Cuba claim dramatic victory over Dominican Republic

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, July 15 2012 — Cuba recovered from a 0-2 deficit to overcome Dominican Republic in five sets (17-25, 18-25, 25-8, 25-21, 15-13).

After two dominating sets by the Dominicans, Cuba mounted a reaction in the third and fourth before prevailing in a dramatic seesaw tie-breaker.

Wilma Salas recorded a match-high 23 points, while Yanelis Santos tallied 13 (3 aces). Yoana Palacios recorded 11 and Ana Yilian Cleger 10 for a Cuban team that showed a very strong service, especially from Giselle Silva, who had 4 aces.

Dominican team had a strong blocking work led by Annerys Vargas and Candida Arias. Vargas converted a total of 15 points (4 blocks) and Arias had 12 (9 blocks). Gina Mambru recorded 12 points while Prisilla Rivera and Brayelin Martinez each closed with 10.

“I am glad for this victory. It was a good match, we enjoyed it a lot. We lifted  and improved our service which really motivated us,” Cuban captain Yusidey Sillie said.

“The match was very intense but we lost our concentration and didn’t follow the guidelines given by our coach. The fifth set was very close but we made many mistakes that cost us to lose the match,” Prisilla Rivera said about the Dominican team.

“We knew that this match would be very long and helped us a lot to study and keep on working. I am glad for the work we did but not for the result,” Dominican Republic’s coach Marcos Kwiek said.

“These matches are always tight and intense. What we did in the third set was important, because the team recovered and that moment decided the match,” Cuban coach Juan Carlos Gala remarked.