Puerto Rico suffers 2nd loss at Women’s Final Six in Mexico

Host Mexico broke open a tight third set and went on to defeat Puerto Rico in four sets on Tuesday night at the NORCECA Women’s Final Six in Zinacantepec, State of Mexico.

By THE STAR STAFF

Host nation Mexico maintained its momentum at the 2026 NORCECA Women’s Final Six by defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 25-21) on Tuesday night at the Juan Fernández Albarrán Sports Complex in Zinacantepec, State of Mexico.

After Mexico (2-0) won a hard-fought first set, Puerto Rico (0-2) came back to take the second set and even the match.

The third set remained tight until Mexico broke a 15-15 tie and pulled ahead 18-15. The hosts continued to extend their lead, with Uxue Guereca scoring to make it 24-18 before Jocelyn Urias closed out the set with a block for the seven-point win.

Puerto Rico took a 9-6 lead in the fourth set, but Mexico tied the score at 9-9 on an attack by Sofía Maldonado. From there, the hosts gradually assumed control. Aimé Topete put Mexico up 22-18, Maldonado followed with an ace to make it 23-18, and Guereca contributed two attacks in the closing stages to help the hosts win the match-clinching set by four points.

“We adjusted our defense well; our block started touching their attacks, and we began eliminating some of their options,” Mexico setter Argentina Ung said. “Our serving was also strong, and we started taking them out of system. I think our attack worked better toward the end of the match. As always, it’s a tough battle against Puerto Rico; they are a team with great defense -- they don’t let the ball drop -- so facing them is always a good challenge.”

The teams posted balanced statistics in scoring fundamentals; Mexico led 60-52 in attacks and committed fewer errors, 20 compared to Puerto Rico’s 28. Puerto Rico prevailed in the blocking category 9-5, while both teams recorded three aces.

Three players from each team scored in double digits. Maldonado led Mexico with 18 points, followed by Guereca and Aimé Topete with 17 points each. For Puerto Rico, Ivania Ortiz scored 17 points, Paola Santiago added 16 and Dariana Hollingsworth finished with 13. Middle blocker Neira Ortiz recorded five blocks, the highest total of the match.

Puerto Rico was to face Canada (0-2) on Wednesday night.