Volleyball – Page 18

St Vincent and St Kitts grab minor places in ECVA Senior Men

Posted on July 9, 2022July 11, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 9, 2022 – St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Kitts and Nevis took the minor places in the 2022 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships Facility.

St Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed Bermuda 3-0 ( 25-20, 25-10, 25-20) to gain the fifth spot.

Daryl Franklyn scored 15 points and Ronaldo Franklyn registered 14 for St Vincent and the Grenadines, with Tyler Hurdle scoring 9 for Bermuda.

Meanwhile while St Kitts and Nevis edged out Dominica 3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 25-13, 17-25, 22-20), to cop the seventh place in the nine team championships.

For St Kitts and Nevis, the joint leading scorers were Nage Hendrickson and Zendai Richards, who both had 16 points. Dominica’s Yahn Florent had 21 points for his team.

Daryl Franklyn- SVG’s Captain

Reviewing their final match, Franklyn said: “ All we needed was some adequate rest as you in the beginning of the competition, we played basically three matches in the less than 24 hours and that took a toll us”.

“ Placing fifth was not the position we expected, because we were the defending champions, but I see great things in the future for the team, as most are under 25 , so just have to regroup and come back stronger”, Frankly proffered.

St Kitts and Nevis Head Coach- Richard Swan

“ It has been a learning experience for many of these young guys that we have and they have learnt… They have learnt how to take better care of their bodies… They had two games in one day and playing four matches in less than 36 hours , but they fought had and we were able to gain two wins from our five matches and that is commendable for our team”, Swan reflected.

Bermuda’s Head Coach- Robert Saraiva

“ I think we put it all on the court… My guys went out there and gave it their all and I am proud of all of them”, Saraiva said.

Dominica’s Head Coach- Ericson LeBlanc

“ I am not disappointed in my team… We have not played competitive Volleyball as a country in about four years and we are basically building back a brand of Volleyball over the years with youths because the youths are the future … We are building back… Throughout the region, there is a rebranding of Volleyball as almost every team is starting over with fresh players and those who are hungrier will take it”, LeBlanc commented.

St Vincent and the Grenadines had 2 win and 2 losses; Bermuda registered three wins and two losses, while St Kitts and Nevis won two matches and lost three. Dominica did not register a win from their four matches.

Suriname holds off TTO to claim U-19 Boys title and NORCECA ticket

Posted on July 9, 2022July 11, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 9, 2022 – Suriname secured the lone spot to the NORCECA Continental playoffs when they defeated host Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 (25-20, 25-11, 23-25, 25-13) to complete a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three series for the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth (Under-19) Championship title at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

With only two teams involved, the gold medal was decided via a best-of-three series and the visitors won game one on Friday 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21) and despite a more spirited effort from the home team backed by a vociferous home crowd.

Suriname held their nerve and poise to come away with the win to seal their spot at the NORCECA Continental Championship in Mexico from March 5-13, 2023 with the FIVB World Championship to be staged in August with the host country still to be determined.

The win also improved on Suriname’s previous showing in the competition of second spot in 2019 to three-time winners Barbados, who opted not to defend their title this time around.

Speaking after his team’s victory a jubilant Suriname captain Brendan Hiwat said the team had a game plan to serve the ball to the weaker passers of the Trinidad and Tobago team which provided them with easier scoring chances.

“We knew what we had to do coming off a win in the first match and thanks to our coach we stuck to his instructions, even though in the third set we were a little off, to get the win, our first title at this level.”

An emotional Antoine Vliet coach of the Suriname team said to coach at this level for the first time as a former player and to come away with the title brings a few tears to his eyes.

“It’s a great reward knowing that the guys have put in the hard work to get here to eventually come out as champions. So now we can celebrate this win and then get down to the business of planning for the next stage of qualifiers.

“We had to leave a few players back home from this team and looking ahead I expect that they will be back to give the team more quality and give us a better chance at NORCECA.”

Suriname brushes aside TTO to keep Under-19 Girls hopes alive

Posted on July 9, 2022July 11, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 9, 2022: Defending champion Suriname kept their hopes of retaining their title in the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship alive when they outplayed Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-12, 25-4, 25-23) in a clash of winless teams at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (SRISA).

With the victory, Suriname who were swept aside by debutants Martinique on the opening day moved their record to 1-1 and five points in third spot, behind unbeaten US Virgin Islands (2-0) with nine points, and Martinique (1-1) with six points while T&T stayed fourth without a point after two straight sets losses.

In the final round of pool round-robin matches, US Virgin Islands plays Suriname from 9 am on Sunday, July 10 while Trinidad and Tobago comes up against Martinique from 5 pm.

At the end of the four-team round-robin series, the top two teams will play for the gold medal and third and fourth will contest the bronze playoff on Monday, July 11.

Antigua and Barbuda confirm Pool A semi- final spot

Posted on July 9, 2022July 11, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 9, 2022: Antigua and Barbuda to close out the preliminary phase of the 2022 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships, with a 3-1 ( 22-25, 25- 11, 25-20 , 25-11) trumping over St Kitts and Nevis at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

The win gave Antigua and Barbuda a semi- final berth from Pool A.

Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and Bermuda, all finished with a 3:1 win/loss ratio, however, Antigua and Barbuda topped Pool A, with Grenada – second and Bermuda – third.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Captain- Adrian Constant ensured there was no letting up, as he led from the from pouring in 23 points. He was assisted by Jamarie James, who had 11 points.

For St Kitts and Nevis, Nage Hendrickson contributed 12 points.

Reacting to his team’s win Constant said in a post -match interview: “ We have achieved what we had set out to do and that was to reach the semi- finals and getting to the semi- finals, means that you are one of the good teams”.

Constant said that his team is mentally prepared for the semi- final challenge.

Meanwhile, Rosemarie Simon, Antigua and Barbuda’s Assistant Coach, said that her team came with one mission to dominate St Kitts and Nevis, hoping to win 3-0.

According to Simon: “ The guys got a little flustered, but pulled ourselves together and win the game and into the semi- finals”.

Simon underscored that the players generally rise to the big occasions and she foresees no exception in the semi- finals.

Antigua and Barbuda will play second place in Pool B, St Maarten, while Pool B winner- St Lucia takes on Grenada, in the semi- final match ups.

In the case of St Kitts and Nevis, who ended Pool A with a solitary win and three losses, their Captain- James Matthew commended his players for their output.

“ I am impressed with the guys because it is a young and inexperienced team, and we are prepared to develop the talents we possess and come stronger next time”, Matthew commented.

The next match is the championships, is the play off fixture for the seventh and eighth places, featuring St Kitts and Nevis and Dominica. St Kitts and Nevis ended fourth in Pool A, likewise Dominica in Pool B.

