Dominican Republic defeat Peru and top Pool B

Lima, Peru, September 5, 2012 – Dominican Republic recorded a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 18-25, 25-20) victory over Peru to conclude the preliminary round of the U-23 Women’s Pan American Cup with a 3-0 mark and the top position in Pool B.

Jeoselyna Rodriguez was the best scorer of the winning side with 20 points followed by Yonkaira Peña with 13. Lisvel Eve and Candida Arias added 12 and 8 respectively with 4 blocks apiece.

Angela Leyva topped Peru with 19 points and Raffaella Camet tallied 11. Karla Ortiz charted 8 points while Clarivet Yllescas and Gina Lopez each had seven.

The Dominicans had the edge in blocks 12-11 while Peru held the advantage in serves 8-2. The winners made 26 unforced errors to 35 by the losers.

“I am happy with the victory since we achieved our goal of reaching the semifinals,” Marcos Kwiek said. “Now I have an extra day of work to try to minimize our errors, something that is very common at this age group.”

“It was an excellent victory for Dominican Republic but I am glad because my players tried to do what we have been planning,” Peru’s coach Jose Dos Santos said. “I am patient because I know we are going to improve, only that we need time.”

“Playing against Peru is always tough, especially at home because of the fans support,” Dominican Niverka Marte said. “We started well focused to win the match but we made errors that came out in the third set.”

Angela Leyva of Peru commented: “”We have played a great match because Dominican Republic is very strong, but we are doing what our coach is teaching.”