Cuba wins bronze in U21 Women NORCECA Pan American Cup

 

HAVANA, Cuba, May 29 (ACN) Cuban U21 women's national team defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 to win the bronze medal in the North, Central America and Caribbean (NORCECA) Pan American Volleyball Cup, held in Nogales, Mexico, with the gold medal awarded to the United States.

The Cubans overcame the Dominicans in the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-20, lost the third, 14-25, and closed out the victory in the fourth, 26-24, after one hour and 31 minutes of play.

The statistics of the match reflect the evenness of the challenge, with the best results for the Cuba in attack, 50-48, but they were surpassed by the Dominicans in blocking and service, 9-11 and 6-7, in that order, and were tied 25-25 in their own errors.

The top scorer of the match was Dominican Katielle Altagracia Alonzo Vargas, who accumulated 21 points, 19 in attack, one in blocking and one in service, followed by Cuban Claudia Tarin (16/13-2-1).

For Cuba, Lisania Grafort (13/12-1-0), Edilseidys Reyes (11/4-3-4), Yensy Kindelan (10/8-2-0) and Witney James (10/10-0-0) also stood out with double digits, followed by Cuba's Ariana Rodríguez (12/8-4-0).

The undefeated United States team, which did not lose a set in its four games, ratified its status as the favorite to win the tournament by beating Mexico 3-0 (25-13, 25-16 and 25-21), which reached the title match without a setback in its four previous matches.
The Cubans also took advantage of their presence in the NORCECA continental tournament to continue their preparation for the U21 world championship to be held in Mexico August 17-26.