Tag: 2023 ECVA U23 Women

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 24, 2023:  St. Lucia’s Captain Amalia Louis pouched the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Louis’ all -round input and astute leadership on the court, played a great part in helping St. Lucia to win the title.

Other awardees

Best Server- Jassania Joseph(Antigua and Barbuda)

Best Receiver- Nyla Edmund ( Dominica)

Best Setter- Kyla Jacinto (British Virgin Islands)

Best Spikers- Jassania Joseph and Grace Vidal (Dominica)

Best Opposite- Chenoa Evans ( St Lucia)

Best Blockers- Anna Gordon and Kristin Abraham( British Virgin Islands)

Best DiggerandBest Libero- Aman Bispham – (British Virgin Islands)

Best Scorer- Jassania Joseph

The championship was held from September 20 to 24.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 24, 2023:  St Lucia added another Volleyball title to their listless trophy cabinet, by taking gold in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

St Lucia showed their prowess and dominance in the sport in the region, with a commanding 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-8) over St Maarten.

To underscore the St Lucians, command of the champions, they won all six matches; four in the preliminaries and two in  the play offs, to finish perfect, and the lone unbeaten unit in the nine team championships.

However, St Lucia’s win was considered by their Head Coach – Stuart Albert, as a normal programming.

“We expected St Maarten to do their homework on us, but they didn’t which made it a bit easier for us”, Albert said.

The Head Coach gave his charges an “A” for their performance in the championships, but moreover, feels that most of them are ready for transition to the senior St Lucia team.

According to Albert: “I am satisfied that this team can move on and play at a higher senior level and provide that continuity to St Lucia’s Volleyball”.  

Although defeated, St Maarten’s Head Coach- Leonardo Romeo was satisfied that his team’s efforts would have propelled the sport in his country.

“St Maarten Volleyball on a whole, this has opened up the doors… So most younger persons now know what can come out of this”, Romeo advanced.

The push going forward is that St Maarten wants to be in every final of ECVA, hence, from now we will endeavour to participate in all ECVA championships at all levels”, Romeo proposed.

Final standings: 1. St Lucia  2. St Maarten 3. British Virgin Islands  4. Dominica 5. Grenada 6. St Vincent and the Grenadines 7. Antigua and Barbuda 8. Anguilla 9. Saba.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 24, 2023:  With a commanding 3-0 ( 25-14, 25-21, 25-21) victory over Dominica, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) won the bronze medal of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

A purposeful and focused BVI team, came out from the sound of the whistle and with an instant was all over Dominica.

In the end, the score-line reflected the disparity between the two teams, who both played in Pool B of the preliminary round.

Dominica had topped the pool, with the BVI, the runner-up.

The BVI and Dominica thus ended their sojourns in the championships with a 3:2 win/ loss ratios.

An elated Captain of the BVI team- Makaila Powell, thought the bronze meant a lot to her team and Volleyball in the BVI.

“It feels amazing that we got the third place… As a group, we are proud of ourselves because we worked hard to get to third  position… More so, the win makes a proud captain and is an inspiration for young Volleyballer in the BVI”, Powell related.

Reflecting on the match, Powell said that it was a good revenge for her team, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Dominica in the preliminary round.

“When we played them first, we were all nervous and mentally we were not there, but all those nerves have gone as we progressed in the tournament”, Powell underscored.

Similarly, over the moon with the third place, was BVI’s Head Coach- Jackie Weekes, who though her charges belied their status as minnows in the championships.

“It is a great feeling to get the bronze , because we came in as underdogs, but we put in a lot of work while we have been here and it paid off tonight”, Weekes reiterated.

St Lucia and St Maarten next play in the gold medal match.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 24, 2023:  Grenada finished fifth place and Antigua and Barbuda seventh, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Grenada docked in fifth, after a 3-1 ( 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 23-25) triumph over St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The fifth and sixth places play off featured the two outfits that finished third in the preliminary round.

Grenada contested Pool B, while St Vincent and the Grenadines was in Pool A.

Overall, Grenada had two wins and two losses, while sixth place St Vincent and the Grenadines registered two wins, to go with three losses.

Meanwhile, in the play off for the seventh and eighth spots, Antigua and Barbuda outlasted Anguilla 3-2( 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-9).

Antigua and Barbuda had placed fourth in Pool A, with Anguilla finishing in the corresponding position in Pool A.

Antigua and Barbuda ended their campaign with two wins and three defeats. Eighth placed- Anguilla was winless from their four matches.

Saba, the ninth -place team in the championships, was also without a win from their four matches in Pool A play in the preliminaries.

The British Virgin Islands and Dominica play next for the bronze medal.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 23, 2023:  St Maarten has earned a crack at the gold medal  in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Opposing Pool B winners Dominica in the semi-final, St Maarten stuck to the basics and with some finesse of their own, won with some aplomb 3-0( 25-16, 25-11, 25-22).

