DESPITE THE LOSS, MEXICO GAINED RESPECT FROM BRAZIL

Alejandra Isiordia's arm shows the National Team
code in a match in Turkey.

ANKARA, Turkey.— Mexico was close to give a surprise at Girls Youth World Championship after a second set in which dominated Brazil but in the end the Brazilians won 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-14, 25-22).

Rosamaría Montibeller tallied 16 points for Brazil, while Gabriela Guimaraes 15, Valquiria Dulius 12, and Paula Mohr 11. For Mexico, Samantha Bricio recorded 11 points in this match of Pool B.

“We won, but Mexico made us work hard. They broke our reception and defense”, said Brazilian head coach, Thomas Mauricio about the match played at Ankara Sports Hall. 

“I am glad but not satisfied at all, anyway my team had a great attitude and played much better”, stated Victor García about Mexico.

The United States struggled against Serbia, that won 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 26-24) this Pool C match with an effective work by Bianka Busa and Natasa Cikiriz, who tallied 15 points for Serbia. Americans Mallory McCage and Amber Rolfzen, ended with 9 apiece.

"Serbia played consistently but we played inconsistently, we made a lot of mistakes”, said coach James Stone about the American Team.

In the other match of  Pool C, Puerto Rico lost against China 0-3. The chinese team scored 25-22, 25-28, 25-11 to secure the victory. Ningya Tiang finished with 12 points for China, while Daly Santana scored 10 for Puerto Rico whose coach, Eric Gonzalez, stated: “We played with passion but it isn't enough to win games”.

ONE POINT AT A TIME: A SIMPLE LESSON TO BE A GREAT TEAM

Mexico prepares to face Brazil on its second
match at Ankara Sports Hall.

ANKARA, Turkey.- Losing is always a hard situation. Nobody likes it. 

After watching Mexico vs Argentina, more than one person was sure Mexico could do it better. Argentinians and Mexicans had faced each other three times before. 

They know each other pretty well, but in the end the girls from South America "broke that tension", like cuban coach Victor Garcia -who is in charge of Mexican team-, said.

In the end there is no regret. When you are in a short competition like a world championship, you have to work one moment at a time, correct your mistakes and play harder.

"Playing is the best way of dealing with it and the know how to do it. At this age there are some worries, but those girls have nothing to be afraid of, you are in a formative stage in your career", said a head coach one time. "If you enjoy it, there are no fears".

That is what great teams always have to do. There is always a second chance and sometimes that second chance it is not an easy one, but you have to take it or leave it.

"We cannot know how good we are until we face the best ones in the world", said Puerto Rican coach Eric Gonzalez, who also lost his first match against the USA, a team that won 3-0.

Mexican Fans support the "TRICOLOR GIRLS" in Turkey.

It was difficult for the Norceca and Pan-American area, because two South American teams are in the same pool, like Brazil and Argentina. At the same time, Mexico shares that situation on the same Pool B. 

Meanwhile, two Norceca teams are in the same situation. USA and Puerto Rico are part of Pool C. 

But maybe that is a signal of a major competition and level for a zone, after watching some other pools and disciplines like soccer, when a lot of European rivals and even neighbors share the chances to fight for a berth.

On its second match, against Brazil, Mexico struggled at the beginning and converted just one point, after the Brazilians scored 8.

Mexican attack had many spike plays that went too long, but the attitude was a little bit different than the time they faced Argentina. There were faults in the service and in the reception. Brazil had also a high blocking advantage.

Mexico's cuban born coach, Victor García, a former
Olympian Player.

Mexico had a positive rally and reached eight points even though Brazil was leading by more than 12. That gave them some confidence after Samantha Bricio converted a couple of attacks, and Ana Nieto successfully blocked Gabriela.

Brazil had a fault, and that gave Mexicans the chance to figure with 10 points. The first set finished 25-13 for the Brazilians. Any way, Mexico attempted to play with a fast ball with Isiordia and that made the girls to recover confidence and tie 6-6 in one of the closest moments of the match.

"The most important thing was to fight point by point", stated coach Victor Garcia, whose team was for the first time up in the score on the second set, 13-12, after starting 1-4, and even had a 20-18 advantage after an effective service.


There were just some technical mismatches on both sides of the net. Brazil incorporated Naiane and tied the match 22-22 and that forced Mexico to improve the pass, but the referee's controversy took part.

Ana Nieto tries to block Brazil's
Raquel.

Anyway the score was 23-23, and Mexico converted needing, only one point to win its first set of the competition against the best ranked team. The "tricolor" girls did it and tied the match after a 25-23 score. 


The history on the third one was difficult for the Mexicans, but they showed and attitude greater than in the match against Argentina and despite some mistakes, they played with more order.


In front of the net, Ana Nieto played one of her best matches with the National Team, even tough she failed in a few receptions and one block in the fourth set that was so close, and almost as tough as the second one.


Valquiria the Brazilian central as well as Gabriela Guimaraes played with a very strong attack that put them in a 17-12 advantage.


Mexico did not quit in an effort to keep attacking and seeking points. However, the Brazilian experience was imposed, but the respect by the Mexican youngsters was gained after all.

NORCECA TEAMS START WITH A 1-2 RECORD AT FIVB GIRLS YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Mexico lost to Argentina, while USA defeated
Puerto Rico.

ANKARA, Turkey, August 12, 2011.- Norceca teams started with two losses and one victory on the beginning of the FIVB Girls Youth Championship.

The United States and Puerto Rico faced each other in Pool C. The victory was for the American Team 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-14) at Baskent Salonu. Kadie Rolfzen finished with 12 points for the USA, while Daly Santana, ended with 11 for Puerto Rico.

