In what FIVB described as a “thriller”, the Dominican Republic under 23 years women’s volleyball team won its match against Argentina 4-3 during the 2017 FIVB Women’s U23 World Championship taking place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The game was the first to go to the seven sets — 21-23, 12-15, 15-12, 17-15, 16-14, 20-22, 15-5. It was the first seven-set match so far in the competition, lasting 2 hours and 3 minutes.
The DR got off to a sluggish start, but bounced back courageously to win the hard-earned 4-3 game, reported FIVB. The DR team coach, Wagner Roberto Rocha Pacheco, said that the Dominicans struggled at the end of the sets. Argentina coach Martin López said it was their best game so far, but the Dominicans had stayed calm in the deciding set.
With wins against Egypt and Argentina, the Dominican team is ranked third in Group A behind Slovenia and China. The DR next plays China on 14 Sept at 2pm and Thailand on 15 Sept at 11am. Match times are Dominican time.
The Dominican Republic is in Pool A with Slovenia, China, Egypt, Thailand and Argentina. Pool B teams are Brazil, Turkey, Bulgaria, Japan, Cuba and Kenya. The two best teams in each group will move to a semi-final round.
13 September 2017
