NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup: USA & D.R. Advance to the Semis

NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup

• July 8-14, 2018
• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Schedule/Results

QUARTERFINALS:

USA DEF. COLOMBIA 3-0

• USA def. Colombia 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-17)
• USA improves to 3-1 overall; Colombia falls to 2-2 overall

The Americans will now move on to the semifinals while Colombia falls to the 5th-8th place classification tomorrow after the United States earned a powerful sweep. As one would expect in a 75-46 match, USA dominated in spikes (39-21), blocks (14-6) and aces (8-1). They’ll now face Canada for a spot in the finals.

While no players for Colombia surpassed six points, the United States had four in double digits led by a 20-point outburst from Aiyana Abukusumo-Whitney that included six aces. The others in double figures were Chiaka Ogbogu (11 points) and Haleigh Washington (11 points) as recent college grads out of the middle along with former Utah star outside hitter Adora Anae (10 points).

Lauren Carlini, captain of United States: “We played real well. It is winning time. We are in the medal round after playing clean volleyball.”

Jonathan Newman-Gonchar, coach of United States: “We put a lot of pressure with our serves. We knew that we were going to have our hands full against Colombia and their good setter.”

Maria Marin, captain of Colombia: “We couldn’t control their serves and they played almost perfect. Tomorrow is another day and there is still hope to qualify to the Pan Am Games here.”

Antonio Rizola, coach of Colombia: “They played almost without errors and with a good blocking structure. Their serves had a good quality.”

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DEF. PUERTO RICO 3-2

• Dominican Republic def. Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10)
• Dominican Republic improves to 3-1 overall; Puerto Rico falls to 2-2 overall

In a back-and-forth affair, the Dominican Republic edged out Puerto Rico for a spot in the semifinals. They had to overcome a 2-1 set deficit to accomplish the feat, but used a stronger attack (61-55 in spikes) on three less team errors to overcome the Puerto Rican block (10-7). That pushes the Dominican Republic to a meeting with Brazil, where the winner will move forward to the championship match.

Individually, Isabel Yonkaira Pena (20 points) and Brayelin Martinez (18 points) led the effort for the Dominican, while Daly Santana (24 points) almost overcame the pair just by herself. Other double-digit scorers were Shirley Ferrer (16 points), Alba Hernandez (10 points) and Neira Ortiz (10 points) for the losing nation and Gina Mambru Casilla (11 points) for the Dominicans.

CLASSIFICATION 7-10:

CUBA DEF. ARGENTINA 3-2

• Cuba def. Argentina 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 14-25, 25-23, 15-8)
• Cuba improves to 3-1 overall; Argentina drops to 0-4 overall

Cuba just edged out Argentina in total score 100-99, so it was fitting the match went to a fifth. However, that final set was all Cuba after it was a bit surprising they fell behind 2-1 in games. They wound up with more blocks (12-7) and aces (9-4) despite less kills on more errors, as Laura Beatriz Suarez Hernandez (18 points) and Sulian Caridad Matienzo Linares (17 points) led Cuba past Paula Yamila Nizetich (24 points) and Argentina. Cuba now heads on to the 5th-8th place classification while Argentina goes to 9th-12th.

Sulian Matienzo, captain of Cuba: “We played very bad in the second and third sets and our coach complained to motivate us and we recovered to get the win.”

Wilfredo Robinson, coach of Cuba: “We have a lot of respect for Argentina which I consider a dangerous opponent. We have improved our game, especially the reception and the blocking.”

Paula Nizetich, captain of Argentina: “We have had many ups and downs throughout the tournament. Cuba hurt us with the serves. They deserved the victory.”

Guillermo Orduna, coach of Argentina: “The result comes from our own mistakes in the key moments. Cuba used players off the bench who delivered.”

PERU DEF. MEXICO 3-1

• Peru def. Mexico 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 31-29, 34-32)
• Peru improves to 2-2 overall; Mexico falls to 1-3 overall

Mexico actually outscored Peru, as the first set was one-sided and the rest were all tight – including an incredible final two games in extra points. Peru squeezed things out by being more efficient and with sizable contributions from Karla Ortiz (20 points) and Kiara Montes (19 points). Mexico wound up with more kills (64-57) and blocks (11-6) as Andrea Rangel and former NCAA Player of the Year and USC grad Samantha Bricio each notched 18 points. Peru will now go to the 5th-8th place classification while Mexico will end up somewhere between 9th and 12th.

Clarivett Yllescas, captain of Peru: “It was a close battle against a very fast Mexico. It was a match of good defense and we were able to keep the calm.”

Andrea Rangel, captain of Mexico: “We lacked decision at the end and Peru played good defense. It was a battle.”

Carlos Aparicio, coach of Peru: “It could have gone either way. The winners were the fans who enjoyed the battle. My girls played hearts out game and we reduced mistakes.”

Ricardo Ponce, coach of Mexico: “We couldn’t close the third and fourth set despite the opportunities. That was the difference. Peru, on the contrary, played with decision and clarity.”

