Easy victory for USA over Barbados

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 25, 2005.- USA defeated Barbados in straight  sets (25-18, 25-10, 25-13) for its third victory at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the FIVB World Championships. USA had an effective game from its setter Donald Suxho and the offensive of David McKienzie, David Lee and Riley Salmon while Elwyn Oxley was the only consistent performer for Barbados. McKIenzie had 8 points the same total of Oxley. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “It was a good game for us. We started a little slow like we did against Puerto Rico but we made the needed adjustments to take the first set and then win the match. Barbados played hard but their level is different.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “Our game has improved and these past matches help us to go to the match against Guatemala, a team that work very hard on defense, We have to be ready against them and avoid the errors.” Spanish..........Match Schedule

Dominicans improve to 2-0 mark

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 25, 2005.- Dominican Republic got its second triumph in as many days beating Guatemala in straight sets by score of 25-10, 25-12, 25-12 at the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament Norceca-E. Annerys Vargas and Cosiris Rodriguez were the top scorers for the host team with 16 and 13 respectively.  The spikes of Kenia Moreta sent Dominican Republic to an 8-2 lead at the first technical time-out of the opening set and Rodriguez closed it with a streak of potent kills. Rodriguez continued her devastating offensive performance in the second set when the Dominicans led 8-4 and 16-8 with good use of their size advantage at the net. Vargas enjoyed an overall good performance in the third set, blocking, spiking and serving with excellence. Maria Orellana, captain of Guatemala: "It is always source of pride to compete against a team of the high level like the one of Dominican Republic. I think we have improved  and hope to do good against Costa Rica on Sunday."  Cosiris Rodriguez, captain of Dominican Republic: "It was a beautiful match for us. We played better than yesterday and improved our reception. We also have one objective for next Sunday against Cuba." David Aldana, coach of Guatemala: "It is not everyday that you have the chance to play against a team like Dominican Republic. Our goal is to play better and to develop our team." Ismael Ortega, coach of Dominican Republic: "Things were better for us today. We received better and the team is very united. We will be ready for a good match against Cuba on Sunday." Spanish........Match Schedule

Cuba displayed powerful attack

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 25, 2005.- Cuba made an impressive debut at the Norceca-E 2006 Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament while dominating Jamaica in straight sets 25-10, 25-11, 25-14. Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez led the Cubans with 14 and 11 points respectively. Neither Yumilka Ruiz nor Zoila Barros, the two main stars on the Cuban side, saw action during the one sided match. The first set was completely one-sided with the powerful serves of Cuba producing major damages on the Jamaican side. Cuba led 8-3 and 16-4 at the time-outs. Sanchez had three aces, Nancy Carrillo had two and Daimi Ramirez added another one. Calderon’s thunderous spikes were the main weapons utilized by Cuba in a second set where the Olympic bronze medallists led 8-2 and 16-6 at the two technical pauses. Cuba played mostly with reserve players in the third set, but the outcome was very similar. Tracyann Pryce, captain if Jamaica: “Just the fact of playing against a team like Cuba was a pleasure. We played better than the day before but there is still room for improvement.” Yumilka Ruiz, captain of Cuba: “I think the girls of Jamaica did a great effort. It was also a game where our young players received the opportunity to play and develop.” O’Neal Ebanks, assistant coach of Jamaica: “It is always good to play against Cuba. We learned a lot and improved from yesterday. Our goal is to keep playing better as the competition continues.” Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “We knew about the possibilities of Jamaica so it was good opportunity to give playing time to some of our younger players.” Spanish

Dominican Republic beat Costa Rica

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- Dominican Republic won in straight sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-20) over Costa Rica in Day One of the FIVB Women’s World Championships Qualification Tournament Norceca-D. Cosiris Rodriguez, Annerys Vargas and Kenia Moreta had 13, 12 and 11 points respectively for the Dominican Republic, while siblings Verania and Angela Willis each scored 11 for Costa Rica. The Dominicans dominated 8-3 and 16-8 in route to winning the first set with Moreta and Vargas providing the attack. Veteran Rodriguez and Vargas led the way for the host team in the second set where Costa Rica presented some resistance with good blocks. The Costa Ricans led most of the third set with the offence of Verania Willis but they could not maintain the rhythm after a tie at 18-all, when Rodriguez led a Dominican comeback. Braulio Godinez, coach of Costa Rica: "We had a good game and tried to give a battle to the Dominicans who had much more experience than us. But we cannot lost the perspective and need to maintain the focus on winning the third place." More…Spanish

Puerto Rico took second victory

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2005.- Puerto Rico defeated Guatemala with comfortable margin for its second victory at the 2006 FIVB Men’s World Championship Norceca-D. The score  was 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 and the match gave the Puerto Rican coach the chance to use some of his reserve players with Oswald Antonetti leading the offence of the host team. There were moments during the match when the Guatemalans showed signs of improvement and battled hard, but the strength of Puerto Rico was too much. Antonetti was the best scorer for Puerto Rico with 17 points, followed by Roberto Munoz with 12. Erick Garrido topped Guatemala with 6 points. Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We touched the ball in the blocking and that is good. We also looked better in our serves but still need to minimize the errors.” Víctor Rivera, player of Puerto Rico: “We had to go motivated for this match. I am a professional and always, no matter the rival, I like to play well. We have to reduce the errors and the match was useful for our match against Mexico.” Miguel Marroquín, captain of Guatemala: “I think we showed improvement in our game. Now we have to concentrate in the match we came looking form and that is to beat Barbados.” Spanish

Guatemala started on the right track

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- Guatemala started on the right track its quest for a berth at the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships taking a four-set victory over Jamaica in the Norceca–E Qualification Tournament. The score was 25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-7. Maria Orellana led Guatemala with 18 points while Ana Ramirez had 16 and Samantha Arias 11. For Jamaica Cheryl Daley scored 9 and Paula Porter and Crawford each had 8. Guatemala won the first set with good offensive actions by Ramirez and Aneliesse Burmester combined with Jamaica’s continued reception problems, but Jamaica prevailed in the second frame with improved blocking and strong spikes by Georgette Crawford. Ramirez led the attack in a third set dominated by Guatemala with margins of 8-3 and 16-10 at the technical time-outs. The serves of Orellana gave Guatemala a comfortable early lead in the fourth set and the rest was history. Oneal Ebanks, assistant coach of Jamaica: "We do not have much international experience and it showed today, even our girls made the effort, but we lacked fighting spirit." More…Spanish

Mexico won over Barbados

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 24, 2005.- Mexico capitalizad the errors of Barbados to take its second victory at the Norceca-D Men’s FIVB World Championship Qualification Tournament. The Mexicans, relying on the game of their captain Ivan Contreras and attackers Carlos Guerra and Gustavo Meyer won in consecutive sets by score of  25-16, 25-14, 25-21, but for moments needed a big effort to stop the strong attack of Barbados at the corners. Contreras led Mexico with 13 points and Guerra added 12, while Adam Price, who did not start for Barbados was the best of his side with 11 points. Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: Ït was not our best game, but we managed to get the win. Now we have to be ready for our next match against Puerto Rico.” Ivan Contreras, captain of Mexico: “After winning the first two sets it was normal to relax a little bit, even myself. But we won because of their mistakes.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “We made too manyerrors and we paid for it, but the game help us to be ready for the match that can qualify us to the semifinals.” Spanish

What the coaches said before Santiago

SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic, August 24, 2005.- The teams of Cuba and Dominican Republic are considered a lock to reach the final round of the 2006 FIVB Women’s World Championships. So in the competition that starts tonight, three teams will be battling for the one spot available. Here is what the coaches said during the press conference after the technical meeting: Ornel Findlay, coach of Jamaica: “We know that Cuba and Dominican Republic are teams of world level, but anyway we come here with the goal of reaching Japan along with them. We are ready for the battle against all the rivals looking for that place in the Worlds.” Luis Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba: “We have had a tough year with an intense preparation to arrive here looking for the ticket to the Worlds. In the sport there are no small enemies, and even we are given as favourites, we always go to the court willing to show it. We have our complete squad well prepared to make the jump to Japan. If I have to mention two key players, I would say they are Yumilka Ruiz and Zoila Barros.” David Aldana, coach of Guatemala: “Thanks to the new qualification format within Norceca, we are here and hope to keep advancing. I think this situation will take our volleyball to make the quality jump and we are winning just being here. But anyway, we are ready to take the ticket.”..More..Spanish

Puerto Rico has a 1-1 record

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 23, 2005.- Puerto Rico got its first win at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships while beating Barbados in straight sets. The score was 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 and Puerto Rico has a 1-1 record while Barbados is winless in two outings. The match was one where the Puerto Ricans presented much strength in blocking and good serving, although Barbados battled back on several occasions and showed its continued improved in the region. The Puerto Rican offence counted with 11 points from Victor Rivera and 8 produced by Rene Estevez. For Barbados, the best scorer was Renier Grace with 6 points. Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “I thing we could evaluate our players. They (Barbados) have their offensive game but we controlled them. Now we have to think in Guatemala, which is our next rival and we don’t know anything about them.” José Rivera, player of Puerto Rico: “Personally, I finished some kind of tired because I still had the load of yesterday’s match against USA, but we could made our game and get the victory.” Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados: “We are going match by match. We are looking to improve our game because still we have to play against Mexico and USA and the match with Guatemala. The tournament has been of great experience for us and we will learn from it to improve our game.” Spanish

USA obtained its second triumph

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 23, 2005.- USA obtained its second victory of the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament, defeating Guatemala in only 55 minutes. The score was 25-10, 25-13, 25-10. Hugh McCutcheon, the coach of USA, used only six players who did not play the day before. The Americans took advantage of their height for the blocking and attack, while dominating their opponents without major problems. Opposite attacker Brook Billings was the top scorer for USA with 17 points and Peter Olree added 13. Edgar Villalobos led Guatemala with six points. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “We tested other players and see all the options that we have. We did not have to make any adjustments and could dominate with six players. Now, we have to prepare for our next game.” Brook Billings, player of USA: “The team has one week working out and I was not there during the preparation phase, but calmly I am ready for when it is needed.” Alvinzi Peláez, coach of Guatemala: “We know that the game was going to be tough, but we could test some alternatives and improve everyday for the match we want to win against Barbados.” Mario Marroquín, captain of Guatemala: “It was another great experience for our team. We play tomorrow against Puerto Rico and we will go out with the same enthusiasm of today.” Spanish

Good start for Mexico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 22, 2005.- Mexico enjoyed a good start at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament defeating Guatemala in just 60 minutes with a good combination of attack, blocking and serves. The score was 25-13, 25-14, 25-11 with the offensive help from attacker Gustavo Meyer and opposite Ivan Contreras. Meyer had 17 points and Contreras added 15 while Guillermo Castillo was the best for Guatemala with 6. Jorge Azair, coach of Mexico: “The match gave me the chance to test all my players and make all the offensive adjustments looking for the big matches, especially the semi finals on Saturday.” Iván Contreras, captain of Mexico: “We have one of the better teams in recent time, I only hope this matches prepare us for the important one.” Alvinzi Peláez, coach of Guatemala: “These matches are good for learning, besides prepare us for the match against Barbados and dispute the fourth place which is our goal.” Spanish

USA defeated Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 22, 2005.- USA defeated Puerto Rico in Day One of the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships. The score was 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22). The Americans combined the offence of David McKenzie and Riley Salmon and the blocking of David Lee to dominate the first set. In the second set, the host team improved but could not keep the consistency. Although the third set was close, the Americans could maintain the control with their experience.McKenzie was the best scorer for USA with 12 points and Jose Rivera led Puerto Rico with 13 points. Hugh McCutcheon, coach of USA: “We could establish the consistency in the blocking. It was a good match that could have gone either way. Now we will continue to work for the coming matches.” Luis E. Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We made many mistakes that cost us but now we have to erase that and concentrate in the next matches.” Spanish

What the coaches said before Puerto Rico

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, August 21, 2005.- The five participating coaches at the Norceca-D Men’s Qualification Tournament for the 2006 FIVB World Championships, considered this is “The Group of Death” in the area and predicted very close matches. This is what the coaches said during the press conference following the technical meeting: Luis Ruiz, coach of Puerto Rico: “We are ready for this competition of high level where there are no small enemies. The system established by FIVB, is very good and it give us the chance to play at high level and battle for several tickets for the Worlds.”Alvinze Paleaz, coach of Guatemala: “We have come to this competition with great desire of playing with consistency. Our goal is to be in the semi finals and win our match against Barbados. We will use the other matches to gain experience and prepare us for the game against Barbados.”.More..Spanish

José Cáceres is dominating friendly series DR-PR

SANTO DOMINGO, August 16, 2005.- Jose Caceres has been the most outstanding player during the first three matches, all won by his side, during the friendly series between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in preparation for the Men’s Norceca Continental Championship to be played in Canada on September 8-16. Caceres has scored 60 points in leading the Dominican Republic to three wins all by score of 3-1. The series is being played at the Volleyball Palace of Santo Domingo and two more matches will be contested. In the first match (26-24, 25-22, 26-28, 25-20), Caceres totalled 21 points and Elvis Pascual and Daverson Contreras added 14 and 12 respectively. For Puerto Rico, Victor Bird had 11 and Hector Soto 10. Caceres had 18 and Eury Almonte 10 in the victory 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18. Jose Rivera was the best Puerto Rican with 9 points. In the third match, Caceres led four Dominicans in double figures with 21 points. Pascual and Contreras each had 14 and Almonte added 12. Soto and Rivera each scored 13 and Luis Rodriguez scored 10 for Puerto Rico. Spanish

