Puerto Rico finishes sixth at U17 Pan American Cup

Puerto Rico fell to Mexico 3-1 in Sunday’s fifth-place match of the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (NORCECA)

By THE STAR STAFF

A lthough Puerto Rico fell to Mexico 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-20 and 25-12) in the fifth-place match of the Girls’ U17 Pan American Cup in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, the island squad left a positive impression following a dominant start and standout individual performances that reflected the group’s potential.

Team Puerto Rico began with authority, taking a 10-1 lead powered by the combined offense of Arianna Pantojas, Elizmar Vázquez and Anna Aquino, as well as solid blocking spearheaded by Aquino, Carinialys Kuilan Román and Eliany Quiñones. A spike by Kelysha Domínguez sealed the first-set victory.

Mexico responded in the subsequent sets with greater offensive stability and contributions from Rebeka Negrete, Emily Camarena and Maia Villalpando, managing to tie the match and then take control. Puerto Rico remained competitive in stretches -- particularly in the third set, where the exchange of points remained tight until the final moments.

Statistically, Puerto Rico once again demonstrated strength at the net, holding an advantage in blocks (9-8), while Kuilan Román led all scorers in the match with 15 points -- followed by Aquino with 12 -- reaffirming the emerging talent within the youth program.

Mexico closed out the tournament with five players reaching double-digit scoring, while Puerto Rico finished in sixth place with a 1-3 record.