At the Ankara Sports Hall, Mexico lost against Argentina in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) even tough Mexican Alejandra Isiordia topped with 19 points and Sol Piccolo scored 13 for  Argentina.

“We started very nervous it was not a good match, and we did not know how to recover, we tried to do more points, but time ran out for us”, said mexican captain Alicia Castro.

“There was a lot of tension between our teams, and the one who could break with that was the one who could win, and Argentina did it”, stated Mexico´s coach Victor Garcia. Argentina will meet Slovakia, while Mexico will match Brazil this saturday.

MEXICO FINISHED TRAINING CAMP IN BULGARIA

Mexico has started its competition in Turkey
with a 0-1 record. After losing against Argentina, the
team will face Brazil.

SOFIA, Bulgaria.— Mexican Girls’ U18 National Team closed a one week training camp by playing a couple of matches against the Bulgarian U20 Team in Sofia.

On the first match of the series the local team won 3-2 (26-24, 25-19, 15-25, 21-25 y 12-15). Mexico had a 2-0 advantage but the team coached by Stoyan Gunchev, got the victory.

This match was played at Levsky-Siconco Gym, where the Boys, Girls, Men and Women’s from Bulgaria commonly hold their practice sessions.

Mexico claimed the triumph until the second of the series by winning 3-1 (20-25, 26-14, 25-23, 25-15). 

This match was played at the recently opened state-of-the-art Armeec Arena, where just a few days ago the Serbian and Bulgarian Senior Men’s teams disputed a friendship match as part of the inaugural ceremony of the new sport venue located in Eastern Europe.

Prior to the series Bulgaria had just returned from the Balkan Volleyball Association Junior Women Championship, while Mexico played the Girls’ U-18 Pan American Cup, as well as the High Performance Championships in the United States as part of its preparation for the FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship in Turkey.

USA AND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGISTER VICTORIES AT U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Dominican Republic Marianne Fersola poses  with
the World Championship's Mascot.

LIMA, Peru, July 22, 2011 – Dominican Republic and USA started off with victories at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Junior World Championship on Friday. Cuba lost to Serbia.

In Pool D, Dominican Republic won the first match in Lima as the runners-up of the most recent edition defeated Japan 25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22 in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Dominican Republic’s Marianne Fersola was the match top scorer with 19 points while Elizabeth Martinez added 18 points.

Saori Kaneko led Japan’s scoring with 15 points as four different players reached double-figure scoring. Dominican Republic collected a 14-5 margin in blocks to offset Japan’s slim 5-4 edge in service aces.

In a rematch of the finals of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, the United States faced Belgium. This time, the United States came out on top winning in straight sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-16).

United States’ Haley Eckerman scored eight of her team-high 15 points in the third set.

Belgium’s Lise Van Hecke totaled a match-high 18 points as the only consistent scoring threat for her team. The Americans held a 13-5 block advantage and converted 43 percent of their spikes for points.

Serbia closed with a 3-1 victory over Cuba (25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-10) and took the 3 point that was played.

Serbia's Ivana Lukovic was the top scorer for her team with 18 points, joined by Jovana Stevanovic, Ana Bjelica and Maja Savic who all scored 12 points.

The Cuban attacker Sulian Matienzo topped all the scorers with 21 points, while the captain Yunieska Robles scored 16 points.

DOMINICAN GIRLS SWEEP BELGIUM IN SANTO DOMINGO

The Dominican team won 4-0 against the Belgians, prior
to their departure to Peru.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, July 20, 2011 – Dominican Republic swept Belgium 4-0 in a friendly series held in Santo Domingo ahead of the FIVB Women’s Junior World Championship in Peru on July 22-31. Both teams departed on Wednesday.

The threesome of Brayelin Martinez, Yonkaira Peña and Ana Binet standed out for the Dominican side while Lise Van Hecke and Lotte Penders were the best Belgium scorers during the series played at the Volleyball Complex of Santo Domingo.

The home team won the first contest 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-22) with Peña and Martinez leading the winners with 17 and 13 points respectively. Van Hecke registered 16 points for the Belgians.

The second match finished 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-18) with Martinez as the best scorer with 16 points. Binet, Marianne Fersola and Candida Arias each recorded 10 points. Van Hecke and Penders finished with 11 and 10 respectively.

The Dominicans won the third match 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 26-24) where Van Hecke topped all the scorers with 14 points.

The last match, played on Tuesday, the final score was 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-10, 25-23). Arias and Martinez registered 15 points apiece while Peña and Binet recorded 14 and 13 respectively. Van Hecke closed with 12.

PUERTO RICAN ACOSTA WAS ELECTED MVP OF BOYS' U19 PAN AM CUP

Brazil contributed with four players to the All Star Team. MEXICALI, Mexico, July 16, 2011 –  Carlos Acosta  of silver medalists Puerto Rico  was elected  as the Most Valuable Player of the  inaugural U-19 Boys’  Pan American Cup  won by Brazil on Saturday night  at the State Auditorium  of Mexicali. Another Puerto Rican awarded  during the closing ceremony was  Luis Bertran as best digger  and best libero. The crowned champions Brazil  had four players receiving individual  awards as Joao Ferreira and  Alan Souza finished as best spiker  and best blocker respectively. Thiago Veloso concluded as best setter and Rogerio Carvalho  received the trophy as best receiver. Brandon Legall of Trinidad and Tobago was the competition’s  best scorer and best server. The awards were presented by NORCECA’s authorities  and by members of the tournament’s Organizing Committee.