Cuba v Canada
Defending champions Cuba beat Canada in consecutive sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-18) to open Pool A. Cuba held a 9-2 advantage in blocking and was also better in service aces 4-0. Yoanna Palacios topped the balanced attack of Cuba with 12 points while Kenia Carcaces and Gyselle Silva each contributed 9. Yanelis Santos, Yusidey Silie and Rosanna Giel charted 8 apiece. Canada’s Elizabeth Cordonier had 11 tallies and Tammy Mahon added 7.

Brazil v Dominican Republic
World No. 1 Brazil overcame Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20) in the last match of Pool A. Brazil scored an astonishing 24 blocks against 8 by Dominican Republic. Fernanda Rodriguez led the winners with 20 points including 6 blocks while Fabiana Claudino had 8 blocks among her 14 points. Thaisa Menezes and Mari Steinbrecher contributed 13 and 10 respectively. Dominican Republic’s Bethania De la Cruz topped all the players in the match with 25 points.

United States v Puerto Rico
World second-ranked United States defeated Puerto Rico in straight sets 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-14) in the opening match of Pool B. The USA Team out-blocked Puerto Rico 16-3 and also took advantage of 25 errors committed by the defeated side. Angela Forsett, Cynthia Barboza and Lauren Gibbemeyer led the scores for United States with 12, 11 and 10 points respectively. Gibbemeyer scored with 6 blocks and Forsett had 4. Aury Cruz had 9 points and Stephanie Enright added 7 for Puerto Rico.

Peru v Mexico
Peru scored a 3-1 (27-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19) victory over hosts Mexico in the second match of Pool B. Patricia Soto and Carla Rueda were the best scorers of the winners with 18 and 16 points respectively while Jessenia Uceda contributed 12. Mexico’s Martha Revuelta topped all the players with a match-high 21 points. Andrea Rangel charted 14 while Claudia Rios and Karla Sainz each had 10. Mexico edged Peru in blocks 12-10 and in aces 3-2 while the winners made 21 errors against 26 by the losers.