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**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:12 AM

Puerto Rico completed preparation in Japan

The Puerto Rican Women’s National Team had its last warm-match before the start on May 17 of the Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament.

During their stay in Tsukuba, the Puerto Ricans played three friendly matches against Tsukuba United Team, in order for coach Juan Carlos Nunez to evaluate the performance of several players plus analyze possible options for the tournament.

“I could watch the middle-blockers, although not totally,” commented Nunez in reference to the rest given to Jetzabel Del Valle and Sheila Ocasio who are nursering injuries of knee and shoulder respectively.

The Puerto Ricans won four of the five sets played in the final contest. Puerto Rico won the first four by score of 27-25, 25-23, 25-21, 30-28 while the host team took the fifth 15-13. Karina Ocasio (27), Aury Cruz (16) and Sarai Álvarez (14) were the top Puerto Rico scorers.

In the three matches, the teams played 15 sets with Puerto Rican winning eight.

Eight teams are taking part in the World Olympic Qualification Tournament. The best three teams plus the best Asian team will qualify to the Olympic Games in Bejing. The participants are: South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Serbia, Poland, Kazakhstan, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:12 AM

The Dominican Republic Women’s Team arrived in Tokyo with great desire of triumph and three of its players fresh after receiving Most Valuable Player recognition following successful seasons in different foreign leagues.

“We are coming here with our spirit in high level to battle for the chance to be in the Olympics again,” said coach Beato Miguel Cruz. “Our stellar players joined the squad and we are ready for the competition.”

Three players of the Dominican Republic had won the MVP Award while participating in foreign leagues this spring: Bethania De la Cruz, Milagros Cabral and Priscilla Rivera.

DelaCruz won the honour with the Toray Team of the Japanese League, Cabral was MVP in the Puerto Rican League with Corozal Pinkin and Rivera received the recognition during the final series of the Spaniard Super League won by her team Grupo Murcia 2002.

“We have a good team, the starting players are all here and now we can count on a solid group coming from the bench,” he added. “Our physical condition is excellent and I am confident of a good result here.”

Three Dominican players –DelaCruz, Cindy Rondon and Sidarka Nunez- played in Japan, Cabral and Cosiri Rodriguez in Puerto Rico, Annerys Vargas in Turkey and Nurys Arias in Italy.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:13 AM

The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 3 in the world, defeated Germany 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) on Tuesday and, in doing so, won the Four Nations Tournament in Leipzig, Germany.

Although the United States and Germany, ranked 19th in the world, both finished the tournament with records of 2-1, the U.S. Men lost only four sets along the way while Germany lost five.

In Tuesday’s other match, 27th-ranked Czech Republic defeated 2008 Olympic host China, 27-25, 26-28, 25-21, 25-22. China, ranked 21st in the world, still finished third with a 1-2 record since it lost six sets while Czech Republic lost seven.

One day earlier, the Americans fell to China 0-3 (19-25, 22-25, 21-25) while Germany remained undefeated after beating Czech Republic, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22).

In the opening day of the series, the USA Team defeated the Czech Republic (25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 26-24). Germany defeated China 3-1 (33-31, 26-28, 25-22, 25-19) in Sunday’s other match.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:14 AM

Dominican Republic swept Thailand 3-0 in the opening match of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday. The world No. 14 beat the 18th-ranked Asians 26-24, 25-22, 26-24 but had to save set points in the first and third sets.

Meanwhile, Korea held off Puerto Rico 3-1 in the second match. The 11th-ranked Asians won 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21 against No. 19 Puerto Rico, the lowest ranked of the eight teams taking part.

The Dominican Republic packed more power, in contrast to the swift-moving Thais. The Dominicans out blocked their opponents 12-5.

Sidarka Nunez, Milagros Cabral and Bethania de la Cruz had 16, 15 and 14 points respectively for Dominican Republic, and Annerys Vargas added 10.

Puerto Ricans Aury Cruz and Karina Ocasio had 21 and 19 respectively and Sarai Alvarez and Eva Cruz added 13 and 10.

In the first frame, the Dominicans saved one set point at 24-23 before a De La Cruz block closed out the opening frame 26-24. In the second, De La Cruz ended the second set 25-22 for a 2-0 lead when two Thai blockers could not deny her on the left.

The Dominicans recovered from 23-22 in the third set. The athletic Cabral brought the Dominicans level 23-23, only for Amporn to spike smoothly on the right for set point Thailand, 24-23. A De La Cruz rocket saved it, 24-24, and a Rondon block gave the Dominicans match point. A Vargas ace did the rest, 26-24.

