Dominicans triumph in five sets, Canada and USA also win at U-18 in Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Florida, July 25, 2006.- Dominican Republic overcame a two-set deficit and nearly lost a 9-2 lead in set five to win 15-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-11 over Puerto Rico Tuesday evening during the first day of the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Volleyball Championship at the O’Connell Center on the campus of University of Florida in Gainesville.

In the first match of Tuesday, Canada defeated Mexico 3-1 while host USA beat Honduras 3-0 in the nightcap.

Dominican Republic jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the deciding fifth set, only to see Puerto Rico rally to tie the set at 11-all behind the serving of Joely Narvaez. Dominican Republic recovered after calling timeout by scoring four consecutive points to close out the match.

Yenifer Calcano led the Dominican Republic rally with a match-high 20 points. Jeoselyna Rodriguez tacked on 14 points with 11 kills and three aces, while teammate Dharlenis Marte added 10 points.

Puerto Rico was led by Lorraine Aviles’ 18 points on 14 kills, three aces and a block. Narvaez tallied 12 points.

Canada defeated Mexico 25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22 with Becky Pavan leading the winners with 14 points and Megan Ellis contributing 13 points.

Shanice Marcelle tacked on 12 points in the Canadian victory. Kelci French chipped in 10 points with five kills and five service aces, and Kelly Frittenburg added 10 points. Mexico’s Valery Garza led her team with 14 points and Karla Alonso tacked 9 points.

Meanwhile, Tarah Murrey scored 14 points in leading the U.S. Girls’ National Team to a 25-14, 25-9, 25-10 victory over Honduras.

Murrey hit 69 percent with 10-for-13 kills to go with three aces and a block. Alexandra Hunt served eight of Team USA’s 13 aces for the night to go with four kills for 12 points, and Michelle Bartsch chipped in 11 points.

“We played really well at times, but we know we can definitely play better,” Hunt said. “I feel this is only the beginning of something special.”

Kanani Herring, who tallied nine points with a 50 attack percentage on six kills, added Team USA is working hard in practice with a goal in mind.

“Our intensity was awesome, and this is something we have been working for in our practices,” Herring said. “I am excited about our team’s chances.”

The six teams participating in the NORCECA Girls’ Youth Continental Championship will play a round-robin format July 25-29 with classification matches held on July 30 to determine final tournament rankings. The tournament winner and second-place team automatically qualifies for the 2007 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship (U-18) held at Mexicali and Tijuana, Mexico.