Cuba won the bronze medal at U-21 Men’s World

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 15, 2005 .- Cuba won the bronze medal of the U-21 Men’s World Championships by beating the Netherlands 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 30-28). In the match for the gold medal, Russia brushed aside Brazil 3-0 (30-28, 25-18, 25-23). It was Cuba's third medal in the 13th edition of the men's junior world championship, and followed a silver in 1987 and bronze in 1985. Cuba's powerful serves laid the foundations for the victory, notably from the brilliant Osmany Juantorena. Cuba's captain, Yadier Sanchez was the top scorer for Cuba in the bronze medal game with 16 points, including 13 spikes. "We are very happy to win the bronze medal, because all four teams in the semi-finals are of a high level," he said. "We played against the Netherlands how we planned to play in practice, and that is very satisfying." In other matches, Iran beat Korea 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19) to finish fifth, and Serbia-Montenegro downed USA 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-21) to finish seventh in the classification rounds. Spanish

Cuba will play for the Bronze medal

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 14, 2005 .- Cuba will play Netherlands in the bronze medal match of the Men’s U-21 World Championship after losing to Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-23) in 70 minutes. Marcus Jube was Brazil's inspiration with a game-high 23 points, and he was singled out by Cuban coach Ramon Lawrence Garcia as the architect of Brazil's success. Marcus had 18 thumping spikes, four blocks and one service point to keep Brazil moving forward toward an inevitable victory. Thiago Alves added 10. The best Cuban scorer was Osmany Juantorena with 12 points. Cuba now will face Netherlands in the bronze medal match while Russia will meet Brazil in the match for the championship. On Saturday, Korea beat the USA 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21) with the help of 29 spikes from Moon Sung-Min, and will now finish fifth or sixth. The Americans will be seventh or eighth, an admirable achievement in their first championship since 1981 and only their third in all. They have finished seventh on both previous occasions. Spanish

Cuba booked a place in semi finals of Men’s U-21

VISAKHAPATNAM, India, August 12, 2005.- Cuba wasted no time in booking a place in the last four of the Men's U21 World Championship on Thursday with a straight sets victory over Korea (25-13, 25-20, 25-16). The Cubans joined Russia from Pool A in Saturday’s semi-finals.Korea would have advanced with a victory, too, but must now settle for a place in the 5-8 classification rounds. Osmany Juantorena led the Cuban attack with 22 points and Oriol Camejo added 12, including six with his bullet serves. In the semi-finals, Cuba will meet Brazil while Russia will face Netherlands. In another match on Thursday, USA scored its second victory in a row and qualified in fourth place in Pool B. The Americans edged Germany in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10) and one day earlier, they had defeated Tunisia 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 27-25). Spanish

Canada left after a victory over Dominicans U-20

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 11, 2005.- Canada departed to Puerto Rico after a victory over the Dominican Republic U-20 Team. The Canadians will participate in the Norceca’s second round qualification tournament for the FIVB Women’s World Championships of next year in Japan. Canada battled in a marathonic match of 2 hours and 20 minutes and prevailed by score of 24-26, 25-16, 24-26, 25-18, 16-14. Tammy Mahon and Emely Cordonier each scored 18 points for the Canadians and Cheryl Stinson and Lies Reimer had 11 and 9 respectively. Dahiana Burgos and Prisilla Rivera had 21 and 20 points for the Dominicans and Ginette Selmo and Cindy Rondon each scored 11. During the friendly series, Dominican Republic A twice beat Canada while the Canadians scored two victories over the U-20 squad. Spanish

Cuba is one victory away from the semi finals

VISAKHPATNAM, India, August 11, 2005.- Cuba  has a crucial game today against Korea hoping to gain a berth in the last four round of the Men’s U-21 World Championship. The Cubans and the Koreans have identical record of 3-1 in Pool A. Cuba defeated India 3-0 (25-19, 31-29, 26-24) with Osmany Juantorena leading the attack with 16 points. India failed to convert six set points in the second set and one in the third. Looking forward to the Korea clash, Cuba's head coach, Lawrence Garcia Ramon, said it was a vital game for both teams, as the winner would enter the semi-finals from Pool A."Our block is not working like it is supposed to be, so we are going to have to block much better. We must also stay focused and concentrate more so we do not make as many errors." In Pool B, Brazil is already in the semi finals and the Netherlands is a favourite to advance in that pool after a victory over Iran 3-2. Spanish

Dominican Republic “A” wins over Canada

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 9, 2005.- The Dominican Republic A Women Team defeated Canada for second time in as many tries during the friendly series organized in preparation for the coming Qualification Tournaments for the 2006 World Championships. The score was 18-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-18. Annerys Vargas led the Dominicans with 16 points followed by Bethania de la Cruz with 12 and Prisilla Rivera and Cindy Rondon with 11 apiece. Emely Cordonier had 11 for Canada. Previously, the Dominicans beat the Canadians 28-26, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 with Rivera leading the attack with 19 points. Cosiris Rodriguez had 15, Vargas added 12 and Rondon 11. For Canada, Cordonier and Melissa Raymond scored 13 and 11 respectively. In another match of the series, Canada defeated Dominican Republic B by score of 25-17, 25-10, 25-18. Joanna Niemczewska was the top scorer for Canada with 11 and Cordonier had 8. Dahiana Burgos led the Dominicans with 11 and Sidarka Nunez had 9. Spanish

Cuba is 2-1 in Men’s U-21

VISAKHPATNAM. India, August 9, 2005.- Cuba is 2-1 after three outings during the U-21 Men’s FIVB World Championships and is placed second in Pool B topped by Russia (3-0). After losing to Russia in a close match (29-27, 28-26 25-22) during Day One, the Cuban squad put together a couple of wins over Morocco and Serbia & Montenegro. The Cubans beat Morocco 25-19, 25-13, 25-17 with 14 points from Michael Sanchez and 11 and 10 respectively from Yadier Sanchez and Osmany Juantorena. Yadier Sanchez scored 19 and Juantorena added 15 in the victory over Serbia & Montenegro by score of 25-22, 25-21, 25-18.USA, the other team from the Norceca Confederation is 0-3 in Pool A led by Brazil with 3-0 record. Cuba meets India on Wednesday and then play against Korea in a decisive match. Only the top two teams of each pool advance to the semi finals. Spanish

Puerto Rico scored impressive victory over Dominican Republic

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 28, 2005.- Puerto Rico advanced to the round of the 5th to 8th positions of the U-20 World Women’s Volleyball Championships with an astonishing victory over the Dominican Republic in four sets by score of  25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 27-25. Despite the loss of Yarimar Rosa due to a hand fracture late in the third set, the Puerto Ricans showed excellent floor defence and Sarai Alvarez scored 19 leading their attack.  Rosa scored 11 before being forced to leave and Jessica Candelario also had 11. Dominicans Bethania de la Cruz and Sidarka Nunez had 11 and 10 respectively while Dahiana Burgos and Ginette del Rosario had 9 apiece. Puerto Rico was the only team from the Norceca Confederation that moved to the next round. USA was eliminated by Turkey (25-14, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22). The Puerto Ricans will play against Japan on Saturday while Turkey will play against Russia in Istanbul. In the finals in Ankara, Brazil will play against Italy and China will meet Serbia & Montenegro. Spanish

Dominican Republic recorded its first victory

INSTABUL, Turkey, July 27, 2005.- The Dominican Republic got its first victory of the U-20 Women’s World Championships with an easy win over Egypt in straight sets by score of 25-9, 25-17, 25-17. The superiority of the Dominicans was evident throughout the whole match as they dominated in every aspect of the game especially their potent services. Altagracia Mambru was the best scorer for the Dominicans with 13 points, including 3 aces, and Bethania de la Cruz and Sidarka Nunez added 11 and 9 respectively. “The attack of the Dominican was too quick for my blockers”, said Raouf Abd El Kader, the Egyptian coach, “and also they served very strong and got a lot of aces. This is their first victory but they deserved better luck in the matches against Italy and China.” And Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic, said: “We had to play very strong teams during the first part and today we had a little breath for my stronger players. Tomorrow we go against Puerto Rico in a very important match for our chances to keep playing in this tournament.” In other matches today, Puerto Rico lost to China in three sets by score of 25-22, 25-18, 25-12 and USA lost to Croacia in five sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-13, 19-25, 15-13). Yarimar Rosa and Sarai Alvarez had 12 and 10 points in the Puerto Rican loss while Maurelle Hampton led USA with 17, Christa Hamotto had 14 and Alexis Crime and Foluke Akinradewo scored 13 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Russia beat Dominican Republic relying on the blocking

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 25, 2005.- Russia defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets ( 25-22, 25-20, 25-18) relying on the high blocking that caused problems to the opponent during the whole match. The Dominicans fought very hard all the way but their amount of errors contributed to their loss. Despite that fact, the Russians proved to be the superior team. Dahiana Burgos was the only player in double-figures in both squads with 13 points while Sidarka Nunez added 9. Ekaterina Gromova and Anna Arbuzova each scored 7 for Russia. “Our performance was not the best and we need to improve the level in the next matches,” said Karla Echenique, the Dominican captain. And the coach Francisco Cruz added: “The blocking of Russia was very good and we made many mistakes in our serves and trying to avoid the blocking of the opposition.” In other match here, Puerto Rico defeated Egypt in three sets by score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-13) for its first victory. Sarai Alvarez and Vanessa Velez each scored 11 points. In Ankara, USA defeated Japan in five sets (15-25, 25-20, 27-25, 19-25, 15-13). Alexis Crimes had 20 points and Christa Hamotto and Janet Okogbaa added 15 and 14 respectively. Spanish

Girls of Trinidad & Tobago won the gold medal

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, July 24, 2005.- Host Trinidad & Tobago was the gold medal winner at the Caribbean Junior Women’s Championships held here on July 20-24. The event was well organized and enjoyed good press and TV coverage. Bahamas and Jamaica took the silver and bronze medals at this four-team event. Netherlands Antilles placed fourth. Promising star Kelly-Anne Billingy of Trinidad & Tobago was instrumental in the crown obtained by her side. She was the best scorer and server and was elected as the Most Valuable Player. Trinidadian Nadiege Honore was the best spiker and Aniska Rolle of Bahamas took home the trophies as best libero and defender. Jamaica monopolized the rest of the awards as Najwa Pagon, Chaday Taylor and Keisha Parris were the best setter, blocker and receiver respectively. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of CAZOVA and of the Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation and Mr. Roger Boynes, the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, gave speeches at the opening ceremony which was held on the first day of the tournament. Spanish

China survived a five-setter against Dominicans

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 24, 2005.- China survived a phenomenal Dominican Republic reaction and scored its second victory in as many outings winning an exciting five-setter. The Chinese dominated the first two sets and saw the Dominicans play great volleyball the rest of the very emotional match.  The score was 25-14, 25-12, 15-25, 25-23, 16-14. Dominican Dahiana Burgos was the offensive star of the match with 21 points with Altagracia Mambru adding 16. China had Yin Meng and Yin Na each with 15 and Wang Chen added 13. Also in Istanbul, Puerto Rico lost in three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-10) against Italy. The Puerto Ricans made a good effort in the first two sets but could not match up with the bigger Italians who dominated the third set from start to finish. Yarimar Rosa scored 13 for Puerto Rico. In Ankara, Brazil beat USA 3-0 (25-19,25-20,25-14) in Pool A. The three teams of NORCECA Confederation are 0-2 after two outings. Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “China is a very solid team and the way we performed today after losing the first two sets, tells me a lot about the growing of my players. I am very happy with our performance. Never in the past we had this kind of reaction against adversity.” Cai Bin, coach of China: “We had trouble with our reception in the third set and also our mental power failed and could not focus. The Dominican Republic showed they are a very strong team with very good attack. I hope they can keep improving in this tournament and in the future.”..Spanish

Italy came from behind three times to beat Dominicans

ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 23, 2005.- The European Junior Champions Italy needed to come from behind three times but finally beat a side from the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) in the third match of Day One at the U-20 Women’s World Championships Pool B. In another match here, Russia defeated Puerto Rico 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 while in Ankara, Serbia-Montenegro beat USA 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19). The Dominicans showed tremendous offensive power and athletic ability but committed too many errors (38-19) and that was a key ingredient in the outcome. Sandra Vitez led Italia with 11 points while Dahiana Burgos and Cindy Rondon had 12 and 10 for the Dominican Republic. “I think our better experience helped us to win the crucial points at the end of the matches and that was the difference,” said Luciano Pedulla, the Italian coach. “The Dominicans have improved a lot since our last meeting in Brazil last year.” Puerto Rican Yarimar Rosa topped all the scorers with 20 points but could not avoid the loss to Russia which was led by 13 points of Ekaterina Gromova and 12 apiece from Tatiana Soldatova and Anna Beskova. Serbia-Montenegro, silver medallists of European Junior Championship last year, played overwhelmingly during the whole the match against USA..Spanish

