MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 31, 2009 – The women’s action closed on Saturday with three dramatic matches that completed the four semi finalists of the Nicaragua Tournament, the last stop of the 2009 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.

Costa Rica (Alfaro-Morales) battled 75 minutes to defeat United States (Smith-Lowe) in three sets. The score of the match, which had big support from local fans and also the Costa Ricans who traveled to this city, was 21-16, 27-29, 15-11. More Spanish

MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 31, 2009 – Three teams have secured berths in the semi final stage of the Nicaragua Tournament the last stop of the 2009 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit. The fourth competitor will be decided in Sunday’s morning.

México (MIramontes-Virgen) was the first pair to advance by defeating Jamaica (Lewis-Wilson) by score of 21-15, 21-13. Later on, the Jamaicans made their move to the final four by defeating Guatemala (Bolaños-Garrido) 21-17, 21-14. More Spanish

MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 30, 2009 – Top-seeded Americans Vince Zanzuchi and Kevin Lynch suffered a surprising loss to Costa Ricans Marcelo Araya and Jonathan Guevara in the first day of the Nicaragua Tournament, the last leg of the 2009 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.

The Costa Ricans entered the match against USA following a three-set battle against Nicaragua 1 (Calderon-López) 21-14, 18-21, 15-10. Then they performed the biggest surprise of Day One by defeating the USA team by score of 21-15, 21-19.Now the USA will have to battle for a semi final berth through the losers bracket in the double elimination format. More Spanish

MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 30, 2009 – The teams of Puerto Rico, United States,  Mexico and Canada had the best results in the first day of action at the Nicaragua Tournament, the last leg of the 2009 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.

The Puerto Rican pair of Yarleen Santiago and Darian Acevedo won their two matches of the day In the first one they beat Belize (Cadle- Blanco) 21-4, 21-5 and then defeated the duo of Costa Rica (Alfaro-Morales) 21-19, 21-10. The teams of United States, Canada and Mexico will go for a semifinal spot after winning their only match of the day. More Spanish

MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 29, 2009 – The last stage of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit kicks off today with 16 matches being played, under a double elimination format, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean and a total purse of US$10,000.

The General Technical Meeting took place on Thursday night chaired by Nelson Ramirez, Executive Director of NORCECA, Arnaldo Sanchez, President of the Beach Volleyball Commission and Bertha Cuadra, President of the Nicaraguan Volleyball Federation. More Spanish

MONTELIMAR, Nicaragua, October 28, 2009 – All the details related to the last leg of the III NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit were announced today during a press conference chaired by Mr. Nelson Ramirez, Executive Director of the Confederation, and Mrs. Bertha Cuadra, President of the Nicaraguan Volleyball Federation. 

It will be the first time that Nicaragua host an event of the Beach Volleyball Circuit one to be staged on the sands of Montelimar with the participation of....More Spanish

ANTIGUA, Guatemala, October 26, 2009 – The admission of seven Caribbean territories as new full members of the organization was decided during the last session of the XX Congress of NORCECA Volleyball Confederation. From now on, the territories of Saba, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Dutch Saint Marteen, French Saint Martin, Martinique and Guadeloupe will have voice and vote rights within NORCECA and their teams can take part in the zonal and continental competitions, a long awaited aspiration. More Spanish

ANTIGUA, Guatemala, October 24, 2009 – The XX Congress of NORCECA Confederation approved on Saturday to create the Eugenio George Laffita Trophy to be presented the most outstanding coach of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. 

The proposal was submitted by the President of NORCECA, Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, and approved by the assembly by acclamation. George Laffita, who was present in the meeting as president of the Technical and Coaches Commission, was grateful on the distinction. More Spanish

ANTIGUA, Guatemala, October 24, 2009 – Mexican Saul Castro Verdugo and Trinidadian Mushtaque Mohammed were elected by the XX NORCECA Congress to fill the vacancies of the organization in the FIVB Board of Administration.

The candidature of both sport leaders was submitted by the Executive Committee of NORCECA and received the unanimous vote of the assembly. Castro Verdugo replaces Mrs. Marta Centeno de Sajche who was elevated to FIVB Executive Vice President and Mushtaque substitutes Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran, who had resigned the position. More Spanish

ANTIGUA, Guatemala, October 22, 2009 – The Volleyball Pan American Union held its annual assembly here chaired by Dr. Ary Graça of Brazil and with the presence of Mr. Jizhong Wei, President of FIVB.

During the meeting, Mr. Graça presented a report covering the activities of the new institution held during the current year and he praised the support he received from Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, Vice President of the Union. Mr. Graça also praised the new policy of FIVB. More Spanish

ANTIGUA, Guatemala, October 22, 2009 – The Executive Committee and Board of Administration of NORCECA held an extraordinary meeting here on the occasion of the 2009 Congress which was attended by FIVB President, Mr. Jizhong Wei.

During the meeting, Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of NORCECA, informed the members of the agenda of the Congress and also explained some of the most important proposals to be submitted to the assembly. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, October 22, 2009 – The President of FIVB was declared “Ambassador of Peace” by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Guatemala during a ceremony that took place on Wednesday in the National Palace of the country.

“I receive this honor with humble,” said Mr. Jizhong Wei. “And I make the commitment of carrying a message of peace throughout the world and through sport, specifically volleyball and beach volleyball.” “Volleyball is a sport where physical contact doesn’t exist,” he added, “so it is not a sport of violence, it is a sport of peace.” More Spanish

GUATEMALA, October 22, 2009 – The President of FIVB, Mr. Jizhong Wei, met today with local sport authorities of Guatemala as part of his visit to the country as special guest of the XX Congress of NORCECA Volleyball Confederation.

The world leader of Volleyball had an exchange of ideas with Mr. Gustavo Lapola Diaz, General Director of Sports and Recreation of the Government of Guatemala, and also met with Willi Kaltschmitt Lujan, a well respected Guatemalan member of the IOC. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, October 22, 2009 – Beach Volleyball is an ecological sport very appropriated for the society of this new century which advocates for the protection of the environment in our planet, according to FIVB President, Mr. Jizhong Wei.

Mr. Wei made his statements during a press conference held at the National Palace of Guatemala, where he is attending the XX NORCECA Congress as a special guest. “Beach Volleyball is played on the sand, near the water or the trees and with the wind as a factor in the matches. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, October 21, 2009 - FIVB President Mr. Jizhong Wei arrived in Guatemala to attend the XX NORCECA Congress to be held at Soleil Hotel in Antigua Guatemala on October 23-24.

