JAMAICA lost to the Bahamas 25-15, 27-25, 16-25, 22-25,10-15 on day three of the Eighth Junior Caribbean Volleyball Championships at the University of Technology Auditorium yesterday. 

The Bahamas will now face Trinidad & Tobago, who finished third at the last championship in 2009, at 10:00 this morning in the quarter-finals, after the US Virgin Islands battle Guadeloupe at 8:00 am.

Meanwhile, Curacao and Barbados journeyed straight into the semi-finals after victories over Guadeloupe and Trinidad & Tobago yesterday.

Curacao overpowered Guadeloupe 25-22, 15-25, 20-25, 25-17, 23-21 in a two-hour, 30-minute thriller, while Barbados outduelled Trinidad & Tobago 27-25, 25-21, 25-18 in one hour 23 minutes.

Quinten Anthony led the attack for Curacao with 23 points, including 21 spikes. His teammate Jurcham Meulens chipped in with 14 points

(nine spikes).

Daryl Bultor starred for Guadeloupe, who finished fourth at the last championship, scoring 15 points, with Rony Sophiyair and captain Oliver Kantapareddy adding 10 points apiece.

Jabarry Goodridge (12 points), Klode Thompson (nine points) and Janeil Craigg (eight points) spearheaded Barbados to victory, while Brandon Legall was the star performer with 25 points (23 spikes).

Later today will also be the semi-finals at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm featuring group winners Barbados and Curacao, respectively.

share/save

share/save

he U.S. Men’s Junior National Team moved to 2-0 at the 2010 NORCECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship on Tuesday with a 25-14, 25-11, 25-11 sweep of Martinique at the Centre Sportif de Gatineau.

Current UCSB players Dylan Davis (Newport Beach, Calif.), a sophomore middle blocker, and Evan Mottram (Leona Valley, Calif.), a freshman libero, are playing for the squad.

The United States (2-0), which swept Trinidad & Tobago Monday, will play Mexico (2-0) for first place in Pool C on Wednesday at 12 p.m. PT.

The U.S. out-blocked Martinique 11-2, out-served it six aces to one and had a hitting percentage of .580.

The U.S. service reception was 77 percent positive and 61 percent excellent. Martinique’s was 56 percent positive and 39 percent excellent.

Head coach John Hawks was not completely satisfied with his team’s performance.

“I thought we weren’t that crisp early on,” Hawks said. “We missed some serves and we weren’t executing at the net. But I give our guys credit for their resiliency. I thought that they battled hard and we got back on track with a nice run of points.”

For the second straight match, Hawks played every player and every player was credited with at least one point.

“We know it’s going to be a lot tougher and we are going to have to go out with a lot more fire than we did tonight,” said Davis, the team’s captain.

Davis was credited with five points on three kills (.750 hitting percentage), one block and one ace.

“That was not our best volleyball and we all know that,” he added.

Mottram, the starting libero for the United States, had a team-high four digs and 11 “excellent” receptions.

share/save

The first and second seed teams were upstaged over the weekend at the Eastern Caribbean Senior Women’s Volleyball Tournament which took place in Saint Lucia.

In the quarter finals, top seed and defending champions Saint Lucia suffered a shocking defeat to eventual winners St. Kitts and Nevis 3-2 while second seed Antigua and Barbuda, who trampled St. Kitts and Nevis in the preliminary round, fell to Dominica 3-0.

Florian Combie, coach of the dethroned tournament favourites Saint Lucia hinted that complacency was a factor in his team’s demise: “We have to get used to the idea sometimes that even if you might be the better team, there is always the possibility of loosing when a team will somehow just raise their game to unexpected levels. That happened in our game. St. Kitts and Nevis played very good defense and we were not able to respond.”

Champions St. Kitts and Nevis endured hard fought ladies volleyball final on Sunday evening before prevailing over Dominica. Lead by tournament MVP Brenda Allen (left of photo) the ladies from the Basseterre staved off a commendable challenge to win 27-13, 27-29,25-19,19-25,18-16.

