PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 11, 2022 – Former champions Suriname secured a bronze medal finish in the 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19) Championship after whipping host Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 (25-14, 25-8, 25-) in their third place playoff at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena (SRISA).
This was only the second time in the six editions of the competition, Suriname had secured a top three finish, following their title win in 2019 in Jamaica while Trinidad and Tobago, winners of the first three tournaments in 2007, 2012 and 2013 had to settle for fourth spot for the second consecutive time.
Commenting on the performance of his team, Trinidad and Tobago coach Saleem Ali was quick to admit that the service game of Suriname proved too difficult for his team to have a chance.
“Suriname served very well, and we never settled into our passing game, which resulted in the defeat. But, credit to our girls because I think they came out and did the best they could providing the difficult circumstance we had in terms of lack of preparation time needed for a competition of this magnitude.”
“We also have a very young team and they lacked that experience to compete at this level, and this will only come with time and the more matches they can play at the international level.”
Richardo Soerodikromo, assistant coach of Suriname said he was pleased that his team was able to overcome the disappointment of not repeating as champions by at least taking the bronze medals.
“As you saw with our performance today, we tried to give all of the girls some playing time, but it was clear that some had played more than the others, and our concentration levels was very sporadic.”
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