Varna, Bulgaria (fivb.com).- Dominican Republic won gold atthe FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix 2016 Group 2 finals and earned a promotionto Group 1 for the 2017 season. Poland took the silver and Puerto Rico claimedthe bronze leaving hosts Bulgaria off the podium.
Spearheaded by the attacks of Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez,the Dominican Republic achieved a fantastic comeback from two sets down tomaster a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-11) victory over Poland in thefinal match played in Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Martinez spikedsuccessfully 24 times to top the scorers’ chart on her team.
Puerto Rico won the bronze after disappointing the homecrowd in Varna with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23) victory over Bulgaria inthe third-place match. Karina Ocasio rose to the occasion and hammered out 27points for the winning side, supported with 19 points (5 aces) by teammateAurea Cruz. Despite losing on the volleyball court, there was still plenty tocelebrate on the Bulgarian side as well.