TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, May 26, 2026.– The United States opened the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup with a solid 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-20, 28-26) over Puerto Rico on Tuesday at the Jorge Galeano Gymnasium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
In the opening match of the tournament, USA responded effectively to Puerto Rico’s pressure, combining strong serving, efficient blocking, and offensive consistency to secure the win in Pool A action.
Outside hitter Mary-Christine Crutcher set the tone early in the first set with effective serves as well as USA’s blocking to take command of the match.
Puerto Rico showed improvement in the second set, keeping the score close through several ties and capitalizing on U.S. errors. However, the Americans pulled away after an 18-all tie behind key points and blocks from Shaun Waller and Jael Smith in the middle. Puerto Rico’s outside hitters Anna Sophia Aquino and Carinialys Kuilan led a determined effort to keep their team close.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the match, with Puerto Rico settling into a stronger rhythm and pushing the United States into extra points before the Americans closed out the match 28-26.
The United States held the advantage in attacking points (38-20), blocks (9-4), and service aces (12-7).
U.S. team captain Hope Hengler expressed satisfaction after opening the tournament with a victory. “We have a really good team bond, and that helped us overcome Puerto Rico’s pressure. They played better, and we were just trying to fight back,” said Hengler.
Mary-Christine Crutcher led the United States with 9 points, while Puerto Rico’s Carinialys Kuilan also finished with 9 points as her team’s leading scorer.
Puerto Rico captain Daniela Echeandia remained positive despite the loss. “It was our first match, and a pretty good one. Everyone did a great job, and we were more settled in the third set. It’s a matter of time to get into a better rhythm of play,” Echeandia said.
On Wednesday, USA will have a rest day next, while Puerto Rico will face the Dominican Republic in its second match of the tournament.
The top two best-ranked first-place teams from the preliminary round advance directly to the semifinals. The third-ranked pool winner and the three second-place teams from each group will play in the quarterfinals.
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