MIAMI, Florida, July 2, 2009.- Costa Rica swept Trinidad & Tobago 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 and advanced to the 5-8 positions round of the Eight Women’s Pan American Cup. In that stage of the tournament they will compete with Canada and the losing teams of the quarter finals phase.

Trinidad & Tobago will face Mexico in a match for the ninth position on Friday at University of Miami’s BankUnited Center. Siblings Angela and Verania Willis paced the Costa Rican attack with 16 and 13 points.  More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, July 2, 2009.- Canada prevailed in a tough five-set battle with Mexico advancing to the 5-8 positions round of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup being held at University of Miami’s BankUnited Center. The match lasted 1 hour and 49 minutes and the score was 23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 20-25, 15-12.

The loss dropped Mexico to a match for the ninth position on Friday against the loser of the Costa Rica vs. Trinidad and Tobago later on Thursday. Captain Tammy Mahon produced 18 points for Canada. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 30, 2009.- Bethania de la Cruz tallied eight of her match-high 26 points in the tie-breaker leading the Dominican Republic to a thrilling victory over Olympic champions Brazil by score of 25-23, 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13 Tuesday night at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Florida International University.

The win earned Dominican Republic a direct ticket to the semi final round of the competition, a qualifier to next year’s FIVB World Grand Prix. The Brazilians will meet Peru in the quarterfinals of Thursday. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 30, 2009.- The United States edged Puerto Rico 25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23 in an emotional battle of unbeaten teams on Tuesday evening during the final day of five consecutive pool play matches during the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.
  
 U.S. (5-0), as the winner of Pool A, earns an automatic berth into the semifinal round on July 3. In addition, the Americans earned a berth in to the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix with the victory and semifinal berth.  More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 30, 2009.- Costa Rica downed Mexico in a tight three-set match 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 to finish in fourth place of Pool A in the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup held at BankUnited Center of University of Miami.

Costa Rica ends Pool A with a 2-3 win-loss record and meets Trinidad & Tobago on July 1. Meanwhile Mexico falls to 1-4 and fifth place on Pool A and next plays against Canada on Thursday. Costa Rican captain Verania Willis hammered 14 kills with three blocks and two aces en route to a 19 points night.  More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 30, 2009.- Canada claimed its first victory in Pool B of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup by defeating Trinidad & Tobago 25-21, 25-10, 25-23 in the final day of preliminary pool-play round at U.S. Century Bank Arena of Florida International University.

The Trinidadians slowed down in the latter stages of set one after leading for the most part of it and came alive again at the end of set three against the more experienced Canadians. The winners held advantages of 10-4 and 8-4 in blocks and aces respectively. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 30, 2009.- Peru topped Guatemala 25-9, 25-13, 25-15 Tuesday afternoon during the final day of five consecutive pool play matches during the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

Peru finishes Pool A in third place with a 3-2 record and advances to the quarterfinal round on July 2. Guatemala completes Pool A with a 0-5 record and next will compete for 11th place on July 4. Carla Ortiz led Peru with 15 points, while its captain Leyla Chihuan added 12 points. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 29, 2009.- The United States (4-0) defeated Peru (2-2) 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 on Monday evening during the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

The victory sets up a key match between undefeated USA and Puerto Rico on the final day of pool play. The USA-Puerto Rico winner will automatically advance to the tournament’s second round and have two days to prepare as July 1 is an off day in the schedule and pool winners receive a bye on July 2. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 29, 2009.- Argentina defeated Canada 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17 and finished with a 2-2 win-loss record in Pool B of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup. The victory granted Argentina the group’s third position and a ticket to the quarter finals phase.

Georgina Pineda led Argentina with 23 points and Leticia Boscacci added 14 tallies. Tonya Mokelki had 12 points for Canada and Tammy Mahon and Nadine Alphonse each contributed eleven tallies. “In every international competition we go, it’s very important to test our team against teams like Canada. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 29, 2009.- Puerto Rico remained undefeated in four outings during the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-11 victory over Costa Rica (1-3) at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

Aurea Cruz tallied a match-high 14 points for Puerto Rico and she was aided on the scoreboard by Sarai Alvarez and Yarimar Rosa, who each contributed nine points. Sheila Ocasio turned in seven points in the victory. Costa Rica was led by Verania Willis’ nine points, while Angela Willis added seven points. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 29, 2009.- Brazil defeated Trinidad and Tobago in straight sets 25-11, 25-14, 25-9 to tie with Dominican Republic for first place in Pool B of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup. The winner of Tuesday’s match between these two teams will decide the winner of the group and the automatic ticket to the semi final round.

