Okayama, Japan, August 31, 2015 – Cuba overcame Algeria 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14) on the second day of action in the FIVB Women’s World Cup at Momotaro Arena in Okayama on Monday.
Cuba captain Sulian Matienzo: This match was good experience for us and also good preparation for our next match against USA. Algeria did very well and it was great to see the Algeria players express their joy every time they got a point.
Cuba coach Roberto Garcia: Algeria is a good team but also very young. They had good offensive awareness and they hurt us with their spikes. Now, we want to prepare for tomorrow’s match against USA.
(Re. No. 4 Melissa Vargas): We know the media – and the coach – are looking forward to seeing her come back. Her shoulder is getting better and she’s now able to receive. Hopefully, she will be able to attack in the next round but I can’t say when she will be back.
Algeria coach Henni Abdelhalim: Before this game, we knew Cuba’s quality; all the players jump very high and that’s difficult for us. We concentrated on technique – we played more technical than physical – but it was difficult for us. It was important for us to be precise in our serves.
Algeria captain Silya Magnana: We played well in all the sets, but the beginning and the middle of the sets were good, but in the final phase we needed more experience. It’s important for the younger players to get the experience to deal with this situation. Tomorrow (against Kenya), we want to give a good account of ourselves as it’s between two African teams.