What the coaches said before the Istanbul Leg

Francisco Cruz, Dominican Republic: “We come to this tournament with a very young team. Seven of my players have the age to participate in the next edition of the U-20 Championships. Last time we participated in this event, we finished in the ninth position and are goal is to improve that performance. Being realistic we are going to try very hard to compete in the round for the 5 to 8 places.” Luciano Pedulla, Italy: “This round is very difficult. We have to play against strong teams like China, Russia and Dominican Republic. I don’t know Puerto Rico and Egypt very well. We hope to start well and finish in the top two positions and advance to the final phase. We are coming from a good European tournament but the team really didn’t have much time of preparation.” Cai Bing, China: “We will do our best against a very strong competition. This is a very tough pool but I am confident of my team’s chances. We are going to play match by match and I expect to play better and better with the tournament.” Abd El Kader Raouf, Egypt: “We are really very happy to participate in this event. We have lot to learn from three different volleyball schools present in this pool, China, Russia and Italy. It is very difficult pool but I am looking forward to see an exciting competition.” ...Spanish

Daran Gill was the MVP of CAZOVA Men’s Junior

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 19, 2005.- Daran Gill, whose exploits led Barbados to the crown at the Fifth Caribbean Junior Men’s Volleyball Championships, was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the seven-team event. Gill was the top scorer of the competition with a total of 96 points and Barbados defeated Aruba in the match for the gold medal. He was the only member of the new crowned champions who made the All-Star team. Guadaloupe sent three players to the ideal squad with Guadaloupeans Robert Bilionniere as the Best Spiker, Romana Brancourt as the Best Server and Thomas Murre as Best Receiver. Trinidad & Tobago was recipient of three awards when Trinidadians Hollis Charles was elected as Best Blocker, Aakeil Murray as Best Defensive and Libero. Aruba’s Stijn Wouters was the Best Setter. Barbados finished the Preliminary Round in Pool A with a 2-1 record with victories over Trinidad & Tobago and U.S. Virgin Islands in three sets and a four-set loss to Aruba. In the quarterfinals, they beat Bahamas in straight sets and edged Guadaloupe in five. Then, in the final, they scored a four-set win over Aruba. The Final Ranking was as follows: 1.- Barbados, 2.- Aruba, 3.- Guadaloupe, 4.- Netherlands Antilles, 5.- Trinidad & Tobago, 6.- Bahamas, 7.- U.S. Virgin Islands. Spanish

Barbados took the crown in Aruba

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 19, 2005.-  Barbados won the crown of the 5th Caribbean Junior Men’s Volleyball Championship played at the Centro Bertico Croes in the city of Santa Cruz. The U-21 Boys from Barbados needed 1 hour and 36 minutes to defeat hosts Aruba in the match for the gold medal. The score was 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-17. Both coaches only made one substitution during the final match played before 1,200 happy fans who enjoyed the spectacle. Jamal Branch hammered 20 spikes to lead Barbados while Daran Gill added 15, Alain London 12 and Damien Danzell 11. For Aruba, Vercellio Statie had 18 points and Roy Kroon and Shair Croes 15 and 10 respectively. In the match for the bronze medal, Guadeloupe beat Netherlands Antilles in straight sets by score of 25-12, 29-27, 25-22 in 1 hour and 16 minutes. Robert Bilionniere was the top scorer for Guadaloupe with 17 points and Manuel Baena, Romana Brancourt and Thomas Murre each had 8 points. For Netherlands Antilles, Reno Marta and Milvinho Vrutaal had 11 apiece and Fabian Cominencia added 10. Mushtaque Mohammed, President of CAZOVA, said the tournament was an overwhelming success and also praised the importance of these events in the junior levels for the development of volleyball in the region. Spanish

Three Norceca Teams will be at Women’s U-20 World Championships in Turkey

SANTO DOMINGO, July 18, 2005.- Women’s Junior National Teams from USA, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic will take part at the FIVB Under-20 World Championships to be held in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey on August 23-31. The Americans won the NORCECA Continental Championship with a perfect record of 4-0 last August in Winnipeg, Canada. They defeated the Dominicans in the match for the gold medal while Puerto Rico finished third. The tournament consists of 12 teams broken up into two pools playing in two different cities. Pool A which will play in Ankara, is composed of Brazil, Croatia, Japan, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and the United States. Pool B will compete in Istanbul and is made up of China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Italy, Puerto Rico and Russia. Marcie Hampton is the most experienced American player on a team that also features Foluke Akinradewo and Alexis Crimes. Cindy Rondon, Dahiana Burgos and Sidarka Nunez lead the Dominican attack and the three just finished their participation at the World Grand Prix while Sarai Alvarez, Jessica Lopez and Vanessa Velez are the top Puerto Rican players. The top two teams of each Pool will play the semi final and final matches in Ankara while the third and fourth teams in the rankings will play for the 5-8 positions in Istanbul. Spanish

Cuba finished fourth at the Grand Prix

SENDAI, Japan, July 18, 2005.- Cuba finished in the fourth position at the 2005 World Grand Prix after winning its last two matches over Japan and The Netherlands. The Olympic gold medallists posted a 3-2 record. Brazil won its fifth Grand Prix title with an epic victory over Italy in five sets by score of 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 27-29, 15-7 and Brazilian Paula Pequeno was elected as the MVP.  The Cubans only needed 66 minutes to dispatch the Netherlands 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 with Nancy Carrillo and Rosir Calderon leading the offence with 16 and 14 points respectively. On Sunday, in the triumph over Japan 21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 28-26, 17-15, Carrillo scored 20 followed by Yumilka Ruiz with 18 and Calderon and Daimi Ramirez each with 13. USA and Dominican Republic, the two other teams of the Norceca Confederation that took part in this year’s event finished in the eighth and eleventh positions. The rankings of the Final Round were as follows: Brazil (4-1), Italy (3-2), China (3-2), Cuba (3-2), Japan (1-4) and Netherlands (1-4). Spanish

International Referee Candidate Course Concluded in Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 17, 2005.- The FIVB Development Regional Center at Dominican Republic concluded this Saturday a Course for International Referee Candidate. The closing ceremony was presided over by Mr. Cristobal Marte, President of the Norceca Confederation and Mr. Nelson Ramirez, Director of the Development Center. Mr. Alexander Muhle of Germany was the director of the course with Russian Sergey Titov as instructor and Dominican Denny Cespedes as coordinator. The participants received more than 40 hours of theoretical and practical classes and at the end they officiated out matches of the Development Center First Men & Women Junior Cup. Mr. Muhle pointed out that the evaluations were very satisfactory and also remarked the quality level of the participants. During his closing speech he gave the students some valuable advices about the role of the referee in modern volleyball as part of the spectacle. Spanish Click the Picture for enlarge

Barbados won the Caribbean Junior Men’s Championships

SANTA  CRUZ, Aruba, July 16, 2005.- A complete success was the organization of the Fifth Caribbean Junior Men’s Championships played here on July 10-16 under the supervision of the Caribbean Zone Volleyball Association, a branch of the Norceca Confederation. Barbados won the gold medal of the event while host Aruba and Guadeloupe took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Netherlands Antilles (4), Trinidad & Tobago (5), Bahamas (6) and US Virgin Islands (8) also participated in the competition. Daran Gill of Barbados was the leading scorer and MVP of the tournament leading the All-Star team. Aakiel Murray of T & T was the best libero and defender and his countryman Charles Hollis was the best blocker. Guadeloupe had three members included in the honoured squad as Robert Bilioniere, Thomas Murre and Romana Brancourt were choose as best spiker, receiver and setter respectively. Stijn Wouters of Aruba completed the team as best setter. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, Vice President of NORCECA Confederation and President of CAZOVA, Mr. Ramon Lee, the Minister of Sport and Culture, Mr. Leo Maduro, President of the Olympic Committee and Mr. Clestino Lesire, President of the Aruba Volleyball Association attended the Opening Ceremony.The closing ceremony was conducted immediately after the end of the final match with the distribution of prizes and medals.  The tournament concluded with fireworks and a party with a live musical band. Spanish

Cuba lost to unbeaten Italy

SENDAI, Japan, July 16, 2005.- Italy won its third straight match in the Final Round of the 2005 World Grand Prix defeating Cuba in four sets (25-18, 21-25, 32-30, 25-15). Valentina Fiorin scored 23 points leading five Italians in double figures. She was joined by Nadia Centoni and Sara Anzanello each with 15, Jenny Barazza with 14 and Elisa Celli with 10 points. Italy is 3-0 in the six teams round-robin phase. Rosir Calderon led Cuba (1-2) with 23 points. Nancy Carrillo and Yumilka Ruiz each had 13 points while Zoila Barros and Daimi Ramirez had 8 apiece. In other matches on Saturday, defending champions Brazil kept its unbeaten record (3-0) with a four sets triumph over Japan 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22 and China got its first victory defeating The Netherlands 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19. The standings after three days are as follows: Italy (3-0), Brazil (3-0), China 1-2, Cuba 1-2, Japan 1-2 and Netherlands 0-3. On Sunday, Italy goes against Netherlands, China meets Brazil and Cuba plays against Japan. Spanish

Cuba beat China but lost to Brazil

SENDAI, Japan, July 14, 2005.- Cuba beat China but lost to Brazil, both matches in five sets, during the first two days of action of the 2005 World Grand Prix Final Round, the most important annual volleyball competition for women. On Wednesday, Cuba scored and incredible come-from-behind win over the Olympic Champion China by score of 10-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-13, but on Thursday the Olympic bronze medallists lost to the Brazilians, the defending World Grand Prix queens, by score of  25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 16-14. Italy is ahead of Brazil on points-ratio with both teams with 2-0 record. The Italians beat China in straight sets by score of 25-16, 25-21, 25-22.  Cuba and Japan have a 1-1 mark. Friday is a rest day and on Saturday, China meets Netherlands in a match of winless teams, Cuba play against Italy and Brazil faces Japan. Spanish

Caribbean Zonal Association held Annual Meeting

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, July 11, 2005.-  The Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association of NORCECA held their Annual General Meeting on 11^th July 2005 during the 5^th Caribbean Junior Tournament on the Island of Aruba.  The Activity report was presented by president of the Zone Mushtaque Mohammed.  This year the zone celebrated 13^th events which included the Leeward Islands tournaments, OECS tournaments and the Caribbean Senior tournament together with beach volleyball club tournaments.  There were four world championships qualification tournament held in the Caribbean (NORCECA Group A and B for men and NORCECA group A and B for women). There was an overwhelming response form the delegates for the successful year which has signaled the development of the zonal association. One of the most important decision taken by the delegates was to fully support the candidacy of Mr. Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz of Dominican Republic as the president at the next congress to be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  The delegates agreed that Mr. Marte has made a significant contribution to the region and has given tremendous support for the development of the Zone.  All the members present will make every effort to attend the NORCECA Congress from the 21 to 23 October 2005. Spanish

Cuba and USA lost in the final day of Grand Prix

TAIPEI, July 10, 2005.- Cuba lost to Brazil 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-23) in the final day of the Third Preliminary Round of the 2006 Women’s World Volleyball Grand Prix. Despite the loss the Cubans finished with a 8-1 record –the same as Brazil- and both advanced to the final phase in Japan. Paula Pequeno led the Brazilians with 18 points and Sheila Castro added 15. Rosir Calderon was the best Cuban with 17 and Nancy Carrillo, Kenia Carcaces and Zoila Barros had 12, 11 and 10 respectively. In Thailand, Poland eliminated the chances of USA to advance with a four-set victory of 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22. Katarzyna Skowronska was the highest Polish scorer with 20 points and Agata Mroz and Joanna Mirek each had 13. For USA, Nancy Metcalf and Tayyiba Haneef had 16 apiece and Elizabeth Bachman added 11. Spanish 

Prisilla Rivera led Dominican Republic to an exciting triumph

HONG KONG, China, July 10, 2005.- Prisilla Rivera led four players in double figures and the Dominican Republic left the 2006 Women’s World Grand Prix with one exciting victory over Germany in five sets by score of 21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7. Rivera scored 21 points and executed 26 excellent receptions in the best international performance of her career. She was positive in 52.6 percent of her spike attempts and was a key factor in the tie-breaker with two spikes and one block. “I am very satisfied with my performance,” said Rivera. “It was the last game of the tournament and I went to the court to give my best effort. I am really happy with the outcome.” Setter Juana Gonzalez was also fundamental in the turn-around of the Dominicans half-way in the third set. She not only contributed with accurate setting but also in the blocking. Yudelkis Bautista had 17 points for the Dominicans while Dahiana Burgos and Cosiris Rodriguez added 15 and 13 respectively. Kathy Radzuweit and Birgit Thumm each had 17 points for Germany and Cornelia Dumler and Christiane Furst had 15 and 13. “I am very happy for the girls,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “It has been a very tough event for a team making just its second appearance at the Grand Prix.” “Our team has been successful within the American Continent with a game based in strength,” he added. “In order to perform well at this level a team need to dominate the finesse aspects of the game. We are working on that technical part for the future.” Spanish

