XALAPA, Mexico, September 7, 2024. – Peru defeated Suriname 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-15) to compete for fifth place against Costa Rica in the Women’s U23 Pan American Cup in Xalapa, Veracruz.
On Sunday, Peru and Costa Rica will play for positions 5-6; before, Suriname and Nicaragua will compete for positions 7-8.
Peru also defeated Suriname in the group stage.
Peru’s dominance in attacks (43-23) secured their victory; they led in blocks by one point (4-3) and committed fewer errors (18-23). Both teams scored 5 points on aces.
The leading scorers for Peru were outside hitters Katherine Pauro and Xina Cortéz with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Sharon Balkaran of Suriname led all scorers with 16 points.
Peru struggled to take the first set, with Suriname recovering from a five-point deficit (7-12) to tie at 13 points and then going ahead 15-13 with effective serving from Sharon Balkaran. With Xina Cortéz and Katherine Pauro, Peru regained the lead, closing the set 25-20. Peru never trailed in the second set, with Saskya Silvano joining the offense at the net. In the third set, despite long rallies, the Peruvians earned a comfortable lead of 21-11, mostly with attacks from Dayanne Cure and Carolina Oblea.
Fabiana Tavara, Peru’s captain: “Several players came in overconfident, and that threw us off our game. We started unfocused, and the first set was close. Talking among ourselves helped because we were at risk of losing. We motivated ourselves and improved, playing more relaxed and enjoying ourselves; sometimes we need that because when we play stressed, things don’t go well”.
Sharon Balkaran, captain of Suriname: “We had a significant improvement, it’s not what I wanted but we’re getting there step by step. I believe we can win a game in this tournament, that’s my goal. I want to take the seventh spot and we need to fight for it. I am proud of my team because we are fighting and improving”.
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