Herrera, Argentina Win Bronze at Pan American Games

LIMA, Peru - A long summer of volleyball wearing her nation's home colors ended on a big note Sunday morning when junior middle blocker Candelaria Herrera and Argentina claimed the 2019 Pan-American Games bronze medal with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-21) win over Brazil. It marks the first time in Argentina women's volleyball history that Las Panteras have claimed a medal at the PanAm Games, and Herrera's first medal as a member of the senior national team setup.

Herrera and Argentina started the Pan-American Games with a bang, picking up wins over the United States (3-2) and Brazil (3-0) to ensure advancement to the semifinals. Late Saturday night, Las Panteras fell to eventual champions Dominican Republic in four sets, but were able to successfully bounce back on Sunday morning to claim the medal.

Sunday's match wraps up Herrera's busy summer wearing the white and sky blue of her home country. Following final's week at Iowa State, Herrera went back to Argentina and Buenos Aires and trained with the senior national team for three weeks. Her training period with Las Panteras was interrupted when the Cyclones came to Argentina as part of their South America tour in June. Herrera joined her teammates and played for Iowa State in six matches, including a pair against the Argentina National Team she would become a member of only weeks later.

Following ISU's final match in Peru, Herrera went back to Buenos Aires and resumed training with Argentina, seeing her earn a spot on the team for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League Qualifying Tournament in Peru. Argentina finished third in the tournament, picking up wins over Canada and Chinese Taipei. A week later, Argentina was back in Peru for the Pan-American Cup, a yearly competition between the volleyball teams of North and South America. Herrera helped guide Argentina to a fifth-place finish and a 5-2 record across the tournament, the highest finish Argentina has had at the tournament since 2016.

Herrera and Las Panteras then headed to America at the beginning of August for the FIVB Tokyo Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bossier City, Louisiana. Despite not advancing to the Olympics (Argentina finished 1-2), Las Panteras will get another chance in January 2020 at their continental qualifying tournament. After completing competition in Louisiana, Las Panteras went straight to Lima for the Pan-American Games.

In her debut campaign for Las Panteras, Herrera participated in 18 matches with Argentina, going 11-7 in the process.

Herrera will return to the United States and Ames on Friday to begin preparation for the Iowa State volleyball season.

Herrera, Argentina Win Bronze at Pan American Games

Players Mentioned

Candelaria Herrera

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Herrera, Argentina Win Bronze at Pan American Games

Players Mentioned

Candelaria Herrera

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