Dominguez on reaching her Olympic dreams

Twenty-nine-year-old setter Camil Dominguez was ecstatic when her team, the Dominican Republic, defeated Japan on Monday night to qualify for the knockout stage of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The Dominican Republic are playing in their third Olympic Games, following appearances at Athens 2004 and London 2012, where they jointly finished in fifth. In Tokyo, they have already matched their previous performance and they could still push for more.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we are just this tiny, tiny, tiny country against all these big monsters. We are proud to be here, proud to represent and grateful for the opportunity,” Dominguez said.

In the last decade, the Dominican Republic have built a strong foundation and developed their competitiveness. To cut a long story short, they have turned their small successes into big achievements.

At the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, the NORCECA squad placed fifth overall and showed no signs of slowing down.

“When you go through so many things, especially at this level, you can only get stronger. You also have to know that it’s important to keep a positive attitude, know your responsibilities and follow instructions.”

And that is what they did against the Olympic hosts in their preliminary round match.

“It was important to keep a positive attitude. Japan are always tough opponents. They hustle so well and have discipline and so many tricks. We have played many times together, and the last match we lost in five. So we needed to start strong right off the bat,” said Dominguez.

But the tournament gets tougher as it progresses, and next up are the United States on Wednesday at 13.00.

“We have a lot of studying to do and we have to keep practising. Practising in the last couple of days has been very specific towards the teams we are going to face. It’s been working so far and keeps us stay in rhythm and focus,” Dominguez remarked.

“At this level, it’s just a matter of consistency and that’s the hardest thing to achieve. We’ve gone through so much, but we have nothing to lose here and we are just going to continue.”

Quick links:
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Volleyball
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Volleyball - Match schedule
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