The Dominican Republic retained its crown of champion in the NORCECA 2021 Continental Tournament by winning five hard-fought sets in Puerto Rico (25-22, 15-25, 25-17, 21-25 and 15-12) to finish undefeated fair volleyball. It is their third gold medal coming in a NORCECA. They also qualified for the 2022 World Cup
The last time Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic faced each other was on January 13, 2020 in the Pre-Olympic at the Palacio de los Deportes, where the Quisqueyanas won the match.
The attack of the winners was led by Gaila González with 19 points, followed by Bethania de la Cruz with 15 and Priscilla Rivera 13.
For Puerto Rico, Pilar Victoria left with 19, Brittanny Abercrombie with 15 and Diana Reis also scored 15 goals.
The silver medal went to Puerto Rico, while the bronze went to Canada and defeated the United States.
The Puerto Ricans won the fourth quarter and forced a fifth and decisive set, where the veterans of Bethania de la Cruz and Priscilla de la Cruz played a key role.
A Geraldinde González block gave the Dominicans a 9-8 advantage and Priscilla Rivera ended it with a “bombazo”.
In the first half, the Boricuas started like a storm and took the lead on the scoreboard 10-4.
However, Gaila Gonzalez led an offensive rebellion with strong cross shots and managed to hunt down his opponents 12-12.
A shot by Gaila González gave the Dominicans a 14-13 lead and from there, the Queens of the Caribbean never lost it. Priscilla Rivera, Jineirys Martínez also made their offensive contributions with powerful “chiquita” shots from the center and Bethania de la Cruz.
Enright pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times.
In the second games, Puerto Rico took a 7-5 advantage taking advantage of reception errors by the Dominicans.
Priscilla Rivera with strong shots managed to bring Domincana closer to the board 11-10 and then with another shot tied the action at 11 per side.
The Boricuas reaffirmed the game with Enright, Abercrombie, Diana Reyes and managed to take the games to put the game 1-1.
In the third, again, Gaila González was combined with central, Jineirys Martínez, and veterans Priscilla Rivera and Bethania de la Cruz with strong shots to put Dominicana 2-1.
The clash was even 12-10 in favor of Dominican and from there, the Creoles opened more the board with strong shots Gaila González and Priscilla Rivera. Jineirys Martínez also contributed to the center.
The Boricuas managed to make adjustments in their offense and defense and extended the lead to 18-14, while the Dominicans lost the concentration of the game and the focus of their game.
It is the seventh time that the Dominican Republic has competed in the NORCECA Women’s Volleyball title, winning it three times, with the 2021 version.
In the last edition in 2019, the Queens of the Caribbean defeated the United States and in 2009, they had Puerto Rico with whom they clashed last night.
The Puerto Rican sextet has never won a gold medal, they have won two silver and three bronze.
The teams were divided into two groups, group A consists of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and group B was made up of the current champions of NORCECA Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the hosts Mexico.
The most winning countries
The United States, the world number one team, has won a total of 8 gold, 12 silver and 3 bronze medals, while the current Dominican Republic champions have 3 gold, 3 silver and 5 medals. bronze, the two teams in the best position in the ranking registered in the event.
Cuba, the biggest winner of the event with 13 titles to its credit, 7 silvers and 2 bronze medals, was unable to attend.
The hosts Mexico, have a gold and 3 bronze medals, Canada who finished third in the last edition, has 2 silvers and 9 bronze medals; Puerto Rico has won one silver and 3 bronze.