“I was very happy to win today's game and I think it is very important and significant to win the first game,” sajd Beato Miguel Cruz, the Dominican coach. “The Asian teams like Thailand are a very difficult opponent for us because of their speed but our players could play quite well, especially on defence. Our players could understand the instructions clearly.”

“To win this game against Thailand was one of our goals,” said De la Cruz. “We were given many instructions by the coach so we were able to play well.”

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:14 AM

Serbia recovered from one set down to beat Dominican Republic 3-1 in the first match of the second day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday.

After losing the first set 25-23, the world No. 7 took the next three 27-25, 25-21, 25-20 to improve their win-loss record to 2-0.

Jelena Nikolic and Jovana Brakocevic led Serbia with 18 points apiece. Bethania de la Cruz topped Dominican Republic with 18 tallies and Sidaka Nunez added 15. Cindy Rondon had 13 points, and Milagros Cabral and Annerys Vargas each chipped in 10 with Vargas totalling eight blocks.

The Dominicans, ranked 14th in the world, dropped to 1-1 but could take much satisfaction from their fighting display against the 2006 World Championship bronze medal winners. They even missed one set point in the second set that would have given them a 2-0 lead.

In the last match of Sunday, Japan were given a real fright by lowly Puerto Rico before winning 3-1. Japan won the first two sets 25-20, 25-18 but lost the third 25-17. In the fourth set, Japan won it on their second match point, 26-24, to improve their win-loss record to 2-0. Puerto Rico, whose world ranking of 19th is the lowest of the eight teams here, slipped to 0-2.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:15 AM

Poland fought back from one set down to beat Dominican Republic 3-1 in the third match of the third day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Tuesday.

After losing the first set 25-23, Poland swept the next three 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 to improve their win-loss record to 2-1. The Dominicans dropped to 1-2 after three of the seven games in this eight-team tournament.

Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale led Poland with 20 points. Annerys Vargas was the best Dominican with 13 points and Bethania de la Cruz, Cindy Rondon and Sidarka Nunez each had 12.

Dominican Coach Beato Miguel Cruz: “We knew it was going to be a very tough game because Poland is a very strong team in Europe. Still I feel that our team is gaining better teamwork, so from that point I am very satisfied as a coach.”

Head Coach Marco Bonitta: Dominican Republic played very well. They changed a few players and their condition became better. For us it was a difficult match. We were not in the best condition. We knew that the Dominican team would play their best in spike, attack, block and jump-serve. Now we can look ahead to the next game.

In the first match on Tuesday, Thailand collected their first win of the tournament, sweeping Puerto Rico 3-0.

Having lost to the Dominican Republic and Korea on the first two days, the Thais were too quick and clever for Puerto Rico, winning 25-20, 25-20, 25-20 to improve their win-loss record to 1-2. Puerto Rico, the lowest ranked of the eight teams here at 19th in the world, slipped to 0-3.

Wilavan Apinyapong led Thailand with 16 points and Karina Ocasio topped Puerto Rico with 22 tallies.

Puerto Rican Coach Juan Carlos Nunez: “It was a very difficult game because our team was not concentrating well. Even though we knew the Thai reception was very good, we could not attack efficiently. Also, we did not do well with our blocks, because always the Thai players made our blocks go out.”

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:16 AM

Puerto Rico collected their first win of the week, beating Kazakhstan 3-2 in the second match of the fourth day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The NORCECA team edged the Asian representatives 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 on their first match point to improve their win-loss record to 1-3. Kazakhstan dropped to 0-4 with three matches to play.

Karina Ocasio and Aury Cruz carried the load of the Puerto Ricans offence with 31 and 29 points respectively.

Puerto Rican Coach Juan Carlos Nunez: “Today we knew we had to win the game, so we analysed the data from our game in 2006 and prepared for today. All the Asian teams are very strong and are a threat to us, so we worked on the offence.”

In another match on Wednesday, Japan kept its unbeaten record at 4-0 with a 3-1 victory over Dominican Republic (1-3). The score was 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-21.

Megumi Kurihara, Miyuki Takahashi and Saori Kimura had 16, 15 and 14 points for Japan. Milagros Cabral and Bethania de la Cruz led Dominican Republic with 20 and 18 points. Annerys Vargas and Cindy Rondon each had 10.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:17 AM

Dominican Republic recorded their second victory of the competition, sweeping Kazakhstan 3-0 in the first match of the fifth day of the women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Friday.

In a surprisingly one-sided contest, the Dominicans romped to a 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 success to improve their win-loss record to 2-3. Kazakhstan dropped to 0-5 with two games remaining.

Bethania de la Cruz topped Dominican Republic with 15 points, Cindy Rondon added 13, including five blocks, and Sidarka Nunez had 12.

