XALAPA, Mexico, September 7, 2024. – The Dominican Republic defeated Chile 3-0 (30-28, 25-21, 29-27) to reach their seventh gold medal match in the Women’s U23 Pan American Cup at the International Velodrome of Xalapa, Veracruz.
The Dominican Republic has won every edition of the Women’s U23 Pan American Cup since its inception in 2012. The Dominicans will compete for the gold medal on Sunday at 6:00pm against the winner between Mexico and Cuba.
The Dominican Republic earned the win after a remarkable eight-point comeback (15-23) in the third set.
The defending champions led the match in attacks (46-42) and blocks (7-6). Chile prevailed in serves (8-6). The Dominican Republic scored on 25 Chilean errors and handed out 20.
Opposite hitter Alondra Tapia led all scorers, contributing 25 points to the Dominican victory. Middle blocker Florangel Terrero added 14 points.
Once again, opposite hitter Petra Schwartzman led Chile with 19 points. Dominga Aylwin contributed 13 points, and Francisca Vásquez added 10.
The Dominican Republic won a dramatic first set (30-28) with difficult and lengthy rallies, coming from behind (20-23) to prevent Chile four set points, with Alondra Tapia leading the scoring, and for Chile, Dominga Aylwin. The Dominican Republic lost four set points to blocks from María Nielsen and Aylwin, along with two attack errors by Ambar Hernández and Jullie Arias before winning the second. Chile quickly jumped to a seven-point lead (10-3) in the third set, with Petra Schwartzman joining Nielsen in the attack. The Dominican Republic closed the match in three sets after a remarkable eight-point comeback (15-23), with Alondra Tapia scoring one point and Florangel Terrero scoring five consecutive ones. Chile didn’t give up, denying the Dominicans four match points.
Wagner Pacheco, Head Coach of the Dominican Republic: “I am proud of the players and the coaching staff; it was a dramatic comeback in the third set. The team is resilient because we have many weaknesses. We came to the competition with three goals: to reach the semifinals, to reach the final, and now we have one left—to win the gold medal. We will keep working together”.
Camila Donoso, captain of Chile: “We fought hard. We’ve always struggled a bit mentally to close out sets. We’ll give it our all tomorrow, regardless of the opponent, just like today. The Dominican Republic is the current champion, and we gave them all the battle we could; we are satisfied”.
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