SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 26, 2026 – Cuba returned to the podium of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship for the first time since 2011, defeating host Dominican Republic 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-18) to claim the bronze medal on Wednesday at the “Prof. Ricardo Gioriver Arias” Volleyball Palace.
The bronze is Cuba’s 23rd medal in the history of the event and its third bronze, adding to 13 gold and seven silver medals. Cuba finished the competition with a 4-2 record, while the Dominican Republic closed with a 3-2 record.
Cuba held the advantage in attacks (46-34), blocks (11-7) and aces (1-0). Both teams committed 18 unforced errors.
Yalain Regla De La Peña led Cuba with 17 points, all on kills, while Laura Suárez contributed 13 points on eight attacks, four blocks and one ace.
For the Dominican Republic, Yonkaira Peña scored 15 points and Gaila González added eight.
The opening set was the most closely contested of the match. The Dominican Republic held a 23-21 advantage late in the set, but Cuba responded to tie the score at 23. The hosts regained the lead at 24-23 before Cuba once again drew even and eventually closed the set 26-24.
After the tight opening set, Cuba took greater control of the match. The second set was tied at 14 before the Cubans began to pull away, building a 21-15 advantage and eventually taking the set 25-17.
Cuba maintained its momentum in the third. After the teams were tied at 9-9, the Cubans gradually created separation, moving ahead 15-10 and later 21-14 before completing the straight-set victory 25-18.
Luizomar De Moura, coach of Cuba: “First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Dominican Republic, which hosted us for a training period here in Santo Domingo that was very important for us. As you can see, the team is growing technically, but even more importantly, strategically. The players now see the game with much greater clarity, and that is very important for a team.”
Marcos Kwiek, coach of the Dominican Republic: “A total disaster. We played very, very poorly. We saw Brayelin’s frustration, as well as that of some other players, but that is no excuse. The players who came in as replacements had to do the job and they didn’t. We all lost.”
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