Brazil (3-0) out-blocked its opponent 13-2 during the match which lasted 57 minutes. Caroline Gattaz led Brazil with 13 points, including six blocks and Adenizia Silva added 11 with three blocks. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 29, 2009.- Mexico (1-3) topped Guatemala (0-4) 25-23, 25-12, 25-21 Monday afternoon during the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

Mexico captain Migdalel Ruiz came off the bench to score a match-high 17 points with 11 kills, three blocks and three aces. Martha Revuelta added 13 points and Olivia Meza chipped in 11. Maria A. Estrada Santizo and Rut Beatriz Gomes Guzman tallied eight points. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2009.- Brazil defeated Argentina in Pool B third day of action in the Eighth Pan American Cup, but it was not an easy victory as the Olympic champions had to battle hard against their South American neighbors before prevailing by score of 26-24, 18-25, 25-13, 25-18.

After their slow start the Brazilians went into their usual rhythm and dominated the Argentineans for the last two sets. The Beijing gold medalists outscored their counterparts 23-4 in the blocking department for the match. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2009.- The United States maintained its lead in Pool A of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup with a convincing 25-19, 25-14, 25-11 victory over Mexico Sunday evening at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

Nancy Metcalf scored a match-high 20 points for the U.S., which included 16 kills, three blocks and an ace. Danielle Scott-Arruda and Jordan Larsen each recorded 11 points in the victory. Mexico (0-3) was led by captain Migdalel Ruiz and Martha Revuelta, who each racked up nine points. Olivia Meza chipped in four points in the loss. More Spanish

KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 28, 2009.- Mexico made a perfect comeback to the Norceca Continental Circuit by winning the men’s fourth leg of 2009 with a victory over Jamaica in the final played at Barbicon Park.

The Mexican duo of Juan Virgen/Aldo Miramontes did not have problems to dominate the final match by score of 21-18, 21-13 over Jamaicans Mark Lewis/Danny Wilson).  The match was one dominated by the Mexicans right off the start, presenting smart tactics superior than the locals. More Spanish

KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 28, 2009.- United States claimed its first title of the 2009 NORCECA Women’s Continental  Circuit byb defeating Puerto Rico in the final match in Jamaica which concluded today at Barbicon Park of this city.

Americans (Emily Day/Claire Robertson) relied on their strong blocking and strategic attacks to the opposite field. They dominated by score of 21-14, 21-18. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2009.- Puerto Rico defeated Peru 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 on the third day of Pool A action of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup Sunday evening at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center. Both teams entered the contest with 2-0 records.

Puerto Rico (3-0) featured three players in double-figure scoring with Aurea Cruz leading with 12 points via nine kills, two aces and a block. Sarai Alvarez and Alexandra Oquendo each added 11 points in the victory. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2009.- Dominican Republic improved its Pool B win-loss record to 3-0 following the straight set victory 25-6, 25-7, 25-14 over Trinidad & Tobago in the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup at the Florida International University’s U.S. Century Bank on Sunday.

“It was a good opportunity to use all my players and to get them in the rhythm of the game because we are going to need all of them against Brazil,” said Marcos Kwiek, the coach of Dominican Republic. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 28, 2009.- Costa Rica earned its first victory of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 win over Guatemala Sunday evening during a Central American battle at the University of Miami’s Bank United Center.

Costa Rica, which outscored its opponent 7-2 and 8-3 in aces and blocks respectively, improved to 1-2 win-loss record while Guatemala dropped to 0-3. Verania Willis led Costa Rica with 19 points, including two blocks, and her sister Angela Willis added 13 with two aces and two blocks. More Spanish

MIAMI, Florida, June 27, 2009.- For second day in a row defending champions Dominican Republic had to come from behind to prevail in a match of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup. This time the victim was Canada by score of 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-21.