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Caguas, Puerto Rico, July 7, 2009 - Hosts Puerto
Rico and Canada are expected to battle for the
single Final Round ticket available in the
Women's NORCECA-I Pool of the FIVB World
Championship to be played at Hector Sola Bezares
Coliseum on July 7-9.
Puerto Rico, currently No. 19 in the FIVB World
Ranking, will have the advantage of playing at
home against the No. 23 Canadians, while Jamaica
and Bahamas -second and third finishers in
NORCECA-D - are considered long shots in the
competition.
The home team, coached by Puerto Rican Humberto
Rodriguez, enjoyed a strong outing as it
finished third in the Pan American Cup last week
in Miami, where Canada, with German Arnd Ludwig
at the helm, placed seventh.
Puerto Rico's offense is led by veteran Aurea
Cruz, the Pan Am Cup's top scorer, and Sarai
Alvarez is another important gun. Big Sheila
Ocasio and Alexandra Oquendo are very strong
blockers, while Vilmarie Mojica is the captain
and a steady setter.
Canada's top weapons are veterans Tiffany Dodds
and Tammy Mahon with a supporting cast of
Sherline Holness, Brittney Page and Tonya
Mokelki.
The NORCECA-I winner receives a direct ticket to
the Final Round of the 2010 FIVB World
Championship next year in Japan, while the
second-place finisher advances to a Playoff
Round next month in Tijuana, along with Mexico,
Trinidad & Tobago and the second-place team from
NORCECA-G currently under way in Orlando,
Florida.
The four coaches talked about their goals and
objectives after the General Technical Meeting
held on Monday night. Following are excerpts
from the press conference:
Humberto Rodriguez (Puerto Rico): "Our
goal is to achieve the best possible
performance. We want to continue the technical
and tactical work we have been developing. Our
main task is to work hard every day with the
same focus we had last week in Miami. We need to
play hard against all the opponents until we get
the ticket to Japan."
Arnd Ludwig (Canada): "We don't
underestimate any opponent, but that said, we
know for sure that we need to have a strong game
with very few errors against Puerto Rico. That's
the big match for us in this competition."
Gatashue Bonner (Jamaica): "For our
volleyball is a great accomplishment to reach
this stage of the World Championship. We are
going to take it as a learning experience."
Joseph Smith (Bahamas): "Our approach is
to take advantage of every match and learn from
it for the development of our volleyball. Our
goal is to play up to our best possible level."
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