ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, August 14, 2025.- Cuba swept Paraguay 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-19) in the women’s volleyball tournament of the II Junior Pan American Games Asunción 2025, held at the COP Arena, and will play for fifth place against Costa Rica.
The match started evenly, with Paraguay tying 14-14 thanks to a spike from outside hitter Ruth Peralta. However, Cuba stepped up and comfortably closed the first set 25-18.
In the second set, the Caribbean team dominated from start to finish, doubling their opponent’s attack points (12-6) and adding 4 aces, two of them by Lianet García.
The third set was more contested. Paraguay tied the score at 11 points and then took the lead 14-12, capitalizing on Cuban reception errors. The hosts denied two match points (24-17) before a kill by Claudia Tarín sealed Cuba’s victory at 25-19.
Statistically, Cuba outperformed Paraguay 37-30 in attacks, 6-3 in blocks, and 9-6 in serves, also scoring 23 points from opponent errors while committing 19 of their own.
Opposite hitter Yalain De La Peña led Cuba with 15 points (10 attacks, 2 blocks, and 3 aces), followed by captain Whitney James with 14 (13 attacks, 1 block, and 1 ace). For Paraguay, Ruth Peralta was the top scorer with 12 points.
Cuban captain Whitney James said: “We knew Paraguay wanted to win in front of their home crowd, just as we wanted to secure the best possible position in the tournament. We kept our composure, overcame our mistakes, and tomorrow we will go for fifth place, the highest we can aim for”.
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