NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier women’s beach volleyball Vega Baja, Digi Mart USA News (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico): Navas/Sánchez (PUR), Torres/Flores (MEX), Kraft/Cheng (USA) and Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson (CAN) finished the first day of the women’s bracket of the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier for beach volleyball undefeated. The tournament is being held from November 6 to 8 at the Areia Sports Complex in Vega Baja.
Each of the four teams recorded two straight-set wins. The group stage concludes Saturday, with group winners advancing directly to the semifinals and teams finishing second and third playing crossed quarterfinals.
The tournament champion will earn a direct ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
In Group A, Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas and Keishlyann Sánchez opened with a 2-0 win (21-10, 21-15) over T’ara Austin and Taylor Buckner of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The hosts then beat Adriana Vargas and Daniela Vigil of El Salvador 2-0 (21-11, 21-13), completing an undefeated first day in front of their home crowd.
Mexico’s Susana Torres and Abril Flores matched Puerto Rico’s 2-0 record. After winning the first set 21-16 against Vargas/Vigil, they conceded only seven points in the second set to secure a 2-0 win (21-16, 21-7).
They then defeated Azmabeth Infante and Crismil Paniagua of the Dominican Republic 2-0 (21-9, 21-18), with the Dominican pair offering greater resistance in the second set.
In Group B, the United States’ Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng recorded two dominant wins, not allowing more than ten points in any set. They defeated Nelissa Ramírez and Clara Sabal of Belize 2-0 (21-10, 21-6), and then beat Paola Alvarado and Daphne Mendoza of Guatemala 2-0 (21-10, 21-3).
Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson also won convincingly. They opened with a 2-0 win (21-10, 21-7) over Alvarado/Mendoza and then held Costa Rica’s Ashly Chavarría and Laura Molina to fewer than ten points in both sets, winning 2-0 (21-6, 21-8).
In other Group A results, Austin/Buckner bounced back from their loss to Puerto Rico with a 2-0 win (21-18, 21-15) over Infante/Paniagua. In Group B, Ramírez/Sabal earned a closely contested 2-0 win (21-19, 21-19) over Chavarría/Molina, with only two points separating the teams in each set.
Saturday’s schedule includes direct matchups between the undefeated teams in each group, with semifinal berths at stake. In Group A, Navas/Sánchez (PUR) face Torres/Flores (MEX) at 10:00 a.m.
The hosts return to court at 2:00 p.m. against Infante/Paniagua (DOM), while Austin/Buckner (ISV) meet Vargas/Vigil (ESA).
At 5:00 p.m., Infante/Paniagua (DOM) play Vargas/Vigil (ESA), and Torres/Flores (MEX) close out group play against Austin/Buckner (ISV).
In Group B, Kraft/Cheng (USA) face Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson (CAN) at 11:00 a.m. At 3:00 p.m., Kraft/Cheng (USA) play Chavarría/Molina (CRC), while N.
Ramírez/Sabal (BIZ) play Alvarado/Mendoza (GUA). The final matches are scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with Chavarría/Molina (CRC) facing Alvarado/Mendoza (GUA) and Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson (CAN) facing N.
Ramírez/Sabal (BIZ).