For Head Coach of St Maarten- Leonardo Romeo, it was part of the overall plan coming together.

“ We came here on a mission and part was executed in this match versus Dominica… We have a promise to be the last team standing in the final, and we want to board our flight back to St Maarten with an extra piece of luggage and that is the first- place trophy”, a confident Romeo announced.

Also, St Maarten’s Captain- Aarti Gianchandari, shared the same sentiments with her Head Coach.

 “ It feels good but the mission is not over yet…We are confident going into the finals, because we had experience playing St Lucia before, and we plan to fix those errors we made against them, now we are in the finals”, Gianchandari stated with some assurance.

When the St Maarten and St Lucia met in Pool A of the preliminary round, St Lucia came up trumps 3-0.

Next match features Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda, as they duel for the seventh and eighth places.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 23, 2023:  St Lucia took three straight sets over the British Virgin Islands (BVI), to reach the final of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

A polished performance saw St Lucia trumping 25-17, 25-21, 25-17, to register their fifth successive win.

In summing up his team’s win in the semi-final, St Lucia’s Head Coach – Stuart Albert apportioned some personnel “changes”, as being the catalyst for a better showing.

“ We made some changes and some degree these are working and we are going to maintain them into the finals”, Albert expressed.

Being more specific, Albert revealed: “ In our last match versus St Vincent and the Grenadines, we recognized that we were lacking some defense on the front court, so we fixed that and it paid off in this match”.

Confident of lifting the title, irrespective of their opponents in the final, Albert projected, “We have the momentum and I don’t expect it to change in the final”.

Sharing similar sentiments of a victory in the gold medal match was team Captain- Amalia Louis, who said: “ I am a confident player and once I am confident, the other players will feed off me, and we play as one”.

Meanwhile, the BVI’s Head Coach- Jacqueline Weekes was contented that her players gave of their best in the match.

“ I am proud of my players of how far they have reach and I will be really happy that at least we leave this tournament with at least the bronze”, Weekes commented.

The other semi-final pits Dominica against St Maarten.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: Dominica topped Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Facing Anguilla in their last preliminary round match, Dominica had some anxious moments, but rallied to win 3-1( 25-9, 23-25, 25- 8, 25- 20).

Dominica won all three matches to earn a semifinal spot, where they will meet St Maarten.

Reflecting on her team’s match versus Anguilla, Dominica’s Captain -Shakira Sorhaindo identified, “Our game overall was a bit disappointed , although we won, we need to go back as players to reset and come together to make better decisions, so that we can improve on some of our plays”.

“ We are looking forward to our semi-finals match, where I expect us to play better and are better coordinated on the court”, the Dominica Captain anticipated.

On the contrary, Coach of Anguilla, Jason Liburd was smiling from ear to ear, as he was pleased with his team’s showing, despite the loss.

“ We lost 3-1, but I think the host team was a bit nervous in that fourth set, when were ahead of them, and I must say my girls played much more that I thought they could have played all along… They had a lot of fight, they had a lot of energy and they really played hard throughout the match”, Liburd expressed with satisfaction.

Antigua and Barbuda faces Saba  next in Pool A’s last match.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: St Maarten made it victory number three when they beat Saba 3-0 ( 25-18, 25-11, 25-10) to earn a semi -final spot from Pool A, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Kadesha Daniel – Captain of Saba: “ Our first set was our strongest set but after we started to fall short and we never regained our momentum in the match, but have learnt from this match which would serve us in good stead in the future”.

Leonardo Romeo- St Maarten Head Coach: “ Coming off our win against Saba, it has sealed the deal by putting us into the semi-finals… We have done our homework and the girls are more than determined as the goal is always to have the St Maarten flag flying high after the final”.

Action switches to Pool B, when Dominica meets Anguilla.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 23, 2023: Antigua and Barbuda ended their Pool A play with a 3-0 ( 25-14, 25-10, 25-16) win over Saba in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

It was the Antiguans first win, having suffered previous losses to St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Maarten.

Coach of Antigua and Barbuda – Rosemarie Simon, was over the moon that her team was able to conjure up a win.

“ I am really happy for the ladies, because they came with the intention to win… Hopefully they can close out the tournament with another win as we play for the seventh place, but overall the experience here for the ladies will serve them in good stead go forward”, Simon

For Saba, it was their fourth straight loss in as many matches.

The preliminary round of the championship concludes with match 16, as the British Virgin Islands meets Anguilla in Pool B.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 23, 2023: The British Virgin Islands will face St Lucia in the semifinals of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

This after they registered a 3-0 ( 27-25, 25-15, 25-10) win over Anguilla to end second in Pool B.

