Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The Dominican Republic’s U-17 women’s national team begins its participation in the U-17 Pan American Volleyball Cup this Wednesday, facing Puerto Rico.
The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 PM, Dominican time, at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.
This tournament, which will run until June 1 in Honduras, brings together nine national teams from the continent and serves as a crucial space for the development of young promising female volleyball players.
In addition, it serves as preparation for the FIVB U-17 World Championship to be held this year in Chile.
The girls have matured a lot since last year’s NORCECA tournament. We have new members with great talent and we come with great enthusiasm to compete and seek a medal.
Priscila Rivera, Dominican coach
The Dominican coach, Priscila Rivera, stated that the team arrives with great motivation and with the objective of fighting for a medal, despite not having had an ideal preparation.
Rivera highlighted the incorporation of players such as Crisbel Payano, Joanna Fanil and Yolgeissy Ozuna, who will strengthen the Dominican team in this continental competition.
The composition of the groups is as follows:
- Group A: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and United States.
- Group B: Honduras, Canada, and Peru.
- Group C: Costa Rica, Mexico, and Venezuela.
The tournament format stipulates that the top two teams from each group will advance directly to the semifinals. The best third-place team from the groups will play the quarterfinals along with the second-place teams.
Puerto Rico arrives at the event as the defending champion, after obtaining the gold medal in the inaugural edition held in Guatemala in 2024. Peru won the silver and Venezuela the bronze.
The Dominican selection will return to the court on Thursday to face the United States, thus closing the preliminary phase.