Cuba continue successful trip at the Grand Prix

TAIPEI, July 9, 2005.- Cuba continued its successful trip at the 2005 Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-21) victory over Netherlands. Cuba is now 8-0 while Netherlands has a 4-4 record. Both teams battled with a lot of intensity during the first set with the Cubans prevailing needing to stretch it over regulation. Netherlands could not match the high level of the Olympic bronze medallists the rest of the way. Kenia Carcases led Cuba with 15 points and Rosir Calderon and Nancy Carrillo added 13 and 12 respectively. Francien Huurman led the Netherlands with 12 points. Meanwhile, in Thailand, USA lost to Japan 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18) and have a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. Ari Otomo led Japan with 17 points and Miyuki Takahashi added 16. For USA Nancy Metcalf and Kristin Richards each had 16. Spanish

Dominican Republic suffered its eighth straight loss

HONG KONG, China, July 9, 2005.- The Dominican Republic suffered its eight consecutive defeat at the 2005 Women’s World Grand Prix losing to Italy in straight sets by score of  25-21, 25-10, 25-18. On Sunday, the Dominicans will try for its first win when meet Germany a team they played previously in Reggio Calabria and lost in five sets. Italians Nadia Centoni, Serena Ortolani and Valentina Fiorin scored in double figures with 14, 12 and 11 respectively. Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera with 8 points apiece were the best Dominicans. “We have played our two worst matches of this Grand Prix against Italy,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “Obviously, Italy is a great team that combine block and defense very well.” “We committed mistakes by streaks when the players lost their concentration after the performance of the Italian team,” Cruz added. “The match of Sunday against Germany is one that we can win, but we need to put everything together after this loss,” he said. The Italian blocking was the difference in the first set building up a five-point margin at the second technical time-out. The Dominicans came back at the latter part of the set behind the attack of Rivera and Kenia Moreta and a pair of blocks from Yudelkis Bautista and Vargas, but Ortolani closed it out with a spike. In the second, the tandem of Fiorin and Cristina Vicenzi caused most of the damage for the first part with Centoni’s show time in the other half. The third set saw Ortolani combining serving and killing abilities leading the Italians to a very important victory while they maintained alive their chances of advancing to the Final Round in Japan. Spanish

Cuba lost to Poland in World League

BELGRADE, July 8, 2005.- Cuba lost to Poland in five sets during Day One of the World League’s Final Round at the Beogradska Arena. In the other match, Brazil beat hosts Serbia and Montenegro 3-1. The young and athletic Cubans, the biggest surprise of this year’s event, made the Polish win every point of the well fought match. The score was 23-25, 26-24, 25-16, 22-25, 15-13. Cuban Raidel Poey Romero was the highest scorer of the game with 24 points, while Osmany Juantorena, Henry Bell and Pavel Pimienta added 19, 13 and 10 respectively. The best scorer for Poland was Grzegorz Szymanski with 20 followed by Piotr Gruszka with 16 and Sebastian Swiderski with 15 points. In the Brazilian victory 25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21, Andre Nascimento had 19 points, Dante Amaral added 13 and Giba Godoy, Gustavo Endres and Rodrigo Santana each had 12 points. On Saturday, Cuba go against Brazil and Poland play Serbia and Montenegro. Spanish Pic: Cuba captain Pimienta A. Pavel

Cuba qualified to final round and USA is still alive

TAIPEI, China Taipei, July 8, 2005 - Olympic bronze medallists Cuba became the first side to join hosts Japan in the final round when they beat Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) in the opening match of the Taipei leg on Friday. The world number five collected their seventh straight victory and are only one of two teams - China being the other - to remain unbeaten. The seven victories assured Cuba to finish in the top six. Nancy Carrillo led Cuba with 16 points and Daimi Ramirez, Rosir Calderon, Kenia Carcases and Zoila Barros each had 10. In Bangkok, Thailand, USA kept alive its chances of making it to Japan with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 13-25, 25-22) victory over host Thailand. Left-hander Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 21 points, Tayyiba Haneef and Elizabeth Bachman each had 12 and Jennifer Joines added 10. Spanish

Dominican Republic lost a battle with China 

HONG KONG, China, July 8, 2005.- The Dominican Republic presented a tough battle for two sets with China before losing to the Olympic champions 25-20, 27-25, 25-19 in the opening day of the third and last Preliminary Round of the 2005 Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix. Hao Yang was the best Chinese scorer with 21 points while Yimei Wang and Yanan Liu added 10 and 9 respectively and Suhong Zhou had 7. Cosiris Rodriguez and Annerys Vargas had 11 and 10 for Dominican Republic and Prisilla Rivera and Dahiana Burgos had 7 apiece. “It was a beautiful match and we played with a lot of intensity for the first two sets before letting it down a little in the third set,” said Dominican Rodriguez. “I hope this one will help us for the next two matches against Italy and Germany.” Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach, said: “I am satisfied with the way we played tonight. We practiced some tactics against a rival like China and the players now know that can work with good results.” Chinese coach, Zhonghe Chen, said: “The Dominican team had a great performance during the first two sets and my team committed some mistakes, especially in the passing.” ...Spanish

Cuba and Poland to open Final Round of World League

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 6, 2005 – Two of the most electrifying teams in men's Volleyball – Cuba and Poland - have been given the honour of playing the opening match of the 2005 World League Final Round, which starts on Friday in the "Belgrade Arena" in Serbia and Montenegro. The official match schedule for this breathtaking climax to the premier annual men's Volleyball tournament has been confirmed with Cuba and Poland playing at 17:00 (local time) before defending champions Brazil take on hosts and last year’s bronze medallists Serbia and Montenegro in the second match at 20:00. The winner from each of the opening day matches will play the loser from the opposing match on Saturday to find out who will reach Sunday’s final to play for the honour of 2005 World League champion. The losers of Saturday’s matches will play for third and fourth. Cuba, ranked 16th in the world, have been the revelation of the tournament, with their young and athletic squad revisiting the Cuban World League glory days of the 90’s when Cuba finished no worst than fourth. Cuba had eight wins and four defeats during the Intercontinental Round confirming their place with victory in their final match against France. Spanish

Cuba complete another unbeaten weekend

MANILA, Philippines, July 3, 2005 – Olympic bronze medallists Cuba recorded three wins from three to claim the Manila leg title and maintain their unbeaten record in the Preliminary Round following Sunday's triumph over Italy 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21).However, the weekend was a test of pure skill and guts from Cuba who, after beating Thailand 3-0 on Friday, had to fight back from a set down to Italy and battle over five sets with the Netherlands on Saturday before prevailing 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13).Nancy Carrillo, named the tournament MVP and best scorer, led Cuba with 13 kills, four blocks and two service aces. Daimi Ramirez finished with 13 points, including 12 kills, while Yumilka Ruiz had 11 points. In Seoul, USA beat Japan 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 29-27) to improve to a 3-3 record in the Preliminary Round. Nancy Metcalf scored 31 points, Tayyiba Haneef added 22 and Kristin Richards and Elizabeth Bachman had 14 and 11 respectively. Spanish

Korea beat Dominican Republic in straight sets

SEOUL, Korea, July 3, 2005.- Korea defeated the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-15) in the final day of the second preliminary week of the 2005 Women’s World Grand Prix. Kwang-Hee Choi was the best scorer for Korea with 13 points and Youn-Joo Hwang followed with 12. Annerys Vargas topped all the scorers with 15 for Dominican Republic, while Cindy Rondon and Prisilla Rivera added 11 and 9 respectively. “Our team has two major problems,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. “One is the lack of concentration and mental strength and the most important is the lack of technical abilities to perform at this competition level.” “Korea, being a smaller team in size, plays with more stability than us in all elements of the game like passing, blocking and serving,” said Cruz. In the first set, the Dominicans took an 8-4 lead at the first technical time-out, but the strong blocking of Korea quickly erased the margin. The teams were tied last time at 16-all when one ace by Kim Sa-Nee after a service error opened the gate for the Koreans who won four of the next five points to built a comfortable lead. The host team was ahead since the beginning of the second set and with the score at 16-14 scored a three-point rally to cruise the rest of the way. Once again the blocking of Korea worked well in the third set and combined with several unforced errors by the Dominican’s reception gave the Koreans an 8-2 advantage taking off from there toward the triumph. Spanish

Cuba pip the Netherlands in a stunner

MANILA, Philippines, July 2, 2005 – The Netherlands, ranked 14th in the world, played out of their skins to push Olympic bronze medallists Cuba to five sets before losing 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) in over 100 minutes of sensational Volleyball in the opening match of day two action in Manila. The win propels Cuba to the top of the 2005 World Grand Prix standings with five victories from as many matches while the Netherlands now have a 3-2 record. Yumilka Ruiz was the best scorer for Cuba with 16 points followed by Zoila Barros with 14. Nancy Carrillo, Daimi Ramirez and Rosir Calderon had 12, 11 and 10 respectively. For the Netherlands, Francien Hurman totalled 23 and Manon Flier 21. Ingrid Visser and Chaile Staelens had 16 and 14. Spanish

USA came from behind to beat Dominican Republic

SEOUL, Korea, July 2, 2005.- United States came from behind to win the last three sets of the match and defeated the Dominican Republic in a tie-breaker (23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 15-6) at the Women’s Volleyball World Grand Prix.It was the second victory against three losses for USA in the event while the Dominicans remain winless in five outings.Nancy Metcalf led USA with 19 points, Tayyeba Haneef and Kristin Richards added 15 and 11 respectively and Elisha Thomas and Elizabeth Bachman each had 9 points. Prisilla Rivera was the best Dominican with 16 and Cindy Rondón and Annerys Vargas had 12 and 11 respectively. Dahiana Burgos and Cosiris Rodriguez had 7 apiece. “For the first two sets we did not have rhythm and Dominican Republic played very well,” said Lang Ping, the USA coach. “We committed too many unforced errors and had problems with our passing.” “Then from the third set on we got better with the attack of Haneef and everything changed for us,” she added. ...Spanish

Cuba off to a great start in Manila

MANILA, Philippines, July 1, 2005.- Cuba got off to a rousing start by posting a 3-0 victory over Thailand (25-19, 25-17, 25-17) with Nancy Carrillo shining for the three-time Olympic champions Cuba, coming up with 21 points from an impressive all-around game. Cuba is now 4-0 after four outings in the 2005 World Grand Prix, the premier women’s annual event of the FIVB. Team captain Yumilka Ruiz and Daimi Ramirez delivered the points in the first two sets, finishing with nine points each. Rosir Calderon had six points while Liana Mesa added five points. The Cubans used both veterans and new players in the first two sets and in the third set, knowing they were in control of the match, the new players were given more playing time. Spanish

Japan defeated Dominican Republic and Korea edged USA

SEOUL, Korea, July 1, 2005.- Japan defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets (27-25, 25-22, 25-17) in the opening day of the Korean leg of the 2005 World Grand Prix. Earlier, Korea edged USA in five sets (25-23, 13-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-13). The Dominicans were leading at the two technical time-outs of the first set behind the spikes of Prisilla Rivera and Dahiana Burgos, but at the end it was the Japan’s blocking the key factor. After a tie at 10-all, the Japanese took control of the second set with blocks by Sachiko Sugiyama and Ai Otomo combined with a couple of spikes by Miyuki Takahashi for a four-point lead (14-10). At 18-22, the Dominicans came back with the attack of Burgos but fell short. The third set was dominated by Japan with the Dominicans committing several reception mistakes. “It was a very interesting match for the first two sets, but at the end the faster game of the Japanese was too tough for our blocking possibilities,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “I hope we can learn very much of today’s match for the future of our team.”  ...Spanish Pic: Burgos Herrera Dahiana (DOM)

Dominican Republic hope to break duck against Japan

Seoul, Korea, June 28, 2005 - World number 12 the Dominican Republic have their eyes firmly fixed on their opening encounter in Week Two when they take on world number seven Japan on Friday at 08:00 GMT (17:00 local time). The Caribbean side are in 11th spot after losing all three of their matches - to Germany, Cuba and Italy - on the opening weekend and will be out to alter their course against Japan, who have two wins (over Poland and Korea) and a defeat (to Brazil). The other match on Friday sees Korea take on USA at 10:00 GMT (19:00 local time).

