HERMOSILLO, Mexico, August 25, 2022.- Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-12) to advance to quarterfinals of the 19th Women’s Pan American Cup at the Sonora Arena in Hermosillo.
Puerto Rico finished the preliminary round with a 2-2 win-loss record for third place in pool A, waiting for their opponent in the next round. Costa Rica will play classification matches for positions 7 to 10.
Puerto Rico outnumbered Costa Rica with a huge 41-17 advantage in attacks, 9-5 in blocks and 6-2 in aces, allowing 14 points from errors against 19.
Outside hitter and team captain Pilar Victoria led Puerto Rico with 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and one ace. Setter Wilmarie Rivera and opposite hitter Genesis Collazo tallied 10 and 9 points respectively.
Opposite hitter Angelica Rodriguez topped Costa Rica with 11 points from 8 kills, two blocks and one ace.
Wilmarie Rivera, setter of Puerto Rico: “We are glad to move into the next round, I think we’ve improved from the beginning of the tournament and yesterdays and today’s victories were crucial to advance, which is good for the team and continue improving. Our expectations in the competition are continuing to work hard and advance the most because we are a young group. Today I liked our team’s unity, energy, and communication. No matter who we face tomorrow, first we will study our game and focus on our side of the court, continue with effort, energy, and communication, all the positive we’ve been doing”.
Angélica Rodríguez, top scorer of Costa Rica: “We’ve played against strong opponents, but we haven’t stayed behind, we’ve been growing as a team. We’ve improved in technique and following our coaches’ instructions. For what’s left of the tournament we hope to play with more intelligence and with confidence”.
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