Puerto Rico, May 15, 2023: The Girls’ U19 NORCECA Pan American Cup concluded on Sunday with Canada finishing sixth overall in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.

In the final day of the tournament, it was Dominican Republic over Canada 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-14, 25-19) at for 5-6 classification.

The Dominican team recovered from falling in the first set to end the tournament with a 4-2 record and fifth place, while Canada finished sixth 2-4. Dominican Republic dominated in the service category 11-8, and Canada in attacks 42-38 and in blocks 10-8. Dominicans scored 38 points from Canadian errors and handed out 22.  

Katielle Alonzo was the leading scorer for the Dominican Republic with 19 points on 15 kills, two blocks and two aces. She was joined by opposite Ariana Rodríguez with 15 points on 12 kills and three aces, followed by outside hitter Yuseiry del Carmen Ramirez with 11 tallies.

Three Canadians also scored double digits led by team captain Taylor de Boer (Kelowna, BC) 18 points (13 kills, 4 blocks, one ace), middle blocker Ella Piskorz (Mississauga, ON) 14 points (8 kills, one block, 5 aces) and outside hitter Mary Healy (San Rafael, Calif.) 12 points (11 kills, one block).

Canada went 1-2 in group play, followed by a 2-3 battle with Mexico in the quarterfinals. The Canadians then won their first classification match over U.S. Virgin Islands (3-0) to land in the match for fifth on Sunday.

Christine Biggs, Canada’s coach, said post match: “There’s been a lot of growth from our athletes and our ability to prepare, to understand and execute a match plan. I think the piece for us moving forward is developing consistency and our endurance at this level. There’s a lot of opportunity for us to get back to work for the next time.”

The USA ended up winning the gold medal over Mexico in the final. Host country Puerto Rico took the bronze medal over Costa Rica.

• Event web site: www.norceca.net
• Roster info here: https://volleyball.ca/en/news/norceca-girls-u19-canadianroster

Photo: NORCECA

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