a transition phase, the players who are here have made a good effort; there are more back home who are also part of the program. The ones who are not practicing are the ones who don’t want to be part of this process; we will continue to work with young players and we will continue to grow.”
Final Rankings
- Dominican Republic
- Columbia
- Puerto Rico
- Mexico
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Venezuela
- Cuba
- Costa Rica
Results
Group A
July 20
Dominican Republic def. Venezuela 3-0 (25-11, 29-27, 25-11)
Mexico def. Cuba 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-8)
July 21
Mexico def. Venezuela 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16)
Dominican Republic def. Cuba 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 25-17)
July 22
Venezuela def. Cuba 3-2 (30-28, 18-25, 25-21, 12-25, 17-15)
Dominican Republic def. Mexico 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17)
Group B
July 20
Puerto Rico def. Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-20)
Columbia def. Costa Rica 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-7)
July 21
Puerto Rico def. Costa Rica 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20)
Columbia def. Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20)
July 22
Trinidad & Tobago def. Costa Rica 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-16)
Columbia def. Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-20, 29-27, 25-21)
Quarterfinals
July 23
Mexico def. Trinidad & Tobago 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-17)
Puerto Rico def. Venezuela 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-16)
Classification matches – July 24
Fifth through Eighth Place
Venezuela def. Costa Rica 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-13)
Trinidad & Tobago def. Cuba 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22)
Semifinals – July 24
Columbia def. Mexico 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20)
Dominican Republic def. Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19)
Classification Matches – July 25
Seventh – Eighth Place
Cuba def. Costa Rica 3-1 (25-19, 25-13, 23-25, 25-12)
Fifth – Sixth Place
Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20)
Bronze Medal
Puerto Rico def. Mexico 3-2 (26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-12)
Gold Medal
Dominican Republic def. Columbia 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-19)
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