USA strong in group stage
USA – Cuba 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-12)
The United States used a 11-2 block advantage to defeat Cuba 25-9, 25-13, 25-12 to conclude Pool B of the visit Omaha NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship on Wednesday evening at Ralston Arena.
The United States held a 41-18 advantage in kills and 6-1 margin in aces during the match. The Americans, ranked No. 2 in the world, limited their errors to 13 for the match.
U.S. Captain Kristin Hildebrand: “I thought that tonight we did a really good job putting pressure on Cuba and focusing on our side of the net. We played really clean for the majority of the match. We had a lot of people come off the bench and make great contributions. The crowd was awesome. It was fun to see more people come out and we’re hoping it will keep growing. One of the things we’ve been emphasizing the whole year is serving tough. I think we can always serve tougher and tougher.”
Cuba Captain Daymara Lescay: “Today we didn’t play very well. We struggled. We had low energy. In order to play at this level in this competition we had to play at a higher level.”
Puerto Rico – Canada 3-2 (19-25, 28-30, 25-23, 27-25, 15-8)
Karina Ocasio led Puerto Rico with 21 points and Aurea Cruz followed with 20 points. Puerto Rico captain Yarimar Rosa contributed 17 points in the victory. Canada was led by Jaimie Thibeault’s 17 points, while teammates Tabitha Love and Lisa Barclay produced 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Puerto Rico held a 62-53 margin in kills, but Canada held significant advantages in blocks (14-10) and aces (7-4). Further, the Canadians benefited from 33 Puerto Rican errors and held their own errors to 24.
Puerto Rico Captain Yarimar Rosa: “It was harder than we expected. We knew it was going to be hard. We were really trying to get the victory in three or four sets, but we’re happy we got the victory. (If I could go work on something right now) I would say blocking and better serves. We missed too many serves again.”
Canada Captain Brittney Page: “It was definitely frustrating that we didn’t persist in the fifth set. It was really disappointing for us. I think we just needed to maintain our highest level and we could have prevailed.”
Dominican Republic – Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-13)
Trinidad & Tobago, which ended the group stage with a 1-1 record and three points, will play in Thursday’s quarterfinal round as the second-place team from Pool A.
Dominican Republic benefited from 25 Trinidad & Tobago errors while limited its own miscues to seven for the match. Dominican Republic held margins in all three scoring categories: 35-30 in kills, 7-5 in blocks and 8-4 in aces.
Dominican Republic Captain Bethania de La Cruz: “(The second set score) was due to Trinidad & Tobago. They are a better team than they have been in the past and they showed that in the second set. We just have to be ready for that.”
Trinidad & Tobago Captain Krystle Esdelle: “A short team like we are, we just have to do what we can. All we have to do is play hard. If we play hard, everything will be OK. I think we have to work on serve and pass and getting our passes up and a little more communication in the coverage of the court.”
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