London, Great Britain, August 5, 2012 – The Dominican Republic claimed a straight-set (25-15, 25-16, 25-13) over Algeria to advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games women’s volleyball tournament at Earls Court on Sunday.
It was the second victory against three losses for the Dominican side while Algeria concluded the tournament without wins in five outings. The winners held a 10-4 margin in blocks.
As the fourth placed team in Pool A, the Dominicans will play Pool B leaders United States in one of the quarterfinals scheduled on Tuesday.
Prisilla Rivera was the best scorer of Dominican Republic with a match-high 21 points, followed by Milagros Cabral and Gina Mambru with 14 and 12 respectively. Zhora Bensalem finished with 13 points for Algeria.
Dominican Republic dominated from the start as Rivera, Cabral and Candida Arias spiked effectively past an Algerian defence that has struggled all tournament. They won the set easily, 25-15.
The second set saw the same Dominican Republic attackers dominate, fed well by setter Niverka Marte Outstanding libero Brenda Castillo, meanwhile, fended off Algerian attacks. Zohra Bensalem showed quality for Algeria, but Dominican Republic took the set 25-16.
Dominican Republic finished the job easily in the third set, which they took 25-13.
Algeria, a young side who will have learned a lot from the tournament, are eliminated. Dominican Republic have made it through to Tuesday's quarterfinals by winning their final two matches.
