Caguas, Puerto Rico, September 19, 2015 - For the first time in their history, Dominican Republic became world champions at Women’s U20 age group after an unforgettable battle against Brazil in the gold medal match. The Dominicans prevailed 3-2 (17-25, 25-21, 25-17, 24-26, 16-14) spurred by an astounding 32-point game from their lighthouse Brayelin Martínez.
Martínez doubled the outcome of her teammates as the one after her was Gaila González with 16 points, while Jineiry Martínez and Natalia Martínez chipped in with 13 and 12 respectively. Brazil’s Lorenne Geraldo fired a tournament-high of 39 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Caribbean machine from winning their first ever title.
Brazil unveiled a flawless run at the final track of the first set, spearheaded by Lorenne’s offensive skills to an 8-point breach created after the 2nd TTO, as things were extremely close until then. Despite that result, the Dominicans rapidly regrouped, with the tandem of González and Brayelin Martínez capable of steering the match towards a tie.
The momentum remained and Dominican Republic jumped to a 14-9 lead on the third, with floated serves from Hinojosa causing heavy damage. Brayelin turned on her relentless mode and the Caribbean side grew nearly unstoppable to a 25-17 score. With the board 2-1, three killing blocks from Brazil pierced their rivals’ spirit at the beginning, and although Dominican Republic resisted, they still netted the set in a tremendous finale.
The tie-break pushed emotions even higher as both teams struggled head to head until the end. Brazil moved to the other side of the net only one point ahead (8-7) after a block from Gabi, but the close plot persisted a while longer. Two blocks from Laiza ejected Brazil to 14-12, but both chances slipped away. Another wrong ball placed the Dominicans 15-14 and a tip from youngster Natalia Martínez triggered a wild celebration by 16-14.