Puerto Rico's players rejoice with the bronze medal victory
Varna, Bulgaria, June 19, 2016 - Farewells, wedding proposals and a historic first World Grand Prix win for Puerto Rico over Bulgaria marked the third place match in Group 2 of FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix 2016 in Varna. Karina Ocasio’s 27 points helped Puerto Rico win the bronze with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23) victory over the hosts.
Juan Carlos Nunez, coach of Puerto Rico: “We knew that it was going to be a hard game. We were able to hold up and play well on the receiving side and at the end we were able to close the match and come out with the victory.”
Ivan Dimitrov, coach of Bulgaria: “We had our chances to close out two of the sets in our favour, but we could not do it. The girls were fighting and despite the loss I am satisfied with their performance.”
Yarimar Rosa, captain of Puerto Rico: “At the beginning we could not handle the service really well and we were not able to just manage ourselves at that moment. Then we were able to get ourselves organized and we started pushing them and closed off the match with a win.”
Eva Yaneva, captain of Bulgaria, after her last match for the national team: “It was a really emotional day for me. I am leaving the national team. We gave our best, but we could not win. I regret that I could not finish my career with a victory.”