Haiti defeats Suriname to remain unbeaten in Under-21 men

Posted on July 9, 2022July 11, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 9, 2022: Haiti maintained their winning record in the five-team round-robin series of the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship with a combative 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17) win over Suriname at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

With their second four-sets victory on the trot, Haiti improved to a 2-0 record, and eight points, three points behind Jamaica (2-1) who has played a match more while Suriname (1-1) is third with six points, followed by T&T (1-1) with three points and the winless US Virgin Islands, fifth with two points and a 0-3 record.

An elated Dieulengy Relis, captain of the victorious Haitian team said his team came to the tournament with one objective.

“We know that all teams will be a challenge, but we came with the objective to win each match we play and take the trophy back to Haiti.

Coach Junior Siecle added, “We are going to take each match as they come and like my captain said our one aim and focus in this competition is to take the winning trophy back home.”

Antoine Vliet, coach of the Suriname team said his team lacked the focus to challenge Haiti for the win.

“We were not as focused as we should have been and I must also credit the two Haitian outside attackers because I believe they made a big difference in the outcome while we did not play our best match as well.”

Duncan Hiwat, Suriname’s captain said his team were beaten by a better team on the day while admitting that they also made too many errors.

“Haiti had a really good game and their defence was superb against us as well as their attacks, but we will regroup and hope to come back better in our next match.”

Men’s Final Six Pan American Cup to be held in Tepic

Posted on July 8, 2022July 11, 2022

TEPIC, Nayarit, Mexico, July 8, 2022.- Teams from Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, United States and defending champion, as well as host Mexico, will be competing in the Men’s Final Six Pan American Cup to be held at the Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit, from July 11 to 17.

The Pan American Cup Final Six is a competition in route to qualify for the 2023 NORCECA Continental Championship, the 2023 Pan American Games of Santiago and the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.

The current Pan Am Cup champion Mexico and Dominican Republic are already qualified to Santiago 2023.

Members of the Control Committee held a joint meeting with the organizing committee presided by Carolina Lugo, general director of the Sports Institute of Nayarit on Friday to evaluate and carry out a first inspection at the Amado Nervo Auditorium.

Manuel Calderon of the Mexican Volleyball National Federation presented a report of all the facilities prepared for the competition, to which Ariel Saiz, competition director said to be satisfied pointing out the positive disposition of the sports authorities of Nayarit and of the Mexican Volleyball National Federation.

The competition starts on Monday with a preliminary round robin to determine the four teams moving into semifinals. The fifth and sixth seeded teams will meet for the decision of the last two places before the semifinals between the first seeded facing the fourth seeded and the third against the second. The winners will play for the gold medal and the losers for the bronze medal.

NORCECA Men’s Final Six venue Amado Nervo Auditorium of Tepic, Nayarit

Monday July 11

16:00 Cuba v Dominican Republic

18:00 United States v Canada

20:00 Mexico v Puerto Rico

Tuesday July 12

16:00 Puerto Rico v Dominican Republic

18:00 United States v Cuba

20:00 Mexico v Canada

Wednesday July 13

16:00 United States v Puerto Rico

18:00 Canada v Cuba

20:00 Mexico v Dominican Republic

Thursday July 14

16:00 Canada v Dominican Republic

18:00 Cuba v Puerto Rico

20:00 Mexico v United States

Friday July 15

16:00 Puerto Rico v Canada

18:00 United States v Dominican Republic

20:00 Mexico v Cuba

Saturday July 16

16:00 Fifth v Sixth

18:00 Second v Third

20:00 First v Fourth

Sunday July 17

17:00 Bronze Medal

19:00 Gold Medal

Suriname Under-19 Men beat TTO to inch close to NORCECA spot

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8, 2022 – Suriname took a giant step towards qualification to the Continental playoffs when they overcame host Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21) to take a 1-0 lead in best-of-three series for the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth (Under-19) Championships title at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

With only two teams involved, the gold medal will be decided via a best-of-three series and the visitors will now go into the second match on Saturday, July 9 from 6 pm knowing that a win will sea their spot at the NORCECA Continental Championship in Mexico from March 5-13, 2023 with the FIVB World Championship to be staged in August with the host country still to be determined.

Commenting on the win Suriname captain Brendan Hiwat said his team did what they had to do.

“We know it will tough for both teams and we were able to follow the instructions of our coach and execute our game plan to come away with the win and we are hoping to do the same in the next match.

Suriname coach, Antoine Vliet expressed his satisfaction with his team’s effort saying, “There guys did a great job. Training for us for this competition was very limited and for us to come away with a straight sets win was great.”

Jadaiah Sanoir, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago team said his team did a great job but what was lacking was a bit more energy and self belief.

Coach Peer Nasseir said his team failed to deal with the attack from the Suriname Opposite and going into a must-win game on Saturday, they will need to devise a plan to nullify his impact.”

Suriname brushes aside TTO U-19 girls in straight sets

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8, 2022 – US Virgin Islands sounded a warning to their rivals at the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship with a commanding 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-5) beating of host Trinidad and Tobago at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (SRISA).

The win moved US Virgin Islands into a two-way lead with debutants Martinique on five points each after the latter stunned defending champion Suriname in the pool opener on Thursday, also in straight sets, ahead of their meeting on Saturday, July 9 from 4 pm, with Trinidad and Tobago facing Suriname from 8 pm.

At the end of the four-team round-robin series, the top two teams will play for the gold medal and third and fourth will contest the bronze playoff.

Trinidad and Tobago coach Saleem Ali was humble in defeat and admitted that his team is a very young one and lack any sort of experience to compete against quality opposition.

“We prepared as best as we can considering all the distractions that are happening around the team and the girls will continue to give off their best effort. Team captain, Gabrielle Mc Kenzie said her team came into the match under a lot of stress and together with the slow start in the first set, they just fell apart from there.”

“Our mood coming into the game was not all that good due some administrative issues, but we have to pick up our game and come out and do better in our next match.”

Isaac Raphael, coach of the winning US Virgin Islands was pleased with the win by his relatively young group of players.

“We have been working back home to develop the women’s program and this is just the start, so it was nice to get a win in our first match.

“Trinidad and Tobago was not at their best and we were able to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us to get the victory.”

Team captain Jahyra Thomas said it was nice to get a win as captain and in their first match as a team at international level.

She added, “Our energy level to start te match was very good and we played very well together as unit, which was key to our win.

Grenada makes it three from three in Pool A

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 8, 2022 – Grenada beat the previously undefeated Bermuda 3-0 ( 25-20, 25-22, 25-17) to remain perfect in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

Darron Oxford continued his rich vein of scoring form with 11 points for Grenada. For Bermuda, Tyler Hurdle scored 10 points.

Bermuda won the Blocks segment, 7-5, with Grenada trumping the serve aces, 9-7.

For Grenada’s Head Coach- Raphael Braithwaite, it is seldom that his team is able to put together three wins on the trot.

