The Cuban women's volleyball team won the bronze medal at the 2026 Norceca Women's Continental Championship by defeating the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in three straight sets, with scores of 26-24, 25-17, and 25-18, at the Ricardo Gioriver Arias Volleyball Palace in Santo Domingo.
According to the site JIT, the result ended 15 years of Cuban absence from the continental podium, since the "Morenas del Caribe" also won bronze in the 2011 edition.
The Cuban women dominated the match clearly in all aspects: they outperformed the hosts 46-34 in attacks, 11-7 in blocks, and 1-0 in service aces, while both teams accumulated 18 unforced errors.
Yalain Regla de la Peña led the offense with 17 points, all from attacks, and the middle blocker Laura Suárez contributed another 13, divided among eight attacks, four blocks, and one direct point from the serve.
On the Dominican side, Yonkaira Peña was the top scorer with 15 points, followed by Gaila González with eight.
With this medal, Cuba raised its historic collection of medals in the continental tournament to 23: 13 gold, seven silver, and three bronze.
The bronze also ensured Cuba's qualification for the 2027 Women's World Cup, an additional achievement that underscores the importance of the result.
The Cuban coach, the Brazilian Luizomar de Moura, assessed the match with optimism and expressed gratitude to the Dominican Republic for hosting the team during a preseason training camp ahead of the tournament: "As you can see, the team is growing technically, but even more importantly, in its strategy. The girls are now seeing the game with much more clarity, and that is crucial for a team."
De Moura was announced in August 2025 as the first foreign coach to lead a Cuban volleyball team, with the task of reversing nearly two decades of decline of the squad.
Very different was the assessment from the Dominican coach Marcos Kwiek, who did not shy away from self-criticism: "A total disaster. We played very, very poorly. We saw the frustration of Brayelin and some other players, but that's no excuse. The substitutes were supposed to do their job, and they didn't. We all lost."
Cuba's path in the tournament included a victory against Mexico in the quarterfinals on August 24, a defeat against Canada in the semifinals the next day, and a bronze medal match against the Dominicans.
In the other match of the day, Puerto Rico came back to defeat Mexico 3-2 thanks to an outstanding performance by Decelise Champion, who scored 34 points, and secured fifth place in the tournament along with the last available ticket for the 2027 World Cup.
The final of the 2026 Norceca Continental Championship featured United States and Canada, with the Canadian team crowning themselves champions by winning 3-2.
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