The British Virgin Islands finished with a 2:1 win/loss ratio, as Dominica topped the pool, with a perfect 3:0 win/loss effort.

In Pool A, St Lucia won all four matches in the five team Pool A, while second place- St Maarten takes on Dominica.

The first semi-final pits St Lucia versus the BVI.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: An uncomplicated 3-0( 25-14, 25-14 , 25-18)  win by St Vincent and the Grenadines over Saba, putting them to push for a semi final place from Pool A, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has two wins and one loss, with one match to go.

Head Coach of St Vincent and the Grenadines- Eardley Martin who thought it helped them, as they chase after a semi-final berth.

“This win means a lot to us, although I rested some of the key players so that they can be fresh to face St Lucia in our next match…  The win also  means that we have positioned ourselves for a possible semi-final place”, Martin commented.

Joelyn Robinson, Assistant Coach of Saba, identified the improvements in  the scores, as the major take away, in spite of the loss.

“ I was very proud of the girls on the court as they improved in their play and confidence in the game”, the Assistant Coach summed up.

Similarly, Vice – Captain, Vernisha Robinson said: “ The team did their utmost best and today in this match, we were a lot better”.

Another Pool A follows, when St Maarten takes on Antigua and Barbuda.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: St Lucia marched into with an unblemished record in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

However, they were taken to the distance by a plucky, determined St Vincent and the Grenadines, but trumped 3-2 ( 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-10) .

St Lucia ended their preliminary campaign with a 4:0 win/loss ratio , while St Vincent and the Grenadines ended 2:2.

Assistant Coach of the St Lucia team- Terry Verdant, was high in praise for the St Vincent and the Grenadines team’s showing.

“ I applaud the St Vincent and the Grenadines team who brought their A game… They defended well and it is best defensive team I have seen at that age group”, Verdant admitted.

He said that despite the Vincentian showing, his team was able to hold on and kept the unbeaten record intact.

Like Verdant, Coach of the St Vincent and the Grenadines team – Eardley Martin heaped praises on the Vincentians’ display on the court.

“ My girls played their hearts out… You could not have asked for a better all -round effort… I am really proud of them, because they brought their A game”, Martin gleefully stated.

Martin agreed that his players represent the future of St Vincent and the Grenadines senior female volleyballers.

St Maarten and Saba then play in Pool A.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: Grenada saw off a spirited Anguilla 3-0( 25-19, 25-14, 25- 17) to register their first win in three attempts in Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Grenada had earlier suffered losses to the British Virgin Islands and Dominica, while Anguilla was having their first set of action on the court.

Grateful for the win, Grenada’s Head Coach—Shakira Collymore said: “ We are happy for the win , because we really wanted to win, and a win is a win”.

Collymore’s counterpart- Jason Liburd was elated that his players were presented the opportunity to compete at this level.

“For most of them , it is their first- time playing Volleyball outside of Anguilla, so for them it is a new experience… They were very nervous at the beginning and that was expected, but they gave a good account of themselves, and hopefully they will have a better showing in their other matches”, Liburd related.

Next on court action pits St Lucia versus St Vincent and the Grenadines in Pool A.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: St Maarten enhanced their chances of a semi-final place with a hard fought 3-2( 20-25, 25-15, 17-25, 25- 21, 17-15) at the expense of Antigua and Barbuda, in  Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

With one match remaining for St Maarten in the preliminary phase, they are on a 2: 1 win/loss ratio.

On the other hand, Antigua and Barbuda is winless from their three previous matches, with one match in hand, as Pool A winds down.

Welcoming the win for St Maarten was Assistant Coach- Dimitri Deauperthuy, who philosophized: “Nothing that is worth having is easy and adversity has prepared us for what we expect to meet in the next round”.

In his assessment of the nervy win, Deauperthuy noted, “ We have been having problems passing the ball… For this game, passing was not too much an issue, it was just finishing, so hopefully that will just transition into the next match and into the semi-finals, once we get a place”.

And, in spite of their third straight defeat, Head Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team- Rosemarie Simon, praised the efforts of her team.

“ Overall my team played a tough game… They played hard from the get go, I cannot complain about their effort given here today because we came with a mentality to win the game; we played strong but at the end of the day, we did not win”, Simon explained.

Pool B action is next as Anguilla enters the fray against Grenada.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 21, 2023: Dominica took charge of Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility, with a commanding 3-0( 23-25, 25-9, 25-11, 25-9 ) over Grenada.

For Dominica, it was a commanding display on the court, as they had the crowd support to add impetus.

Dominica’s Captain -Shakira Sorhaindo said at the end of match, “ We are here to prove a point… We have a lot in us and we want to show it in front our home crowd”.