“ This is not normal for us to start that well, but I welcome it puts us basically in the semi-finals”, Braithwaite remarked.

Whilst lauding the efforts of his players, Braithwaite that Bermuda brought the game to them, but they were able to respond in like manner.

Braithwaite is looking forward to his team’s match up versus home team Antigua and Barbuda which he plans to use as a rehearsal for the semi- finals.

His opposite number- Robert Saraiva believe that the defeat was a “ humble pie”, taken them down from the ecstatic feelings from their two previous winning outings.

“ It cannot all go well, but we have to keep our heads up and prepare for our next match against St Kitts and Nevis and hopefully we can get maximum points and bid strongly for s semi- final place”, Saraiva commented.

St Lucia books semi- final berth in style

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 8, 2022 – St Lucia registered a 3-1( 25- 20, 25-18, 28-30, 25-17) triumph over St Maarten to book the top place in Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

St Lucia took one hour and 53 minutes to complete the win, thus ended the Pool flawless, trumping all three matches.

There were four players who were double figures contributors for St Lucia.

Sheldon Descartes scored 18 points; Tevin St Jean- 16, Anfernee Ferdinand- 13 and 10 came from Darnel Eudoxie.

Scoring the bulk of the points for St Maarten were Rajheem Meulens with 17 and 13 were scored by Riegmar Valies.

St Lucia’s Head Coach- Terry Verdant, despite the margin of victory, was not satisfied with the various passages of play.

“ We struggled a lot in the reception in the third set and although we were able to make amends in the fourth set, overall we have to improve in this area in our semi- final match”, Verdant emphasised.

Clayton Holiday, Head Coach of St Maarten after the match stated: “ We were unable to put it together in this the last preliminary match… We had a break in between the matches and that did not work for us … We start again in the semi-finals and I believe the guys have what it takes

Holiday said he, his coaching staff and players are ready and raring for whosoever are their semi- final opponents.

St Kitts and Nevis gets off the mark

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 8, 2022 – St Kitts and Nevis got off the mark with a 3-1(25-27, 25-16, 25-18, 25-11) win over Anguilla in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

Anguilla jumped out at the Kittians, to win the first set, but lost their way in the other three sets that followed.

Accounting for St Kitts and Nevis’ scoring were Zendai Richards and Aziel Belle, who registered 22 and 21 points, respectively.

For Anguilla, the lead scorer was Captain Calvin Samuel, who recorded 13 points.

St Kitts and Nevis led on Blocks 5-4 and service aces, 7-5.

It was a win that was welcomed by St Kitts and Nevis’ Head Coach- Richard Swan, who was delighted in the efforts on the court by his charges.

“ I was excited to see our players knowing how to compete… We struggled and got frustrated a little bit in set one, but stayed composed in the other sets and at the same time gained greater confidence”, Swan analysed.

Swan was also happy that the players were bettering their skills during the match.

“During the match, we got better, the players learnt as they went along and that is what I want to see… They learn and improve and do so rapidly”, Swan advanced.

Likewise pleased with his team’s efforts, was Anguilla’s Head Coach- Jason Liburd.

“ We were able to take a set and that was commendable and all along there was evident improvements among the players and that is what I am pleased for coming out to a competitive tournament like this”, Liburd related.

He assessed that from the four matches played by Anguilla, it was all about “upward movement”.

Antigua and Barbuda blanks Grenada 3-0

Posted on July 8, 2022September 1, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 8, 2022 – Antigua and Barbuda inflicted a 3-0 ( 25-21, 25-18, 25-21) defeat on the high -flying Grenada in match 15 of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

The decisive match in Pool A, saw the home team never allowing Grenada a foot hold in the match. Antigua and Barbuda, buoyed by home support pressed gas from the get go, and never looked back.

Led by the left -handed Adrian Constant, with 17 points and Jamarie James- 14 points, Antigua and Barbuda, won an additional 11 points on Blocks.

For Grenada, Darron Oxford, came away with 15 points.

The win though set up Antigua and Barbuda’s final match against St Kitts and Nevis, is critical to the two teams that will advance to the semi- finals from the Pool.

Head Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team, Fitzroy Benjamin heaped praises on his charges for the execution of the game plan.

“The guys did well with proper execution of the game plan”, Benjamin lauded.

Going into some technicalities, Benjamin informed, “ We tried not to go into the centre line and hit the back court , but we had some difficulties in stopping their middle blocker”.

On the downside, Benjamin lamented, “We have some serving errors which we must correct going forward”.

But for Head Coach of Grenada- Raphael Braithwaite, the intensity of the championships, affected them.

“Not to make any excuses, but we had a very hard game against Bermuda and that took a toll on the players as the tiredness showed up in this match”, Braithwaite explained.

On the other side, according to Braithwaite, “ Antigua and Barbuda came out and had a very good game… I must say it is the best they have played in the championships so far and they caught us struggling to find consistency”.

Bermuda returns to winning ways

Posted on July 8, 2022September 1, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 8, 2022 – Bermuda ensured that there were no more hiccups, as they pushed for a semi- final berth, by stopping St Kitts and Nevis 3-0 ( 25-21, 25-12, 25-14) in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

Bermuda thus ended the preliminary phase with a 3:1 win/loss ratio, while St Kitts and Nevis, with a game in hand, has one win and two losses.

The pair of Tyler Hurdle and Eron Woods, each registered 14 points for the Bermudans, while for St Kitts and Nevis, the topscorer was Aziel Belle, with 11 points.

Putting his team’s efforts into perspective, Head Coach of Bermuda, Robert Saraiva, stated, “It was a slow start… We had to get the engine warm before start kicking off”.

Saraiva accepted that at times, St Kitts and Nevis caused them a few anxious moments, but “give it away at some crucial moments”.

Meanwhile, Kyle Hamilton, the Bermuda team’s Captain remarked, “It is an incredible feeling… We started off a little bit slowly, but we told one another we can go forward and win this match with a 3-0…We want to get the medal round and that is what we are playing for”.

In review of his team’s efforts, Head Coach of St Kitts and Nevis- Richard Swan, apportioned defeat on the strengths of the Bermuda team, as well as his team’s deficiencies.

“ Bermuda was a solid team; They practically served us off the court and we never found a rhythm and struggled badly with our ball control and it was always trying to battle back”. Swan summed up.

“We gave then easy opportunities to score and we did not keep the pressure on them”, Swam added.

Despite the loss, Swan is hopeful for a better showing in their final match up against Antigua and Barbuda.

Mohammed salutes commitment of CAZOVA participants

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8, 2022 – Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) praised the efforts of the participating teams’ federations at the CAZOVA Youth and Junior Championships which served off at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony for the teams on Thursday, July 7, Mohammed, a former T&T Volleyball Federation (T&TVF) said. “We are happy to see the sport of volleyball not just back on the calendar in CAZOVA but also make a welcome return to the playing courts and for me, their is no better age-groups to take that step with, than with the Youth and Junior events, as they are the future of the sport.”