Head Coach Beato Miguel Cruz: “This win was very meaningful and important because we can still keep our hopes alive of qualifying for the Olympics. We played at a high level, and could execute our tactics against Kazakhstan's attacks. We did not have much time to practise for this tournament as a team because three of our players play in the Japanese league, but we feel we are getting better day by day. From now on we will try to reach our best.”

In another match, Serbia made history by qualifying for the Olympics for the first time thanks to a 3-0 victory over Puerto Rico.

Serbia, who won the bronze medal at the 2006 World Championship in Japan, came home 25-12, 25-18, 25-18 to improve their win-loss record to a perfect 5-0. Puerto Rico dropped to 1-4 with two matches remaining.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:18 AM

Cuba caused the first big surprise of the tournament by defeating the European Champion from Spain with 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17) in the top match of the day. Middle blocker and captain Simon and setter Jurquin played an outstanding match.

The Spanish team performed well, however had to struggle with the hard attacks of the Cuban spikers and didn’t score the big points. Now the Cuban team has any chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Tomorrow’s match Cuba against Germany might already be the trend-setting match of the tournament.

Oreol Camejo and Yadier Sanchez each had 16 points for Cuba, while the foursome of Yoandy Leal, Rolando Jurquin, Robertlandy Simon and Odelvis Dominico scored 12 apiece.

The German national team started the Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament in Düsseldorf in front of the excited spectators with the hoped for and expected victory against the young team from Chinese Taipei with a 3-0 (25-28, 25-25. 25-17) victory.

**truebluefan** · 05-24-2008, 05:18 AM

Teams from Puerto Rico, USA and Mexico enjoyed a good first day at the Coors Light Carolina Beach Volleyball Tournament presented by Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the sixth stop of the 2008 NORCECA Circuit.

In the Men’s division, Puerto Ricans Orlando Irrizarry-Roberto Rodriguez finished with 2-0 mark in Pool A, while veteran countrymen Ramon Hernandez-Raul Papaleo dominated Pool C with 3-0 record. Americans Ivan Mercer-Stephen VanZwieten were unbeaten in three outings in Pool B.

In the Women’s division, Mexicans Marha Revueltas-Diana Estrada have a 3-0 record in Pool A the same result of Americans Erin Byrd-Stephanie Chapek in Pool C. Puerto Ricans Sheila Lopez-Maritere Ramos ended first in Pool A with 2-0 mark.

The action continues on Saturday with the double elimination bracket and the definition of positions 9-to-11.

Men’s Results

PUR 2 d. CRC (21-12, 21-15), USA d.PUR 4 (21-17, 21-16), PUR 3 d. GUA (21-11, 21-14), DOM d. SKN (21-9, 21-11), PUR 1 d. JAM (23-21, 21-16), PUR 3 d. CRC (21-14, 21-7), USA d. SKN (21-16, 21-13), PUR 4 d. DOM (21-6, 21-13), PUR 2 d. GUA (21-17, 21-16), JAM d. CAN (21-17, 21-16), USA d. DOM (21-8, 21-7), GUA d. CRC (21-17, 21-15), PUR 4 d. SKN (21-9, 21-11), PUR 3 d.PUR 2 (21-13, 21-14), PUR 1 d. CAN (22-20, 17-20, 15-11).

Men’s Positions After Pool Play

Pool A: PUR 1 (2-0), JAM (1-1), CAN (0-2). Pool B: USA (3-0), PUR 4 (2-1), DOM (1-2), SKN (0-3). Pool C: PUR 3 (3-0), PUR 2 (2-1), GUA (1-2), CRC (0-3).

Women’s Results

CRC d. CAN 2 (21-18, 13-21, 15-12), MEX 1 d. PUR 4 (21-13, 21-18), USA d. PUR 3 (21-13, 21-13), GUA d. PUR 2 (21-19, 24-22), PUR 1 d. MEX 2 (21-17, 21-12), PUR 3 d. CRC (21-15, 21-14), USA d. CAN 2 (21-13, 21-7), PUR 4 d. GUA (21-15, 21-15), MEX 2 d. CAN 1 (21-15, 21-13), USA d. CRC (21-8, 21-11), MEX 1 d. GUA 21-13, 21-8, PUR 4 d. PUR 2 (21-13, 21-16), CAN 2 d.PUR 3 (21-18, 14-21, 15-13), PUR 1 d. CAN 1 (21-14, 21-19).

Women’s Positions After Pool Play

Pool A: PUR 1 (2-0), MEX 2 (1-1), CAN 1 (0-2). Pool B: MEX 1 (3-0), PUR 4 (2-1), GUA (1-2), PUR 2 (0-3). Pool C: USA (3-0), PUR 3 (1-2), CRC (1-2), CAN 2 (1-2).

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