Dominican Republic wins NORCECA gold in dramatic fashion
Dominican Republic at the conclusion of the award ceremony
Bayamon, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 — Dominican
Republic saved four match-points in the fourth set and went on to defeat hosts
Puerto Rico 19-25, 25-23, 16-25, 32-30, 15-8 in the final of the NORCECA
Women’s Continental Championship played in front of more than 7,000
enthusiastic spectators. The victory earned the Dominicans a ticket to the FIVB World Grand Champions
Cup this November in Japan and their first regional title. Prisilla Rivera and Bethania de la Cruz each recorded 22 points for the winners
and Lisvel Eve added 11. Puerto Rican Aurea Cruz topped all players with 32
points and Sarai Alvarez tallied 17. For second time in the competition, Cuba erased an 0-2 deficit to defeat the United
States to take home the bronze medal. The match finished 17-25, 16-25, 28-26,
25-16, 15-11. Wilma Salas led Cuba with 15 points and Nancy Carrillo followed with 14,
including five blocks. Yanelis Santos and Yusidey Silie added 13 and 10 points
respectively, and Rachel Sanchez came from the bench to record 9 points,
including three blocks. Nancy Metcalf led USA with 17 points, Heather Bown and Cynthia Barboza each had
14, while Jordan Larson contributed 10 points. Canada scored a 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 victory over Mexico to finish in fifth
position. Tiffany Dodds (13), Brittney Page (11) and Marisa Field (10) all scored in
double figures for the winning side. Mexican Cecilia Rios topped all players
with 17 points and Grecia Rivera added 12. Costa Rica defeated Trinidad & Tobago in the match for the seventh place.
The score was 25-18, 25-22, 25-23. Verania and Angela Willis paced Costa Rica with 14 and 13 points respectively and
Karen Cope added 9. Krystle Esdelle recorded a match-high 17 points for the
losers.
Individual awards: MVP: Prisilla Rivera (DOM); Best Scorer: Aurea Cruz (PUR); Best Spiker:
Nancy Metcalf (USA); Best Blocker: Nancy Carrillo (CUB); Best Server: Yanelis
Santos (CUB); Best Digger: Brenda Castillo (DOM); Best Receiver: Brenda
Castillo (DOM); Best Libero: Brenda Castillo (DOM); Rising Star: Wilma Salas
(CUB).
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