Brazil beat Cuba to win Pool A

Lima, Peru, September 5, 2012 – Brazil finished atop of Pool A of the U-23 Women’s Pan American Volleyball Cup following their 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-8, 25-17) victory over Cuba at Miguel Grau Coliseum of Lima on Wednesday.

The South Americans had a 3-0 win-loss record while the Cubans advanced to the quarterfinals round as the third placed team behind Argentina with 1-2 mark.

Brazil’s block provided a 12-4 difference over Cuba to go along with a 55-34 advantage in attacks. The winners held a huge 8-1 margin in service aces.

Gabriela Braga sparked Brazil with a match-high 23 points, while Sara Silva added 18, including four blocks and two aces. Rosamaría Montibeller and Marcilia Silva charted 14 and 11 points respectively.

Yoana Palacio was the only player of Cuba scoring in double digits with 12 points.

“It was a very important match for the growth of the girls since they know about the historic rivalry with Cuba,” Brazil’s coach Luizomar Moura commented. “I’m also very happy for our tactical blocking and the high percentage of accuracy in our attacks.”

“The tactical serve of Brazil hurt us and also the attacks from the corners,” Cuba’s Juan Carlos Gala said. “Once again our team had a good first set and then lost the focus and motivation and they were not able to react.”

“The first set was very close and we made many mistakes but then we improved our serve and that was the best that could happen for us,” Brazil’s Rosamaria Montibeller said.

“We started well but then things didn’t come in our way and we couldn’t recover,” Cuba’s Yoana Palacio said. “We hope to win tomorrow to finish among the top four.”