Puerto Rico Beats Dominican Republic in Thrilling U-17 Volleyball Match
Tegucigalpa, Honduras – In an encounter full of emotions that lasted almost two hours, the Puerto Rico national team, the current defending champion, managed to defeat the Dominican Republic with a score of 3-2 (16-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20 and 15-8) on the second day of the U-17 Women’s Pan American Cup. The vibrant match took place in the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa.
The match, corresponding to Group A of the preliminary phase, lasted one hour and 58 minutes, showing two teams that fought every point with intensity. Despite the defeat, the Dominicans showed a solid performance in both attack and defense, surpassing the Puerto Ricans in attacks with a score of 60-51.
However, Puerto Rico made the difference thanks to its effectiveness from the service line (11-5) and in blocking (9-8), in addition to better capitalizing on their opponent’s errors.
Carinialys Román led Puerto Rico’s offense with 16 points, followed by Anna Aquino with 15 and Eliany Quiñónez with 14.
From the Dominican Republic, Shanty Pérez stood out with 26 points, while Leandry Almonte contributed 24 units and Paola De Jesús added 10.
The match began with Dominican dominance, winning the first set 25-16, thanks to the powerful spikes of Almonte, Pérez and De Jesús, and an organized defense that neutralized the defending champions.
Puerto Rico reacted in the second set, adjusting its offensive strategy and strengthening its block. After a level start, the Puerto Rican team took advantage of defensive errors by the Dominicans to take a 18-15 lead and finally tie the match with a 25-21 victory.
The third partial was one of the most exciting. Puerto Rico went ahead 17-14, but the Dominican Republic responded with a strong reaction led by Pérez, Almonte and De Jesús, tying at 20. In a dramatic finish, the Dominicans managed to win 28-26, going up 2-1 on the scoreboard.
In the fourth set, the Puerto Ricans reacted again, driven by the attack of Aquino and Quiñónez, and an effective block that hindered the Dominican offensive game. Puerto Rico won 25-20, forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the final set, Puerto Rico came out aggressively, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to defensive errors by the Caribbean team. Dominican Republic reacted, tying the score 7-7 with a powerful spike by Shanty Pérez, but the Puerto Ricans responded with a streak that widened the difference to 11-7, tilting the match in their favor.
With this result, the Dominican Republic will seek its first victory of the tournament when it faces the United States.