Mr. Wei and his wife were greeted at the Ambassadors Salon of Aurora Airport by Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of NORCECA and FIVB First Executive Vice President, Mrs. Marta Centeno de Sajche, FIVB Executive Vice President and Mr. Enrique Santis, President of the Guatemala Volleyball Federation. More Spanish

GUATEMALA, October 19, 2009 – The President of NORCECA, Mr. Cristóbal Marte Hoffiz is in Guatemala to head several regional meetings including the XX NORCECA Congress through October 23-24.

The Volleyball Continental leader arrived in Guatemala on Monday night and was greeted at the Protocol Salon of Aurora Airport by the President of AFECAVOL, Mrs. Marta Centeno de Sajche and Mr. Enrique Santis, President of the Guatemala Volleyball Federation.

“I am looking forward to have a very successful Congress with the presence of all the members affiliated to NORCECA,” said Marte Hoffiz. “We feel very proud of the efforts made by our friends of Guatemala organizing. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 17, 2009 –Cuban sensation Wilfredo Leon was elected the Most Valuable Player of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship won by his team on Saturday. 

The teen-ager Leon was also the best spiker of the competition and received the award as the “Rising Star”. 

Cubans Roberlandy Simon and Raydel Hierrezuelo took home the plaques as best blocker and best setter respectively and Orlando Samuels received the “Jim Coleman Award” as the best coach. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 17, 2009 – Cuba defeated United States 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 claiming the gold medal of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship and the last remaining ticket to the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.

It is the 14 top finish for the Cubans in the 21-year history of the regional competition. They now join host Japan, Brazil, Poland, Iran and Egypt in the men’s world event to be held in Osaka and Nagoya, Japan from November 18-23. Hosts Puerto Rico won the bronze medal in a five-set battle with Canada that finished 25-16, 24-26, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 17, 2009 – Enrique Escalante led hosts Puerto Rico to a thrilling five-set victory (25-16, 24-26, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9) against Canada in the bronze medal match of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship on Saturday.

Escalante topped five Puerto Ricans scoring in double figures with a match-high 21 points including four aces and two blocks. Luis Rodriguez and Victor Rivera each contributed 19 points while Hector Soto and Jose Rivera charted 18 and 11 points respectively. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 17, 2009 – Mexico erased a 1-2 deficit and edged Dominican Republic in the match for the fifth position at NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The score was 25-19, 18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13.

The Mexicans, who also prevailed in five sets against Dominican Republic in Guadalajara last August in a match for the ticket to the FIVB World Championship, were topped by the 31 points of Leonardo Manzo. Richard Lazcano and Edgar Herrera added 16 and 15 respectively. Jose Caceres, the leading scorer of the competition, had a match-high 37 points for the Dominican Republic. Victor Batista and Johan Lopez added 14 and 10 respectively. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 17, 2009 – Barbados defeated Panama 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 to take the seventh position at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.

Elwyn Oxley led Barbados with 21 points including four blocks and Fabian Cox added 18 all via attacks. Damien Danzell contributed 13 points to the winning effort including seven blocks and two aces. Domingo Avila and Donaldo Ureña recorded 14 points apiece for Panama and Ricardo Brown tallied 11. “It is good to go back home with this victory,” said Ludger Niles, the coach of Barbados. “We need to play more matches against teams like Mexico. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 16, 2009 – Three-time defending champions USA advanced to a final match against Cuba at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship after a 25-16, 25-23, 25-22 victory against hosts Puerto Rico on Friday.

Cuba has 13 titles in the 20-year history of the event and USA has won the other seven including the last three editions. David Lee and William Priddy had stellar offensive performances with Lee recording 15 points (13 of 16 attacks) and Priddy adding 13 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 16, 2009 – Cuba defeated Canada in straight sets 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 and will play on Saturday for the title of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship and the ticket to the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.

The Cubans, winners of the competition 13 times, relied on their powerful serves led by Fernando Hernandez, who came from the bench to record three aces. Cuba had a 7-2 advantage in serving aces and both teams scored with 8 blocks. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 16, 2009 – Dominican Republic will play with Mexico for the fifth place of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship after scoring a 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 victory over Panama on Friday at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum.

Jose Cáceres led Dominican Republic with 24 points and Domingo Avila charted 10 points for Panama. The Dominicans had a 8-2 advantage in the blocking department.

“Today many of our younger players saw action as they need to get exposed to the international competition,” said Dominican captain Victor Batista. “Tomorrow we are going hard against Mexico. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 16, 2009 – Mexico defeated Barbados in straight sets 21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 29-27 advancing to the match for fifth place at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.

Leonardo Manzo paced Mexico’s offense with 28 points and Edgar Herrera and Samuel Córdova added 14 and 13 respectively. Elwin Oxley topped Barbados with 20 points while Fabian Cox added 18 and Shawn Simpson tallied 12 points. “The team of Barbados is improving a lot and is better structured and organized with many potent players,” said Jorge Azair, the Mexican coach. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 15, 2009 – Puerto Rico scored a 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 victory against Mexico completing the final four teams of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The win sends Puerto Rico to a semi final clash against the three-time defending champions United States.

Ivan Perez came off the bench and topped Puerto Rico with 13 points and Hector Soto and Jose Rivera added 12 apiece. Leonardo Manzo was the best Mexican with 10 tallies. “It was a good match and Mexico was a tough rival,” said Luis Rodriguez, the captain of Puerto Rico. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 15, 2009 – Canada pulled off a five-set victory against Dominican Republic advancing to a semi final match against Cuba in the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The score was 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13 in two hours of play.

Louis-Pierre Mainville led four Canadians in double digits with 18 points. Tim Gourlay came from the bench to contribute 15 points and Joel Schmuland and Stephen Gotch added 12 and 11 respectively. Dominican Jose Caceres had a match-high 29 points and Victor Batista and Elnis Palomino. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 14, 2009 – Cuba edged Puerto Rico 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 to capture the Pool A and a direct spot in the semifinals of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. More than 6,000 fans were in attendance at Ruben Rodríguez Coliseum.

Cuban Roberlandy Simon recorded three blocks and was good with 9 of 12 killing attempts to finish with 13 points. Wilfredo Leon and Michael Sanchez had 12 apiece and Yoendry Leal contributed 8 points. Puerto Ricans Hector Soto and Jose Rivera each scored 12 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 14, 2009 – USA defeated Canada 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21) advancing to the semi final round as winner of Pool B at NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.