Although happy for the upset victory over the home team, coach Steadroy Collins says his squad still needs to work much harder on its defense “I think my team could have played better. Their level of performance was really high for the first set. Then it fluctuated for the rest of the game. We lapsed on defense a lot.”

The victorious run by St. Kitts and Nevis has earned them a spot for the 2011 Norseca championships in Tijuanna Mexico.

Dominica’s coach Albert Loblack commended the loosing finalists for their efforts throughout the tournament but added that his team needs to regain it’s killer instinct. Dominica will engage Trinidad and Tobago, hosts Surinam and other countries at the COZOVA championships later this year.

Hosts Saint Lucia won the 3rd place playoff against Antigua and Barbuda 3-2. Harris Lewis, Coach of Antigua and Barbuda is suggesting that several of his players had difficulty coping with the lack of sufficient ventilation at the indoor playing facility. Similar sentiments were shared by other teams. In response, Brian Louise who heads the Saint Lucia Volleyball Association says concerns regarding the conditions at the venue for the recent regional tournament have been noted.

St. Lucia’s Sancha Isidore was awarded Best Reciever, Best Libero and Best Digger. Emma Edgar also of Saint Lucia was awarded Best Spiker. Dominica’s Elizabeth Joseph and Annmarie Xavier won Best Setter and Best Scorer respectively. Jacklyn Hodge of French St. Martin was awarded Best Blocker the Best Server trophy was presented to Carolyn Christian of Antigua and Barbuda and Brenda Allen of champions St. Kitts and Nevis was awarded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The Eastern Caribbean Senior Female Volleyball Tournament is part of the OECS Sports Calendar.

The rankings for the 2011 ECVA championships will feature defending champs St Kitts and Nevis as the top seed, followed by Dominica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda , Anguilla, French St. Marten, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

share/save

China, U.S., Cuba win with surprises at Montreux Volley Masters

Cuba created a nice surprise, defeating the Netherlands 3-1 in the opening game of Montreux Volley Masters on Tuesday, while the United States and China both well started.

China beat Poland and the Americans defeated Japan, both in three straight sets, to kick off the tourney, held from June 8 to 13.

Cuba took advantage over the vice European champions Netherlands by winning the first set 25-18, before the Caribbean team won the second set 25-22 with the powerful serves from Silva.

The Dutch then reacted with a 25-17 comeback, helped by Manon Flier’s magical arm.

The fourth set was tied with both teams going back and forth but the Cubans were able to conclude the match on a malicious point by Silva.

Tuesday’s second game faced the powerful Americans with the quick Japanese. The Americans did not started largely favourite as expected, winning the first two sets on the tied score of 25-23. However, they became more comfortable in the third game, defeating the Asians 25-21.

China, the bronze medal winnners of the 2008 Olympic Games, smashed their way to the opening victory over Poland.

The players of the new head coach Wang Baoquan defeated Poland in three games on the score of 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.

Except in the second set where China won 25-23 after being down 22-23, the Asians could control the entire game around.

The Montreux Volley Masters is an international women’s volleyball competitions held annually in Montreus, Switzerland. Brazil was the champion of last edition.

share/save

Vibe 98.9 even showed up to provide a live broadcast, hoping to help out their team, the Vibe Powa Slam.

The Spin Ballaz took home the opening season title, defeating a very strong Goldfield Empire squad led by team captain Travis Webb and co-captain Johann Josephs.  Webb commented after the game, “I thought the entire tournament was a great experience and fun all around.  It was a disappointing loss, but our team played very well and should be proud”.

Coach Fareed Hosein refereed the games and was impressed with the progress these players had made.

“The level of play is quite high, and the players quickly learned the finer points of the game.  It was fun coaching and taking part in this inaugural beach volleyball league put on by Cayman Sports Authority,” said the coach.

Spin Ballaz Captain Maggie Greenwood was ecstatic after her team’s victory. She was also named the tournament’s most sportsmanlike player. Brennan Ebanks, the team’s star player, was named the tournament’s top male player for his stellar performance over the past eight weeks.  His performance was crucial to the Ballaz taking the league’s top honours.

