Karell Peña and Daisel Quesada, and Yanileydis Sánchez and Lidianny Echevarría won gold and silver for Cuba, respectively, in the second leg of the North Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) beach volleyball circuit, held in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic.
The players represent the two B teams who will participate in the pre-Olympics competitions together with the best male and female pairs, currently in Holland, where the Beach Volleyball World Championship is taking place. Participating for the first time in this European tournament are Cubans Nivaldo Díaz-Sergio González and Lianma Flores-Leila Martínez.
Karell’s experience and Daisel’s youthful vitality were the perfect combination to secure a categorical 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) victory over Canadians Garrett May and Daniel Dearing in their only performance in this Norceca season, as in the case of their female team mates. Cuba’s two top pairs competed n April, in the Cayman Islands, during the first leg of the competition.
”It’s a great feeling and very important to win after almost two years, I feel comfortable playing with my new teammate, a good player who represents the future of Cuban beach volleyball. I am not thinking about retiring, on the contrary, I am focusing on helping him to develop,” noted Karell.
Thanks to both their efforts the pair was victorious in all six matches, three in the group elimination stage and the other in the quarter, semi and final matches of the competition, according to the official NORCECA website.
In the semifinal the pairs came back from a 0-1 disadvantage to defeat Mark Burik and Curt Toppel, from the United States, 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-7), while May and Dearing thrashed Mercuri Miller and Wilfredo Vega, from Honduras 2-0 (21-15, 21-10).
The bronze went to Burik and Toppel after they defeated Miller and Vega 21-10 and 21-0 in a match which saw the former unable to compete in the second half given a injury to his right leg.
In the women’s competition Traci Weamer and Kendra Vanzwieten from the U.S. displayed their extensive experience on the sand to overcome a mistake in the opening set and claim the gold medal; winning 2-1 (17-21, 21-16, 16-11) against internationally inexperienced Cubans Yanileydis Sánchez and Lidianny Echevarría.
”This is my last tournament and its nice to leave with a win,” said Weamer, two-times champion in the history of this NORCECA circuit, after triumphing with Kathryn Babcock, in Saint Lucia, in 2012.
The same year she also secured a silver medal with Tealle Hunkus on the Trinidad and Tobago stop of the competition, while Vanzwieten won bronze in the opening leg of this year’s tournament in the Cayman Islands and silver in Antigua, Guatemala, the year before.
For her part, Vanzwieten also ascended the podium on a couple of occasions last year; winning silver and bronze with Allison Daley in Manzanillo, Mexico, and North Bay, Canada, respectively.
This tournament was very positive for the Cubans in particular given their opportunity to play against the U.S. and defeat Seguin and Poletto, Canada’s top pair, in the semifinals with scores of 21-9, 15-21 and 17-15.