The Americans established the advantage at the net with 14 blocks against 7 from their rivals and also outscored them in serving aces 4-1. Clayton Stanley and Sean Rooney led the USA squad with 22 and 19 points respectively. Reid Priddy (13), David Lee (12) and Andrew Hein (10) also finished in double digits. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 14, 2009 – Mexico finished in third place of Pool B of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship by scoring a 25-19, 25-14, 25-21 victory against Panama. The win gave the winners a berth in the quarterfinals with a 1-2 record while the losers dropped to 0-3.

The Mexicans dominated the battle at the net with a 9-1 advantage in the blocking category during the match that lasted just 64 minutes. Leonardo Manzo paced the Mexican scoring with 15 tallies, Edgardo Herrera added 11 and Samuel Cordova contributed 8 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 14, 2009 – Dominican Republic finished in third place of Pool A of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship by defeating Barbados 25-18, 25-18, 25-15. The win secured the winners a spot in the quarterfinals with a 1-2 record while the losers dropped to 0-3.

The Dominicans had an 11-5 advantage in the blocking category and blanked their opponents 4-0 in the aces department. Dominicans Jose Caceres and Victor Batista led their side with 17 and 14 points. Caceres landed 13 spikes of his 23 attempts and Batista went 12-for-20. Shawn Simpson and Fabian Cox each scored 13 points.  More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 13, 2009 – Puerto Rico remained unbeaten in two outings in Pool A after defeating Dominican Republic 25-18, 25-20, 25-19 in the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship being staged at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum of Bayamon.

The victory earned Puerto Rico a tie with Cuba atop of Pool A both with 2-0 records. These teams play on Wednesday for the first place and a direct berth in the semi final phase. Hector Soto topped the winners with 15 points landing 13 of 22 killing attempts. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 13, 2009 – USA beat Panama 25-13, 25-15, 25-8 moving to a tie with Canada atop of Pool B of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The Americans dominated their rivals 13-1 in blocks and 9-0 in service aces,

USA and Canada, both with 2-0 records, clash on Wednesday for the pool’s first place in the preliminary round and a direct ticket to the semi final phase. Panama fell to 0-2. Riley Salmon led four Americans in double figures with 12 points. Evan Patak and Reid Priddy each contributed 11 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 13, 2009 – Cuba booked an easy 25-10, 25-11, 25-16 victory against Barbados improving to 2-0 its mark in Pool A of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. Barbados fell to 0-2.

Leonardo Leyva led Cuba with 10 points and Michael Sanchez charted 9. Wilfredo Leon and Osmany Camejo recorded 7 apiece. Fabian Cox and Elwin Oxley each had 10 points for Barbados. Cuba built a 10-2 advantage in the blocking department. “It was a preparation match for us against a team that is not very strong,” said Roberlandy Simon, captain of Cuba. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 13, 2009 – Canada recovered from losing the first set and went on to defeat Mexico 21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-12 improving its record to 2-0 in Pool B of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The Mexicans dropped to 0-2.

Stephen Gotch topped Canada with 25 points including four aces and Louis-Pierre Mainville added 17. Justin Duff had 6 blocks among his 13 points and Joel Schmuland contributed 11 tallies. Leonardo Manzo paced Mexico with 21 points and Edgar Herrera compiled 16. The winners had a 15-9 advantage in blocks and 6-2 in the aces category. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 12, 2009 – Puerto Rico beat Barbados 25-9, 25-16, 25-18 in the last match of opening day at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The home team dominated at the net with a 10-5 advantage in blocks and also from the service line 6 aces to 1.

Josue Rivera landed 8 of 12 killing attempts and led the balanced scoring of Puerto Rico with 10 points. Hector Soto was effective in 7 of 12 and compiled 9 tallies and Luis Rodriguez added 8 points.

“It is good to start with a victory,” said Luis Rodríguez, the  captain of Puerto Rico. “We need to continue working in our services for the upcoming matches against tougher opponents. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 12, 2009 – Cuba made an impressive debut in Pool A by defeating Dominican Republic 25-17, 25-15, 25-14 in the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship. The winners outscored their rivals 9-3 in the blocking category.

Teen-ager Wilfredo Leon tallied 11 points for Cuba and Michael Sanchez added 10 points. Captain Roberlandy Simon and Osmany Camejo each contributed 9 points to the winning effort. Jose Caceres and Victor Batista scored nine points apiece for Dominican Republic. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 12, 2009 – Canada scored a 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 victory over Panama in the second match of Pool B at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship that lasted 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Joel Small led the Canadians with 13 points, including five blocks and Louis-Pierre Mainville added 10 points all but one via spikes. Domingo Avila topped Panama and all the players with 14 points. “We made some execution mistakes and we need to clean up those errors in our upcoming matches against tougher opponents,” said Vincent Pichette, the coach of Canada. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, October 12, 2009 – Three-time defending champions USA recorded a 25-15, 28-26, 25-16 victory over Mexico in the first match of Pool B of NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum.

The Americans outscored their opponents 11-5 in blocks and 12-4 in the ace services category.

Evan Patak led the winners with 16 points including four aces, Sean Rooney compiled 11 points with four blocks and Paul Lotman scored six aces en route to 11 tallies. Thomas Hoff contributed 9 points, all but one via blocks. The only Mexican in double-figures was Leonardo Manzo with 14 points. More Spanish

MURCIA, Spain, October 12, 2009 – Dominican Prisilla Rivera of CAV Murcia 2005 was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the Spaniard Women’s Super Cup that concluded on Sunday at Principe de Asturias Pavillion.

Rivera scored 29 points in the decisive victory over Menorca Volei in five dramatic sets by score of 25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 23-25, 15-10.

This is the fourth MVP trophy earned by the heavy-hitting Dominican who previously took the same honors at the Spaniard League Finals, the Queens Cup and the Norceca Continental Championship. “I did my job the best I could,” said Rivera after the victory. “I lowered my rhythm for moments because I was very tired but this is not my trophy, it belongs to all my teammates.” More Spanish

Bayamon, Puerto Rico, October 12, 2009 – Three-time defending champions USA and 13-time winners Cuba are the favorite teams to win the single ticket available to this year’s Grand Champions Cup at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship that kicks-off on today at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum of Bayamon.

Both teams are loaded with much of their best talent and considered to be at least a notch above the rest of the competitors here. More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, October 12, 2009 - Mayra Garcia and Bibiana Candelas earned gold medals in the women’s category of the III NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit Puerto Vallarta 2009 after defeating Cuba’s Milagros Crespo and Ion Canet.  In the men’s category, Cuba’s Yoendry Kindelan and Yunieski Ramirez won over team Canada 1.