Cuba won the leg of Reggio Calabria

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 26, 2005.- Cuba won the Reggio Calabria leg of the 2006 World Grand Prix with a hard fought victory over host Italy in three sets by score of 27-25, 25-20, 30-28. The Olympic bronze medallists won their three matches while Italy finished with a 2-1 record. Germany ended in third place with 1-2 and the Dominican Republic was winless. Yumilka Ruiz led Cuba with 14 points, Rosir Calderon had 10 and Nancy Carrillo 9. For Italy, Serena Ortolani scored 13 and Sara Anzanello and Valentina Fiorin each had 10. Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach: "Italy gave us a lot of troubles in the first and in third set. We managed to win staying cool and calm in the crucial moments of the match." Yumilka Ruiz,  the Cuban captain: "The match was very tight since its very first beginning. Cuba and Italy are very competitive team. Our victory has a reason. All worked out very very well." Spanish

Germany relied in strong blocking to prevail over Dominican Republic

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 26, 2005.- Germany needed five sets to obtain its first victory in the 2005 World Grand Prix by defeating Dominican Republic by score of 25-12, 25-27, 21-25, 25-9, 15-11. Christiane Furst led four Germans in double figures with 17 points and Cornelia Dumler, Christin Guhr and Birgit Thumm added 15, 13 and 11 respectively. Cosiris Rodriguez led the Dominicans with 18 points and Yudelkis Bautista and Prisilla Rivera added 12 and 9. Germany converted 21 blocks against only 3 by the Dominican Republic. The blocking and the serves carried out Germany in the one-sided first set with Dumler and Kathy Radzuweit leading the way. The Dominicans led by one point in both technical time-outs but had to come from behind (18-22) guided by the attacks of Rodriguez and Rivera before closing out with aces from Cindy Rondon and Karla Echenique. ...Spanish

USA swept Thailand for its first triumph

NINGBO, China, June 25, 2005.- USA obtained its first victory in the preliminary round of the World Grand Prix with an easy win over Thailand in straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-22). Recovering from Friday's 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands, the United States dominated the lowly Thais, who have an average height of just 1.77 meters. The United States easily took the first two sets as Thailand could hardly tear open the American defense led by the 1.91-meter Jennifer Joines and the 1.93-meter Elisabeth Bachman. USA head coach Lang Ping: “I told the players to try to decrease errors before the match. I am happy that they did what I told them to do today. We improved our serving today and took advantage of our height to do well in blocking. Thai players have very good skills, but they do have a disadvantage in height.” Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 23 points and Joines added 11. Spanish

Cuba beat Dominican Republic in duel of Norceca’s teams

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 25, 2005.- Cuba scored its second victory in the preliminary phase of the World Grand Prix defeating the Dominican Republic in three sets by score of 28-26, 25-17, 25-18.The Cubans needed to erase a seven-point deficit (13-20) to win the first set relying in the attack of veteran Yumilka Ruiz and at the end behind the blocking and spiking of Nancy Carrillo who scored five of the last six Cuban’s points. In the second set, once again Cuba came from behind (12-14) with a four-point rally led by three aces of Yanelis Santos and took off from there. The Olympic bronze medallists built an early lead in the third set with two blocks and one spike by Carrillo and never looked back the rest of the way. Ruiz scored seven of her game high 16 points in the final set. Ruiz was followed by Carrillo and Rosir Calderon with 9 and 8 respectively and Santos, Rachel Sanchez and Daimi Ramirez with 6 apiece. Prisilla Rivera led the Dominicans with 8 points and Cindy Rondon added 6. ...Spanish

Italy dominated Dominican Republic

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 24, 2005.- The Dominican Republic suffered a crushing defeat to the host Italy in the opening day of action of the 2006 World Grand Prix. The score was 25-12, 25-12, 25-10. Italy dominated the match from start to finish using superb blocking ability while the Dominicans committed too many mistakes in their reception. The three sets were almost a perfect copy with the consistency of Italy with their wall and their attackers performing with a high degree of efficiency. Nadia Centoni was the best scorer for Italy with 12 points followed by Serena Ortolani and Valentina Fiorin each with 11 points. Dahiana Burgos was the best for Dominican Republic with 9. “Italy played a very solid match,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “I have not seen Italy before but what I saw today was a team with a blocking that tortured us the whole game and played excellent defence on the floor.” Spanish

Cuba won with a mix of young and veterans

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, June 24, 2005.- Olympic bronze medallist Cuba used a blend of rookies and veterans to edge Germany in straight sets for its opening victory at the 2005 World Grand Prix. Coach Felipe Calderon rested veterans Zoila Barros and Yaima Ortiz the whole match sending into action young Rosir Calderon and Rachel Sanchez who responded to the occasion both scoring in double igures.Despite the victory all the sets went over the regulation with Cuba prevailing 29-27, 27-25, 27-25.Captain Yumilka Ruiz and Calderon each had 18 points while Nancy Carrillo and Sanchez had 11 and 10 respectively. Birgit Thumm and Cornelia Dumler each had 10 points for Germany. “The inconsistency of our game was due the fact we used those young players,” said Calderon. “But our plan is to keep them playing during the tournament because this a good chance for them to mature and get experience for the future.” In Ningbo, China, USA lost badly to The Netherlands in straight sets by 25-17, 25-14, 25-17. Jane Collymore was the only American in double digits with 10. Lang Ping, the USA coach said: “The result is not surprising because these players have trained together for only three days. We tried our best, but we just need time to play better.”  Spanish

World Grand Prix starts today in three countries

Lausanne, Switzerland, 24 June 2005 - Three countries from the Norceca Confederation (Cuba, USA and Dominican Republic) are taking part in the World Grand Prix, the prestigious competition that each year brings together 12 of volleyball's top women's teams. The feminine grace, emotion, and outstanding technique of the players make this a thrilling contest! This year again, as in 2004, a large part of the tournament is taking place in Asia, starting today and running through 18 July.Four weeks of fierce struggle with a suspenseful outcome guaranteed. A telling figure: last year, the World Grand Prix was broadcast in 195 countries by more than 20 television networks. Reggio Calabria, the Pearl of South in Italy and site of the 2003 finals, will be hosting the Group B competition. Cuba and Dominican Republic start playing here while USA is in Ningbo, China.  ...Spanish

Cuba confirmed as major power in Women’s Pan American Cup 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 18, 2005.- Cuba showed why is one of the major power in women’s volleyball conquering the Pan American Cup with an easy victory over Dominican Republic by score of 25-16, 25-17, 25-19. Brazil, with the U-20 team that will play in Turkey next month, took the third place defeating USA in four sets (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17). Yumilka Ruiz led the Cubans with 13 points and Nancy Carrillo, Yaima Ortiz and Dami Ramirez had 11, 9 and 8 respectively. Kenia Moreta was the best Dominican with 10 points. Suelle Oliveira was the best Brazilian with 17 and Fernanda Rodrigues and Regiane Bidias each scored 16. Jennifer Joines and Nancy Metcalf each had 16 for USA and Patrice Arrington and Elisha Thomas scored 11 points apiece. “I am very happy with the victory and the team showed a lot of determination,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “It is always very interesting to play against Dominican Republic at their home. Our original goal was to be in the final four and we finished there. So winning the title is a plus.” Francisco Cruz, coach of Dominican Republic: “I am satisfied with the result because the team is going through a renovation process. We need to keep working hard in order to close the distance with the top teams in the world.”  ...Spanish

Cuba and Dominican Republic win Pan Am Semifinals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 17, 2005.- Cuba and Dominican Republic will play the final match of the Pan American Cup. Cuba reached the gold medal match with a victory in consecutive sets over Brazil (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) and Dominican Republic scored a triumph over USA by score of 25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-23. Yumilka Ruiz and Nancy Carrillo tallied 16 and 12 points for the Cubans and Fernanda Rodrigues was the best for Brazil with 13 points. Cosiris Rodriguez, Yudelkis Bautista and Annerys Vargas each had 18 points and Prisilla Rivera added 14 for Dominican Republic. Nancy Metcalf and Cynthia Barboza had 18 and 12 respectively for USA. “We kept the consistency and took advantage of some mistakes by a young Brazilian team, which maintained its tradition and responded well most of the time,” said Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Our blocking was the key for the victory,” said Francisco Cruz the coach of Dominican Republic. “It has been the best match of our team in this tournament and now we are prepared to play against Cuba.” In the match for fifth place, Puerto Rico defeated Canada 25-23, 25-19, 25-18, marking the first time ever the Puerto Ricans score a victory over Canada in an official event. Mexico needed five sets to obtain the seventh place with a victory against Venezuela 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12. Jetzabel del Valle, Aury Cruz and Eva Cruz had 13, 11 and 10 points respectively for Puerto Rico and Emely Cordonier scored 15 for Canada. In the Mexican victory, Ana Mercado and Migdalel Ruiz had 22 and 20 points and Jayce Andrade and Desiree Gold led Venezuela with 22 and 19. Spanish

Brazil and USA advanced to the semifinals 

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 16, 2005.- Brazil and USA advanced to the semifinals of the Pan American Cup with victories over Canada and Puerto Rico. The Brazilians now will face Cuba and USA will meet hosts Dominican Republic on Friday. Brazil won in straight sets by score of 25-14, 25-20, 25-16, while the Americans overcame a one set deficit to win 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20. Fernanda Rodrigues was the leading scorer of the Brazilians with 13 points followed by Michelle Pavao and Suelle Oliveira with 9 and 8 points respectively. Emely Cordonier with 12 and Lisa Raymond with 10 led the attack of Canada. Nancy Metcalf led USA with 22 points and Jane Collymore and Jennifer Joines each had 14. For Puerto Rico, Aury Cruz had 18 and Jetzabell del Valle 13. “We forced the Canadian errors and took advantage of them,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “I am not completely satisfied with our performance but after getting the victory now we need to do is correct our serves and receptions mistakes.” ...Spanish  Pic: USA Nancy Metcalf (12) spiking

First Lady hosted a typical dinner to all delegations

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 16, 2005.- The First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, hosted a local typical dinner to all the participants delegations at the Fourth Pan American Cup. The activity took place at the Club del Banco Central during the rest day of the competition and was attended also by the Minister of Sports, Mr. Felipe Payano and the president of Norceca, Mr. Cristobal Marte. Dr. Cedeno de Fernandez presented with Dominican handcrafts to each team’s captain and she received a volleyball signed by all the members of the National Team presented by Sofia Heredia and Cosiris Rodriguez and also a shirt allusive to the Pan American Cup by Mr. Alexis Garcia, president of the Dominican Volleyball Federation. A typical country band performed during the event as also the folkloric ballet of the City of Santo Domingo. The First Lady posed for pictures with each of the teams and stated that the purpose of the dinner was to make all teams feel like at home and experience the traditional hospitality of the Dominican people. Spanish

Barbados and Jamaica make winning starts to their World Championship campaign

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 15, 2005 -Caribbean number one team Barbados and number two Jamaica made slow but successful starts to their World Championships Qualifier bid in Norceca Group A here at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Barbados. Playing before an excited crowd, the Bajans led by the high leaping Fabian Cox dismissed the inexperienced British Virgin Islands, 25-20, 25-22, 25-15.  Earlier Jamaica stopped the Cayman Islands, 25-17, 25-14, 25-15. The Caymans, in an admirable display of sportsmanship agreed to play Jamaica as their original opponents the Netherlands Antilles were delayed by flight problems.  However, the Cayman islanders could not contend with the taller and more aggressive Jamaicans. In the post match interview the long serving coach of Jamaica, Phillip Greenland indicated that his team was just trying to come to terms with the court and the conditions to get battle ready for the Netherlands and Barbados. The Caymans’ coach Shannon Emslie stated that his team did not contain the depth of talent like the other squads but they were committed to developing and learning for future competitions. ...Spanish

Organizers in Barbados hosted a reception 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 15, 2005.- The Organizing Committee of Barbados’ World Championship Qualifiers hosted a reception for the officials and visiting teams at the Sandy Bay Hotel on the eve of the competition. President John Griffith who is the internal auditor for FIVB as well as the Treasurer for Norceca extended a warm welcome to the visitors. Ms. Mona Alleyne, the Deputy Director of Sports also welcomed the visitors on behalf of the Barbados Government and she announced Government's monetary support of the venture. Secretary General of the Barbados Olympic Association disclosed that the BOA was putting $50 000 towards helping the BVA successfully stage the Qualifiers. Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed, the president of Cazova also addressed the gathering. Spanish

Puerto Rico in quarter finals

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 15, 2005.- Puerto Rico completed the quarterfinalists of the Pan American Cup, defeating Venezuela in a tiebreaker 15-10.The fifth set of their match during the preliminary round was rescheduled after the control committee accepted a protest made by Puerto Rico for a rule violation in the rotation of players after a yellow card. The Puerto Ricans erased a 5-8 deficit winning 10 of the last 12 points, due mainly to the serves which caused severe problems to the Venezuelan reception. Spanish  Final Rankings in the preliminary round:

Dominican Republic won Pool A and go the Grand Prix

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 14, 2005.- Dominican Republic battled with Brazil for five sets before finishing at the top of Pool A and making the semi finals of the Pan American Cup and winning a ticket for next year World Gramd Prix. The Dominicans held off a comeback from the Brazilians and won by score of 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12. Yudelkis Bautista scored 24 points to lead the Dominicans and Annerys Vargas added 18. Prisilla Rivera and Cosiris Rodriguez each had 16. Brazilians Veronica Brito and Fernanda Rodrigues each scored 13. “We knew the match was not going to be easy, but we have worked hard especially in the mental part of the game,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “We have spent many hours working very hard and I think the team play better than we showed tonight.” In other matches in Pool A, Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica in three sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-20) and equalled its record at 2-2. The Puerto Ricans will play tomorrow a tie-breaker with Venezuela after it was accepted their protest of a rule violation during the fifth set of their match in the preliminary round. Shannon Torregrosa and Jetzabel del Valle had 12 points apiece for Puerto Rico and Aury Cruz added 10. For Costa Rica, Verania Willis scored 15. Venezuela scored an important victory over Argentina in straight sets  (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) keeping alive its chances of advancing to the next phase. Venezuelans Veronica Gomez, Desiree Gold and Jayce Andrade finished in double digits with 17, 16 and 11 points respectively. Spanish

