Dominican players and coaching staff celebrate their third title in a row at the U23 Women's Pan American Cup on Sunday
San Vicente de Cañete, Peru, September 25, 2016 – The Dominican Republic, Argentina and Cuba have qualified for the FIVB U23 World Championship in Slovenia in 2017 after claiming the top three places at the U23 Pan American Cup. The Dominican Republic won their third consecutive title with a sweeping victory over Argentina 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) in front of a crowd of 4,000 at the Lolo Fernandez Coliseum on Sunday.
Brayelin Martinez, who was named MVP, finished with a match-high 20 points, followed by her sister Jineiry Martinez who added 13, including three blocks, in the victory.
Daniela Bulaich had 10 points for Argentina, while Sol Piccolo and Candelaria Herrera finished with 9 and 8 points respectively in the loss.
The winners held advantages in attacks (36-32), blocks (9-5) and aces (4-3). They also made 19 unforced errors to 26 by the losers.
“When we left the Dominican Republic we had a clear goal and we knew it was not going to be easy,” Dominican Republic coach Wagner Pacheco said. “First, to qualify to the World Championship, second to be in the finals. We did it and the most important thing is to accomplish being triple-champions.”
“It was not easy because we had some injured players and the others did not have enough playing time, but we have a very strong team. The union of our athletes and the technical staff was key. I am very proud and grateful of them.”
“I am satisfied with the job we have done in the tournament,” Argentina coach Guillermo Orduna said. “We didn’t play at the same level we have today, but the outcome is a positive one. We got victories against all the teams we faced. We were able to recover from tough moments during the tournament, but we were able to stay with the qualification and we will now prepare for the World Championship, which will be very important.”
In the match for the bronze medal, Cuba held off a valiant reaction from hosts Peru to claim the bronze medal with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-19, 16-25, 12-25, 15-8) victory.
Yelennis Diaz led five Cuban players who scored in double digits with 14 points. She was followed by Diaris Perez (13), Claudia Hernández (12), Dalila Palma (11) and Heidy Casanova (10).
Angela Leyva once again topped Peru with 25 points and Maguilaura Frias added 11 in the loss. Leslie Leyva and Coraima Gomez finished with 9 and 8, respectively.
Both teams scored with 42 spikes and made 28 unforced errors. Peru held a slight margin of 16-15 in blocks while Cuba was better in service winners 8-5.
The Dominican Republic, Argentina and Cuba join hosts Slovenia, Turkey, Italy and Brazil as teams qualified for the U23 World Championship, while five vacancies are still up for grabs (two in Africa, two in Asia and one from the U23 world ranking).
Results and statistics - click here.
Final Positions
1. Dominican Republic
2. Argentina
3. Cuba
4. Perú
5. Costa Rica
6. Trinidad & Tobago
Individual Awards
MVP: Brayelin Martinez, DOM
First Outside Hitter: Ángela Leyva, PER
Second Outside Hitter: Brayelin Martínez, DOM
First Middle-Blocker: Candelaria Herrera, ARG
Second Middle-Blocker: Yelennis Diaz, CUB
Opposite: Daniela Bulaich, ARG
Setter: Gretell Moreno, CUB
Libero: Antonela Fortuna, ARG
Best Server: Diaris Pérez, CUB
Best Receiver: Sol Piccolo, ARG
Best Digger: Winifer Fernández, DOM
Best Scorer: Ángela Leyva, PER
Best Scorers
153- Ángela Leyva, PER
104- Brayelin Martínez, DOM
96- Daniela Bulaich, ARG
85- Diaris Pérez, CUB
84- Yelennis Díaz, CUB
83- Maguilaura Frías, PER
81- Candelaria Herrera, ARG
71- Jineiry Martínez, DOM
67- Gaila González, DOM
67- Coraima Gómez, PER
Most Individual Blocks
31- Candelaria Herrera, ARG
21- Yelennis Díaz, CUB
17- Coraima Gómez, PER
16- Alexandra Machado, PER
14- Brayelin Martínez, DOM
14- Jineiry Martínez, DOM
Most Individual Aces
13- Maguilaura Frías, PER
12- Diaris Pérez, CUB
12- Elizabet Vicet, CUB
11- Camila Hiruela, ARG
11- Elina Rodríguez, ARG
Top Scorer by Day
19- Daniela Bulaich of Argentina v Cuba on 19-9-16
18- Daniela Bulaich of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 20-9-16
18- Sol Piccolo of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 20-9-16
35- Angela Leyva of Perú v Argentina on 21-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Cuba on 22-9-16
21- Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Perú on 23-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Argentina on 24-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Cuba on 25-9-16
Top Scoring Performances
35- Angela Leyva of Perú v Argentina on 21-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Cuba on 22-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Argentina on 24-9-16
25- Angela Leyva of Perú v Cuba on 25-9-16
21- Diaris Perez of Cuba v Perú on 22-9-16
21- Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Peru on 23-9-16
20- Maguilaura Frias of Perú v Argentina on 21-9-16
20- Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Perú on 25-9-16
Top Blocking Performances
9- Candelaria Herrera of Argentina v Perú on 21-9-16
9- Candelaria Herrera of Argentina v Perú on 24-9-16
5- Candelaria Herrera of Argentina v Dominican Republic on 20-9-16
5- Jineiry Martinez of Dominican Republic v Cuba on 21-9-16
5- Brayelin Martinez of Dominican Republic v Perú on 23-9-16
5- Gretell Moreno of Cuba v Perú on 25-9-16
5- Alexandra Machado of Perú v Cuba on 25-9-16
Top Serving Performances
9- Elina Rodriguez of Argentina v Trinidad & Tobago on 22-9-16
6- Elizabet Vicet of Cuba v Trinidad & Tobago on 23-9-16
5- Maguilaura Frias of Perú v Trinidad & Tobago on 20-9-16
5- Gaila González of Dominican Republic on 22-9-16
5- Elena Moreno of Cuba v Perú on 22-9-16
5- Yelennis Diaz of Cuba v Perú on 22-9-16
5- Diaris Perez of Cuba v Trinidad & Tobago on 23-9-16
Top Team Blocking Performances
16- Argentina v Perú on 21-9-16
16- Perú v Cuba on 25-9-16
15- Cuba v Perú on 25-9-16
13- Cuba v Perú on 22-9-16
12- Dominican Republic v Cuba on 21-9-16
12- Perú v Cuba on 22-9-16
12- Argentina v Perú on 24-9-16
Top Team Serving Performances
16- Argentina v Trinidad & Tobago on 22-9-16
15- Cuba v Trinidad & Tobago on 23-9-16
14- Dominican Republic v Costa Rica on 22-9-16
11- Cuba v Argentina on 19-9-16
11- Cuba v Costa Rica on 20-9-16
11- Argentina v Dominican Republic on 20-9-16
11- Perú v Trinidad & Tobago on 20-9-16
Highest Scoring Sets
29-27 Argentina v Dominican Republic (3rd Set) on 20-9-16
28-26 Perú v Argentina (1st Set) on 24-9-16
27-25 Perú v Argentina (4th Set) on 21-9-16
26-24 Perú v Argentina (2nd Set) on 21-9-16
Highest Scoring Matches
224- Perú d Argentina 3-2 (17-25, 26-24, 23-25, 27-25, 17-15) on 21-9-16
215- Perú d Cuba 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 18-16) on 22-9-16