During the first women’s semifinal of the day, team Mexico 2, made up of Diana Estrada and Marta Revuelta, was unable to upstage the power behind Cuba’s Milagros Crespo and Ion Canet, who overtook the Mexicans in two sets of 21-14 and 21-12 partial scores. The second women’s semifinal encounter was a great game between team Mexico 1, integrated by Garcia and Candelas, against Canada’s Jamie Broder and Elizabeth Maloney in which Candela’s blocking skills were the determining factor.More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, October 10, 2009 – The second day of competition at the III NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit tournament favored the Mexican female teams since two of their teams qualified for the last round and two men’s teams from Canada will also compete for a potential tournament victory.

 Team Mexico 1, made up of Mayra Garcia and Bibiana Candelas, claimed victory over team Mexico 2, integrated by Diana Estrada and Martha Revuelta in three sets with partial scores of 21-12, 23-25, and 15-16.

 In the qualification round, team Mexico 2 earned their pass after defeating Puerto Rico of Yarleen Santiago and Darian Acevedo with partial scores of 21-17, 23-25, and 15-12.

Canada eliminated team Mexico 4, represented by Vanesa Virgen and Polet Cruz with partial scores of 21-15, 19-21, and 16-14.  More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, October 9, 2009 – The women’s Mexican teams that participated in the III NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit tournament being held in Puerto Vallarta had a first run of positive results, leading 3 of the 4 competing teams into the quarterfinals taking place on Saturday starting at 9:00AM.  In the men’s category, the Mexican selection did not have the opportunity to advance.

In the women’s category, during a match at the main court at the stadium in the Unidad Agustin Flores Contreras Sports Complex, team Mexico 3. More Spanish

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, October 8, 2009 – The action of the III NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit started on Thursday at the stadium located in Puerto Vallarta’s Unidad Agustin Flores Contreras Sports Complex.

Today’s activities consisted of an elimination round to allow more Mexican teams to compete in the event and the duos from Colima, Veracruz, Sonora, and Jalisco were able to get a nod for the competition. In the women’s category, six duos competed and the ones to get a pass to the Circuit were Vanessa Virgen and Polett Cruz from Colima. More Spanish

MANZANILLO, Colima, October 4, 2009 - Cubans Ion Canet and Milagros Crespo won the golden medal in Norceca Maeva 2009 in the women´s competition, after winning the final game against Mexico 1, Diana Estrada anda Martha Revueltas, in Maeva Stadium. In the men’s division the home team of Juan Virgen and Aldo Miramontes defeated Cubans Yoandry Kindelan and Yunieski Ramirez in the title’s match.

In the first women´s semifinal, Cuba defeated Canada 2 without many doubts. The first set was more competitive for both teams, ending 21-17. More Spanish

MANZANILLO, Colima. October 03, 2009- Norceca Maeva 2009 will have great games in its semifinal games, both genders. In the men´s competition, Canada 1 will play against Mexico 1, and Cuba´s confronting Canada 2. In the women´s competition, United States will play Mexico 1, and Cuba will have to eliminate Canada 2, if they want to be in the final game. The first female´s game this Saturday was held at Estadio Miramar, where United States (Van Fleet-Smith) defeated Saint Lucia (Mann-Hamilton). More Spanish

MANZANILLO, Colima. October 2, 2009 - Mexican teams at Norceca´s Maeva 2009 had a victorious start, specially with Mexico 3 in the men´s competition, that debuted with a surprising victory over United States, and several hours later, this young Mexican team won again, against Costa Rica; Mexico 1 also rescued a pair of victories in the first day of Norceca 2009.

In the first women´s game at Estadio Maeva, Canada 1 (Renee Laroque-Lean Kiving) defeated Santa Lucia (Samantha Mann-Dania Hamilton) in two sets, 21-9 and 21-13. More Spanish

MANZANILLO, Mexico, October 1, 2009- The Norceca Maeva 2009 is ready to start its competition with the Mexican teams leading the roster of competitors that will seek the golden medal of this continental tournament, that will be in honor of Alejandro Salinas de la Garza, the late president of Mexican National Volleyball Federation (FMVB).

The technical meeting of the competition was held on Thursday night, with the presence of all the competitors, the referees, and the Norceca officials. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 – Dominican Republic saved four match-points in the fourth set and went on to defeat hosts Puerto Rico 19-25, 25-23, 16-25, 32-30, 15-8 in the final match of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship played in front of more than 7,000  enthusiastic spectators.

The victory earned the Dominicans the ticket to the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup next November in Japan. Prisilla Rivera and Bethania de la Cruz each recorded 22 points for the winners and Lisvel Eve added 11. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 – Dominican Prisilla Rivera was elected the Most Valuable Player of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship won by her side in an emotional final match against Puerto Rico.

Brenda Castillo, also from Dominican Republic, was the most heralded player in the closing ceremony taking the trophies as best digger, best receiver and best libero.

Cubans Yanelis Santos and Nancy Carrillo were selected as best server and blocker respectively and their young teammate Wilma Salas received the award as “rising star”.

American Nancy Metcalf resulted in the best spiker and Puerto Ricans Aurea Cruz and Vilmarie Mojica were recipients of the recognition as best scorer and setter.  More Spanish

TIJUANA, Baja California, September 27, 2009 – Mexicans Bibiana Candelas and Mayra Garcia in the women’s division and Juan Virgen and Aldo Miramontes in the men’s bracket won the gold medals at the Baja California Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fifth leg of the 2009 NORCECA Circuit.

Candelas and Garcia defeated Cubans Ion Canet and Milagros Valle 21-18, 21-16 in the final match after winning their semi final contest over Costa Ricans Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro by score of 21-11, 21-10. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 – For second time in the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship, Cuba erased a 0-2 deficit to defeat United States and take home the bronze medal. The match finished 17-25, 16-25, 28-26, 25-16, 15-11.

Wilma Salas led Cuba with 15 points and Nancy Carrillo followed with 14 including five blocks. Yanelis Santos and Yusidey Silie added 13 and 10 points respectively, and Rachel Sanchez came from the bench to record 9 points including three blocks. Nancy Metcalf led USA with 17 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 – Canada scored a 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 victory over Mexico and finished in the fifth position of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

Tiffany Dodds (13), Brittney Page (11) and Marisa Field (10) all scored in double figures for the winning side. Mexican Cecilia Rios topped all the players with 17 points and Grecia Rivera added 12.

“I am happy with the fifth place,” said Arnd Ludwig, the coach of Canada. “We are ahead of teams like Mexico and Costa Rica and separated behind the top four of NORCECA. Our goal in the near future is to get closer to those teams.” More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2009 – Costa Rica defeated Trinidad & Tobago in the match for the seventh position of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The score was 25-18, 25-22, 25-23.

