SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, August 21, 2026.- The Dominican Republic opened its participation in the 2026 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship with a straight-set 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-10) victory over Costa Rica in the match that closed the first day of competition.
In their next Pool B matches, host Dominican Republic (1-0) will face Cuba (1-0), while Costa Rica (0-1) will take on Puerto Rico (0-1).
The Dominican Republic controlled the match with advantages in kills (44-12), blocks (6-2) and aces (14-0). Costa Rica committed fewer errors, 11 to the Dominican Republic’s 18.
Flormarie Heredia led the Dominican Republic with 18 points, all on attacks, followed by Alondra Tapia with 17 points on 11 attacks, two blocks and four aces. Massiel Matos added 14 points, including 10 attacks and four aces.
For Costa Rica, María Del Sol Venegas and Lakisha Thompson led the scoring with five and four points, respectively.
Marcos Kwiek, Dominican Republic coach: “I think it was important to give all the players time on the court so they could gain rhythm. We’re just starting the tournament, and we had already played against Costa Rica, so I gave everyone playing time to continue training and working.”
Ciro Zoratti, Costa Rica coach: “I am very satisfied. Of course, against the Queens of the Caribbean, we can’t look at the scoreboard; what matters is trying to have a good performance. We are a very young team, and for some of the girls, this is their first international experience. I asked them to do certain things, and they tried to do them. That was the most important part: they maintained a good attitude, so I am very satisfied with that.”
English 
Spanish