Cuba downs Nicaragua in debut

Cuba downed Nicaragua 3-0 (25-11, 25-6, 25-16) in their debut at the Women’s U-20 NORCECA Continental Championship at Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium in Guatemala City.

The Pool A match between Cuba and Nicaragua showed a solid performance from the winners and a resilient one from the defeated side.

Cuba dominated Nicaragua with a vast advantage in every category; a 30-8 margin in spikes, 10-1 margin in blocks and 10-1 in service points.

Opposite Melissa Vargas with 15 points, including 5 aces and 2 blocks, and middle blocker Heidy Casanova with 10 points, led Cuba’s victory. Nicaragua’s middle blocker Eliany Lopez was their top scorer with 4 points.

Cuban captain Carmela Massip said “this is our first continental championship and we are glad that Nicaragua pushed us hard, it’s important for both teams’ growth. We had a training period in Dominican Republic, but most of our preparation was in Cuba”.

Nicaraguan captain Florelisa Smith indicated “despite our loss the team performed 100 percent concentrated with high attitude. This is our second continental championship and I believe the team has showed progress; I know we need to improve but today we did well”.

“I want to thanks Nicaragua’s intensity” started Cuban coach Tomas Fernandez. “If we want to grab one of the tickets to the world championship, we must minimize our mistakes. I’m not satisfied with our performance today, but the girls are very young and they are in development that is why it’s very important to be here” he added.

“Nicaragua has been in the U-20 NORCECA in two consecutive occasions, evidence that we’ve been working hard, slowly but strong. As I said previously, our goal is to have this kind of international exposure and I’m proud of how the team performed against a giant in our confederation” said Nicaraguan Coach Claudia Noguera.