Verania and Angela Willis paced Costa Rica with 14 and 13 points and Karen Cope added 9 tallies. Krystle Esdelle recorded a match-high 17 points for the losers. “We came here without some of our regulars and couldn’t finish in the position we had in mind,” said Braulio Godinez, the coach of Costa Rica. “But I was a good opportunity. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Baja California, September 27, 2009 – The Mexican representatives continued achieving success at the Baja California Beach Volleyball Tournament and reached the semi final round of the competition in both genders.

In the women’s side the pair of home favorites Bibi Candelas and Mayra Garcia will play against Costa Ricans Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro and the local duo of Martha Revueltas and Diana Estrada will meet Cubans Ion Canet and Milagros Valle. The men’s semi finals features Mexicans Juan Virgen and Aldo Miramontes against. More Spanish

AYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2009 – Hosts Puerto Rico recorded an emotional five-set victory against Cuba  21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 21-19 to reach the finals of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship against Dominican Republic.

Aurea Cruz carried the load of the Puerto Rican attack with 26 points and Sarai Alvarez added 19. Cuban Nancy Carrillo totaled 21 points, Yanelis Santos and Kenia Carcaces each totaled 17 and Wilma Salas chipped in 10. “It is a lot of joy for us to be in our first final,” More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2009 – Dominican Republic prevailed in a dramatic five-set match against United States advancing to the gold medal match of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The contest lasted 2 hours and five minutes and finished 21-25, 26-24, 10-25, 25-20, 21-19.

The win secures Dominican Republic its best result ever in the regional competition after winning the bronze medal in the last four editions and five of the past six. Dominican Milagros Cabral topped five teammates in double-figures. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2009 – Canada defeated Costa Rica 25-17, 25-16, 25-22  and will meet Mexico on Sunday in a contest for the fifth position at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The losers will play Trinidad & Tobago for the seventh place.

Canada controlled the match all the way and used mostly reserve players during the third and last set. The North Americans dominated in blocks 14-6 and also in serving aces 5-2. Brittney Page led the winners with 16 points and Tiffany Dodds and Marisa Field tallied 8 apiece. Page and Field each recorded five blocks. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 26, 2009 – Mexico claimed a 25-20, 25-16, 25-16 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday advancing to a match for the fifth position at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

The winners, who built a 7-2 advantage in the aces department, relied on their serves to put pressure on the bigger Trinidadians. Olivia Meza led Mexico with 18 points and Grecia Rivera and Karla Sainz contributed 14 and 10 respectively. Cecilia Rios charted nine points including three aces. Kelly-Anne Billingy and Krystle Esdelle. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Baja California, September 25, 2009 – Mexican women’s teams of Bibi Candelas-Mayra García and Diana Estrada-Martha Revueltas won their three matches on Friday’s opening day action of the Baja California Beach Volleyball Tournament, the fifth stop of the 2009 NORCECA Circuit.

In the men’s side the tandem of Mexican Juan Virgen-Aldo Miramontes, and Canadians Ahren Cadieux-Martin Reader and Daniel Dearing-Chaim Schalk were victorious in their two matches.

Candelas-Garcia first defeated Nancy Joseph-Elki Phillip of Trinidad & Tobago 21-6, 21-5 and then downed compatriots Yesica Brambila-Diana Ramirez of Mexico 3 by score of 21-8, 21-16). In their third match they beat the USA Team of Briana Hinga-Laura Ratto 21-9, 21-11. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 25, 2009 – Puerto Rico downed Mexico in straight sets 25-11, 25-15, 25-15 advancing to the semi final round of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The home team now will play against defending champions Cuba on Saturday.

Puerto Rico committed only 14 errors and outscored Mexico 9-2 in blocks and 7-1 in the aces category.

Alexandra Oquendo and Aurea Cruz topped Puerto Rico with 12 and 11 points respectively with Cruz compiling four blocks. Sarai Alvarez contributed 8 tallies. Mexicans Olivia Meza and Cecilia Rios each charted 7 points. “It was a refreshing victory for us,” said Vilmarie Mojica. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 25, 2009 – United States bounced back from losing the first set and defeated resilient Canada 17-25, 25-10, 25-23, 25-21 advancing to a semi final match against Dominican Republic at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The match lasted 1 hour and 41 minutes.

American Jordan Larson had 15 points, including three blocks and one ace, while Nicole Fawcett also had 15 tallies all but one via attacks. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 24, 2009 - Dominican Republic claimed a 25-21, 28-30, 25-16, 25-22 win over Puerto Rico to win Pool A of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

Annerys Vargas and Prisilla Rivera each scored 15 points and Lisvel Eve added 14 tallies. Altagracia Mambru and Milagros Cabral contributed 11 apiece. Auera Cruz and Sarai Alvarez compiled 16 and 14 respectively for Puerto Rico. “We achieved one of our goals by qualifying first. Puerto Rico always plays hard against us but we need to continue training for the World Championship,” said Cabral. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Baja California, September 25, 2009 – Mexicans Mayra Garcia and Bibiana Candelas in the women’s side and Juan Virgen and Aldo Miramontes in the men’s bracket lead the local teams participating in the Baja California Beach Volleyball tournament, the fifth stop of the 2009 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.

Mexico will be represented by four pairs in each gender during the competition to be staged in the beach volleyball venue at Centro de Alto Rendimiento (CAR) in Tijuana. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 24, 2009 – USA crushed Costa Rica 25-7, 25-10, 25-12 to finish in second place of Pool B in the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. They now will meet Canada, third in Pool A, in the Friday’s quarterfinals.

The Americans built a 12-2 advantage in the blocking department led by Christa Harmotto and Elisha Thomas with 5 and 3 respectively. Cynthia Barboza paced the winners with 12 points and Thomas added 10. Verania Willis topped Costa Rica with 9 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 24, 2009 – Defending champions Cuba pushed aside Mexico 25-15, 25-13, 25-14 advancing directly to the semi finals of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship with a 3-0 record in Pool B. The losers dropped to 1-2.

The taller Cubans took advantage of their size and overmatched the Mexicans in blocks 15-1 with Yanelis Santos and Ana Cleger recording four apiece.

Santos, who also had three aces, led Cuba with 14 points and Giselle Silva added 12 including two aces. Cecilia Rios topped Mexico with 10 points. “We achieved our first objective by finishing first,” said Yusidey Silie, captain of Cuba. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 24, 2009 – Canada defeated Trinidad & Tobago in straight sets 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 to secure a berth in the quarterfinals of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

Ashley Voth topped the winners with 12 points and Krystle Esdelle had a match-high 20 points for the losers.

