Press release
Cuba finish Pool G undefeated with 3-0 win over Japan
Cuba's Yunieska Robles blocks Japan's Fumika Moriya on the final day of second round Pool G in Lima
Lima, Peru, July 28, 2011 - At the first match played today in Lima, Peru, at the FIVB Volleyball Women´s Junior World Championship Peru 2011, Cuba beat Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19).
Cuba finished Pool G with a 3-0 record after going 0-3 in the first round, while Japan ended 2-1 in the second-round group. Both teams will compete in the 9-12 classification semifinals contested on July 30 with final classification on July 31.
The top scorer for Cuba was Sulian Matienzo with 14 points, followed by Heidy Rodriguez with 13 points in the match. Yunieska Robles and Cheila Cardona totaled 10 points each in the victory. Japan's top scorer was captain Mari Horikawa with 18 points, next to Fumika Moriya with 12 points. Cuba's net defense resulted in a 16-3 block advantage, while Japan held a 7-3 margin in aces. Japan also committed 17 errors to Cuba's eight.
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The first set started tight as Japan's dig was strong and Cuba´s spike too. The first technical time out came to 8-6 in Cuba´s favor thanks to Sulian Matienzo´s spike (six points in the set). The point difference started to be even closer and Japan tied the score at 11. The second technical time out came to 16-15 on a Japan service error from Yukiko Yanagidani (one point in the set). Cuba´s spike started to be stronger and the Japan´s dig and reception could not stop it. The set was defined by Yunieska Robles´ spike (five points in the set) to 25-20 in 23 minutes.
The second set started tight again, and Cuba got back with their harder spike. The first technical time out was for Cuba and the point difference was for two. Cuba's dig increased, and even though Japan tried to break it with their attack, they could not. Shiori Murata (two points in the set) failed at the reception and the second technical time out was for Cuba at 16-15. When Japan reached 20 points (22-20), Cuba´s spike increased and the Japan dig broke. The set ended the same way as before with a 25-20 score in 23 minutes, but this time was thanks to Yamila Hernandez´s block (one point in the set) on the final point.
The beginning of the third set was good for Japan, which started with a point difference of three. However, Cuba woke up and Heidy Rodriguez (six points in the set) scored three straight points, and Japan's dig started to fail because of their nerves. The first technical time out was for Cuba at 8-6. Cuba improved their dig,and the point difference increased to four points. Cheila Cardona´s serve (five points in the set) insured the second technical time out in favor of Cuba at 16-12. The match continued the same path and the set ended 25-19 in 22 minutes, thanks to Yamila Hernandez´s harder spike.
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