PERU BEATS CANADA IN ITS DEBUT MATCH

In the first women's match of one of Peru's most representative sports, the team dominated the scoreboard from the beginning. Peru's former volleyball glory seemed to come back to life, thanks to the cheering of the fans who chanted: “I’m Peruvian and tonight we gotta win. ”

The match was held at the spectacular newly-built Callao Sports Center. The final 3-1 score was cheered by the Peruvian fans who packed the grandstands, carrying pennants which read “We’ll all play for Peru”, a paraphrase of Lima 2019 official slogan: “Let’s all play”.

The excitement was justified: it is worth remembering that the last time that the women’s team reached the podium was in 1991, when they got a bronze medal. In total, Peruvian volleyball has earned five silver medals and three bronze medals.

However, it was clear that Peru was going to win the match from the beginning, only facing difficulties in the third set, which the Canadian team won. This resulted in a tense fourth set, where Peru finally saw the match through. 

Revenge in our Court

The victory reached by the team led by Spanish coach Francisco Hervás and consisting of Vanessa Palacios, Ángela Leyva, Clarivet Yllescas, Zoila La Rosa, Maguilaura Frías, Angélica Aquino, Daniela Uribe, Karla Ortiz (captain), Thaisa McLeod, Diana de la Peña, Maricarmen Guerrero y Miryec Muñoz, began the team's way to gold in the best possible way.

Besides, the Lima 2019 match fixture gave the Peruvian team the perfect chance to redeem itself from its Pan American past: in the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto (Canada), it placed seventh from eight teams. Today, luck has a new face.

Next Step

The top two teams of Group A, made up of Peru, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Canada, will advance to the semifinals and face off the top two teams of Group B, made up of Argentina, Brazil, United States and Puerto Rico. 

Peru will face Colombia today at 20:30.

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