“I also would like to make a say a big and special thank you for the leaders of the federations of the teams who are present at this tournament and the big commitment and effort they have made to make certain that their teams participate in this edition, just coming on the heels of the covic-19 pandemic which grounded the sport for more than two years.”

Mohammed also praised the efforts of the T&TVF led by President Daymian Stewart for putting on the tournament without much outside help.

He said, “I would like to thank the T&TVF to taking up the opportunity to put on the first CAZOVA event post-Covid and doing son with very little resources and as I understand they are doing so without any funding for the tournament coming from government.

And finally, Mohammed was also high in recognition of North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) President, Cristobal Marte-Hoffiz for the financial support given by the federation to make certain the staging and success of the tournament.

Stewart in his brief address welcomed the participating and while admitting that his federation faced a few challenges in hosting the event, they were committed to putting on the event and helping to get the sport jump started in the CAZOVA region once again.

USVI rallies past Martinique to stay unbeaten in Under-19 Girls

Posted on July 8, 2022September 1, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8, 2022 – US Virgin Islands made it two wins from as many matches in the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship when they came-from-behind to rally past Martinique 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23) in a clash of unbeaten teams at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports aArena (SRISA).

With the victory, the US Virgin Islands moved into sole possession of top spot on the four-team round-robin table with nine points, three ahead of Martinique (1-1), who after stunning defending champion Suriname in the pool opener on Thursday was brought back down to earth while Trinidad and Tobago are winless and without a point from one match each.

At the end of the four-team round-robin series, the top two teams will play for the gold medal and third and fourth will contest the bronze playoff.

Speaking after his team’s first loss in two matches, Martinique coach Wilham Lebel said his team played a very inconsistent match which resulted in their defeat.

“We had a good beginning, but after the first set we fell apart in our passing and receiving which was the main reason for our defeat.

Team captain, Marie Marajo-Breton added, “I feel very bad for my team because I know we can play much better than we did today. But we still have one more match to play before the final day and I know we will come back stronger.”

Isaac Raphael, coach of the US Virgin Islands said he was very proud of the effort from his players considering that the captain of the senior Alek-Wek Raphael suffered a tournament-ending injury in the Under-21 match against Suriname earlier in the day.

“Our group is a small close-knit group and while she may not be part of this team they all looked up to her, so I think came out with the mindset to win this one for her,

“The positive thing about this group as well is that they are now in the developmental stage and I know that they will get better as time goes one.”

Team captain Jahyra Thomas added, “We had a rough start but as the game went along our performance improved.

Suriname makes winning Under-21 men start

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8 , 2022: Suriname registered an impressive 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-17) win over a jaded US Virgin Islands in their 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship round-robin opener at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

The win was the the first for Suriname to move to the top of the five-team round-robin winner-take-all table with a five points, followed by Haiti with four points and host Trinidad and Tobago with three after their wins over Jamaica (3-1) and US Virgin Islands (3-2) respectively on Thursday’s first day of competition.

Leading the way for Suriname as they hunt a first-ever crown was Shemar Jameson with 16 points and Jonovan Wijngaarde who added 12 points while for US Virgin Islands, Ajani Henley had a team best 12, and Jomari Jacobs, who chipped in with ten while Jared Brown got six in the loss.

Speaking after the loss US Virgin Islands coach Isaac Raphael said he did not want to make the quick turn-around in his team matches from playing the last night on the opening day to first match on the second day a major talking point, but instead pointed towards the inexperience of his team.

“We have a very young group of players and and when our starters did not not get off to a good start we had to go to the younger guys, but credit to Suriname as well as they have a very good team and played a well.”

US Virgin Islands captain, Gabriel Rosa said it was tough for his team to play back-to-back matches in less than 24 hours against quality teams like Trinidad and Tobago, and then Suriname.

“We put out a big effort last night and we just could not find that same energy again today, but our mentality is to come out to each match and push as hard as we can and play to the best we can, no matter the circumstances.”

Suriname coach Antoine Vliet was delighted with his team’s display saying, “It was a very good game for us.”

“The guys were well prepared for this match even though we had a delayed start and it showed in our performance.”

Team captain, Duncan Hiwat echoed the views of his coach and said he was very happy with how his team played.

“We played really well at the beginning of the match, but then we had a dip in the second and third sets, but I was very happy to see how we rebounded in those sets to take the victory in straight sets.”

Suriname to meet USVI for NORCECA U21s ticket

Posted on July 8, 2022September 1, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8, 2022: Suriname dashed the hopes of host Trinidad and Tobago while booking their own spot in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Junior Women (Under-21) final with a 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-20 triumph at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

With the win, Suriname joined US Virgin Islands, who also defeated Trinidad and Tobago in straight sets, in the gold medal match of the CAZOVA Under-21 Women’s Championship.

This after both teams are locked on five points and 1-0 records ahead of their round-robin clash on Saturday, July 9, a prelude to Sunday’s all-important final which will earn the victors the lone spot available to the USA will host the NORCECA Under-21 Women’s Continental Championship from April 16 to 24, 2023 with the world event set for September in a country yet to be named while Trinidad and Tobago got bronze with a 0-2 record in the three-team pool.

Japan defeats Canada in Men’s VNL

Posted on July 8, 2022July 9, 2022

OSAKA, Japan, July 8, 2022 – Japan defeated Canada 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20) while improving to 8-2 win-loss record at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League.

Yuki Ishikawa was the top scorer for Japan with 19 points, including 4 aces, followed by Yuji Nishida with 18. Taishi Onodera added 10 points in the victory.

Canada’s Stephen Timothy Maar registered 20 points in the losing cause while Brodie Hofer and Mathias Elser each had 10 points.

Japan took advantage of 31 unforced errors by Canada. In the other scoring categories, the stats were very similar with Japan leading in blocks 5-4 and Canada in serves 8-7.

Official presentation Japan vs Canada week 3 VNL in Osaka, Japan

SVG rebounds to beat Dominica in straight sets

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 7, 2022 – St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), ended the preliminary round of Pool B with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20 ) triumph over Dominica of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

The best scoreR for St Vincent and the Grenadines was Ronaldo Franklyn who had 20 points and for Dominica, Keaun Reefe had 6 points.

SVG thus ended the Group stage with a 2-1 win-loss ratio.

Coach of the St Vincent and the Grenadines team – Eardley Martin said that it was good for the team to deliver a win, amidst the travails.

“ We ended it with a win in our preliminary round, and to do so 3-0 against Dominica gives us an outside chance still for a fight semi- final place”, Martin reasoned.