Cuba qualified for 2006 World Grand Prix

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 14, 2005.- Cuba moved to the semifinals of the Pan American Cup with a well fought victory over USA 30-28, 26-24, 25-22. The win secure a place for the Cubans in the 2006 World Grand Prix. Nancy Carrillo led the balanced attack of Cuba with 14 points, while Yumilka Ruiz, Zoila Barros and Yaima Ortiz each had 11. For USA, Nancy Metcalf scored 13 and Jane Collymore added 10. “It was a match under pressure from start to finish,” said Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Our players served and killed at the key moments. The Americans, as always, showed their power game and were aggressive the whole match.” In other matches of Pool B, Canada finished in third place with a win over Mexico in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-12) advancing to the quarterfinals and Barbados recorded its first victory defeating Jamaica 3-0 (25-8, 25-21, 25-15). Canadians Emely Cordonier and Joanna Niemczewska scored 13 and 12 respectively while Ana Mercado (18) and Migdalel Ruiz (12) were the best for Mexico. Shari Mathews totalled 20 points in the Barbados triumph and Sharon Bowell chipped in 11. Spanish Pic: Cuba Zoila Barros spike

Young Brazilians play like veterans

SANTO DOMINGO, June 13, 2005.- Brazil won over Venezuela in consecutive sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) and is 4-0 in Pool A of the Pan American Cup. In other matches in Pool A, Dominican Republic tied with Brazil with an easy victory over Costa Rica 25-9, 25-17, 25-9 and Puerto Rico beat Argentina 25-22, 28-26, 22-25, 25-20. “I am very satisfied with the way we served and blocked today,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “This is young team but executed like a veteran one.” Thaisa Menezes and Adenizia Silva each scored 11 points and Fernanda Rodrigues and Michelle Pavao each had 10. Jayce Andrade and Desiree Gold had 15 and 12 respectively for Venezuela.  “I am happy with the performance of my young players,” said Francisco Cruz, the Dominican coach. “Our serves and blocks were very good. Tomorrow the mental attitude will be very important against Brazil.” Dahiana Burgos and Prisilla Rivera were the top scorers for the Dominicans with 15 and 11 points respectively. Eva Cruz led four Puerto Ricans in double-digits with 20 points. Shannon Torregrosa had 16 (7 blocks), Aury Cruz 15 and Jetzabel del Valle 10. For Argentina, Antonela Bortolozzi, Georgina Pinedo and Micaela Voger had 13, 12 and 11 respectively. Spanish

USA still tied with Cuba

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 13, 2005.- USA continued to be tied with Cuba in Pool B after beating Canada 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-14). In other matches in Pool B, Cuba defeated Jamaica 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-11) and Mexico beat Barbados 25-20, 25-16, 25-12. Lang Ping, coach USA: “We played well and practiced our reception system which we will need against Cuba in the match for first place in our pool. We go against a strong team but we will do our best with this young team.” Nancy Metcalf and Jane Collymore each had 14 points to lead USA and Shonda Cole added 10. For Canada, Falin Schaefer scored 10. Rachel Sanchez and Yanelis Santos, with 12 and 10 respectively were in double figures for Cuba. Ana Mercado and Marion Frias each scored 14 points for the Mexicans and Shari Mathews was the best for Barbados with 8. Spanish

Dominican Republic is unbeaten in Pool A

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 12, 2005.- Dominican Republic kept its unbeaten record in Pool A of the Pan American Cup with a four set victory over Argentina. The score was 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16. In the other matches Brazil beat Costa Rica 25-9, 25-12, 25-10 and Venezuela edged Puerto Rico in five sets 23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14. Yudelkis Bautista had 16 points for the Dominicans followed by Annerys Vargas with 14 and Cosiris Rodriguez with 11. For Argentina, Mirna Ansaldi had 15 points. “I am satisfied with the outcome because we could impose our system,” said Francisco Cruz. “The serve of Argentina is the best in our pool and we handled it well. The team played today with less pressure than the previous outings.” Regiane Bidias and Thaisa Menezes had 16 and 10 points respectively for Brazil who is tied with Dominican Republic in first place. Jayce Andrade had 25 points for Venezuela and Desiree Glod, Veronica Gomez and Jessica Paz cooperated with 16, 14 and 11 respectively. Aury Cruz scored 17 for Puerto Rico and her sister Eva totalled 15. Spanish

Cuba and USA tied at the top of Pool B

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 12, 2005.- Cuba is tied with USA at the top of Pool B with 3-0 record in the Pan American Cup after winning over Canada 25-17, 25-19, 25-18. In other matches in  Pool B, USA beat Barbados 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 and Mexico defeated Jamaica 25-21, 25-16, 25-20. Nancy Carrillo and Yumilka Ruiz, with 14 and 11 respectively, were the top Cuban scorers, while Joanna Niemczewska had 13 for Canada. “Our players were over confident and that is dangerous,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach. “Canada played excellent and it was our first tough match. Our goal is to finish first in Pool B,” Patrice Arrington and Nancy Metcalf scored 14 and 13 points respectively to lead the American squad. Shari Mathews was the best scorer of Barbados with 9 points. Ana Mercado topped the Mexicans with 18 points and Blanca Chan and Marion Frias added 11 and 10 respectively. Spanish

Dominicans showed its talent

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- The Dominican Republic overcame a two-set deficit and defeated Puerto Rico in a electrifying five-set match, keeping alive its unbeaten record in Pool A at the Pan American Cup. The score was 22-25, 21-25, 27-25. 25-18, 15-13. Yudelkis Bautista led the Dominicans with 20 points and Cosiris Rodriguez and Annerys Vargas each added 15. For Puerto Rico, Eva Cruz had 14 and Aury Cruz and Shanon Torregrosa each had 13. In other matches of Pool A, Venezuela defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20) and Brazil defeated Argentina in four sets (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22) “The first two sets were negative due to lack of concentration but with some changes and the support of the fans we came back and overcame all difficulties,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. Juan Carlos Nunez, the coach of Puerto Rico: “After two losses in five sets never is easy, but we are prepared to keep playing with high expectations the rest of the event.” ...Spanish

USA share the lead with Cuba and Canada in Pool B

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- USA crushed Mexico in less than one hour by score of 25-13, 25-21, 25-8 and share with Canada and Cuba the lead in Pool B of the Pan American Cup. Cuba rested its star players and still routed Barbados 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15) for its second victory in as many outings. Canada beat Jamaica in straight sets by 25-20, 25-11, 25-13. Elisha Thomas and Nancy Metcalf led the Americans with 13 and 12 points respectively and Patrice Arrington and Jane Collymore each had 9. “I expected more consistency from my players but they were overconfident in the second set,” said Lang Ping, the USA coach. “We are trying to reach a point of team-work mixing the young with the veteran players.” Rachel Sanchez led Cuba with 20 points, including 8 aces, and Kenia Carcaces added 5 aces and totaled 12 points. “I am very proud of the way our second team played,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, coach of Cuba. “We came here looking for the first place but for respect to the rest of the teams I don’t like to make predictions.” ...Spanish

First Lady made the ceremonial serve in Pan Am Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 11, 2005.- The Opening Ceremony of the Fourth Panamerican Cup was attended by the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, whom the event is dedicated. She made one of the two simultaneous ceremonial first serves with the other by the Minister of Sports Mr. Felipe Payano, who is also the president of the Organizing Committee. The folkloric ballet of the city council of Santo Domingo took part in the event. Payano and Cedeno de Fernandez delivered speeches and Mr. Cristobal Marte, president of Norceca declared the official opening of the tournament. Also in attendance were local and international authorities as Mr. Luis Mejia, President of the Olympic Committee, Mr. Alejandro Salinas, Mr. Edgar Alvarado and Mr. Jacques Joaschim, from the Executive Committee of Norceca, Ramon Alexis Garcia, president of the Dominican Volleyball Federation and General Jose Anibal Sanz, president of the Dominican Anti Drug Council. Spanish Pic: the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez

Brazil edged Puerto Rico in five sets

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, 2005.- Brazil overcame a 18-22 deficit in the fourth set and edged Puerto Rico in a thrilling match by score of 28-26, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11 in Pool A of the Pan American Cup. In other matches of Pool A, Argentina defeated Costa Rica 25-21, 29-27, 25-20, and Dominican Republic beat Venezuela 25-20, 25-17, 25-23. “I am very satisfied with the way my team reacted to erase deficits in the first and fourth sets,” said Antonio Rizola, the Brazilian coach. “We made the adjustments and we have a great feeling after winning this match.” Fernanda Rodrigues led Brazil with 22 points, Adenizia Silva had 12, Michele Pavao 11 and Veronica Brito and Thaisa Menezes each had 10. For Puerto Rico, Eva Cruz scored 29 followed by Aury Cruz with 17, Jetzabel del Valle (13), Shanon Torregrosa (12) and Sheila Ocasio (10). Ileana Leyendeker with 13 points led four Argentinean players in double figures. Maria Frontera, Sabrina Segui and Antonela Borzola each had 10 points. For Costa Rica, the siblings Angela and Verania Willis had 14 and 11 respectively. In the Dominican victory, Cosiris Rodriguez and Yudelkis Bautista each had 12 points while Sofia Heredia and Annerys Vargas added 7 apiece. Veronica Gomez was the top scorer for Venezuela with 12. “I think the team had ups and downs especially in the third set,” said Francisco Cruz, the coach of Dominican Republic. “We have some new players who don’t have the experience but need the competition to mature.” Spanish

Canada, USA and Cuba cruised the opening day

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, Canada, USA and Cuba scored victories in consecutive sets during the opening day of Pool B at the Pan American Cup. All the Canadians saw action in the triumph over Barbados by score of 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 with Emely Cordonier leading the attack with 10 points. Falin Schaefer and Joana Niemczewska added 9 and 8. “The start was not good,” said Lorne Sawula, the Canadian coach. “We were a little slow but recovered in time to get the win. I am confident that our game will improve step by step.” Nancy Metcalf and Elisha Thomas had 14 points and the Americans cruised to defeat the team of Jamaica by 25-10, 25-16, 25-9. Nancy Carrillo had 13 points and Yumilka Ruiz and Daimi Ramirez each added 11 in the victory of Cuba over Mexico 25-15, 25-11, 25-11. “We brought the best Cuban team to this competition knowing the importance of the qualification for the Grand Prix,” said Luis Felipe Calderon, the Cuban coach, who considered USA and Brazil as the stronger contenders.” Spanish

Argentina optimistic at the Pan American Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 10, 2005.- Argentina comes to the Pan American Cup very optimistic about its chances of taking the one available ticket for South America in the 2006 World Grand Prix. “I like our chances against Brazil who is bringing a junior but very experienced team,” said Alejandro Arconada, the Argentinean head coach during the press conference prior to the beginning of the event. “We also have a young team, but we are here to win that place and that’s our goal.” Here is what the rest of the coaches said during the press conference at luxurious Dominican Fiesta Hotel: Paul Payne, Barbados: “It is a good opportunity for us to compete at this level and shall be a learning experience for us. I am proud to be around so great coaches that I have seen only on TV.” Antonio Rizola, Brazil: “I respect the quality of the rest of the teams. We are once again in the Pan American Cup with a junior team but I am confident that we can take the berth of South America in next year Grand Prix.” ...Spanish

MONTREUX

Cuba and USA lost their first matches

MONTREUX, Switzerland, June 9, 2005.- The two Norceca teams participating in this year Montreux Volley Masters suffered losses in their first matches of the competition. Cuba lost to Brazil in four sets (24-26, 25-11, 25-19, 25-23) while the Olympic champions China beat USA 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) The team of head coach Jose Guimaraes defeated Cuba in an exciting match. The spectators in the almost sold out Pierrier Arena were witness of a excellent volleyball show in which both teams showed several highlights. The USA team, who is in Montreux with a mix of talents and experienced stars like Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, Danielle Scott and Tayyiba Haneef, didn’t find the right answer to the solid play of the Chinese team. Spanish

DR Minister of Sports presents the National Flag

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2005.- The Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, Felipe Payano, presented the national flan to the members and coaches of the women’s volleyball team that will represent their country during the Pan American Cup beginning this Friday in Santo Domingo. The ceremony took place at the meeting room of the Dominican National Federation and the minister was in the company of local authorities and the directors of the DR Federation. Head coach Francisco Cruz Jimenez stated that the Dominican Team “even with the absence of attacker Milagros Cabral due to injury, has the capability to win the competition.” “We have enough depth and the responsibility is shared among all the players,” he said. “We showed it during the past competition in China where we defeated teams like Japan and Bulgaria.” The Dominican Team is composed by Annerys Valdez, Yudelkis Bautista, Dahiana Burgos, Evelyn Carrera, Alexandra Caso, Sofía Heredia, Cindy Rondon, Juana Gonzalez, Karla Echenique, Priscila Rivera, Cosiris Rodriguez, Kenia Moreta and Sidalka Núñez. Spanish

