Nagoya, Japan, October 11, 2018 - Bethania De La Cruz scored a match-high 18 points as the Dominican Republic defeated Germany 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-17) in the second round at the FIVB Women's World Championship on Thursday afternoon.
Prisilla Rivera contributed 11 points and Lisvel Mejia added 10 in the win for the Dominicans.
Louisa Lippman was the high scorer for Germany in the loss with 14 points.
Germany entered the match with a 5-3 record, while the Dominican Republic was 4-4. Both teams had already been eliminated from advancing in the tournament.
The Dominican Republic was energized from the outset, while Germany appeared flat. The Dominicans attacked successfully from the wings, served and received well.
Germany came on a bit late in the second set, but could not string together enough points to be competitive in the contest.
Lippman was the only effective scorer on this day for Germany, as they simply could not contend with the multiple weapons of their opponents.
The height and power of the Dominican Republic was too formidable.
A spike by Yonkaira Isabel gave the Dominicans a 12-8 lead in the opening set. An ace by Jineiry Martinez made it 15-8 as the Dominican Republic played with energy. Germany looked lackluster in the set and called a timeout while trailing 21-11. A spike by De La Cruz gave the Dominicans the set 25-12.
The Dominican offense continued to function well in the second set as they raced out to an 8-3 lead at the first TTO, scoring on quick attacks. Another ace by Martinez gave the Dominicans a 14-8 lead. Germany began to attack effectively late in the set, pulling with 21-18, but could not sustain it. The Dominican Republic took the set 25-19 on a spike by Niverka Marte.
Lippman scored on a big spike from the wing to put Germany ahead 5-4 in the third set. The Dominican Republic begin to come back and rapidly moved ahead again via a strong attack. A big spike by De La Cruz put the Dominicans up 14-10 and they went on to lead 16-10 at the second TTO. Germany struggled with reception in the second half of the set. The Dominican Republic wrapped it up 25-17 on a net violation by Germany.