He said that they will await the outcome of the St Lucia versus St Maarten match, as it can go down to points and sets, depending on the margin among the teams.

Martin noted that should St Lucia beat St Maarten in straight sets, will set up the application of the permutations.

Losing Dominica Head Coach, was evidently disappointed that his charges did not execute his plans.

“We came in with a game plan, which was to go through the middle because, I have noticed that St Vincent and the Grenadines does not defend well through the middle, but unfortunately my team did not carry out that plan and there is where we lost the match

LeBlanc further disclosed that he insisted that the St Vincent and the Grenadines team was tired, hence called on his players to capitalize on this.

“I told them that the St Vincent and the Grenadines team was tired as they had little sleep and had had already played two matches, whilst we only played one, but the guys got excited, did not capitalize on this… They lost focus and lost the match”, LeBlanc recalled with disappointment.

Grenada takes down St Kitts and Nevis 3-0

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 7, 2022 – Grenada took down a youthful St Kitts and Nevis 3-0 ( 25-21, 25-22, 25-16), as the two got their Pool A campaign going, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships, here at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

Darron Oxford scored a game high 12 points for Grenada and for St Kitts and Nevis, Aziel Belle scored 9 for his team.

Grenada outdid St Kitts and Nevis in Blocks, 7-3 and had 37 successful attacks, as against St Kitts and Nevis’ 10.

Oxford, speaking on behalf of his team said that it was good to get a win under their belt from the start.

“ It is a good feeling to get this first win… We had the right energy coming into this game… We realise also that we were a bit more experienced than the Kittians, which seem to be a young team”, Oxford related.

He however, said that his team is bracing for the anticipated “opposition” from the other teams in Pool A.

Accepting that his team lacks experience at this level, St Kitts and Nevis Coach- Ricard Swan said: “ We have a bunch of young players who are getting their first exposure at this level and for me they did a good job… They came out hard, but there are a lot of things we need to work on”.

Rating his team’s performance versus Grenada, Swan stated: “ I will put it down the middle, about 5 or 6 out of 10, but as I said, we are here to develop the young talent that we have…. Get them to look at the other teams and gain the experience”.

St Kitts and Nevis Captain- James Matthew sees playing alongside the bunch of new players as “ inspirational”.

Despite the youthfulness of the team, Matthew is hoping that they learn fast, and at leave an impression on the tournament.

Bermuda beats Antigua in humdinger

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 7, 2022 – Bermuda came from two sets down to beat Antigua and Barbuda 3-2 in a Pool B humdinger of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

The host, bolstered by partisan home support, won the first two sets, 25-22, 25-20, but Bermuda took the third 27-25 and the fourth 28-26, to set up a grand stand finish.

Bermuda took the early lead in the decisive fifth set, and held their nerve to win 15-11.

The top scorers for Bermuda were Kyle Hamilton who had 18 points; Eron Woods- 16 points and Ryan Davies – 13 points.

For Antigua and Barbuda, Adrian Constant scored 28 points and Jamanie James had 21 points.

A delighted Bermuda Head Coach- Robert Saraiva in assessment of the match, related: “ The Antiguans did not let up on us and with the crowd behind them it put a lot of pressure on us… But we just fought back, we did not have anything lose… We came here to do the best we can and we proved that in this match, especially in the last three sets”.

Equally elated for the come from behind win was Bermuda’s Captain- Kyle Hamilton, who gave his piece.

“We were a little nervous with the home support, so we came out in the third set and said we were going to give it our all… We were able to take it to five sets and eventually won”, Hamilton beamed with joy.

A dejected Head Coach of Antigua Barbuda- Fitzroy Benjamin, thumbed the loss of momentum on his team’s defeat.

“We started off well, but the players lapsed with their passing and at times were flat footed and allowed Bermuda to get back into the game”, Benjamin noted.

Meanwhile, Constant- Antigua and Barbuda’s team, believed that his team mates paid too much attention on things which did not go their way, hence lost focus during the last three sets.

Constant though wants to see his team refocus for the other matches.

Bermuda opens account against Anguilla

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 7, 2022- Bermuda stuck to the basics, to register a 3-0 ( 25-15, 25-22, 27-25) win over Anguilla in match four of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

Leading Bermuda’s scoring was their captain- Kyle Hamilton, who registered 11 points, while Hamilton’s opposite number – Calvin Samuel, had 8 points for his team.

Team wise, Bermuda led in Attacks, 30-14, but registered 41 errors, in contrast to Anguilla’s 40.

For coach of the Bermuda team- Robert Saraiva, it was simply getting the job done.

“ We came here to play our basic game… We did not try anything fancy we stuck to what we know just the fundamentals, hence we try to build on everyone focusing on the basics “, Saraiva assessed.

Noting that it was good to be back in the fray, Saraiva added, “ We have not been to one of these tournaments for quite a while, so we will be making the best of the experience and obviously, like the other teams, we are here to win”.

Team leader- Hamilton in assessing the win said: “It was a good victory for us a team I was pleased with our services and our passing… We will be looking to build on this victory in our other matches”.

Meanwhile, Anguilla’s Coach- Jason Liburd: “ I must say that we played a lot better than in our first match versus Antigua and I felt we should have won the last two sets but some unforced errors cost us the match”.

“ This is what we came here for and we are achieving our goal, that is to get better and better with every match”, Liburd indicated.

Match five of the tournament pits St Maarten against St Vincent and the Grenadines in Pool B.

TTO battles past USVI in Under-21 men five-set thriller

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 7, 2022: Host Trinidad and Tobago began their campaign with a five-set entertaining win (3-2) 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 10-25, 15-9 over a stubborn US Virgin Islands in their 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship round-robin opener at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

Commenting after the win in the see-saw battle that had the spectators on the edge of their seats from the first serve, Trinidad and Tobago coach Peer Nasseir said his team had a nervous start and made too many errors.

“Our mistakes on our passing and serving almost cost us the match and I believe we were very lucky to come away with the win.

Isaac Raphael, coach of the US Virgin Islands team said he was very proud of his team despite the loss.

“Our preparation for this tournament was not all that good, and it was shown in our serving which I felt was weak, but overall I’m happy with the effort and very excited for what the future holds for this team because we have many young players among this group.

Gabriel Rosa, captain of the US Virgin Islands team said his team were able to do a lot of good things despite the defeat.

“We know we have some basics to work on and we know there is great potential among this group to do well, but we just need to work out the kinks.”

Grenada adds Anguilla to their winning list

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 7, 2022 – Grenada saw off Anguilla 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-20) in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships, here at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

The win put the Grenadians 2:0 in their win/ loss ratio, having defeated St Kitts and Nevis in their opening match.

For Grenada, Darren Oxford and Nikel John, both scored 7 points each, while for Anguilla, the lead scorer was Calvin Samuel with 16 points.

