TIJUANA, Baja California, June 3, 2008.- Puerto Rico downed Venezuela in straight sets 25-17, 25-21, 25-12 advancing to the quarterfinals round of the Women’s Pan American Cup. The rival of Puerto Rico on Thursday is still to be determined.

Sarai Alvarez was the leading scorer of Puerto Rico with 10 points while Maria Jose Perez had 9 for Venezuela. The Puerto Ricans finished with a 3-2 record while Venezuela fell to 1-4.

The Puerto Ricans dominated for most of the match, with Venezuela showing flashes of brilliance halfway of the second set.

“It is important to finish this round with a victory,” said Puerto Rican Vilmarie Mojica. “We don’t know who will be our next rival but we need to go to that match with a winning attitude.”

“After two consecutive losses we needed to go out there to win badly because we didn’t have a tomorrow,” said coach Juan Carlos Nunez. “We want to go to the Grand Prix and the quarterfinal match has been our obstacle for the past four years.”