Hamamatsu, Japan, September 30, 2018 - Stephanie Enright scored a match-high 16 points to lead Puerto Rico to a convincing 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-22) win over Kazakhstan in Pool D at the FIVB Women's World Championship on Sunday afternoon.
Daly Santana added 15 points and Karina Ocasio chipped in with 13 in the victory for Puerto Rico.
Sana Anarkulova led Kazkhstan with eight points in the loss.
For the second straight day, Kazakhstan came out flat and appeared to lack energy throughout the match. This was in contrast to the teamwork and vitality displayed by Puerto Rico. The Puerto Ricans combined power with a deft touch at times to rack up the victory.
Puerto Rico did a fine job of executing option plays for the duration of the contest. They excelled in all facets of the game.
The teams played a close first set with neither side able to get much separation. Puerto Rico finally took the intiative on attack in the last few points to prevail 25-21. Enright had seven points for Puerto Rico in the set.
Puerto Rico raced to an 8-0 lead at the first TTO in the second set, as Kazakhstan struggled to find their footing. Libero Shara Venegas ended a long rally with a well-placed return that put Puerto Rico ahead 13-7. The lead grew to 18-8 on unforced errors by Kazakhstan and timely points from their foes.
Kazakhstan had a tough time with reception in the set and eventually dropped it 25-15.
The Kazakhs showed some life in the third set, grabbing a 3-0 lead before Puerto Rico called a timeout. The tactic worked as Puerto Rico responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to lead 8-5 at the first TTO. Diana Reyes ended a long rally with a spike down the middle as Puerto Rico moved ahead 9-5.
Enright soared for another spike as Puerto Rico extended their lead to 15-9. Kazakhstan made a late run to cut the deficit to one at 17-16, but was unable to overtake their opponents and eventually succumbed 25-22.
Kazakhstan and Puerto Rico both entered the match coming off three-set losses in their opening games.