Santurce takes first game of COPUVO finals
By THE STAR STAFF
The Cangrejeras of Santurce won the first match of the 2025 Puerto Rican Volleyball Confederation (COPUVO by its acronym in Spanish) finals series on Sunday, defeating the Amazónicas of Trujillo Alto in three sets at Colegio Universitario of San Juan.
Santurce dominated the match with scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-13.
The first set began with Trujillo Alto leading 8-6 at the first technical timeout after an attack by Camelia Meléndez that went out of bounds. However, Santurce responded immediately and took the second technical timeout leading 16-15 after a defensive play by Paola Matos went out of bounds. A block by Gabriela Colón on Génesis Collazo sealed the 25th point for the home team.
In the second set, the Cangrejeras started strong and earned the first technical timeout, 8-6, with a precise attack by Lyansca Correa. A net violation by Ivania Ortiz allowed Santurce to extend their lead and take the second technical timeout, 16-14. The set was closed out by Leandra Mangual, who attacked against the block to secure the 25-19 victory.
The third set was completely controlled by Santurce. Meléndez set the offensive pace as the Cangrejeras took an 8-4 lead to the first technical timeout, and Mangual again stood out, extending the advantage to 16-10. The action concluded with an impressive block by Xayrians Hernández that sealed the victory for the capital city team.
Mangual was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the match, while Matos stood out for the Amazónicas.
The second match of the best-of-five final series will be held tonight at Rubén Zayas Montañez Coliseum starting at 8.
