Mexico’s Torres & Gutierrez claim silver at NORCECA Tour in Juan Dolio with coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment
Both pairs of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported Puerto Rico earn NORCECA Tour bronze in Juan Dolio
Teams from the United States and Cuba collect the remaining medals
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support beneficiaries from Mexico and Puerto Rico earned one silver and both bronze medals at last week’s NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour stop in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. Mexico’s Susana Torres & Atenas Gutierrez finished women’s runners-up, Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas & Maria Gonzalez also reached the women’s podium, while their compatriots William Rivera & Arnaldo Torres finished third in the men’s tournament.
Hailey Harward & Kylie Kuyava-De Berg of the USA beat the Mexican pair in the women’s final, while rising stars from Cuba, Jorge Alayo & Noslen Diaz, won the men’s final against the USA’s Evan Cory & Robert Wyatt Harrison.
Federacion Mexicana de Voleibol has so far been allocated a total of CHF 900,000 worth of coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment and a large chunk of that funding has been tagged to their national teams in beach volleyball, now working under the supervision of Argentinean coach Ruben Barrera. Mexico’s beach volleyball programme has also received CHF 9,500 worth of beach volleyball equipment.
Puerto Rico’s Navas & Gonzalez and Rivera & Torres have been working with coach Angel Pena with a coach support grant of CHF 72,000 from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment to the Volleyball Federation of Puerto Rico (FPV), who have also received CHF 14,500 worth of beach volleyball equipment from the programme.
Allanis Navas & Maria Gonzalez in action at the Juan Dolio tournament (Photo credits: NORCECA)
Seeded 12th in the women’s main draw, 23-year-old Torres & Gutierrez cruised to the final in Juan Dolio on a five-victory streak, crowned by a 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) semifinal win over top-seeded home favourites Julibeth Payano & Crismil Paniagua, to secure their second continental silver in two NORCECA Tour appearances as a duo. In the final, however, Harward & DeBerg proved too strong for them and produced a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) win to collect their second gold and third medal on the 2024 NORCECA Tour out of three tournaments attended.
Meanwhile, after mastering four consecutive straight-set victories in the women’s main draw, 22-year-old Navas and 21-year-old Gonzalez reached the semi-finals, where their winning run was stopped by second-seeded Harward & DeBerg with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) sweep. The third-seeded duo from Puerto Rico recovered with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-11) victory over the Dominican duo in the third-place match to earn the bronze. It was their third NORCECA podium in a row this year and the overall 12th continental medal for the pair.
Women’s results and standings
The NORCECA Tour medallist in Juan Dolio (Photo credits: NORCECA)
In the men’s tournament, Volleyball Empowerment supported duo, 25-year-old Torres (pictured in the main photo; credits: NORCECA) and 23-year old Rivera, had a successful road to the semi-finals that saw four wins in a row. The fourth-seeded Puerto Ricans put up a tough fight against second-seeded Cory & Harrison, but failed to progress to the final after a 2-0 (23-21, 21-14) loss.
Still, they made their way to the podium, sweeping the third-place match against top-seeded Hayerling De Jesus & Oscar Martinez of the Dominican Republic by a score of 2-0 (21-18, 21-10). This bronze was the pair’s first continental medal after three appearances on the NORCECA Tour together.
Third-seeded Alayo & Diaz of Cuba, who are also in contention for Paris 2024 spots through FIVB’s World Ranking, cruised to the final in Juan Dolio on a perfect run of five straight-set wins in a row. In Friday’s gold-medal showdown, they had to fight back from a set down before celebrating a 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 15-10) victory over the team from the USA to pick up their fourth gold and ninth medal in a total of nine appearances on the NORCECA Tour so far. For the pairing of Cory & Harrison, the Juan Dolio silver was the third medal in three appearances on the Tour as a team.
Men’s results and standings
A total of 16 men’s and 15 women’s teams, representing 15 different countries, took part in the Juan Dolio event. The next stop on the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour are the Finals held again in Juan Dolio from 12 to 14 May.