Puerto Rico stays unbeaten in Group A with win over Nicaragua
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico extended its perfect run at the 2026 Women’s Pan American Volleyball Cup by blanking Nicaragua 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-9) on Monday at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato, Mexico.
The Puerto Ricans improved their Group A record to 3-0 and were to play their final preliminary round match against the Dominican Republic (3-0) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. to determine the group winner and a direct path to the semifinals.
Nicaragua fell to 1-2 record and was to close out the group stage against Canada at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Puerto Rico set the pace primarily through its serving and increased its dominance as the match progressed. Nicaragua stayed close for much of the first set, but Puerto Rico pulled away in the final stretch to take it 25-17.
From that point on, Puerto Rico took over, dominating the second set 25-11 and opening the third with a 7-0 lead en route to a 25-9 match-capping victory.
Puerto Rico held a significant advantage in attacks (37-18), blocks (9-2) and aces (8-2). Nicaragua committed 21 unforced errors compared to 15 by the winning team.
Ivania Ortiz once again led the Puerto Rico offense with 12 points, tallying seven attacks, a block and four aces. Neira Ortiz added 10 points, with seven attacks, two blocks and an ace.
Brittany Forbes led Nicaragua with eight points.
Valeria Vázquez, Puerto Rico’s outside hitter, highlighted the pressure her team has managed to generate from the service line.
“Our serving was good,” she said. “Just as in the match against Canada, we emphasized the importance of the serve. We applied pressure from the service line, and today we managed to make things difficult for Nicaragua regarding their passing. We hope to do the same in our final group-stage match against the Dominican Republic.”
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