As the day came to a close, Coach Carl Brenton shared his reflections of the initial season: “The programme was a lot of fun for the coaches and the kids. I was very happy with the great attitudes that the kids had and how much fun they had playing.  We have some really gifted athletes in the program and I hope that they want to keep playing next season.”

Being crowned champion of the beach was not the only honour the teams were vying for. Cayman Sports Authority, the tournament organizers, donated a $1,000 cash prize that was not tied to the teams’ athletic abilities.

Winning the championship game did not count towards this prize. To compete, teams earned points by having teammates and family members clean up West Bay Cemetery Beach. Additional points were earned by having as many friends & family post comments on individual team pages provided by www.csa.ky.

At the end of the day, it was Vibe Powa Slam that earned the most points and the coveted prize.

The inaugural season for Cayman Sports Authority’s High School Beach Volleyball League was part of a test phase for CSA’s upcoming School Fitness Program. The programme’s goals were definitely achieved: create activities that get kids active, excited and involved. Over the past eight weeks, these teenagers supported their teams, got active, and helped on community projects.

Cayman Sports Authority and the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation plan to expand the second season to include other high school this winter.

Ray Singh, Athletic Director of King’s Sports Centre and Cayman Sports Authority, “thoroughly enjoyed watching the final week of the season.  The kids had a blast, and that was the whole point.  We’re looking forward to being able to operate programs very similar to the Paramount High School Beach Volleyball League in the fall, with the introduction of the new school fitness program.  Our fitness-based sports model will go miles towards offering Cayman’s kids healthier options. Thanks again to the Paramount Group for their support. They have helped to pave the way for a brighter Cayman.”

Cayman Sports Authority and the Cayman Islands Parks & Recreation Department would like to thank the following participants who helped with the clean-up: Maggie Greenwood, Kimberly Carlos, Taylor Clarke-Wint, Sheyla Torres, Kenrick McField, Mitchell Forbes, Nassaria Thompson, Kristoff Powell, Esther Ebanks, Robert Jackson, Devin Ebanks, Nicholas Douce, Ackiel Williams, & Brian Espino.

share/save

Although this country’s girls had walked away champions in five of the six editions of the bi-annual tournament, their demise was not surprising as they had also lost their previous encounter against Guadeloupe in the one-week competition.

And T&T went into the title match with the added disadvantage of being without the services of vice-captain, Delicia Pierre, who was injured in their straight-set semi-final triumph over Bahamas the night before.

The hosts defeated T&T 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 to end the tournament unbeaten from six matches, while Bahamas battled back from two sets down to edge Martinique 22-25, 19-25, 25-15, 28-26, 15-12 for the bronze medal.

Playing in the tournament for the very first time, French Guiana defeated Martinique 20-25, 34-32, 25-14, 20-25, 15-10 for the boys’ under-20 crown.

share/save

The win sent the Jamaicans into the finals of the qualification tournament where they were scheduled to face the host nation at the same venue last night, with both teams assured of a place in the penultimate round of qualifying. The winner will contest the next round in Puerto Rico with the second-and third-placed finishers moving to the United States.

The Jamaicans, who had not lost a set going into last night’s game, suffered a first-set scare in their match-up against the Bahamians, but rallied to win 25-23 before out-powering their opponents 25-9 and 25-13 in the second and third sets, respectively.

Robertson expressed satisfaction at the performance of the team after equally dominating victories over the Cayman Islands (25-7, 25-19, 25-15) and St Lucia (25-15, 25-23, 25-21) in their earlier games.

"I am very happy for the team and for the coaching staff. I know they have put a lot of work into this so this one is really for them. We want to be number one in the Caribbean, first, and then the region, so this, is a small step towards bigger success," said Robertson.

He was, however, careful to point out that the team will not be settling for second spot as they have set their sights on the championship trophy, while admitting that things have not been too difficult for the Jamaicans so far.

".We will not be satisfied with second place. The girls have dominated from the start of this tournament and have sent a clear signal that they came here to win, and that is very satisfying to us. Now we just have to ensure that we complete the job against Barbados," Robertson said.

