TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 16, 2024.- Canada defeated Cuba 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-21) to take second place in pool A of the Girls’ U19 NORCECA U19 Continental Championship being played at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Canada finished pool-play with a 2-1 record and will compete in the quarterfinals as the second-place team in pool A. Cuba, with a 0-3 record, will play in the classification matches for positions 5 to 8.
Canada dominated every skill, attack (34-23), blocking (9-5), and serving (9-7). Canada committed 18 errors, while Cuba committed a total of 23.
Chloe Bradley of Canada scored 13 points (8 attacks, 4 blocks, 1 ace) as the top scorer of the match. Sol Henson contributed 10 points, all from attacks, in Canada’s victory.
Yesica Brito and Salet Castillo were the top scorers for Cuba with 11 points each.
Canada and Cuba had a close first set, but the North American team always maintained the lead, taking advantage of the 24 errors conceded by Cuba. Canada dominated set two entirely, closing it with a huge margin of 25-12. Cuba made a comeback in the third set with Yesica Brito and Salet Castillo leading the offense, managing to tie at 18 points, but Maya Bukovac, Sol Henson, and Chloe Bradley pressured and stopped Cuba’s momentum.
Chloe Bradley, top scorer for Canada: “The second set was really strong, we had the energy going through it and we kept up the whole set, we had no drops. We had a few dips in the first and third sets, I believe our energy went down and maybe we were a bit scared”.
Yesica Brito, captain of Cuba: “We always kept our spirits high, trying to fight. Despite the ups and downs, it was a very good game. I don’t know what happened in the second set, I can’t explain it”.
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