The Dominican Republic’s good run of form was halted Sunday when they lost to Russia at the Volleyball Nation’s League in Italy.
They went down in a competitive five-set battle 18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 8-15.
Both teams showed their intent early with aggressive starts. The DR team was solid in defence at the net and in the backcourt but Russia’s defence was just as good and they outscored the Caribbean queens to take the first set.
The second set was just as competitive as both teams improved defensively resulting in longer rallies. Outstanding setting by Frica Marte created helped DR create more scoring chances, which they capitalized on to pulled away from the Russians and take the second set to level the score at 1-1.
Russia took total control of the third set during which they led 18-8 at one point. The DR attempted to intensify their aggression but were met with stout resistance, forcing them to rethink their strategy. They were able to claw their way back into the set but the Russians held firm to win the set.
DR made a change in their line-up with Isabel Pena replacing Captain Brens Rivera that paid immediate dividends as she impacted the attacking play alongside Bethania De La Cruz which helped them win the fourth set.
Russia was resistant with their defensive effort but Pena’s fresh legs proved to be too much for their fatigued players. The Dominican Republic came out on top and pushed the game to a decisive fifth set.
Russia found a second wind in the final set. They dominated play against a faltering DR's defence, which resulted in them not being able to create second-chance attempts to score. Meanwhile, their opponents applied the pressure with increasing intensity that resulted in victory.
Russian outside hitter Nataliya Goncharova was the game’s overall top scorer with 31 points inclusive of 30 kills and one block. For the Dominican Republic, Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez was once again their top scorer, this time with 23 points - 22 kills and an ace.
With this loss, the Dominican Republic dropped one place to eighth in the standings with 11 points from seven games. They play Turkey today.
JDF and UWI retain JaVA Men’s and Women’s Club League titles
The Jamaica Defence Force and UWI Volleyball are champions of the Jamaica Volleyball Association Club League which culminated at the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sports in St. Catherine over the weekend.
In the Women’s final, Master’s Volleyball Club were no match for the defending champion as UWI Volleyball Club won in straight sets 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-20).
The team was led by team captain and national representative Erica Harris.
In the Men’s final, The Jamaica Defence Force defeated MOSA Volleyball Club in straight sets 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-22).
JDF was led by 2023 RJR Sportsman of the Year for Volleyball and team captain, Ryck Webb.
GC Foster College (Women) and UWI A (Men) placed third after straight sets victories over MOSA Volleyball Club and UWI B respectively in the 3rd place playoffs.
Reggae Boyz to host Dominican Republic at National Stadium on June 6 to open second round of 2026 World Cup Qualifying
Jamaica will open the second round of 2026 World Cup Qualifying on June 6 when they host the Dominican Republic at the National Stadium in Kingston.
The team will then travel to Dominica to play their second game on June 9 to complete the first two rounds of matchdays in the second round.
The other teams involved in Group E are Guatemala and the British Virgin Islands, who won a two-legged playoff against the US Virgin Islands to secure their spot.
The other two matchdays will be played in June 2025.
The announcement was made by Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts at the federation’s official launch of Jamaica’s World Cup Qualifying campaign on Thursday.
“The size of your rear view mirror is so very small compared to the big mirror in front of you. The JFF has no intention of using our rear view mirror. We’re not going to engage anybody in anything that would have been the past. The big picture now is ahead of us,” said Ricketts.
Ricketts also spoke on a qualifying process that will see the Reggae Boyz not having to contend with regional powerhouses the USA, Mexico and Canada.
“A lot of people have said that it is going to be easy but we still have to work as hard as we can,” he said.
“We don’t want to drop the ball here and this was why we engaged coach Hallgrimsson. We understand the importance of the development program that will take us past 2026. We want to leave a legacy at the JFF,” he added.
With hosts Mexico, United States and Canada, all earning automatic qualification, the qualifiers will be contested among the other 32 FIFA affiliated Concacaf member associations. The second round of qualifiers will see the two first round winners, joining the confederation's remaining 28 participating member associations.
Following single round-robin matches (two home and two away) in the second round, the six group winners and runners-up will progress to the final round (12 teams total).
Winless T&T bow out of Concacaf Futsal Champs after 11-1 hammering by Dom Rep
Trinidad and Tobago's Soca Warriors bowed out of the 2024 Concacaf Futsal Championship, after another disappointing loss in a dismal campaign that never really got going in Managua, Nicaragua.
Following 4-7 and 3-5 defeats to United States and Guatemala in their first two encounters, Paul Decle's Soca Warriors required a victory in their final group encounter against Dominican Republic to keep their hopes of progressing to the quarterfinals as one of the best third-placed teams, alive.
However, it was not to be, as their Spanish-speaking Caribbean counterparts showed no mercy in a lopsided 11-1 romp at the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello, on Monday. The win by Dominican Republic saw them join United States, Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico and Panama in the knockout stage, which kicks off on Wednesday.
Trinidad and Tobago had no response to the onslaught of Dominican Republic in their final Group C contest. David Rondon opened the scoring in the 10th, Jose Belliard struck in the 13th, and Marco Gomez added a third in the 14th to put Dominican Republic 3-0 up at half-time.
In the second half, Rondon secured his brace in the 23rd, and Belliard followed suit in the 25th. Hector Perez penned his name on the scoresheet in the 29th, before Jameel Neptune got the twin island republic's consolation in the 30th. Rondon completed his hat-trick in the 31st and then added a fourth in the 39th, while Guillermo Lopez (33rd), Ricardo Alvarez (35th), and Christian Gardelli (40th), also got on the scoresheet for Dominican Republic.
Meanwhile, the feature contest was a more mouthwatering affair, as Guatemala rallied for a 3-3 stalemate with United States.
United States scored three unanswered goals courtesy of Luciano Gonzalez (14th), Nilton de Andrade (20th), and Franck Tayou (21st), before Guatemala got into their rhythm and responded through Marvin Sandoval (31st and 33rd), and Patrick Ruiz (38th).
With the draw, Guatemala topped Group C, ahead of Dominican Republic, with United States securing one of the best third-place spots.
The four quarterfinal winners will not only progress to the semi-finals, but also secure qualification to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
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