Raphael Braithwaite, Head Coach of the Grenada outfit, was complimentary on his players’ execution of their duties in the match.

“ We made it simple… We did not allow the Anguillans to get into the match… All in all, it was a good win for the team, and hopefully we can continue in this vein”, Braithwaite related after the encounter.

The Grenada Head Coach though anticipates stiffer competition in his team’s upcoming matches.

“ We have to continue to prepare as we expect more challenges in the matches to come”, Braithwaite projected.

Meanwhile, sticking to his mantra of “ improving”, Head Coach of the Anguilla team- Jason Liburd, believed his script continues to stay true to form.

“ As I said from the start, we are here to improve and that is taking place and this is evident from the improved score line in each match”, Liburd supported.

Martinique stuns champs Suriname in CAZOVA Girls U-19 Opener

Posted on July 7, 2022July 8, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 7, 2022 – Martinique made a stunning debut at the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship with a polished 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-22) win over defending champion Suriname in the competition’s curtain-raiser at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (SRISA).

Three years ago, when the competition was last held in Jamaica, Suriname dethroned Barbados in the final, but today apart from going point-for-point in the early exchanges of all three sets, and holding 15-10 and 20-16 leads in the third set, Suriname could not cope with the well balanced display from the Wilham Lebel-coached Martiniquans who proved a class above the title-holders.

Speaking after the loss, Suriname coach Claudius Straal admitted his team did not play their best.

.He said, “We didn’t play well most of the match, and we surely have to improve for the next game because we trained and prepared hard to get to the final.

Team captain, Chontelle Lisse echoed the views of her coach saying “We didn’t do our best and I don’t think we give our all, but we will work on our mistakes for the next game. Our energy level was not consistent enough to match Martinique who played a good match, so I know we can play better.”

An elated Lebel said, “I think we played with a good energy.. We served well and our players were very positive and aggressive in the blocks. Our concentration level was very good for most of the match and this was key to us getting the result we got.”

Captain Marie Marajo-Breton added, “It was very good for us to get a win and against a team like Suriname as well. We are all happy and we are hoping we can win the next match.”

Haiti subdues Jamaica in Under-21 Men CAZOVA opener

Posted on July 7, 2022July 9, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 7, 2022: Haiti made a winning start to its bid to claim the title left vacant by six-time winners Barbados when they came-from-behind to subdue Jamaica 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-21) in their 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship round-robin opener at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.

Commenting on his team’s win after the closely fought contest against the Jamaicans who were the last to arrive in the country on Wednesday night and had an extended stay in immigration, Haitian coach Junior Siecle said he was satisfied with the win.

“I’m very pleased with the win but going forward we still have to to make some corrections as I’m not satisfied with our blocking.”

Captain, Dieulengy Relis added, “We started off a bit slow but then we found our momentum and played much better as the match went along. We are very happy to start with the win, and now we must continue to improve to win our other matches as well.

Steve Davis, coach of Jamaica said his team was affected by jet lag and a lack of rest.

“We are not ones to make excuses but we had a very travelling schedule where we reached in late and also had a long stay in immigration.Apart from that we also had little preparation time at home due to exams and we know that our players can improve their level of play and will improve in the next match.”

Andrae Robb captain of Jamaica also said he felt his team was badly affected by their travelling scheduled in addition to lacking in confidence.

“We know where we fell short in this match and we need to improve for our next encounter.”

USA improve record to 8-2 at VNL

Posted on July 7, 2022July 8, 2022

OSAKA, Japan, July 7, 2022 – The United States outplayed France 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14, 15-8) improving its win-loss record to 8-2 at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League.

Aaron Russell and Torey Defalco scored 18 and 15 points, respectively, for the United States, and Kyle Ensing added 12 in the victory.

USA team captain David Smith spikes avoiding France block

Earvin Ngapeth led France with 19 points, followed by Stephen Boyer and Barthelemy Chinanyese with 14 and 12.

Also in Osaka, Brazil swept Canada 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16) behind Yoandy Leal’s 15 points followed by Darlan Ferreira with 12.

Canada’s Brodie Hofer and Eric Loeppky finished with 13 and 11 points.

Canada vs Brazil week 3 VNL in Osaka, Japan

Five Coaches comment about potential of Men’s U-21

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 6, 2022 – Barbados, the perennial kings and six-time winners, including the last four editions will not be present to defend their title at the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship which serves off at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena on Thursday, meaning a first time champion will be crowned from the five competing teams.

Host, T&T who ended in third spot at the last edition in 2019 in Martinique and have a best finish of silver in 2015 will be keen to stamp their authority on home soil, but will be hard pressed to do so against the quartet of formidable opponents in 2017/2018 runner-up Haiti, US Virgin Islands and Suriname, the latter two yet to make their at this age-group level.

The five competing men’s teams will contest a straight round-robin series due to the late withdrawal of Martinique, champions in 1999, and their respective coaches while worried by their team’s preparations all expressed hope that once they play to their true potential, capturing the title wont be beyond their charges,

Under-21 Men:

ISAAC RAPHAEL (US Virgin Islands): “The boys got to train for only about two days so our preparation has not been that ideal.At the same time, we have some older players returning to the team, but the core of the team is mainly a young one as we are in a developmental stage. So during the tournament I really looking forward to seeing them grow, compete and fight as hard as they can as a team and hopefully it will be good enough for us to have some success as I do believe we will be able to hold our own.”

PEER NASSEIR (Trinidad and Tobago):“We are the underdogs in this category and we will surely be using the approach on the cautious and optimistic side since each of these teams are unknowns and will also be eager to take home the crown.”

ANTOINE VLIET (Suriname): “I expect that this age-group will be much more competitive as there are more teams firstly and with the older players you tend to get a higher level of play as well.

“We are looking forward to playing as much as possible and we are aiming to win the title as we have the believe we have the best possible group of players that we could have selected.

DERISIER SARTRE (Haiti assistant): “We had one month to prepare the team and our problem is that we don’t know the level of the other teams in the competition to give a proper prediction on our chances. However, we are very confident in our chances and we are confident of doing our best and we will see if it is good enough for us to win.”

STEVE DAVIS (Jamaica): “Our chances of winning this tournament is as good as any team we believe. Even though we have been hampered by some students and their school examinations and a short preparation time, we intend to give off our best and we are expecting great things from this group of players.”

St Lucia stops St Vincent in five -setter

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

ST JOHN ‘S, Antigua, July 6, 2022 – St Lucia and arch rivals St Vincent traded points and sets, but St Lucia finally trumped 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13, in an epic battle of the Saints, as Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships heated up at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

With no quarter given and none asked, Asmond Franklyn made good of 28 points for the Vincentians, while his team mates Jahmal Small and Jamaar Cropper each registered 14 points.