Cuba is ready to defend the title at the Pan American Cup

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, June 08 2005.Cuba is ready to defend its title at the Fourth Pan American Cup, a qualifier event for the 2006 World Grand Prix beginning this Friday in two sites in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Two former MVP of this tournament, Yumilka Ruiz and Zoila Barros, lead the squad coached by Luis Felipe Calderon which also features Yaima Ortiz, the best spiker during the 2004 edition, along with setter Daimi Ramirez, middle blocker Nancy Carrillo and outside hitter Liana Mesa. Cuba won the first and third editions of the Pan American Cup while USA took the gold in the second. The Americans come to the 12-nation event with a team that includes opposite Nancy Metcalf, middle blocker Elisha Thomas, outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and veteran setter Lindsey Berg. The Dominican Republic Team, who recently won the bronze medal at the China International Tournament in Ningbo with victories over Japan and Bulgaria, is also a favourite to finish in the top-three. ... Spanish

Payano presents the Winners Trophy of the Pan Am Cup

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, June 8, 2005.- Felipe Payano, the Minister of Spòrts of the Dominican Republic presented the Winners Cup to the organizers of the Fourth Pan American Cup to be held in Santo Domingo on June 10-18 with the participation of 12 countries. Payano also handed out a check for the sum of $3.4 million pesos to cover the lodging and meals of all the participating delegations. Payano who also presides the Organizing Committee praised the high level of quality of the Pan American Cup and called for the support of the fans. Alexis Garcia, President of the Dominican Volleyball Federation, and Cristobal Marte, President of the Norceca Confederation, were present during the ceremony at the minister’s office. Four teams –three from Norceca and one from South America- will qualify here for the 2006 World Grand Prix, the premier annual women’s event of the FIVB. The participating  countries are: USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Barbados, Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Spanish

USA and Brazil shared victories in Pan American Cup preparation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- USA and Brazil shared victories during the first two matches of new head coach of the American Team, Lang Ping. USA swept the Brazilians 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) in the second game with Nancy Metcalf blasting 15 spikes and one block. Both teams travel to the Dominican Republic later this week to compete in the Pan American Cup beginning on June 10. The United States, a member of Group B, plays Jamaica to begin the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix.  Brazil, a member of Group A, takes on Puerto Rico in its opening match. Middle blocker Jennifer Joines scored 11 points, while outside hitter Jane Collymore and middle blocker Elisha Thomas added 10 points apiece. Fernanda Rodrigues scored 11 points to lead Brazil while Natalia Manfrin added eight points. The day before, Thaisa Menezes scored a team-high 21 points and Adenizia Silva added 14 points in the 25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23 Brazil victory. Elisha Thomas scored 11 points for USA. Spanish

Puerto Rico scored two wins over Canada

WINNIPEG, Canada.- Puerto Rico defeated Canada in straight sets to win the gold at the 2005 Women’s Canada Cup. Both teams are preparing for the Pan American Cup which features 12 teams from the Norceca and South America Confederations beginning next Friday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Puerto Ricans finished the preliminary phase with 3-0 record, while the Canadians reached the final match with a 2-1 mark after losing to the eventual winners in five sets during the preliminary phase. Puerto Rico won the gold medal match by score of 25-23, 26-24, 25-23 while Japan took the bronze defeating Canada White 25-18, 30-28, 18-25, 25-22. During the first part of the competition, the 12^th ranked Puerto Ricans edged the 22^nd ranked Canada in a marathon match by score of 25-27, 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 15-12. Aury and Eva Cruz and Lyan Puig of Puerto Rico made the All-Star team along with Canadians Tammy Mahon, Gina Schmidt and Annie Levesque and Japanese Chikako Kimura. Spanish

Cuba tops Pool B in World League

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 6, 2005.- Cuba lost their unbeaten record in Italy but still tops Pool B after losing their second match to the Azzurri 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16). After Friday’s 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22) victory, Cuba made too many mistakes on Sunday and Italy’s experienced players Alessandro Fei and Luigi Mastrangelo made their presence felt at the most crucial times.Fei scored 21 points and Mastrangelo added 12 for Italy while Cuban Raydel Poey led all the scorers with 29 and Osmany Juantorena chipped in 10 points.Italy is second in the group with two wins from two matches, equal with France who split their matches with Bulgaria in Nantes (3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13) and 0-3 (24-26, 19-25, 15-25)), who are bottom of the group with one victory. Spanish

Cuba with perfect record in three outings

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 4, 2005.- Cuba remained unbeaten with three victories in as many outings in the 2005 World League with a stunning triumph over Italy in the second round of the Intercontinental phase of the men’s tournament. Raidel Poey led the way for Cuba with 24 points and he has scored 63 in the three wins of his side. Coach Roberto Garcia made only one change to his starting line-up during the match in Busto Arsizio. “Why no changes?” asked Garcia. “Because all my players played an excellent game. It is clear that in certain conditions you won't change anything. We played well from the beginning until the last ball.”  “We played a great game,” Cuba captain Pavel Pimienta said. “We have to stay on this path and go further. We are only at the very beginning.” Spanish

Cuba opened World League with two victories

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, June 3, 2005.- Cuba managed to collect two wins in as many matches during the opening weekend of the 2005 World League while defeating last year’s finalists Bulgaria. Cuba went to the top of Pool B alone after beating Bulgaria 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-23) last Sunday. Last year’s silver medalists Italy (2) are second ahead of France (6) only on point ratio after both teams, boasting new lineups, shared straight set victories in Sicily. In the first match on Friday, the young and exciting Cubans took the victory 3-1 (26-24, 16-25, 25-20, 25-19) with Bulgaria making too many mistakes including 21 at the service line. Cuban Raydel Poey totalled 39 points in the two matches, Yasser Portuondo added 22, Osmany Juantorena 18 and Pavel Pimienta 14. Spanish

Salmon, Polster Guide USA Men to Season-Opening Win

SPOKANE, June 2, 2005 – The USA Men’s National Volleyball Team began the 2005 season with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands Thursday night at the Star Theater at Spokane Arena. Riley Salmon scored a match-high 16 points and Jim Polster added 11 points in the 25-20, 25-18, 28-26 victory for the United States in the first of three matches between the teams. The match marked the debut of Hugh McCutcheon as head coach of the USA Men. Salmon, a 2004 Olympian, had 12 kills, two blocks and two service aces. Polster, an alternate for Team USA’s Athens Olympic Team, posted nine kills and two blocks in the win. Middle blocker Phil Eatherton, another 2004 Olympian, tallied eight points on seven kills and one block, while Curt Toppel chipped in with seven points on six kills and one block. Spanish

Trinidad & Tobago advances to round 2 in Cuba

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad.May 29,2005- Hosts Trinidad & Tobago advanced to the second round of the 2006 Men’s World Championship in the Norceca Region with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Dominica. Gifted Nolan Tash led his team with 21 points and Sean Morrison and Mark Daly added 11 and 10 respectively. David Toussaint was the top scorer for Dominica with 10 points. Trinidad & Tobago showed in the first set why they finished the competition with an unbeaten record. Tash once again the main force of the host side with potent spikes benefiting from the settings of Saleem Ali. In the second set, Dominica responded with a great effort only to lose momentum at the latter stages. The third set saw the Trinidadians dominate and cruise to a great celebration after winning the ticket to the second round in Havana. Gideon Dickson, coach of Trinidad & Tobago: “We knew from then on set that we were going to move on from this round. For the next phase once T & T perform on the day in question, the better team will have to win. We are going out there to dictate our performance.” Nolan Tash, captain of Trinidad & Tobago: “The guys showed a lot of depth and character and I appreciate the position we are going into the next round as the dark horse. I love being the underdog. I believe the team has the ability to perform.” Spanish

Dominicans won the bronze medal in China

NINGBO, China.May 28,2005- The Dominican Republic Women’s National Team conquered the bronze medal at the China International Tournament while defeating Bulgaria in four sets by 25-17, 25-27, 29-27, 25-23. The Dominicans are in the process of preparation for the Pan American Cup and the World Grand Prix. The foursome of Annerys Vargas, Cindy Rondon, Dahiana Burgos and Kenia Moreta was the leading force in the Dominican triumph. Vargas scored 17 points, Rondon 13, Burgos 12 and Moreta 10. Setter Karla Echenique scored 7 points including four aces and was brilliant as floor leader of the winners. Priscila Rivera came off the bench to cooperate with 8 points and libero Evelyn Carrera had 27 good defenses. One day earlier, the Dominicans had scored a historic victory defeating Japan, in five emotional sets, for the first time ever at this level. Now the Dominican Republic moves to another tournament in China and is seeded in the same pool with China, Japan and Poland. The other pool will be composed by Cuba, Bulgaria and The Netherlands. Spanish

Dominicans score historic triumph over Japan 

NINGBO, China.- The Dominican Republic recorded its first ever victory over Japan in a senior  event winning today in five emotional sets at the Women’s World League tournament. The score was 25-23, 26-24, 212-25, 17-25, 15-12. Veteran Yudelkis Bautista was elected as the best player of the match but it was Cindy Rondon who starred for the Dominicans at the right moment –the fifth set. Rondon, a rookie in the Dominican squad, made the most of her chance to play  in the tie-breaker and scored 11 points with superb blocking and powerful spikes. Annerys Vargas scored 19 and Sofia Heredia (14) and Priscila Rivera (12) finished also with double figures. Veteran Evelyn Carrera made 32 defenses and is tied at first place of the libero statistics while setters Juana Gonzalez and Karla Echenique enjoyed smooth performances. Coach Francisco Cruz said the combined western-eastern style of the Dominicans opened the eyes of technicians who praised the power and speed of the Caribbean team. The last time Dominican Republic and Japan had played was during the 2003 World Cup in Japan with the host team prevailing in four sets. The history records a win of Dominican Republic over Japan during the World Girls’ Championship in Croatia in 2001. Spanish Pic: Cindy Rondon

China, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic join Cuba in semis
Ningbo, Southeast China, May 26, 2005 - China and Bulgaria in Group A and the Dominican Republic of Group B joined Cuba in the semi-finals of the Shenzhou Cup China International Women's Volleyball Tournament on the last day of the preliminary round here on Thursday. Olympic and World Cup winners China beat Poland 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-17) for their third straight win to finish on top of Group A ahead of Bulgaria, who finished with two wins and a loss after beating the Netherlands in straight sets 25-21, 25-18, 25-19. In the other match on Thursday, the Dominican Republic squandered a 2-0 lead before clinching a victory against Japan 3-2 (15-12 in the tiebreak) and a semifinal fixture against China.In the match between China and Poland, Chu Jining, who replaced Olympic gold medalist Wang Li'na in the starting line-up, was in great form in the first set. Her crisp spikes from the wings caused a lot of trouble for the Polish defense. At 17-17, Chu completed three kills to lead China on a 5-1 run that gave the hosts a comfortable advantage at 22-18. Then 19-year-old Ma Yunwen, a new member in the Chinese team, sealed the set 25-20 with a smash. More

Norceca’s headquarters inaugurated in Santo Domingo

SANTO DOMINGO, May 21, 2005.- The headquarters of the North, Central America and Caribbean Confederation were inaugurated on Friday and its president Mr. Cristobal Marte said the occasion was “like a dreaming coming true.” “We have come a long way since I took charge of the presidency on Norceca,” said Mr. Marte. “But with all the support from the president of FIVB, Dr. Ruben Acosta, we have taken big steps toward transforming Norceca into the best of all the confederations.” Dr. Anne Peytavin, president of the Medical Commission of FIVB and representing Dr. Acosta, made the traditional cut of the ribbon during the ceremony on the presence of members of the Norceca’s Executive Committee. Mr. Marte expressed his recognition and gratitude to all the National Federations, Commissions Members and the Executive Committee for their work since the moment he assumed the presidency in 2001. During the ceremony it was unveiled a plaque naming “Dr. Ruben Acosta Hernandez” the meeting room of the Executive Committee. “This is a way we thank Dr. Acosta for all his support and also as the founder of this continental confederation,” said Marte. Spanish

Guatemalan Centeno de Sajche new member of Norceca’s Executive

SANTO DOMINGO, May 20, 2005.- Guatemalan Ms. Marta Centeno de Sajche was unanimously elected as new member of the Norceca’s Executive Committee and Board of Administration. Ms. Centeno de Sajche was presented as candidate by the president of the Norceca Confederation, Mr. Cristobal Marte. She replaces in both bodies Ms. Rebeca Howard, from USA, who announced her retirement. Mr. Marte praised the personal and professional qualities of Ms. Centeno de Sajche, a former member and captain of Guatemalan National Team in several international competitions. A graduated from Universidad de San Carlos of Guatemala with a degree in Electric Engineering, Ms. Centeno de Sajche also represented Guatemala in athletics as javelin and discus thrower and shot putter. Currently she is Vice President of the Confederacion Deportiva Autonoma de Guatemala, and member of the Women’s Commission of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee. Spanish

Cuba announces Team for World League

HAVANA, May 5, 2005.- The Cuban Men’s Nacional Team for the first matches of the 2005 World League was announced today by its coach Roberto Garcia. The 12 players selected from the group of 18 previously named for this year’s event are led by the veteran middle blocker Pavel Pimienta along with Yasser Portuondo, Osmany Juantorena, Henry Bell, Odelvis Dominico and setter Javier Gonzalez. Completing the squad are Raydel Poey, Raidel Corrales, Dariel Garcia, Sirianis Mendez, Yoandry Diaz and Roberlandi Simon.Talking about the preparation of the team, Garcia said that the days spent in Russia were very helpful, because in addition to training they played four matches against two Russian clubs and two against the Belarus team.The team will travel to Argentina next Monday where they will play four times against the Argentinean National Team, and then will go to Greece with identical purposes before their trip to Varna to start the World League against Bulgaria. Spanish