Despite their steam-rolling performances in Barbados, Robertson is aware that the Jamaicans’ chances of advancing to the 2010 World Volleyball Championships in Japan remain a serious challenge. He is, however, confident that the team’s mixture of youthfulness and experience will go a long way in taking them through the next round of qualifying where they will face at least one of the top three teams in the NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean) region.

Said Robertson: "The third round is going to be very difficult, but notwithstanding, we like what we are seeing with the young players. This team is a nice mixture of youngsters and we have a few veterans to steer the ship and they have been steering really well."

"We are confident that we will be able to build on this qualification and give a good showing of ourselves in the next phase," he added.

share/save

The U.S. meets Costa Rica on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., the final match of the third-round qualification event. The winner will receive direct entry into the FIVB World Championship being played in November 2010 in Japan. The second-place team will compete in the four-team NORCECA Playoff Round that will fill NORCECA’s final two World Championship vacancies.

“I thought our team improved on a few phases of the game tonight,” U.S. head coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “We are excited to get back out on the court for tomorrow’s match with Costa Rica.”

Kristin Richards came off the U.S. bench in the second set and scored a match-high 11 points filling in for an injured Cynthia Barboza, who scored 10 points before leaving the match. Orlando-area product Angie Pressey added 11 additional points, while Tayyiba Haneef-Park chipped in seen points. Heather Bown, Christa Harmotto and Jane Collymore all racked up five points.

Nellie Spicer added two points and 18 assists, while Danielle Scott-Arruda added one point. Stacy Sykora led the defense with 19 digs.

Shari Matthews led Barbados with five points in the loss, while Julia Lewis and Thonya Joseph each tacked on three points.

Team USA grabbed an 8-2 lead at the first technical timeout of the opening set and extended the gap to 10-2 with two points out of the break. The U.S. held a 13-point advantage, 16-3, at the second technical timeout and cruised to the 25-6 set victory.

Barbados scored the first two points of the second set, only to have the U.S. answer with four unanswered points for a 4-2 lead. Barbados came back to retake a 6-5 lead and relinquished it to the U.S. at 8-7. The Americans gained breathing room as part of a 5-0 spurt at 11-7. Leading 15-10, the U.S. finished strong on a 10-1 run for a 25-11 victory.

Barbados came back from an 8-5 deficit in the third set to move within one at 10-9, but Richards sided out with a kill and started a 3-0 run to rebuild a four-point cushion at 13-9. Collymore sliced in three consecutive aces and served Team USA to the final nine straight points to push the American advantage to 25-12.

Team USA held a sizeable 43-12 kill advantage while adding a 10-0 margin in aces. The U.S. also out-blocked Barbados 4-2. The U.S. had a hitting efficiency of 63.24 percent for the match.

“I am happy with the win,” Scott-Arruda, the U.S. captain, said. “We were able to play a lot of people and they played well.”

“I enjoyed the competition tonight with the USA team,” Barbados Head Coach Andrew Brathwaite said. “We were able to stay with them for a little while, but we need to stay focused for a longer period. Tonight we were beaten by a great USA team. I am happy with the fight spirit displayed by our team.”

“Regardless of the score, we were able to stay together as a team tonight against a good team,” Barbados captain Janelle Chase-Mayers said.

share/save

"I was happy our team could implement some changes from the Pan Am Cup," U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "The goal is to qualify for 2010 FIVB World Championship. I think our team is steadily improving. I am looking for our team to have three good matches and continue to improve."
The Americans play Barbados on Tuesday night in the four-team round-robin event, a third-round qualification tournament into next year’s FIVB World Championships.
The Pool G winner earns an automatic berth into the FIVB World Championship, while the second-place finisher advances to another level of the NORCECA Playoff round. Ranked second in the world, Team USA is considered the heavy favorite to earn the qualifier’s one berth.
Barbados lost to Costa Rica in straight sets on Monday.
Barboza recorded 10 kills and a block. She also added five digs in the victory. Stanford grad Kristin Richards played sparingly, getting a kill as the U.S. needed less than an hour to complete the victory.
The match drew a crowd of 1,500.

share/save