Tevin St Jean had 11 points for St Lucia, to be his team’s top scorer.

St Vincent and the Grenadines outdid St Lucia in Blocks 11-8 and Serves 5-2. But it was St Lucia who conceded fewer errors- 38 to St Vincent and the Grenadines’ 47.

A beaming St Lucia Head Coach Terry Verdant was bubbling for the win.

“ I am feeling great, because in our last two outings, St Vincent and the Grenadines had beaten St Lucia and for me that was not normal so I had to take revenge tonight”, Verdant said.

Stating that his team made some adjustments during the match, Verdant commented: “We tried to play an easier game, because at the beginning we were trying to rush the game… In addition, we noticed that they wanted the ball cross court, so began to block them inside”.

Verdant’s opposite number – Eardley Martin was gracious in defeat.

According to Martin, “The guys played their hearts out … Playing St Lucia is never always easy… We know each other and there will always be that type of intensity between the two”.

Martin believed that despite the loss , he is confident of his players resetting and coming back stronger in their remaining matches.

“We started the competition and we are going to end it”, Martin projected of a St Vincent and the Grenadines versus St Lucia final.

Match four in the tournament features Anguilla and Bermuda in Pool A.

Coaches optimistic about women’s U21 chances

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 6, 2022 – With reigning champions Barbados who lifted the title in 2019 in Martinique opting not to defend their titles the coaches of the participating teams at the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Women (Under-21) Championship which gets underway at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena on Thursday say they are all optimistic of claiming the crown.

In the absence of Barbados, host T&T who ended as runner-up in 2019 and have won the title six times, the last of which was in 2011/2012 will be keen to repeat on home soil their triumph of 205.

However, Suriname with a best finish of third in 2007, and US Virgin Islands with a best placing of second on home soil in 20211/2012 will also fancy their chances of claiming the coveted title in the three-team round-robin series at the end of which the top two will contest the gold medal match.

Speaking on the eve of the competition, the three coaches, Suriname’s Claudius Straal, Trinidad and Tobago’s Gideon Dickson and US Virgin Islands Isaac Raphael all expressed their views on their team’s chances.

Under-21 Women:

CLAUDIUS STRAAL (Suriname): “Some members of the Under-19 team will be stepping up to play in the Under-21 competition as well so it will give the players some form of continuity and momentum as the tournament goes along.”

“We are basically looking forward to playing as much matches as we possibly can as during our competition at home we had the girls playing back-to-back matches and we believe we have selected the best possible group for us to have a good tournament.”

GIDEON DICKSON (Trinidad and Tobago): “It’s been basically two-and-a-half years for the players to be inactive and it has been unfortunate due to the pandemic. “At the same time fortunately we had the Development Festival which I believed served its purpose to resume the sport of volleyball and provide a based for the national teams selections as we have the talent.

“We intend to go into the tournament and focus on each match as they come as our intention is to win the competition and even though we had been inactive for such a long time, we are confident of putting our best foot forward and doing ourselves proud.”

ISAAC RAPHAEL (US Virgin Islands): “We had a very small preparation of two weeks with most of the sessions being held together with the Under-19 girls team, training twice per day and I am also excited to see what they can produce on the court.

“What I love about this group of players is that they are much more experienced than the Under-19s and should be much better able to execute their game plans.I’m hoping that we can get to the gold medal match and take the top prize as we were third the last time the competition was held, but we are hungry for the title.”

Suriname intends to keep Girls’ U19 title

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 6, 2022 – Still basking in their success of 2019, Suriname has made it no secret that they intend to put up a very good defence of their title when the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship begins at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena on Thursday say their are all optimistic of claiming the crown.

Three years ago when the competition (formerly Under-18) was last held in Jamaica, Suriname overcame Barbados in the final to dethrone the latter while T&T, previous winners in 2007 on home soil, 2012 in US Virgin Islands and again in 2013 on home soil once more had to settle for fourth spot behind ISV.

However, T&T will be on home soil once more and will be keen to make it three championship wins as host and will no doubt pose a serious challenge along with first-time competitors at this age level Martinique, and US Virgin Islands in the four-team round-robin competition at the end of which the top two teams will compete for gold, while the third and fourth placed teams battle for the bronze.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, the four coaches while cautious about their approach to the series hinted that their teams were capable of going all the way to the title.

Under-19 Girls:

ISAAC RAPHAEL (US Virgin Islands): We have been preparing for the past two weeks with training sessions twice per day and we are ready as can be. I’m excited about the potential the team has as the players have really gel together as a unit and of course I would like to have more time to prepare, but we are here to compete and do our best:”

SALEEM ALI (Trinidad and Tobago): “Basically we have been in preparation as a team for the past three weeks following the completion of the T&T Volleyball Federation Developmental Festival, and apart from two players we basically have a brand new team.

“The players are prepared as much as they can be, but we lack experience without a doubt and will go into the competition taking one match at a time.”

CLAUDIUS STRAAL (Suriname): “We started to prepare two months ago with about 35 players and recently made our final selection of 12 players for the tournament. Two years ago we were the winners of this competition at the Under-18 level, so we basically have a core of players who were part of that winning team here with us again. We want to repeat as the champions but first we have to take it match by match and try and finish among the top two teams in the round-robin so we can play in the final.”

WILHAM LEBEL (Martinique): “This is going to be our first time presenting a team in this category of the Championship and for us it’s a huge honour for us to participate coming after the pandemic which made it very difficult for our team to prepare and I am sure for the other teams as well in the competition.I expect that al four teams will be a good level of play and I do expect my team to play good against each team as well because know that Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and USVI are all good teams and we will try to compete as best as we can.”

TTO and Suriname to battle for Boys’ U19 crown

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 6, 2022 – With only host Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname registered to compete, history will be made when one of the two teams capture their first ever title in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Youth Boys (Under-19) Championship.

The tournament will begin at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena on Thursday and both coaches were cautious in their words, with Peer Nasseir, the coach of TTO even hinted at Suriname being favourites to the title in their best-of-three finals.

Once again, Barbados, which captured the title for a third time in 2019 in Jamaica will not be here to defend their title leaving the door open for Suriname, the runner-up back then and TTO, who ended fourth to fight it out for the coveted crown.

Under-19 Boys:

ANTOINE VLIET (Suriname): “We had a good preparation of one month and we focused on playing a lot of matches so they guys can gain some kind of momentum as we only had one competition at home before training for the tournament. “Our competition is only between us and Trinidad and Tobago and having not played for sol long due to the pandemic we would have liked to have more matches, but we still hope to win our series against them as we don’t intend to underestimate any team and above all, we want to win.”

