MANAGUA, Nicaragua, September 2, 2026.- The Dominican Republic remained undefeated at the NORCECA U23 Women’s Pan American Cup after defeating Mexico 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 29-27) on the second day of competition.
It was the Dominican Republic’s second victory after defeating Costa Rica in its opening match, while Mexico moved to a 1-1 record after beating Nicaragua on the first day.
After taking the first set 25-17, the Dominican Republic had to overcome a large deficit in the second. Mexico jumped out to an 8-0 lead and went ahead 10-3, but the Dominicans battled back to tie the score at 14 and took control in the second half of the set to win 25-21. Katielle Alonzo contributed eight points and Alondra Tapia seven in the set.
The Dominican Republic appeared on its way to quickly closing out the match after taking leads of 6-1 and 10-3 in the third set, but Mexico responded with attacks from different areas of the court and managed to even the contest. The Mexicans applied pressure down the stretch and tied the score seven times, extending the set beyond 25 points. The Dominican Republic finally closed it out 29-27 with an ace by Alanae Margaritha.
The Dominican team held the advantage in attacks 44-36 and blocks 6-4, while Mexico led 6-5 in serves. Mexico committed 24 unforced errors compared to 19 by the Dominican Republic.
Alondra Tapia led the winners with 22 points and Katielle Alonzo added 17. For Mexico, Arleth Márquez, María Cruz and Aime Topete scored nine points each.
The Dominican Republic will face the United States on Thursday at 3:00 p.m., while Mexico will have a rest day.
Wagner Pacheco, head coach of the Dominican Republic: “As I always say, we are taking it one match at a time. We prepare for each match individually, and today we earned an important victory against a good Mexican team. I think at times there was some nervousness and we lacked calm and concentration, but those are things we need to improve because we also have difficult matches coming up, like tomorrow against the United States.”
Alondra Tapia, captain of the Dominican Republic: “I feel very satisfied to be able to contribute to the team. It’s a responsibility that I carry on my shoulders right now. Obviously, I’m one of the older players, so I have to try to give my best and continue doing the best I can.”
Luis León López, head coach of Mexico: “The truth is that it wasn’t a positive match for us at all. The first set was very poor; we never found our rhythm. We started the second set very well, up 8-0, but then the errors started coming. For every good play by the Dominican Republic, we made two or three errors, and they came back. In the third set, we were able to adjust and went point for point, but in the end, in such a close set, one error cost us the set and the match. Now we have to recover. It’s only our second match of the competition, we have three left, and we have to keep going.”
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