Dominican Republic finishes fifth; Cuba earns volleyball bronze in Santo Domingo

The host men’s volleyball team came from a 1-2 deficit to beat Venezuela in five sets and take fifth place at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, while Cuba swept Mexico for the bronze. Source: hoydo, infobae

Results

• Dominican Republic won 27-29, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12 in a match lasting 3 hours 15 minutes, including a brief power failure at the Palacio del Voleibol Profesor Ricardo Gioriber Arias. Source: hoydo, listindiario
• Cuba defeated Mexico 25-22, 26-24, 25-16 in 1 hour 49 minutes; Daniel Martínez led Cuba with 10 points, while Cuba dominated attacks 35% to 18%. Miguel Ángel López added eight, and Alexi Wilson and Marlon Yant six each. Source: infobae
• To reach the decider, the Dominican Republic beat Guatemala 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23; Adrián Figueroa led with 25 points, supported by Moisés Ortiz (16) and Luis Reynoso (11). Source: hoydo

The decisive match was tight throughout. After sharing the first four sets, both teams entered the tiebreak past the two-hour mark. In the fourth set, the Dominicans opened a six-point gap (12-6), only for Venezuela to close to 10-12 before the hosts held on. Source: listindiario Dominican bench players Héctor Alexis Cruz, setter Luke Ramírez, Edward Rojas hijo and libero Enger Mieses were singled out for their work in the win over Venezuela. Source: hoydo, listindiario

Cuba’s route to bronze also included efficient defense: the Cubans controlled the block with 34% and kept Mexico’s offense to 18% on attacks. Source: infobae