Puerto Rico claims ticket to quarterfinals

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 26, 2011- Puerto Rico secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pan American Games after winning in straight sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-23) over Canada on Wednesday morning.

Puerto Rico’s Roberto Muñiz and Victor Rivera shared the lead of the winning offense with 13 points apiece while Hector Soto, Enrique Escalante and Juan Figueroa each contributed 11 points to the victory. Canada’s Spencer Leiske had a match-high 14 points.

Héctor Soto (Captain of Puerto Rico): “Despite the mistakes we made, we were able to close the match, something that we didn’t against USA. We are happy for that and have to rest for tomorrow.”

Louis Pierre Mainville (Captain of Canada): “We are really disappointed with the loss. After the match we played yesterday, we are a little bit tired, but we have to learn how to put two solid performances in a row and fix some things.”

Carlos Cardona (Coach of Puerto Rico): “Physically they (Canada) were not in the best condition after playing a marathon match the night before. The high altitude of Guadalajara didn’t help either. We were very well prepared for this match and we knew that the third one would be important for the next round. We came from less to more, had very good executions and were a little bit anxious on the third set, but we got the result that we wanted.”

Vincent Pichette (Coach of Canada): “We were not able to stop (Roberto) Muñiz down the middle and Victor (Rivera) played a great match. They put a lot of pressure on our pass with their serves. This young group has to learn how to manage tough situations, to be more efficient and to be more concentrated.