Panama qualify for 2011 NORCECA Championship

Panama's Katherine Taju spikes for one of her 11 points against Guatemala at the XVI Central American Cup on Thursday

Panama City, Panama, December 2, 2010 – Panama became the first team to qualify for next year's NORCECA Continental Championship by defeating Guatemala 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 26-24) for a fifth straight victory at the XVI Women's Central American Cup on Thursday.

The winners dominated 15-2 in the blocking department and also had the edge (9-6) in the service category. Jenny Madrid and Suany Terreros each recorded five blocks and totalled 13 and 10 points respectively while Katherine Taju added 11. Tiffany Villafranco scored nine points for Guatemala.

Meanwhile, nine-time defending champions Costa Rica continued their undefeated march toward a 10th consecutive crown with their fourth victory, a convincing 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-12) success against El Salvador.



Verania Willis contributed 10 points and Karen Cope, Paola Ramirez and Irene Fonseca nine each for the winners. Adriana Flores was top scorer for El Salvador with eight points.

Honduras defeated Belize in four sets (18-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-14) for their first victory in five attempts, leaving Belize still winless with a 0-4 record. Jennifer Torres and Tessa Flores hit 14 and 11 points respectively for the Hondurans while Belize's Shantell Arnold had a match-high 15 points for defeated Belize.




Positions:
Panama (5-0), Costa Rica (4-0), Guatemala (2-2), Nicaragua (2-2), El Salvador (1-3), Honduras (1-4), Belize (0-4).