The Queens of the Caribbean came from a set down to triumph 22-25, 25-22, 28-26,25-21 and get their third win of the competition.

Poland was aggressive in the opening set and that seemed to have Dom Rep by surprise. However, they adjusted and despite trailing early in the second set, recovered to pull even by winning the second set.

All throughout the tournament, the Dominican Republic’s net and backcourt defence has been solid and it was the highlight of the third set. Thanks to some outstanding by Libero Brenda Castillo, who had 26 digs in the match, Dom Rep was able to keep the scores close and take the set down to the wire.

Bethania De La Cruz and Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez held their nerves and produced some crucial plays at the end to push the Dominican Republic over the line to lead the game two sets to one.

In the fourth set, Poland tried desperately to mount a fightback but the Dominican Republic were consistent with their defence and smart with their attacks and managed to stymie their efforts. Poland’s players pressing to climb back into the match committed several errors that their opponents took advantage of as they the closed out a hard-fought victory.

De La Cruz and Poland’s Stysiak Madalena were the game’s top scorers with 26 points each. Madalena finished with 21 kills, four blocks and an ace while De La Cruz finished with 21 kills, two blocks and three aces.

With this win, the Dominican Republic now climbs to seventh in the standings with 10 points from six matches. Their next game of the preliminary round will be against Russia on June 6.