Guantanamo.- Cuba continued its strong performance at the U23 Women’s Pan American Cup, defeating Nicaragua 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16) at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato, to remain undefeated.
Cuba now holds a 2-0 record in Pool B, while Nicaragua falls to 0-2. In the final day of pool play, Cuba will face Mexico, while Nicaragua will take on Canada.
Claudia Basilia Tarin and team captain Whitney James led the Cuban offense in the first set, keeping their team ahead despite Nicaragua’s tough defense and long rallies in which María Roa stood out.
In the second set, the teams remained tied until 6-6, but a solid block by Karen Bird and an attack from Marcela Martínez brought Nicaragua within 19-22 before Cuba closed the set.
Cuba controlled the third set from start to finish, although Nicaragua never stopped fighting defensively.
The Cuban attack made the difference with 31 points to 18, also leading in blocking (7-4) and service aces (6-3).
Whitney James and Claudia Tarin were Cuba’s top scorers with 11 and 10 points respectively, while Lianet García contributed 4 blocks. For Nicaragua, Gilmary Smith scored 6 points.
Cuban captain Whitney James said: “After yesterday’s match that went to five sets, today we tried to consolidate some things we need to face Mexico tomorrow. One of them is our connection with the setters.”
Nicaragua’s captain María Roa commented: “We looked good, and our mentality was better today. Several of us had the experience of last year’s Cup and we are motivating the new players. We came here to fight and to show we can put on good performances like we did today. We need to be more focused and put in more effort.”
