This country's senior women's volleyballers squandered a 2-0 leads to Colombia and went under 25-19, 25-13, 18-25, 14-25, 13-15 in their ninth place playoff at the 12th Movistar Women's Pan American Volleyball Cup in Callao, Peru, yesterday.
It was the fourth straight time that the T&T women, coached by Cuban Francisco "Panchee" Cruz had ended in tenth spot in the competition after.
On Saturday night, T&T registered its second straight win at the Pan American Cup over Mexico, 25-17, 25-22, 26-24 in their ninth to 12th playoff semifinal to set up the meeting with Colombia, which battled past Costa Rica 35-33, 15-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-6 in the other.
In the fifth to eighth semifinals which also determined the two remaining qualifiers to the FIVB Women's Grand Prix, four-time tournament winners' Cuba came from a set down to beat host Peru, 18-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-16 to earn their ticket along with Puerto Rico, 27-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-19 victors over Canada.
USA moved to within one win of repeating as tournament champions and a third title overall after brushing aside the youthful Brazilians 25-11, 25-20, 25-22 in their main draw semifinal while Dominican Republic also stayed on course for a third lien on the crown via its 25-18, 25-18, 25-11 sweeping of Argentina in the other.
Women's Pan American Cup results:
Yesterday:
11-12th: Costa Rica bt Mexico 27-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21
9-10th: Colombia bt T&T 19-25, 13-25, 25-18, 25-14, 15-13
To play:
7-8th: Peru vs Canada
5-6th: Cuba vs Puerto Rico
Bronze: Brazil vs Dominican Republic
Gold: USA vs Dominican Republic
Saturday:
9-12 semifinals
�2 T&T bt Mexico 25-17, 25-22, 26-24
�2 Colombia bt Costa Rica 35-33, 15-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-6
5-8 semifinals
�2 Cuba bt Peru 18-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-16
�2 Puerto Rico bt Canada 27-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-11
Main draw semifinals
�2 USA bt Brazil 25-11, 25-20, 25-22
�2 Dominican Republic bt Argentina 25-18, 25-18, 25-11
