GUADALAJARA.. – Puerto Rico secured its first victory in the NORCECA Women’s Final Six 2025 with a resounding 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-22) win over the defending champions, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday night at the López Mateos Sports Unit in Guadalajara.
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The Dominican team faces the United States this Wednesday at six in the evening (Dominican time).
With this result, Puerto Rico ties its record at 1-1, while the Dominican Republic also has a 1-1 record. The top four teams at the end of the preliminary round will advance to the cross-semifinals. Puerto Rico will face Canada and the Dominican Republic will play against the United States in their next matches.
Puerto Rico’s well-balanced attack, led by Diana Reyes, Valeria Vázquez, and Decelise Champion, gave them a comfortable victory in the first set. The solid blocking and aggressive serving destabilized the Dominican game system, keeping the defending champions under pressure from the start.
In the second set, Puerto Rico took a wide lead of 16-9, driven by Champion’s presence at the net and timely attacks. Despite the strong attacks of Florangel Terrero and Alondra Tapia, Puerto Rico held firm, with a block by Alba Hernández on Tapia and an attack by Reyes against Angélica Hinojosa to close the set.
The third set remained even until 5-5, when Puerto Rico took the lead thanks to a touch by Santiago, a spike by setter Wilmarie Rivera, and a Dominican error to go up 8-5. Terrero’s block and a final offensive by Madeline Guillén kept the Dominican Republic close, but Vázquez and Paola Santiago extended Puerto Rico’s lead to 22-19. Vázquez sealed the victory with a decisive spike against Samaret Caraballo’s block.
Puerto Rico dominated in all statistics: attacks (36-33), blocks (9-6) and aces (4-1), in addition to taking advantage of 26 errors by the opponent, compared to 14 of their own.
Valeria Vázquez and Decelise Champion led Puerto Rico’s offense with 11 points each, including four blocks by Champion. Diana Reyes contributed 10 points. Madeline Guillén was the only Dominican player in double digits, leading all scorers with 16 points.
Valeria Vazquez, top scorer for Puerto Rico: “Against Mexico yesterday we didn’t have good service and today that was the key to the victory. Everyone who stood on the service line focused on pressuring the Dominican Republic. The victory in three sets gives us more confidence. Tomorrow we can’t be overconfident.”
Madeline Guillen, top scorer for the Dominican Republic: “The coach had to make changes to our lineup because we had poor reception. We tried to do our best to get a good result. We improved in some aspects, but it wasn’t achieved. We must better train our serve and reception for the next matches.”
