After defeating Venezuela in straight sets on July 3, all the U.S. women’s national volleyball team could do was sit back and watch the action unfold to see who its quarterfinal opponent in the Pan American Cup held in Puerto Rico would be.

The U.S. finished second in Pool B of the tournament with a 4-1 record, and its quarterfinal opponent would be the third team from Pool A. However, the final match of Pool A had the potential to create a three-way tie for first in that grouping. Brazil was already 4-1, while tournament host Puerto Rico was 4-0 heading into its last pool match against 3-1 Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic came away with a solid 25-19, 29-27, 25-20 victory over Puerto Rico, a team that had defeated world second-ranked Brazil the night before. With a three-way tie for first, Brazil emerged as the top seed and direct advancement into the semifinals due to its 14-4 set won-lost ratio. Dominican Republic was 13-4 in 17 total sets played to place second, while Puerto Rico won 12 of 19 sets to be slotted in third.

The U.S. will face Puerto Rico in a quarterfinal round match based on the crossed-pool rankings with the second-place teams facing the third-place teams from the opposite pool. The U.S. versus Puerto Rico match will take place on July 5 at 8 p.m. ET. Team USA won all three matches with Puerto Rico last year, but two of the matches went to four sets.

The Dominican Republic will face Peru, the third-place team in Pool B, in the other quarterfinal match at 6 p.m. ET. Both Brazil and Cuba advance directly to the semifinals as the pool championships.

Should the U.S. defeat Puerto Rico, it will face Brazil in the semifinals on July 6 at 6 p.m. ET.

The Pan American Cup is a qualifier for the 2007 World Grand Prix. The top three teams from NORCECA and the best ranked team from South America advance to next year’s premier women’s event on the FIVB calendar.

For additional information on the tournament, go to http://www.norceca.org/endex.htm or http://www.norceca.org/V%20Panamerican%20Women´s%20Cup_2006.htm.

For more information about USA Volleyball, go to: www.usavolleyball.org.

USA Women’s National Team Roster for Pan American Cup
3 – Tayyiba Haneef (OH, 6-7, Laguna Hills, Calif.)
5 – Sarah Drury (L, 5-5, Louisville, Ky.)
6 – Elisabeth Bachman (MB, 6-3, Lakeville, Minn.)
7 – Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif.)
8 – Katie Wilkins (OH, 6-4, Lakeside, Calif.)
9 – Jennifer Joines (MB, 6-3, Milpitas, Calif.)
10 – Jane Collymore (OH, 6-0, Englewood, Colo.)
11 – Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S, 5-9, Honolulu, Hawai’i)
12 – Nancy Metcalf (OPP, 6-1, Hull, Iowa)
14 – Candace Lee (L, 5-7, Eugene, Ore.)
16 – Sam Tortorello (S, 5-11, Shorewood, Ill.)
18 – Cassie Busse (OPP, 6-1, Prior Lake, Minn.)

USA Pool B Matches
June 29: def. Peru 25-18, 25-17, 25-20
June 30: def. Argentina 25-9, 25-14, 25-12
July 1: def. Barbados 25-8, 25-17, 25-11
July 2: lost to Cuba 27-25, 25-22, 20-25, 26-24
July 3: def. Venezuela 26-24, 25-20, 25-14

Pan Am Cup Pools
A: Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico
B: Argentina, Barbados, Cuba, Peru, USA, Venezuela

Final Pool Standings
Pool A
Brazil 4-1
Dominican Republic 4-1
Puerto Rico 4-1
Canada 2-3
Mexico 1-4
Costa Rica 0-5

Pool B
Cuba 5-0
United States 4-1
Peru 3-2
Venezuela 2-3
Argentina 1-4
Barbados 0-5

V Pan American Cup Schedule
June 29
USA def. Peru 25-18-25-17, 25-20
Cuba def. Argentina 25-19, 25-12, 25-16
Brazil def. Dominican Republic 25-21, 24-26, 25-15, 25-19
Puerto Rico def. Mexico 18-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-19
Venezuela def. Barbados 25-10, 25-20, 25-7
Canada def. Costa Rica 25-15, 25-20, 25-6

June 30
Peru def. Venezuela 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21
Brazil def. Mexico 25-8, 25-12, 25-19
USA vs. Argentina 25-9, 25-14, 25-12
Puerto Rico def. Canada 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-25
Cuba def. Barbados 25-7, 25-22, 25-9
Dominican Republic def. Costa Rica 25-12, 25-11, 25-19

July 1
Peru def. Argentina 25-20, 25-18, 29-31, 25-21
Cuba def. Venezuela 25-16, 25-17, 25-21
Dominican Republic def. Canada 26-24, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22
Puerto Rico def. Brazil 19-25, 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 15-13
USA def. Barbados 25-8, 25-17, 25-11
Mexico def. Costa Rica 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16

July 2
Venezuela def. Argentina 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 15-10
Brazil def. Canada 25-22, 25-21, 25-12
Puerto Rico def. Costa Rica 25-14, 25-20, 25-11
Cuba def. USA 27-25, 25-22, 20-25, 26-24
Peru def. Barbados 25-18, 25-17, 25-21
Dominican Republic def. Mexico 25-17, 25-16, 27-25

July 3
Canada def. Mexico 25-14, 25-19, 25-16
USA def. Venezuela 26-24, 25-20, 25-14
Cuba def. Peru 25-15, 25-20, 25-19
Dominican Republic def. Puerto Rico 25-19, 29-27, 25-20
Argentina def. Barbados 25-13, 25-6, 25-19
Brazil def. Costa Rica 25-13, 25-13, 25-16

July 5 - Quarterfinals
Dominican Republic vs. Peru, 6 p.m. ET
U.S. vs. Puerto Rico, 8 p.m. ET

July 6 - Semifinals
Brazil vs. U.S./Puerto Rico winner, 6 p.m. ET
Cuba vs. Dominican Republic/Peru winner, 8 p.m. ET

July 7
Championship