ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, July 10, 2025.– Argentina opened with a victory in women’s volleyball at the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025, defeating Cuba in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) in the first match held at the Paraguayan Olympic Committee (COP) Arena.
Both teams are part of Pool A of the tournament, where their next matches will be Argentina against hosts Paraguay and Cuba against Costa Rica.I
In the first and second sets, Cuba started strong, but Argentina came from behind in both. In the opener, Argentina tied at 15 points with a block from Josefina Ossvald and, taking advantage of consecutive opponent errors, took the lead. An attack by Keila Llanos closed the first set in favor of the South Americans.
In the second set, the score was even until 12-12, when Argentina moved ahead and never trailed again.
The third set was the most contested. Cuba led 23-18, thanks to the work at the net by Yensy Kindelán and Argentina’s errors. However, Argentina rallied to tie at 23-23, erasing a five-point deficit. A block by María Victoria Matich brought match point (24-23), and a Cuban net error sealed the win.
The statistics reflected Argentina’s dominance in attack (35-29) and blocking (11-4), while Cuba scored one more point from service (5-4) but committed one more error (25-24).
Middle blocker María Victoria Matich led Argentina with 18 points (12 attacks, 6 blocks) and outside hitter Keila Llanos added 10 points (9 attacks, 1 ace). For Cuba, middle blocker Lianet García was the top scorer with 9 points, all on attacks.
Argentina’s captain Josefina Ossvald said, “It was an exciting finish. We came from behind, but luckily, we’re a team that always pushes forward, and we’re happy about our first win. We’re a new group and winning a match while playing well is a huge source of pride and a great thrill”.
Coach Eduardo Allona highlighted the key to the victory: “In the last set, at times we were playing so-so, and at other times very well. Keila’s serve, the best we have, worked in our favor by making Cuba’s setting more difficult, allowing our middle blocker to get the block”.
Cuba’s coach Norka Latamblet noted, “I think that due to the long trips to get here, we didn’t have time to train and get the team mentally ready. We need to finish better; they play well and have good preparation. The match was good, we always started ahead, and we hope that in the next games we can close them out.”
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