The Dominican women’s volleyball team defeated Puerto Rico to retain the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship on 31 August 2021. Playing in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Dominican senior team beat Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12). The win is the team’s second consecutive NORCECA title. When last played in 2019, the DR had defeated the United States.
Gaila González of the Dominican Republic was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
The win marked the end to the successful career of team captain Prisilla Rivera, who had announced her retirement. “These are tears of joy. We had a great responsibility to revalidate our title and I thank God we did. Congratulations to Puerto Rico for their high level of play,” said Rivera. Rivera and teammate Bethania de la Cruz received the championship awards as first and second Outside Hitters.
Nevertheless, Marcos Kwiek, team coach said the team did not play at their game-level. “We performed with emotion instead of reason,” he said.
The victory was extra sweet after a disappointing performance in the Tokyo Olympics where the team ended in eighth place.
1 September 2021