León, Mexico. — The Puerto Rico women’s national volleyball team defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 in an exciting Caribbean duel for the lead of Group A of the 2026 Women’s Pan American Cup, held at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato.
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The Puerto Ricans prevailed with partials of 25-22, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-19 to finish the group stage undefeated with a 4-0 record and secure their direct qualification to the tournament semifinals.
The Dominican Republic, for its part, finished the preliminary stage with a 3-1 record and took second place in the group. The Dominican team will play the quarterfinals this Wednesday against Cuba at 8:00 p.m., Dominican time.
The match began with great intensity. Puerto Rico took the lead in the first set after a close finish in which the performances of Dariana Hollingsworth and Ana Sofía Jusino at the block made the difference to win 25-22.
The Dominicans reacted in the second set and, after another point-by-point contested finish, managed to prevail 25-23 to tie the match.
However, Puerto Rico regained control of the match in the following sets. Hollingsworth led the offense alongside Valeria Vázquez and Ivania Ortiz to lead her team to win the third set 25-16 and close the fourth 25-19, securing their spot in the semifinals.
The statistics reflected the Puerto Rican offensive dominance, with an advantage in attacks (59-51), blocks (9-5), and service aces (5-0). The Dominican Republic committed 25 errors, one less than Puerto Rico.
Hollingsworth was the top scorer of the match with 30 points, the result of 26 attacks and four blocks. Vázquez added 13 points, Ortiz contributed 12, and Jusino finished with 11.
For the Dominican Republic, Flormarie Heredia led the offense with 20 points, all through attacks, being the only Dominican player to reach double figures.
With this result, Puerto Rico continues firmly on its path for the Pan American Cup title, while the Dominican Republic will seek to advance from the quarterfinals to remain in the competition.
