BRAZIL BECOMES THE NEW CHAMPION AT WOMEN'S SENIOR PAN AM CUP

The Olympic Champions defeated Dominican Republic
in straight sets (Norceca Photo).

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, July 9, 2011 (Norceca) – Olympic champions Brazil dethroned Dominican Republic as new queens of the Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup by winning the decisive match in consecutive sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) in front of a packed house at Colegio de Bachilleres Gymnasium on Saturday.

It is the third gold medal for the Brazilians in the history of the event. They also won in 2006 and 2009. The Dominicans, who have finished among the top three in each of the 10 editions, took the silver for a fifth time.

Sheila Castro and Thaisa Menezes led Brazil with 13 points apiece while Fernanda Rodrigues contributed 12. Dominican Prisilla Rivera was the highest scorer with 19 points including 6 blocks. Bethania De la Cruz tallied 10.

“It was a good game where we served blocked very well,” Brazilian Fabiana Claudino said. “Now it is time to celebrate.”

“It was a difficult match as we expected,” Dominican Milagros Cabral said. “We didn’t play as well as we did in our previous games but we are happy with the second place.”

Jose Roberto Gimaraes, Brazilian coach. “I am glad with the results. The matches against Dominican Republic are always good as we play at the same level; we must continue in our preparation for the events that lie ahead of us.”

Marcos Kwiek, coach of Dominican Republic: “We played the whole tournament very well, but today Brazil had more consistency and pushed us hard with their blocks. Also we failed in key points. It is with pride that we take the silver medal.”