Cuban Volleyball Team Prepares for Pre-Olympic Semifinals

Tijuana, Mexico, May 2. – The Cuban women's volleyball team will strengthen its training with a view to the semifinals of the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in this city until Saturday, coach Juan Carlos Gala said on Wednesday. The break is relative because the team will not play officially, but today and tomorrow Cuban players will train twice a day, they can not rest, especially now that the statistics show their best performance, Gala told the Prensa Latina news agency.

On Tuesday, Cuba qualified for the semifinals after defeating the hosts by 3-0 and currently awaits for its next opponent, the winner of the Canada-Mexico match.

The Cuban team, despite being placed in the less complicated group, led the service thanks largely to the contribution of setter/hitter Yanelis Santos, who scored 23 points.

According to the event's latest statistics, Cuba also resulted first in the pass, in the attack (2nd) following Puerto Rico, in the block (4th), in the defense (3rd) and in the receipt (5th).

Meanwhile, Gala's pupils committed 50 unforced errors, more or less the average of their main opponents like the Dominican Republic (55), Puerto Rico (49) and Canada (52).

Beyond the statistics, the team looks good on the court, with improvements in the defense and receipt but, according to its coach, the Cuban women must play harder in the first set in order to reach the final.(Prensa Latina)