PEER NASSEIR (Trinidad and Tobago): We have a three game series with Suriname because of a lack of teams. The positive thing out of this is that we have never made it to a final in this age-group before since its inception in 2007 when we won bronze and three years later again we got bronze. “To be honest, Suriname is practically unbeatable, but I am hoping that with the three-game series we should be able to scout them, adapt to them and overcome them. However, that will all depend on the gap between both teams and if we can close this gap in the short space of time, coming out of a pandemic and not much competition or preparation done over any long period of time.

Nine teams battle for ECVA Senior Men’s Title

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 6, 2022 – Nine teams divided into two Pools will battle for honours in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

In Pool A are St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and Bermuda, with St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Dominica and St Martin stashed in Pool B.

The robin format serves off today, Wednesday July 6, with three matches.

Serving off the Championships will be the Pool B fixture between Dominica and St Martin from 1800hours today. The encounter between Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis follows from 2000hours, with St Vincent and the Grenadines meeting St Lucia from 2200hours.

The intense championships the host six matches on Thursday July 7 and Friday, July 8.

On Saturday, July 9, the last Pool A match is carded, along with the two semi-finals featuring the two top place finishers from each Pool., along with the play offs for the minor places- 5^th/6^th places as well as the 7^th/8^th.

Sunday hosts the grand finale involving the two semi- finals winners . The play off for the 3^rd/4^th spots, precede the Final.

The Championships will be played under strict covid- 19 guidelines , inclusive of no shaking of hands among players; regular sanitizing of all match balls and minimal physical interaction of teams.

It is the first time since 2019, that the ECVA is hosting any of its championships.

St Maarten edge past Dominica in Pool B

Posted on July 6, 2022July 9, 2022

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 6, 2022 – St Maarten dug deep to beat Dominica 3-2, as Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships got going here at the YMCA Indoor Facility.

St Maarten thus defeated Dominica 25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-9, in a ding- dong tussle for early honours.

Leading the scoring for St Maarten was Riegmar Valies with 18 points and Lenoard Jeffers recorded 17 points.

Dominica’s Captain- Yahn Florent was the leading scorer for his team with 25 points,

In a post -match interview St Maarten Head Coach – Clayton Holiday assessed: “My guys started off well, but lost a little focus, eventually they walked back into their game and they did what was necessary …It was a case about mind over matter, as we had the will power to win”.

The St Maarten Head Coach said that he detected a flaw in the Dominica’s play, in which they had difficulty in dealing with balls in position one, and his team exploited this to good effect

Meanwhile, St Maarten Captain- Leonard Jeffers stated, “ It was a wonderful game… We came up with a well- balanced team, having experienced players and new ones and the coaches did a phenomenal job by bringing in the right players at the right time, causing the team to mesh perfectly… I cannot complain”.

Looking forward to the rest of the tournament, Jeffers said “ We can only get better.

For Dominica , Florent said, “ I thought we had it but our service and passing let us down”.

Facing their next opponents, Florent is cognisant of the abilities of the St Vincent and the Grenadines team, but said that they will be looking to correct their flaws in order to stay in contention for a semi- final berth.

Joining Florent in reviewing his team’ first match, Head Coach- Ericson Le Blanc reported : “ It is always disappointing when you lose, but on the night the other team wanted it more than we did … We have to go back to the drawing board ad take some decisions so going forward in the next game we can do better”.

Match two in the tournament is in Pool A, pitting Antigua and Barbuda versus Anguilla.

XIX U21 Women’s AFECAVOL Central American Championship in Belize

Posted on July 6, 2022July 6, 2022

BELIZE CITY, Belize, July 6, 2022.- The City of Belize will host the XIX U21 Women’s AFECAVOL Central American Championship, previously U20, from July 10 to 17 at the Belize City Civic Center.

With the sudden withdrawal of Costa Rica, the tournament will only have five teams from the region competing, Panama had declined to participate with anticipation.

The national teams of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua will battle for the AFECAVOL title and qualify to the 2023 age-group NORCECA Continental Championship, in a round-robin competition.

The current champion is Honduras, who were crowned for the first time in the history of the event in 2019 while hosting the competition; Guatemala won the silver medal and El Salvador the bronze.

Costa Rica has won the title in nine occasions, Guatemala in five and Panama has won two titles. Costa Rica and Panama will be absent in this edition.

Check out the Rankings here: PALMARES U21 FEMENINO DE VOLEIBOL

The event will be livestreamed on The National Channel 10 in Facebook and on their YouTube channel.

The teams’ arrival is scheduled on Sunday July 10, the preliminary enquiries will take place on Munday 11 and the competition starts on Tuesday 12.

Belize City Civic Center

Competition Schedule:

Tuesday July/12

4:30pm El Salvador vs Honduras

7:00pm Opening Ceremony

7:30pm Belize vs Nicaragua

Wednesday July/13

5:00pm Honduras vs Guatemala

7:30pm Nicaragua vs El Salvador

Thursday July/14

5:00pm Guatemala vs Nicaragua

7:30pm El Salvador vs Belize

Friday July/15

5:00pm Guatemala vs El Salvador

7:30pm Honduras vs Belize

Saturday July/16

5:00pm Nicaragua vs Honduras

7:30pm Belize vs Guatemala

St Maarten edge past Dominica in Pool B

Posted on July 6, 2022July 8, 2022

St Maarten thus defeated Dominica 25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-9, in a ding- dong tussle for early honours.

Leading the scoring for St Maarten was Riegmar Valies with 18 points and Lenoard Jeffers recorded 17 points.

Dominica’s Captain- Yahn Florent was the leading scorer for his team with 25 points,

The St Maarten Head Coach said that he detected a flaw in the Dominica’s play, in which they had difficulty in dealing with balls in position one, and his team exploited this to good effect

Looking forward to the rest of the tournament, Jeffers said “ We can only get better.

For Dominica , Florent said, “ I thought we had it but our service and passing let us down”.

Match two in the tournament is in Pool A, pitting Antigua and Barbuda versus Anguilla.

USA beat Germany, Canada lost to Argentina

Posted on July 6, 2022July 6, 2022

OSAKA, Japan, July 6, 2022 – The United States improved its record to 7-2 at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League after defeating Germany 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18) to start the third and final week of the preliminary round.

Aaron Russell, Kyle Ensing and Torey Defalco led the American offense with 23, 13 and 12 points, respectively. Lukas Maase and Tobias Brand finished with 15 and 12 for Germany.

In the second match of Tuesday, Argentina beat Canada 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23) improving to 3-6 with the Canadians descending to 2-7.

Action between Canada and Argentina in week 3 VNL

Ezequiel Palacios was the best scorer for the South American side with 18 points, followed by Agustin Loser and Luciano Palonsky who tallied 15 and 11 points.

Erick Loeppky had a match-high 20 points for Canada, followed by Ryan Sclater and Stephen Timothy Maar with 16 and 12, respectively.

St Lucia stops St Vincent in five -setter

Posted on July 6, 2022September 1, 2022