The Dominican Republic achieved its first victory in the women's volleyball tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics at the perfect moment, as their four-set triumph against the Netherlands on Saturday at South Paris Arena 1 qualified them for the event's quarterfinals, which will be held on Tuesday.
Las Reinas del Caribe (Queens of the Caribbean, in Spanish) needed three points to advance and were under great pressure after the Dutch won the first set. Dominica gave it their all to close the match 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-17, 28-26) and thus get the result they needed.
With three points, five sets won, and seven lost, the Dominicans are in third place in Group C and are confirmed as one of the two best third-placed teams to advance to the quarterfinals.
Yonkaira Peña was above all for the Dominicans, leading the team to victory with 28 points (two aces). Contributing to their win were also middle blocker Jineiry Martinez with 13 points (three blocks, one ace) and her sister Brayelin Martinez, who registered nine points for the team.
Captain Nika Daalderop (12 points), opposite Celeste Plak (12), and middle blocker Indy Baijens (11) were the best Dutch players in their last match in Paris.
Thanks to this success, the Dominican Republic finished with 3 points and a set ratio of 7:5.
This made Japan's 3:0 (25:17, 25:22, 25:12) victory over Kenya irrelevant. The Japanese also finished with three points, but with a 6:4 ratio. The first of the third-placed teams is the USA team.
The teams that qualified for the next phase were China, Serbia, and USA from Group "A", Brazil and Poland from Group "B", as well as Italy and Turkey from Group "C".
The second referee for the match between Dominica and the Netherlands was our referee Ivaylo Ivanov.
Thanks to this success, the Dominican Republic finished with 3 points and a set ratio of 7:5.
This made Japan's 3:0 (25:17, 25:22, 25:12) victory over Kenya irrelevant. The Japanese also finished with three points, but with a 6:4 ratio. The first of the third-placed teams is the USA team.
The teams that qualified for the next phase were China, Serbia, and USA from Group "A", Brazil and Poland from Group "B", as well as Italy and Turkey from Group "C".
