PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, October 23, 2026. – Six women’s pairs representing the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the United States, and Canada finished undefeated on Friday’s opening day of the eighth stop of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour in Punta Cana.
The United States, Canada, and Cuba each recorded two victories, while the Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico earned one win apiece. The American and Canadian duos stood out with convincing straight-set performances, while Cuba battled through a three-set encounter against Mexico.
In Pool D, the United States’ Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep delivered two dominant victories, defeating the Dominican Republic’s Yerelin Reyes and Zoe Paniagua 2-0 (21-4, 21-2) and the Cayman Islands’ Julissa Kelly and Elise Swaby 2-0 (21-3, 21-4).
Canada’s Darby Dunn and Alison McKay also remained undefeated in Pool D, overcoming Kelly and Swaby 2-0 (21-6, 21-4) before defeating Reyes and Paniagua 2-0 (21-16, 21-12).
In Pool C, Cuba’s Kailin Garrido and Maykelin Drik secured two victories, first defeating Nicaragua’s Socorro López and Lolette Rodríguez 2-0 (21-10, 21-14), before rallying past Mexico’s Susana Torres and Abril Flores 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-9).
In Pool B, Puerto Rico’s Keishlyann Sánchez and Allanis Navas opened their campaign with a convincing 2-0 (21-14, 21-7) victory over El Salvador’s Karla Tovar and Dana Funes, finishing the day undefeated.
Meanwhile, in Pool A, the Dominican Republic’s Julibeth Payano and Crismil Paniagua defeated Honduras’ Shanna Rivera and Daphnie Smith 2-0 (21-12, 21-14). The U.S. Virgin Islands’ T’ara Austin and Taylor Buckner also prevailed over the Honduran pair in straight sets, 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). Both undefeated teams played only one match on Friday.
The competition continues Saturday at 9:00 a.m. local time with the conclusion of pool play, followed by qualification matches and the quarterfinals.
Other results:
(ESA) Tovar/Funes def. (GUA) Alvarado/Mendoza 2-1 (21-23, 23-21, 15-11); (MEX) Torres/Flores def. (CAN2) Almhjell/Malbrecht 2-0 (24-22, 21-14); (NCA) López/Rodríguez def. (CAN2) Almhjell/Malbrecht 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 20-18).