USA Women to Host Brazil in Colorado to Start 2005 Season

COLORADO SPRINGS, May 3, 2005.- USA Volleyball, in partnership with The Sports Corp (Colorado Springs Sports Corporation), presents the Front Range Tour, a series of three matches between the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team and Brazil from June 2-6. The matches, pitting the world’s second-ranked team (Brazil) against No. 3 Team USA, will be the American women’s first international competition of the 2005 season and the first under new head coach “Jenny” Lang Ping (Beijing, China).  Lang Ping was named head coach on Feb. 7. “The matches with Brazil will be a great test and prepare us for our upcoming tournaments since we will not have had enough time to get the team together for training,” said Lang Ping.  “It will also give us a good chance to get to know our players better in game situations.” Before the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece last summer, the United States captured the silver medal at the Montreux Volley Masters and a bronze medal at the World Grand Prix.  In Athens, Team USA finished the 2004 Olympics tied for fifth place after losing to Brazil in the quarterfinals, 3-2. ...Spanish

Puerto Rico and Argentina will play friendly matches

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, April 26, 2005.- The National Women’s Teams  of Puerto Rico and Argentina will play six friendly matches next May during the Twelfth Sports Festival organized by the Olympic Committee of Puerto Rico. The news was given by Mr. Carlos Beltran, President of the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation, during a press conference. With this competition, both teams will start their preparation for the Pan American Cup, a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix, to be staged in Santo Domingo on June 8-19. Mr. Beltran stated the squad will be coached by Juan Carlos Nunez who will be working full time with the team until the Norceca continental championship to be played in Trinidad & Tobago next September. The Puerto Rican team began its training this Monday at the San Jose College facility under the supervision of Mr. Jorge Perez Vento, advisor for the National Program. The players invited to train with the Puerto Rican Team are: Michele Cardona, Glorimar Ortega, Vilmarie Mojica, Sheila Ocasio, Alexandra Oquendo, Jetzabel del Valle, Jessica Lopez, Aurea Cruz, Eva Cruz, Dariam Acevedo, Tatiana Encarnacion, Vanessa Velez, Karina Ocasio, Ania Ruiz, Sarai Alvarez, Shannon Torregrosa, Yarleen Santiago and Lyann Puig. Spanish

Cuba concluded Training in Guatemala

HAVANA, Cuba, April 22, 2005.- The Cuban National Women’s Team concluded a 21-day training camp at the high sea-level of Guatemala as the first step of its preparation for the Fourth Pan American Cup to be played in Santo Domingo on June 8-19. The defending champions of the Pan American event also trained at the same centre prior the last Olympic Games in Athens where they took the bronze medal. Eugenio George, the technical director of the team, informed to Granma Newspaper that Cuba will send its first team to the competition in the Dominican Republic. “We must go there with all our strength if we want one of the top four places in the Pan American Cup, a qualifier for the 2006 World Grand Prix,” said George. “We will complete our preparation for the event in the Dominican, training in Russia on May 7-18.” He (George) showed satisfaction for the good physical condition of new players like Yusidey Silié, Rachel Sánchez and Kenia Carcacés, and remarked that the experienced Marta Sánchez will continue playing. Spanish

April 11, 2005.- Puerto Rico is committed with Marte Hoffiz Candidacy ... Spanish

March 30, 2005.-Ponce studies feasibility of 2006 Pan American Cup. ... Spanish

March 30, 2005.-USA Women Juniors prepared for big challenge at FIVB U-20 ... Spanish

March 29, 2005 –Cuba and USA in different pools at FIVB U-21 ... Spanish

March 29, 2005.-The goal of Puerto Rico in Turkey is to be among the top eight. ... Spanish

March 28, 2005.-Dominicans hope to be among the top six in Turkey ...Spanish

March 24, 2005.-Puerto Rico and Dominican Rep. in Pool B,  in Women’s U-20 ...Spanish

March 22, 2005.- Jamaica will host the first round for 2006 World Champi.in NORCECA ...Spanish

March 19, 2005.- Beltran met with the Major of Ponce Spanish

February 19, 2005.-Pan American Cup Dedicated to Dominican Republic’s First Lady ... Spanish

January 22,2005,-Edgar Alvarado re-elected as President of AFECAVOL ... Spanish

January 19 2005,-Dominican Government Supports Pan American Cup in Sto. Dgo. ... Spanish

January 03, 2005-Milagros Cabral and Caceres: The Best in the Dominican  Spanish

January 03, 2005- Zoila Barros honored as the best Cuban in 2004 ...Spanish

Federations Archives 2004

Dominican Christmas Tournament was a success 

December 30,2004,- More Spanish

Nnamani Honored for Talent on Court and in Classroom

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado. December 29, 2004–  More Spanish

Cosiris Rodriguez joins the Club Tenerife in Spain

TENERIFE, Spain. December 28, 2004- More Spanish

Moreta making big splash in Italy
December 13,2004,- More Spanish

PR Coaches´s Commission start its works

Puerto Rico, November, 29,2004,- More Spanish

MILAGROS CABRAL
VOLEIBOLISTA QUE SURGIO DE LA NADA Y LLEGA A LA CIMA

 Mas

Cuba to celebrate 100 years of volleyball in the island

-Havana, Cuba, November 24, -More Spanish

Annerys Vargas will be Cowgirl

PUERTO RICO, November 23,2004,- More Spanish

USA Women's Coach Yoshida Accepts Professorship in Japan

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 15, 2004,- More Spanish

Coach Doug Beal Named CEO of USA Volleyball 

COLORADO SPRINGS, November,12,2004,Colo.-  More Spanish

Mushtaque Mohammed re-elected in Trinidad and Tobago 

November 08, 2004,- More Spanish

Luis and Kirby inducted to the Hall of Fame

October 25, 2004-HOLYOKE, Mass. – More Spanish

Jamaica asked to host World Championship qualifiers 

October 21,2004,- More Spanish

Dominican Federation welcome new talents 

October 19, 2004,– More Spanish

Nineteen Puerto Ricans will play in foreign leagues

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, August 7, 2004.-  More Spanish

Dominicans were received with fanfare

More Spanish

USA nominated its Olympic squads in both genders

11 July,2004,-. More Spanish

Barbados’ Women repeat as champions 

7 July,2004,-More Spanish

Dominican Republic is the smallest and poorest country in the Grand Prix 

MIAOLI, Taiwan. July 08,- More Spanish

Barbados looks to dominate Caribbean Championships

5 July,2004, - More Spanish

Cuba looking for top shape in the Grand Prix 

July 03, 2004 Cuba,- More Spanish

USA Women Depart Monday July 5 for World Grand Prix 

July 02, 2004,COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – More Spanish

USA reserves keyed win over Tunisia 

AUSTIN, Texas (July 2, 2004) –  More Spanish

Bahamas suffered its third loss 

2 July 2004,- More Spanish

Costa Rica taking steps into the big picture 

June 15,2004,- More Spanish

Italy beat USA to win Montreux Volley Masters
June 14,2004,MONTREUX,- More Spanish

Argentina goes to Mexico with rejuvenated squad 

June 11,2004,-More Spanish

Brazilians go to Mexico with promising stars

June 11,2004,- More Spanish 

Cuba defeats Russia in real volleyball show
June 11,2004, -More Spanish

Italia vence a EUA y Cuba perdió de China
11 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

Canadá busca mejor presencia internacional

9 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

Puerto Rico espera gran progreso 

9 de Junio,2004,-Mas English

Cuba es uno de los favoritos en la Copa Panamericana 

8 de Junio,2004, Cuba, -Mas English

Cuba sorprende a Serbia-Montenegro 3-2

7 de Junio,2004,LA HABANA.-  Mas English

Dominicanas son uno de tres equipos clasificados para los Olímpicos 

7 de Junio,2004,- Mas English

EUA estará defendiendo la corona en México

7 de Junio, 2004,-. Mas English

Dominicanas de alto vuelo

República Dominicana en la elite del voleibol mundial

Mas Perfil de cada una de las integrantes del equipo

Mujeres de Canadá 2-1 frente a Japón

ALBERTA, Canadá.-  Mas English

Niemczewska y Ens, atletas del año en Canadá 

 Mas English

USA Volleyball, Mizuno Japan Renew Corporate Sponsorship Deal 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –  More Spanish

Más de 20 Mujeres compiten por puesto en Canadá 

 Mas English

Voleibol EUA de luto por la Pérdida del Pasado Presidente William Baird 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-  Mas English

 El Campeonato de Voleibol Masculino 2004 Comienza Hoy y Los Changos van Tras Su Cetro Número 20

29 abril 2004, Puerto Rico,  Mas

Listo el Equipo de las nenas que viajara a Japón

28 abril 2004,Puerto Rico   Mas

-Porter elegida Jugadora Más Valiosa del 2004

2 de abril de 2004, Mas

Reinas por segunda vez

 21 abril de 2004,Mas

Siguen con vida las Criollas.

20 abril de 2004,-Mas

Cerca la meta de Caguas

6 de abril 2004,-

Mirador barre a Bameso

6 de abril 2004,-

Bameso y Cachorros ganan, Concluye hoy serie regular femenina

5 Abril, 2004,-

Con sed de victoria las Gigantes ante las Criollas

5 abril 2004,-

Mirador y Bameso clasifican a las finales voleibol superior

4 Abril, 2004,-
La preselección de Puerto Rico entrena en la UPR camino a Japón

3 Abril de 2004,-
Cautelosas las Criollas pese a sus victorias

2 abril, 2004,-

Los Cachorros quita invicto a Mirador en debut Cosiris

1 Abril, 2004,-

Crucial el partido de hoy entre Llaneras y Leonas

31 marzo, 2004,-

Sin su mejor bloqueadora las Gigantes

31 marzo, 2004,-

Clave un triunfo llanero

29 marzo, 2004,-

Bameso avanza a semifinales en ambas ramas del voleibol

29 marzo, 2004,-

Bameso y Cristo Rey se imponen en voleibol superior DN

27 Marzo, 2004,-

Las Gigantes se apuntan el primero

27 marzo, 2004,-

En buen momento las Leonas

27 marzo, 2004,-

26 Marzo, 2004, -Mirador sigue invicto en voleibol superior del DN

26 marzo,2004,-Entran las Leonas a la fase semifinal

24 marzo, 2004,-Ponce se juega la vida

23 marzo 2004,-Ayuda vital para Toa Baja y Bayamón se agarra del cuarto puesto

22 marzo 2004,-Se quedan fuera las Pinkin

22 Marzo, 2004,-Bameso barre en voleibol; vencieron LP en ambas ramas en torneo

20 marzo, 2004, -Atenas: Selección Dominicana de Voleibol tendrá duro fogueo preolímpico

20 marzo, 2004,-Mirador sigue en primero; Bameso destrona José Martí

18 marzo, 2004,-José Martí y Cristo Rey triunfan en voleibol superior

18 marzo 2004,-Criollas se imponen a las Leonas

18 marzo 2004,-Receptividad con el uso de importadas

17  marzo, 2004,-Cerca del precipicio Isabela y Guaynabo

17  marzo, 2004,-Oficial la asesoría nacional de Pérez Vento

16 marzo 2004-Importante triunfo para las Criollas

16 marzo 2004-Fuera de juego Encarnación por una lesión

15 marzo de 2004, -Mirador sigue invicto; Bameso gana primero en voleibol

13 Marzo 2004,-Bameso y LP se reparten los triunfos y reveses en voleibol

15 de marzo de 2004,-Bien encaminado el sexteto de Toa Baja y las Criollas Mantienen su invicto

13 marzo 2004,-A probar las Leonas en Toa Baja si Ponce es Ponce

13 marzo 2004,-Cataño toma las riendas

12 marzo, 2004,-Cataño interesa el Norceca Pre-juvenil

11 de marzo de 2004,- En cuatro las Llaneras

10 de Marzo del 2004.-Campeonas de Mirador se imponen en partido inaugural voleibol DN

Marzo 2 ,2004.-Programados los juegos de Las Nenas

01 de Marzo 2004,-La Asovodina honra a la selección femenina

Febrero 28, 2004,-Priscila Rivera: “estoy lista para ser titular”

Febrero 24, 2004,- Premio Atleta del año a los ganadores de Oro en Panam, Incluyendo Equipo Voleibol

February 23, 2004,-"National Men’s Team Returning to Japan for Last Chance Olympic Qualifier"

Febrero 22 ,2004.- Importadas vencen a Nativas en Juego de Estrella en Puerto Rico

Febrero 18,2004,-Dominicana le devuelve el favor a Japón

Febrero 18,2004,-Japón derrota a Republica Dominicana en cuatro sets

Dominicana se Enfrentará a Japón

Febrero 17,2004,-

Alliance to provide training and resources to enhance youth sports programs

February 6, 2004 -

Olympic training starts for USA on Monday

February 5, 2004 -

 USAV High Performance Program Announces 2004 Coaches

January 30, 2004 –
Yoshida Adds Four Players as USA Women Resume Training

January 15, 2004 -

Officer Elections to Highlight USAV Winter Meeting

 January 15, 2004 -