SCHEDULE:

GROUP A No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 3 8-July 14:00 CANADA vs PERU LIVE  3-0 25-21 25-12 25-17 75-50 1:11 P-2 P-3 6 8-July 20:00 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC vs COSTA RICA LIVE 3-0 25-14 25-10 25-16  75-40 1:07 P-2 P-3 7 9-July 10:00   COSTA RICA vs CANADA LIVE 0-3 10-25 10-25 7-25 27-75 0:56 P-2 P-3 12 9-July 20:00 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC vs PERU LIVE 3-0 25-16 25-15 25-16 75-47 1:21 P-2 P-3 18 10-July 20:00   DOMINICAN REPUBLIC vs CANADA LIVE 0-3 23-25 14-25 20-25 57-75 1:17 P-2 P-3 13 10-July 22:00 PERU vs COSTA RICA LIVE 3-0 25-22 25-18 25-15 75-55 1:13 P-2 P-3 GROUP B No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 1 8-July 10:00   TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO vs UNITED STATES LIVE 1-3 25-21 15-25 22-25 15-25 77-96 1:46 P-2 P-3 5 8-July 18:00   PUERTO RICO vs CUBA LIVE  3-0 25-13 25-22 25-23  75-58 1:16 P-2 P-3 8 9-July 12:00 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO vs PUERTO RICO LIVE 2-3 28-30 20-25 25-21 28-26 8-15 109-117 2:18 P-2 P-3 11 9-July 18:00 CUBA vs UNITED STATES LIVE 3-2 18-25 25-22 25-23 13-25 15-13 96-108 2:11 P-2 P-3 14 10-July 12:00 CUBA vs TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO LIVE 3-0 25-15 30-28 25-19 80-62 2:01 P-2 P-3 17 10-July 18:00 UNITED STATES vs PUERTO RICO LIVE 3-0 25-22 25-21 25-14 75-57 1:22 P-2 P-3 GROUP C No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 2 8-July 12:00   BRAZIL vs MEXICO LIVE 3-0 25-21 25-19 25-17 75-57 1:16 P-2 P-3 4 8-July 16:00   ARGENTINA vs COLOMBIA LIVE  2-3 16-25 16-25 25-22 25-18 15-17 97-107 2:06 P-2 P-3 9 9-July 14:00   COLOMBIA vs BRAZIL LIVE 2-3 25-18 26-24 16-25 23-25 13-15 103-107 2:13 P-2 P-3 10 9-July 16:00   MEXICO vs ARGENTINA LIVE 3-0 25-20 25-15 25-20 75-55 1:20 P-2 P-3 15 10-July 14:00   COLOMBIA vs MEXICO LIVE 3-0 25-15 25-22 25-12 75-49 1:28 P-2 P-3 16 10-July 16:00   BRAZIL vs ARGENTINA LIVE 3-2 20-25 25-20 25-15 19-25 15-6 104-91 1:53 P-2 P-3 CLASSIFICATION 7/10 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 19 11-July 14:00 CUBA vs ARGENTINA LIVE 3-2 25-18 21-25 14-25 25-23 15-8 100-99 1:49 P-2 P-3 20 11-July 16:00 MEXICO vs PERU LIVE 1-3 25-16 22-25 29-31 32-34 108-106 2:20 P-2 P-3 QUARTERFINALS No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 22 11-July 18:00 UNITED STATES vs COLOMBIA LIVE 3-0 25-12 25-17 25-17 75-46 1:09 P-2 P-3 21 11-July 20:00 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC vs PUERTO RICO LIVE 3-2 25-21 18-25 21-25 25-22 15-10 104-103 2:15 P-2 P-3 CLASSIFICATION 9/12 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 23 12-July 14:00 COSTA RICA vs ARGENTINA LIVE P-2 P-3 24 12-July 16:00 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO vs MEXICO LIVE P-2 P-3 CLASSIFICATION 5/8 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 25 12-July 18:00 CUBA vs COLOMBIA LIVE P-2 P-3 26 12-July 20:00 PERU vs PUERTO RICO LIVE P-2 P-3 FINAL CLASSIFICATION 11/12 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 27 13-July 14:00 LOSER OF M23 vs LOSER OF M24 LIVE P-2 P-3 FINAL CLASSIFICATION 9/10 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 28 13-July 16:00 WINNER OF M23 vs WINNER OF M24 LIVE P-2 P-3 SEMIFINALS No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 29 13-July 20:00 BRAZIL vs DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LIVE P-2 P-3 30 13-July 18:00 CANADA vs UNITED STATES LIVE P-2 P-3 FINAL CLASSIFICATION 7/8 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 31 14-July 12:00 LOSER OF M25 vs LOSER OF M26 LIVE P-2 P-3 FINAL CLASSIFICATION 5/6 No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 32 14-July 14:00 WINNER OF M25 vs WINNER OF M26 LIVE P-2 P-3 FINALS No. Date Time Teams Lives Set 1 2 3 4 5 Points Time FORMS 33 14-July 16:00 LOSER OF M29 vs LOSER OF M30 LIVE P-2 P-3 34 14-July 18:00 WINNER OF M29 vs WINNER OF M30 LIVE P-2 P-3

STANDINGS: