|
Cuban women’s volleyball team
qualifies for World Championship
Alfonso Nacianceno
The
young Cuban women’s volleyball team finished the
qualifying tournament for the North and Central
America and the Caribbean (Norceca) region,
undefeated, thus qualifying for the World
Championship in Italy.
Fourteen year old
Melissa Vargas played a leading role in the victory,
finishing
as the tournament’s highest scorer. Foto: Ricardo
López Hevia.
The
team played four games against Curacao, Haiti and
Trinidad and Tobago, without losing a set, in a
competition which featured special characteristics,
pitting the teams which finished first and second in
the eliminatory round (Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago)
against each other, to compete for the gold medal
and a ticket to the World Championship.
Over
the last seven months of training, after finishing
19th among 20 teams in the 2013 Grand Prix, the
women’s team has grown significantly. The new face
of the team reflects changes in the system of play
which now allows for a single setter, who directs
the ball to five attackers. Only one personnel
change was made to the 2013 Grand Prix team, with
passer Beatriz Vilches being replaced by rookie
Yamila Hernández. The 14-year old attacker Melissa
Vargas, emerged as the team’s key player in the
regional tournament, finishing as the meet’s highest
scorer, followed by the auxiliary attackers Jennifer
Álvarez and Sulian Matienzo; team captain Rosanna
Giel; and blocker Alena Rojas. With 22-year-old
libero Emily Borrell as the team’s eldest, the
players average barely 20 years of age.
As
one of the six teams representing the region, Cuba’s
women will continue training with a view toward the
World Championship, to be held in Italy, with 24
teams participating.
Coach Juan Carlos Gala reported to Granma
International that the team will depart for
Argentina May 25, to train and hold several games,
facing off against the sister country’s women. He
indicated that, in addition to the team’s 12 regular
players, three other members of the national
pre-selection team will also make the trip, since he
hopes to see all of them compete before putting
together the definitive World Championship team.
Gala
commented that although the team has improved
significantly since the 2013 Grand Prix, there are
still important aspects of the game in need of
attention, ones which can be decisive to victory. He
is concerned about the players focusing on serving
the ball and the middle set, and is likewise hoping
for better blocking, an essential defensive element
at the elite level, given the height of many
players.
The
men’s Norceca tournament began May 21 in Havana,
with Cuba considered a favorite to qualify for the
Poland World Championship, August 30 through
September 21. Participating in the competition are
Barbados, Surinam and the Dominican Republic, in
addition to Cuba, with only one ticket to Poland up
for grabs.
|
