The Dominican Republic Women’s Volleyball Team, the Queens of the Caribbean, defeated the Netherlands 3-1, for their first victory in the Olympic Games from Paris 2024.
The Dominican Republic lost the first set of a match that they had to win without allowing two sets down, they won the last three periods and thus secured qualification.
It was the first match of the day, in the women’s volleyball tournament held at the Paris Sur Arena.
With this victory, our national team advances to the quarterfinals, which will be played next Tuesday, August 6.
This victory (22-25, 25-21, 25-17 and 28-26) was the first for the Dominicans, who had arrived at this last game of the group stage with two losses and no points.
Yonkaira Peña was the top scorer for our team with 28 points.
The Queens of the Caribbean are still looking for a medal in Paris 2024
The Dominican Republic is among the two teams that qualify as the best third-place team, along with the United States, which will face France on this day.
Japan will face Kenya, and if they win, they will also reach the Dominican three points, but they will not be able to reach the total number of sets.
The game
The Queens of the Caribbean faced the challenge this Saturday at the Paris Arena South in a critical situation, burdened by defeats against Italy and Turkey, both by 3-1, the same as the Dutch, who also had a clean slate of victories in Group C.
The Dominican team, led by Brazilian Marcos Kwiek and German Felix Koslowski, needed a convincing victory, 3-0 or 3-1, to secure a place in the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams. The Caribbean team achieved this, despite their start being less than promising.
The first set, which was very even, was decided in favour of the Dutch. The good work of Yonkaira Peña, who scored 5 points, was not enough for the Dominicans and the match became an uphill struggle. They were unable to stop the attacks of Celeste Plak and Mika Daalderop, and the European team won 25-22.
Yonkaira Peña continued to shine in the second set – she scored 7 points -, seconded by Jineiry Martínez, who contributed 5, and the Pan American champions tied the match (21-25).
Led by the 31-year-old attacker from Santo Domingo, who added another 9 points to her tally, the Queens of the Caribbean showed their best version in the third set, especially from the middle. After a tie at 14 points, Marcos Kwiek’s players were a steamroller, making 10 points in a row (14-24) and closing the set with a 17-25.
The Dominican Republic had to win the match in the fourth set to be among the eight best in the Olympic competition. Led by Yonkaira Peña, who played a match to remember, and Brayelin Martínez, they achieved it in an agonizing way (26-28) after saving three set points and sealed the victory with a spectacular block by Jineiry Martínez.
