Canada and Puerto Rico secured the semifinals with Mexico and Cuba, while the United States and the Dominican Republic enter the classification round from 5th to 8th place.
Canada advanced to the semifinals of the NORCECA Continental Championship by defeating the USA 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10).
Xander Ketrzynski led Canada to the semifinals and was the top scorer of the match with 25 points. Jake Hanes with 15 points was the top scorer for the USA.
Larry McKay, Head Coach of Canada: “Our players made good plays, they performed well tonight. Our team had a good match with their skills and got rewarded for it. We have to improve everything for our next match.”
Andy Read, Head Coach of United States: “Canada played really strong and a few points better than us. I liked how our guys were down (1-2), fought to get the fourth set, hands off to them. In the fifth set, Canada did a couple of serves to get some separation and we couldn’t catch up.”
Puerto Rico defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23) and took the last open place in the semifinals of the NORCECA Continental Championship.
Puerto Rican Gabriel García was the top scorer of the match with 26 points. Henry Tapia with 19 points was the top scorer in the Dominican Republic, while Henry Lopez Capellan added 16.
Oswald Antonetti, Head coach of Puerto Rico: “Dominican Republic is well prepared, they are physically in good shape, they are organized and have many qualities, therefore it was a psychological match; we depend on our emotional intelligence. We are a team of tradition, we are current Central American and Caribbean champions, we want this team to feed on those traditions, we are excited to continue playing.”
Dante Mañon, head Coach of Dominican Republic: “Our anxiety destroyed us, we weren’t ahead only in one set, and we dominated the match. Our best attacker, Tapia, was always blocked by two players and that made us lose concentration.”
Canada will meet host Mexico in the semifinals, while Puerto Rico will play against Cuba. The United States will play matches for positions 5-8 against Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic vs Trinidad and Tobago.
NORCECA Continental Championship Quarterfinals
Canada – United States 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 15-10)
Puerto Rico – Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23)
NORCECA Continental Championship Semifinals
Cuba – Puerto Rico
Mexico – Canada
