Host T&T overcame a determined Barbados 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20 to claim the gold medal in their NORCECA Women’s Second Round Group I qualifier to the 2014 FIVB World Championship at the University of the West Indies Sports and Physical Educational Centre, St Augustine, on Sunday night.
Going into the match, both teams had already secured their passage to the Third Round of NORCECA qualification after ending the round-robin series as the top two teams, and despite a much improved showing from the Barbadians, than in their first meeting, the more athletic Calypso Spikers prevailed in one hours and 27 minutes, to finish the tournament unbeaten.
Leading the way for the host, ranked seventh in NORCECA was captain Krystle Esdelle with 20 points, 18 of which were kills and two aces while Channon Thompson added a valuable 19, inclusive of 13 kills and five service aces, and Sinead Jack, 10.
For Barbados, Serbia-based captain, Shari Matthews was also her team’s topscorer with 14 points, punctuated by 13 kills while Spain-based Anicia Wood chipped in with 13.
Speaking after the match, Matthews first admitted it was the best performance by her team over the two days of the tournament.
“We started off very slow on the first day but in the final it was evident that we made a big improvement, but still came up short,” ended Matthews.
Esdelle, while happy her team won the gold medal was disappointed in the actual performance in the final.
She added, “Tonight, our key players did not perform and we made too many errors which made the match complicated for us.”
Andrew Brathwaite, the Barbadian coach was satisfied with his team’s display as it was much better than their previous matches.
“I expected T&T to play at a much higher level tonight, but for some reason they did not, which was good for us and also for the spectators because it made for an entertaining match for the spectators.”
T&T coach, Francisco Cruz was full of praise for Barbados, who he said made his team work very hard for the win.
With respect to his own team Cruz said he was very satisfied with the outcome because at the moment he cannot demand much more.
T&T Volleyball team goes undefeated
Honduras spikes Anguilla for Group I bronze
Captain Tessa Michelle Flores led from the front with a match-high 10 points to lead Honduras over Anguilla, 25-9, 25-18, 25-18 in their third spot playoff also in St Augustine.
In addition to Flores, who had seven kills in her tally, Mariajosse Diaz and Dariana Flores added eight points each in the 64 minutes win for the Central Americans who dominated, 24-15 on spikes, 5-0 on blocks and 15-3 on service aces.
For Anguilla, captain Susan Webster had eight points and Rikiesha Leveret, five in the loss.
It was the second win in as many meetings for the 18th NORCECA ranked Hondurans over Anguilla, ranked 22nd, after registering a 25-15, 25-12, 25-11 win in their round-robin encounter on Saturday’s opening day of the tournament.
By finishing third, Honduras, still has a chance to qualify for Italy, but will only do so, as the best ranked third placed team of all the six Second Round qualifying groups based on the NORCECA ranking on January 1, 2014.
T&T’s Thompson voted Group I MVP
T&T’s Channon Thompson was voted as the Most Valuable Player at the end of the two-day qualifiers on Sunday night.
In addition, 19-year-old Thompson, who played professionally in Poland for the last three years also collected three other awards, Best Scorer, Best Spiker, and Best Spiker as the host team dominated the awards, claiming eight of the nine on offer.
The other T&T award winners on the night were another Poland-based player Sinead Jack Best Blocker, and Courtnee-Mae Clifford, who walked away with three awards, the Best Libero, Best Receiver and Best Digger while Honduras’ Maria Elena Barahona copped the Best Setter accolade to deny T&T, a clean sweep.
Honour Roll
Individual awards
Best Scorer: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Spiker: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Blocker: Sinead Jack (T&T)
Best Server: Channon Thompson (T&T)
Best Digger: Courtnee-Mae Clifford (T&T)
Best Setter: Maria Elena Barahona (Honduras)
Best Receivers: Courtnee-Mae Clifford (T&T)
Best Libero: Courtnee-Mae Clifford (T&T)
Most Valuable Player: Channon Thompson (T&T)