“I hope we still have to play our best volleyball in the tournament,” said Tammy Mahon, the captain of Canada. “Today was a good test for us and we need to be sharper in the upcoming matches.” “It was a very good match for us against a team like Canada with good blocking and powerful hitters,” said Krystle Esdelle of Trinidad & Tobago. “It was good to see what we can do against these strong teams.” More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 23, 2009 – Puerto Rico defeated Canada in straight sets 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 and remained tied with Dominican Republic atop of Pool A in the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. Both teams have 2-0 record while Canada dropped to 0-2.

Aury Cruz paced Puerto Rico with 16 points including 4 blocks and Sarai Alvarez and Tatiana Encarnacion added 14 and 12 points respectively. Tiffany Dodds was the only Canadian in double figures charting 11 points and Tammy Mahon tallied nine. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 23, 2009 – Wilma Salas scored six of her 14 points in the tie-breaker inspiring Cuba to complete a sensational comeback to defeat United States and remain unbeaten in Pool B of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship with 2-0 record. The score was 19-25, 16-25, 25-16, 28-26, 15-10.

The Cubans outmatched their opponents 14-7 in the blocking category and came out victors despites committing 44 errors compared to 21 by the losers. Nancy Carrillo led Cuba with 23 points including 5 blocks. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 23, 2009 – Dominican Republic cruised to an easy 25-12, 25-10, 25-7 victory over Trinidad & Tobago improving to a 2-0 record in Pool A of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship.

The Dominicans recorded 9 aces during the match that lasted only 53 minutes and outscored the Trinidadians 7-5 in blocks.

Lisvel Eve led the winners with 10 points and Milagros Cabral contributed 9. Annerys Vargas, Prisilla Rivera and Altagracia Mambru each had 7 points with Mambru. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 23, 2009 – Mexico defeated Costa Rica 3-1 (28-26, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19) to even its record at 1-1 in Pool B of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The losers dropped to 0-2 mark.

Mexican Cecilia Rios led her side with 21 points and Karla Sainz added 14. Grecia Duran chipped in 9 points. Costa Rican Verania Willis had a match-high 26 points and Karen Cope and Angela Willis recorded 15 and 13 respectively.

“We came to play really focused in order to give our best effort playing against one team which have had success against us lately,” said Samuel Cibrian, the Mexican coach. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 22, 2009 – Hosts Puerto Rico capped the opening day of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-17 win over Trinidad & Tobago before around 2,500 fans at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum of Bayamon.

Puerto Rico blanked its opponent 7-0 in the aces category and also took advantage of 33 errors of Trinidad & Tobago. Sarai Alvarez led Puerto Rico with 14 points followed by Tatiana Encarnacion and Aurea Cruz with 8 and 7 respectively. Kelly-Anne Billingy had 10 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 22, 2009 – Dominican Republic defeated Canada in consecutive frames by score of 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 in the first match of Pool A of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum.

Prisilla Rivera and Milagros Cabral topped the Dominican offense with 15 and 12 points respectively and Lisvel Eve and Altagracia Mambru added 9 and 8. Tammy Mahon and Tiffany Dodds charted 15 and 11 points for Canada. “We know Canada and prepared well for them. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 22, 2009 – Cuba recorded a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica in the second match of Pool B of NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The score was 25-14, 25-10, 22-25, 25-20.

Cubans Yusidey Silie and Kenia Carcaces each compiled 17 points with Silie recording 4 blocks and 3 aces. Wilma Salas contributed 15 and Giselle Silva charted 11 tallies. Verania and Angela Willis had 12 and 9 points respectively for Costa Rica. Cuba outscored its opponent 10-3 in blocks and 13-9 in aces but gave away 33 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 22, 2009 – USA scored a straight sets victory 25-18, 25-10, 25-13 over a young team of Mexico in the opening match of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum on Tuesday.

The bigger Americans erased a two-point deficit at 15-13 in the first set and never looked back. They dominated 6-1 and 5-1 in serving aces and blocks respectively. Nancy Metcalf and Cynthia Barboza led USA with 11 and 10 points and Jordan Larson tallied 9 points. More Spanish

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, September 21, 2009 – Five teams have a fair chance of winning the NORCECA Women’s Continental Tournament and booking the single ticket available to the FIVB Grand Champions Cup to be staged in Japan next November, according to Hugh McCutcheon, the USA head coach.

The experienced McCutcheon, who politely rejected the label of big favorite for his side, made his statements on the eve of the competition which runs through September 22-27. More Spanish

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, September 18, 2009 – Eight teams will be competing in the biennial NORCECA Women’s Continental Tournament for the regional bragging rights and the single ticket available to the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in November.

The event will take place at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum of Bayamón, Puerto Rico through September 22-27. Fifth world ranked and defending champions Cuba will play in Pool A alongside second world ranked USA, Mexico (26) and Costa Rica (30). More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, September 13, 2009 – The Coaches Course Level I organized by the FIVB Regional Development Center in Dominican Republic was completed last Saturday with the presentation of the certificates of approval during the closing ceremony presided over by Professor Carlos Diaz Bancalari of Argentina.

Twenty five coaches took part of the course which included 28 hours of practical instructions and 30 of theoretical classes for a total of 58 hours. Cuban Justo Morales assisted Diaz Bancalari during the week-long course. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 13, 2009 – Brazilian attacker Joyce Silva was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup while Dominican libero Brenda Castillo of Dominican Republic took home three plaques as the best defensive player of the competition.

Silva enjoyed an outstanding tournament leading her squad to an unbeaten record and second title in as many years of the Final Four Cup. Castillo once again displayed her great caliber as defensive specialist as she was awarded as best receiver, best digger and best libero. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 13, 2009 – Brazil successfully defended the crown by defeating USA 25-17, 25-16, 25-27, 25-19 in the final match of the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup played at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum on Sunday.

Regiane Bidias led four Brazilians in double figures with 22 points, Adenizia Silva had 15 and Welissa Gonzaga and Caroline Gattaz contributed 14 and 10 points respectively. “I am very happy about winning the tournament again. The team responded well to our plan in every game and I am satisfied with the girls,”. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru. September 13, 2009 – Dominican Republic scored a 25-17, 25-21, 27-25 victory over Peru claiming the bronze medal at the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup.

