Miami, Florida, June 29, 2009 - USA and Puerto Rico in Pool A and Brazil and Dominican Republic in Pool B are set to clash on Tuesday in crucial matches to define the top bracket’s positions and the automatic tickets to the semi final round of the Eighth Women’s Pan American Cup.

The United States (4-0) defeated Peru (2-2) by score of 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 on Monday night while Puerto Rico remained undefeated in four outings with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-11 victory over Costa Rica (1-3) at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center.

In Pool B, Brazil defeated Trinidad and Tobago in straight sets 25-11, 25-14, 25-9 to tie with Dominican Republic, which had Monday off, both with 3-0 win-loss records.

The pool’s winners will automatically advance to the tournament’s second round and have two days to prepare as July 1 is an off day in the schedule and group victors receive a bye on July 2.

Five Team USA players reached double-digits in scoring in a well balanced offense. Jordan Larson led the U.S. with a match-high 14 points that included 12 kills and two aces. Kristin Richards added 13 points on 12 kills and an ace, while Nancy Metcalf chipped in 13 points. Danielle Scott-Arruda was credited with five blocks as part of an 11-point night, while Christa Harmotto contributed 10 points with three blocks.

Patricia Soto paced Peru with 11 points, while Yulissa Zamudio added nine points. Leyla Chihuan tacked on eight points in the loss, while teammate Jessenia Uceda put down seven points.

Aurea Cruz tallied a match-high 14 points for Puerto Rico and she was aided on the scoreboard by Sarai Alvarez and Yarimar Rosa, who each contributed nine points. Sheila Ocasio turned in seven points in the victory. Costa Rica was led by Verania Willis’ nine points, while Angela Willis added seven points.

Caroline Gattaz led Brazil with 13 points, including six blocks and Adenizia Silva added 11 with three blocks. Regiane Bidias, Joyce Da Silva and Welissa Gonzaga each contributed 9 points to the victory.

“We expected a tough match from Peru and that is what we got,” U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “Some of our problems tonight are my fault as we are putting in a lot of changes to this team, both in technique and system. I was happy that we found a way to win and battle through the challenge.”

“At first we made too many errors and needed a lot of effort to defeat our opponent,” Puerto Rico Head Coach Carlos Cardona said. “The most important part of this match was learning to deal with adversity to win.”

“Tomorrow’s game against Dominican Republic will be an important one to decide the group”, said Roberto Guimaraes, the Brazilian coach. “They always play strong against us with good serves and good blocking. It should be a very an interesting match.”

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