Havana, July 19 (JIT) - The Cuban team lost to its similar team from Peru, in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20), during the opening of the V U-23 Women's Pan American Volleyball Cup Hermosillo 2023, in Mexico.

In Group A, the South Americans were ahead in attack (50-46), blocking (11-7) and own errors (26-34), while Wilfredo Robinson's students finished ahead in service (7-3).

Corner player Whitney James was the most productive of the Cuban team with 15 points, 13 of those by spiking and two by serving. She was followed by the also auxiliary attacker Yalain de la Peña (13 attacks and one block) and opposite Claudia Tarín (10 attacks and two serves), according to Norceca's official website.

South American opposite Maria Paula Rodriguez scored 27 points, including 23 attacks and four blocks. Also in double digits were Daniela Muñoz (11) and team captain Alondra Alarcon (10).

Cuban captain James said "we knew that Peru would not be an easy opponent. They are a disciplined team on the court, something we lacked a little. We lost the match because of our indecision, in easy points we could not recover them. The beginning is not easy and we will fight harder in the next matches".

Coach Robinson stated that "we were able to recover in the first set to score points and win it, but that's what Peru did in the following sets. They have an infallible defense system and with our powerful attack we couldn't break them. We were very erratic in our serving, we made it easy for the opponent to get the set one by taking out the libero. We also had a lot of indecision in our defense".

Francisco Hervas, coach of Peru, pointed out that "our objective is to learn. The first match is difficult, it is hard to keep the rhythm. We kept the advantage in all the sets. The first one got away from us, we have to learn there".

On Wednesday, Cuba will face Canada and Peru will face the defending champions of the Dominican Republic. Key B groups Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica and Honduras.

The competition will grant direct tickets to the two best placed teams in the North, Central American and Caribbean region (Norceca) for the II Junior Pan American Games in 2025.