The Dominican women’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals, which begin today at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center’s Volleyball Pavilion. The DR has previously defeated Puerto Rico, Canada and Trinidad for the lead in Pool A. In Pool B, the US defeated Costa Rica and Cuba. The US will face Canada at 6pm. The DR matches Cuba at 8pm.
This will be a face-off between the two teams that last met in August at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. Tonight they meet again in the very same arena, where the DR defeated Cuba for the gold medal.
The US is the current favorite to repeat its performance as winner of the Norceca Championship, and the second place is purportedly up for grabs between the DR and Cuba. The US team is ranked No. 2 in the world and Cuba is a three-time defending Olympic gold medalist.
The championship match will take place on Friday, 19 September. Teams winning first and second places in the North America / Central America / Caribbean Championships qualify to compete in the Japan World Cup. The top three teams at the World Cup automatically qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The DR team is on a roll, however, after winning gold in the Santo Domingo Pan American Games.
Tickets are RD$60. Parking within the JPD Olympic Center is not permitted. Consider taking a taxi to and from.