USA's Kristin Richards scored 21 points to help her team defeat Dominican Republic and claim a ticket to the semifinals of the Women's Pan Am Cup

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, July 16, 2012 – Brazil and USA advanced to the semifinals of the XI Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup as winners of their respective pools as the tournament continued in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Monday, with the London 2012 Olympic Games on everyone's minds.

Brazil beat Mexico in straight sets to finish Pool B with a perfect 5-0 win-loss record while USA overcame Dominican Republic in five sets and finished ahead of Cuba by points-ratio in Pool A.

USA and Cuba finished the preliminary round with a 4-1 win-loss record and 18 points but the Americans concluded with a ratio of 1.227 against 1.119 of Cuba

After a rest day on Tuesday, the action resumes on Wednesday with the quarterfinals phase featuring Peru against Dominican Republic and Cuba versus Argentina.

Pool A

Puerto Rico 3, Colombia 0
Puerto Rico breezed past Colombia in straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-10) to finish the preliminary phase with a 2-3 record while the South Americans remained winless. Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Enright registered 19 points, including four aces, and Yarimar Rosa chipped in 11 tallies. Colombia’s Maria Martinez and Melissa Rangel each collected 10 points.

Canada 3, Cuba 2
Canada snapped the four-game winning streak of Cuba by scoring a surprising five-set (25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 22-25, 15-7) victory. The Canadians held a 19-6 advantage in blocks. Sarah Pavan led the winners with 23 points, including nine blocks, and her sister Rebecca Pavan added 16. Marie-Pier Murray finished 12 while Alicia Perrin and Shanice Marcelle notched 11 apiece. Cuba’s Yanelis Santos collected 18 points, followed by Wilma Salas and Ana Cleger with 17 and 16 respectively. Daymara Lescay had 13 in the losing cause.

United States 3, Dominican Republic 2
USA came back from two sets down to defeat Dominican Republic 3-2 (24-26, 24-26, 25-15, 25-22, 15-12) and clinch a berth in the semifinals as winners of Pool A. Dominican Republic took third place with a 3-2 record. Nancy Metcalf and Kristin Richards led USA with 28 and 21 points respectively while Lauren Gibbemeyer added 15, including five blocks. Bethania De la Cruz and Gina Mambru had 22 and 21 for Dominican Republic and Prisilla Rivera added 16. Lisvel Eve and Annerys Vargas finished with 13 and 11.

Pool B

Peru 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
Peru blanked Trinidad & Tobago (25-15, 25-20, 25-12) in just one hour and four minutes to conclude the preliminary round with a 4-1 win-loss record. The defeated side fell to 1-4. Peru’s Carla Rueda and Clarivett Yllescas recorded 13 and 10 points respectively while Mirtha Uribe added 8. Trinidadians Kelly-Anne Billingy and Rheeza Grant collected eight apiece. Peru held a 9-5 advantage in blocks with Yllescas leading with four.

Argentina 3, Costa Rica 0
Argentina clinched third place following a straight-set (25-14, 25-22, 25-8) over Costa Rica in 68 minutes. The South Americans concluded the first round with a 3-2 mark and the Central Americans with 2-3. Lucia Fresco and Georgina Pinedo each had 10 points for Argentina and Emilce Sosa contributed nine. Costa Rica’s Angela and Verania Willis had nine and eight tallies. The winners held an 8-1 advantage in service winners.

Brazil 3, Mexico 0
Brazil finished with a perfect 5-0 record in the preliminary round following the 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-21) victory over Mexico who concluded with 0-5 mark. Natasha Farinea and Priscila Dairot each had 9 points for Brazil while Gabriela Braga and Juliana De Souza contributed 7 apiece. Mexico’s Alejandra Isiordia had a match-high 15 points and Claudia Rios registered 8. Brazil led 8-6 in blocks and 7-1 in aces.

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