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CALI, Colombia, December 5, 2021. - Argentina
defeated host Colombia 3-1 (16-25, 25-13, 26-24,
25-22) for the bronze medal of the women’s
volleyball tournament at the I Junior Pan
American Games Cali-Valle 2021 on Sunday at
Evangelista Mora Coliseum.
It was a roller coaster performance up to the
third set when both teams balanced all their
skills for a close finish. Argentina won the
third set recovering from a three-point deficit
(21-24) forcing Colombia to lose three-set
points.
Argentina held a comfortable 11-6 margin in
blocks and led 4-2 in points from serves; both
teams scored on 52 points from attacks and both
allowed 24 points from unforced errors.
Team captain Angeles Ligorria alongside outside
hitter Agostina Beltramino scored 19 points as
Argentina’s leading scorers. Middle blocker and
captain Valerin Carabali led Colombia with 17
points, followed by opposite hitter Laura
Grajales added 14 points.
Argentina had lost to Colombia in five grueling
sets in the preliminary round and ended with a
3-2 win-loss record; Colombia finished fourth
place also with a 3-2 record.
Agostina Beltramino, outside hitter of
Argentina: “To
win the game we had to serve really well because
Colombia’s middle blockers are really good and
we needed to get them out of their game; our
defense was also key. Adding that the fans were
against us and that motivated us more and in
comparison from the preliminary round, we were
both physically tired and who gave more in the
court won”.
Pablo Martín, head coach of Argentina: “We
needed to adjust a couple of things during the
tournament and today we finally did to finish in
third place. In preparation for today´s match
what we did was rest and recover energies from
yesterday’s tough semifinals, knowing what we
needed to do because we had already met in
pool-play. Our victory is because of the girls’
commitment to practice and their competitive
performance, our warrior spirit is something
that identifies us”. |