The Dominicans had a comfortable 24-21 lead in the third set but their reception mistakes gave new life to Peru. One spike by Prisilla Rivera followed by a Peruvian error decided the set and the match. Rivera led Dominican Republic with 14 points and Lisvel Eve contributed 12, including six blocks. Altagracia Mambru chipped in nine points. Peruvians Carla Rueda and Jessenia Uceda charted 9 points apiece. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 12, 2009 – Defending champions Brazil defeated Peru in straight sets 25-21, 25-13, 25-15 advancing to a gold medal match against USA in the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup.

Brazil dominated the match relying on strong attacks and good field defense and solid blocking. The losers will play Dominican Republic for third place on Sunday.

Regiane Bidias led Brazil with 17 points, Adenizia Silva had 9 and Welissa “Sassá” Gonzaga contributed 7 points. Leyla Chihuan had 10 points for Peru. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 12, 2009 – USA held off a Dominican Republic reaction in the fourth set and advanced to the gold medal match at the II Final Four Women’s Cup with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24 victory on Saturday at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum.

The Americans appeared to be on their way to an easy fourth set leading 20-12 when Dominican Republic scored repeatedly to tie the score with the strong and well located serves of Gina Mambru and Jeoselyna Rodriguez both coming off the bench.  More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 11, 2009 – Brazil defeated Peru in straight sets 25-18, 26-24, 25-11 to finish the preliminary round robin with a 3-0 record in the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup. Both teams will meet on Saturday’s semi finals.

Regiane Bidias led the defending champions with 19 points. Joyce Silva added 12 and Welissa “Sassá” Gonzaga and Caroline Gattaz each contributed 10 points. The best scorer of Peru was Leyla Chihuan with 13 points.

“We expected a strong game from Peru, because they are at home,” said Paulo Barros, the Brazilian coach. “We didn’t play our best volleyball, but now we have to focus on playing Peru again on Saturday.” More Spanish..

LIMA, Peru, September 11, 2009 – Dominican Republic defeated USA in straight sets 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 in Friday’s first match of II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup.Both teams will meet again on Saturday in the semi finals.

The Dominicans, who had the advantage 9-5 in blocks and 5-1 in aces, finished the preliminary round with 2-1 record while the Americans had a 1-2 mark. Bethania de la Cruz paced the winners’ offense with 17 points and Milagros Cabral tallied 11. Prisilla Rivera added 9 points and rookie Estefany Arias contributed 7. More Spanish..match-P2

LIMA, Peru, September 10, 2009 – USA defeated hosts Peru 3-1 (25-10, 20-25, 25-14, 25-20) improving its record to 2-0 in the II Women’s Final Four Cup. The Americans share the top place with defending champions Brazil.

Angie Pressey was the American top scorer with 23 points, Cynthia Barboza contributed 15 and Nicole Fawcett added 11 tallies. Peruvian Leyla Chihuán charted 14 points and Diana Soto had 14. “We knew it was going to be a fought match because Peru is a good team,” said Hugh McCutcheon, the USA coach. More Spanish..match-P2

LIMA, Peru, September 10, 2009 – Defending champions Brazil relied on hermetic blocking to defeat Dominican Republic in straight sets 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 in the second day of action of the II Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum.

Fernanda Rodrigues led three Brazilian players in double digits with 16 points while Joyce Silva and Adenizia Silva charted 13 and 12 respectively. Annerys Vargas topped the Dominican side with 12 points. More Spanish..match-P2

LIMA, Peru, September 9, 2009 – The Dominican Republic started with a total dominion over hosts Peru in the nightcap of Day One of the II Final Four Volleyball Women’s Cup played before more than 3,000 fans at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum. The score of the Dominican victory was 25-14, 25-22, 25-13.

The representative of NORCECA controlled the first set without major problems, and in the second battle against the strong opposition from the Peruvians but the effective blocks of Annerys Vargas and Lisvel Eve. More Spanish.. match-P2

LIMA, Peru, September 9, 2009 – Defending champions Brazil opened the II Final Four Cup of Women’s Volleyball in dramatic fashion by prevailing in a five-set battle against USA by score of 25-12, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13.

Welissa “Sassá” Gonzalez led Brazil with 16 points and Regiane Bidias added 14. American Nancy Metcalf led all the scorers with 18 points and Cynthia Barboza tallied 15 points. Brazil dominated the first set without difficulties and it appeared like it was going to be an easy task.  More Spanish..match-P2

LIMA, Peru, September 8, 2009 – In a crowded press conference the four team’s coaches taking part in the II Final Four Cup of Women’s Volleyball agreed on the importance of this event and spoke about the projection of their teams in the competition that kicks off on Wednesday at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum here. The II Final Four Cup starts tomorrow with the national teams of United States, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Peru. Marcos Kwiek, Dominican Republic: “Very happy about being in this event. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 8, 2009 – Teams of Dominican Republic and United States of America will represent NORCECA Confederation in the Women’s Final Four –Copa Chinalco which kicks off on Wednesday at Eduardo Dibos Coliseum of Peruvian capital.

The Dominican squad, coached by Brazilian Marcos Kwiek, is led by top guns Bethania de la Cruz, MVP of last Pan American Cup held in Miami, and the international veteran Milagros Cabral. It also consists of young promising players like libero Brenda Castillo, MVP of the FIVB Junior Women’s World Championship. More Spanish

LIMA, Peru, September 6, 2009 - Lima city will dress up to receive the Pan-American Volleyball Union Tournament denominated Final Four – Chinalco Cup from September 9th to 13th where two of the best teams of the North, Central American and the Caribbean zone (NORCECA) and South America zone will participate.

This worldwide important event will count with the National Teams of current Olympic champions and number one world ranked Brazil,, Dominican Republic. More Spanish

SANTO DOMINGO, September 3, 2006 — The FIVB Development Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic held an opening ceremony yesterday to officially start a Level I Coaching Course for 27 participants.

Attending the ceremony were FIVB First Executive Vice President Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, FIVB Director Carlos Diaz Bancalari and the center’s director, Mr. Nelson Ramirez, together with other invited officials. More

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 31, 2009 – Canadian Tiffany Dodds was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the last qualifier tournament in NORCECA for the Final Round of next year’s FIVB Women’s World Championship where her team alongside with Costa Rica booked the remaining two tickets.

”I have been with the national team for the past five years and in comparison with other years I feel that this is a more united team,” said Dodds before departing. Dodds took home the recognition as MVP. More Spanish

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 30, 2009 - Mexican selection player Ivan Contreras was recognized as the most valuable player (MVP) in the NORCECA Men’s Volleyball Group  I Play-offs, a qualifying tournament for the 2010 Italy World Championship, which came to a closing today at the Pan American Volleyball Stadium.

