XALAPA, Mexico, September 4, 2024. – With an overwhelming 12-0 advantage in serves, Peru dominated Suriname 3-0 (25-5, 25-10, 25-13) in the Women’s U23 Pan American Cup that’s being played at the Xalapa International Velodrome in Veracruz.
Peru remains undefeated (2-0) in Pool B and will finish the preliminary round on Thursday against Mexico. Suriname, still winless (0-2), will close the pool-play against Nicaragua. The top team in the pool advances to Saturday’s semifinals.
In addition to their serving advantage, Peru dominated in attacks 33-11 and blocks 3-1, limiting their errors to 14 compared to 29 from Suriname.
Peru used all its players, with Carolina Oblea scoring a match-high of 5 service aces, 4 of them in the first set, totaling 7 points overall. The top scorer was opposite Jeissy Chia with 13 points (10 attacks, 3 aces). Xina Cortez added 7 points.
Sharon Balkaran led Suriname with 7 points.
Evelyn Gallegos, middle blocker of Peru: “In yesterday’s match, we learned that we need more communication on the court. Today’s match allowed our coach to make many changes and give everyone a chance to play and get more confidence, which I think was evident. What worked in our favor was our serves, especially in the first set. Tomorrow, we hope to see a full house when we face Mexico. We’re going to try to limit our errors but also repeat the successes we’ve had. We’re going to play with passion to put on a show for all of Veracruz”.
Shemandy Clydesdale, setter of Suriname: “We definitely could have done better. Peru’s serves were challenging for us. Our team lacks spirit, we don’t celebrate enough to motivate us. At some point the receiving was good and the passing, but we couldn’t score. I tried to hype my team, and we need to work on that”.
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