Alongside with the Mexican warrior, who accumulated 36 points in all three matches, the members of Canada’s winning team who were recognized were Adam Simac in blocking, Daniel Lewis in defense, Dustin Schneider. More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 30, 2009 – The Mexican Women’s National Volleyball team finished with a loss to Canada determining its absence in next year’s FIVB World Championship in Japan.

The final score was 25-13, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8 in favor of the Maple Leaf Team whom had Sherline Holness as their best scorer with 14 points followed by Tonya Mokelki and Tiffany Dodds who both finished with 13 points. Mexico battled hard showing its potential.  More Spanish

TIJUANA, Mexico, August 30, 2009 – Canada defeated Mexico in five sets 25-13, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8 and qualified along with Costa Rica to the Final Round of the 2010 FIVB Women’s World Championship in Japan.

Canadians and Costa Ricans now join the teams of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba and United States as representatives of NORCECA Confederation in the Women’s World Championship next year. The bigger Canadians totaled 21 blocks during the match. More Spanish

TIJUANA, México, August 30, 2009 – Costa Rica moved closer to the glory with enormous chances of reaching the Final Round of the 2010 FIVB Women’s World Championship after beating Trinidad & Tobago in straight sets on Sunday at Centro de Alto Rendimiento of Baja California.

The Costa Ricans swept the Trinidadians 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 in just 1 hour and 12 minutes and were just waiting for the outcome of the Mexico-Canada match to throw a bigger celebration.

Verania Willis once again led her team in scoring with 13 points, including four aces. Karen Cope and Dionisia Thompson added 9 and 8 respectively. Krystle Esdelle topped Trinidad & Tobago with 12 points. More Spanish

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 30, 2009 - With a victory over Mexico in straight sets, Canada fulfilled all pre-tournament expectations by winning the NORCECA Men’s Volleyball Group I Play-offs, a qualification event for the Men’s World championship with both teams taking home tickets to the Italy 2010 event.

Even both teams played without the pressure of the previous day, when the two remaining passes for the region were awarded, the Mexican team worked hard.  More Spanish  

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 30, 2009 - The Dominican Republic defeated Panama 25-14, 25-16 and 25-20 in the farewell match for both teams in the NORCECA Playoff Round of the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship in Italy, where the crowd generously cheered both teams.

Despite the Dominicans’ low spirits due to their upsetting loss yesterday to the Mexican team and thus taking away the chance for a ticket to the world championship, this game turned out to be a happy one. More Spanish  

TIJUANA, Baja California, August 29, 2009 – Costa Rica defeated Mexico 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18 and now both teams trail Canada with 1-1 records in the NORCECA Women’s Playoff Round to the 2010 FIVB World Championship in Japan.

Verania Willis was the top scorer for Costa Rica compiling a match-high 23 points. She was helped by Karen Cope who scored 16 points and Angela Willis who contributed 12. Claudia Rodriguez led Mexico with 21 points, Cecilia Rios added 16 and Martha Revuelta chipped in 11 tallies. More

TIJUANA, Baja California, August 29, 2009 – Canada moved one step closer to winning a ticket to the FIVB 2010 Women’s World Championship by defeating Trinidad and Tobago in straight sets by score of 25-14, 25-20, 25-21.

Tiffany Dodds and Tonya Mokelki led Canada with 15 and 10 points respectively and Jennifer Hinze contributed 8 points, including four blocks. Krystle Esdelle recorded 14 points for Trinidad and Tobago and Kelly-Anne Billingy added nine. The Canadians outscored their rivals in the blocking category 12-8 and also in the ace serves department 6-3. More

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 29, 2009 - Mexico claimed a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Dominican Republic 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 15-12 to secure, along with Canada, the tickets to the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship one day before the completion of the NORCECA Playoff Round Group I at the Pan American Volleyball Stadium.

The Mexican team didn’t disappoint their fans, who set aside today’s soccer match between local team Chivas and Pachuca to show their support for Mexican volleyball in this crucial moment. More Spanish  

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 29, 2009 - Canada defeated Panama in straight sets 25-18, 25-10, 25-14 moving one step closer to securing one of the two tickets available in the NORCECA Group I Play-offs for the 2010 Italy World Volleyball Championship.

The win put Canada in a comfortable position to qualify to Italy waiting for the outcome of the match between Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Despite today’s predictable outcome, the match was an entertaining one and kept the spectators full of enthusiasm as they awaited. More Spanish  

TIJUANA, México, August 28, 2009 – Before more than 3,000 fans, the Mexican National Team took advantage of the local support to defeat Trinidad & Tobago in three quick sets in the last match of opening day of the Playoff Round for the 2010 Women’s World Championship played at Centro de Alto Rendimiento of Tijuana.

The score in the Mexican victory was 25-21, 25-15, 25-22. The best scorers for Mexico were Claudia Rodríguez with 11 points, Martha Revuelta who had nine points and Xitlali  Herrera with eight.  More Spanish

TIJUANA, México, August 28, 2009 -  Canada opened its participation in the Playoff Round towards the 2010 Women’s World Championship with a 3-0 victory against Costa Rica.

The score of the match was 25-18, 25-19, 25-22. The Canadians had the offensive control and the blocking to dominate the Central American side.

Opposite Tifanny Dodds charted 17 points, Tammy Mahon contributed 12 points and Britney Page chipped in nine tallies. For Costa Rica Verania Willis recorded 11.  More Spanish

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 28, 2009 - Mexico took advantage of Panama’s weaknesses to give a present to their audience in straight sets at the closing of the first day of the tournament of the NORCECA Play-offs, Group I, a qualification event for the Final Round of 2010 Italy World Championship.

With the spectators on their side at the Pan American Volleyball Complex, the Mexican players didn’t have too many obstacles to win by score of 25-13, 25-21, 25-18 against a team of mature men but with little height and few resources to stop the opponent’s attacks. The only player whose points went above the double digits was the more experienced local player, Ivan Gerardo Contreras, who scored 10 points. In addition, Ignacio Ramirez and Tomas Aguilera both scored 9 points each.  More Spanish

Guadalajara, Mexico, August 28, 2009 – Canada scored the first win of the tournament by defeating Dominican Republic 3-0 in the kickoff game of the last phase of NORCECA’s Play-off, Group I, the last qualifying tournament for the Italy 2010 Men’s World Championship.

From early on, the size superiority of the Canadian team was evident both blocking and attacking leading to the victory 25-18, 25-19, 25-22. The Canadians, who are considered the favorite team in the tournament, had Fred Winters (12) as their best scorer.