Sorhaindo also lauded the Dominican supporters who showed up, stating, “ They helped to do some of the stuff we did on the court tonight”.

Shakira Collymore, Head Coach of Grenada although disappointed with the loss, thought her players were up against it as their opportunities were charged up  by the home support.

We started off well, but we had a lot of errors, including our passing and Dominica capitalized on it…They basically blocked everything and when we overpassed, they penalized us… Also,  when we defended, Dominica was hustling us”, Collymore recounted.

Match nine is next, between Saba and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept. 21, 2023: Another commanding performance, this time against St Maarten, put St Lucia perfect from three matches in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

St Lucia, after triumphs over Antigua and Barbuda and Saba, made it win number three with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-13) scolding of St Maarten.

St Lucia’s Head Coach- Stuart Albert, said following the comfortable win , “ Am ecstatic for the win, because slowly but surely we are winning every battle”.

Looking ahead to the rest of the Championships, Albert indicated, “We are assured of semi-final place, so we are just running the plays and fine tuning, because we have a few things to work, as we prepare for the semifinals”.

Meanwhile, Leonardo Romeo, Head Coach of the St Maarten tea, believed that the St Lucians are more experienced, his team added to their triumph, with their errors.

“ St Lucia is an experienced team, but we made some errors and we already understand what those shortcomings were, but we plan to fix them going into our next match versus Antigua and Barbuda”, Romeo projected.

Team Captain- Aarti Gianchandani, was in similar vein as Romeo.

“ We had to good runs on the serves, but we equally made some errors, but we plan to address these mistakes in our next match”, Gianchandani stated with confidence.

Match 8 features Grenada versus Dominica.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 21, 2023:  St Vincent and the Grenadines did not wallow in their previous hard -fought loss to St Maarten,  by rebounding immediately to inflict a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-16) defeat on Antigua and Barbuda in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Although both teams were guilty of committing unforced errors, St Vincent and the Grenadines was more proficient in most areas.

A buoyant St Vincent and the Grenadines Captain- Shanadia Sylvester said that getting into the game early proved a plus for them.

“ We realized that against St Maarten, we took too long to get into the game, so we decided to fix it and it paid off”, a beaming Sylvester said.

Happy that they were able to get a win , Sylvester revealed that they will still be aiming for a top two place in Pool A, which would give them a chance for the title.

Captain of Antigua and Barbuda,Jassania Joseph in her assessment of the match said, “My team played well, but we needed to put in that extra work, that extra drive, but we plan to review what we have done so far, and work harder to get our plays going”.

Similarly, Coach Rosmarie Simon opined that her team played well in patches, but failed to put the whole package together, hence, put the loss down to lapses.

“Our team came out and started a great fight… We were together as a unit, but we lost some mental strength, however, we are going to regroup and come stronger in our next match and the rest of the tournament”, Simon recollected and projected.

Next up is St Maarten versus St Lucia as Pool A continues.  

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 21, 2023: The British Virgin Islands rebounded from their loss to Dominica to register a come-from-behind win over Grenada in Pool B of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

After a set down, the British Virgin Islands trumped 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23), as the two tussled for every point.

Winning Captain- Makaila Powell, apportioned the victory, to redeemed composure.

“We lost our first match, also lost the first set in this match, but came back mentally stronger and sorted out some of our communication issues on the court, but we fixed that and here we are victorious”, Powell stated.

Relatedly, Jackie Weekes, Assistant Coach of the British Virgin Islands cited nerves of the novel occasion for most of the players.

“This is the first time playing in a tournament like this… The players and the coaches did not know what to expect, so we had to adjust in many ways to lots of things and get rid of the nerves”, Weekes admitted.

She reiterated that they have little information on the other teams, hence, they will learn along the way.

On the other hand, Grenada’s Assistant Coach- Barbara Bernard, reflecting on the match, thought they lost points at critical junctures.

“ I don’t believe that the girls did everything we expected of them but they tried… It is an unfortunate loss, but we will rebound in our other matches”, Bernard proffered.

Next up, Antigua and Barbuda play St Vincent and the Grenadines in Pool A.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 21, 2023:  St Lucia broke little sweat to beat Saba 3-0 ( 25-7, 25-3, 25-13) to stay top of  Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

The win gave St Lucia a 2:0 win /loss ratio  from as many matches, while Saba has one loss from one match.

St Lucia’s Captain- Amalia Louis, was hard on her players for not giving a 100 % throughout the match.

“We didn’t play how we ought to… I believe we could have done way better…  Our intensity and energy levels dropped in the third set, but I hope that it is just a one -off situation and we give our all in our upcoming matches”, Louis lamented.

For Joelyn Robinson, the Assistant Coach of Saba, she viewed the match and participation in the championships, as part of their building blocks for the future.

“The team took a while to get warmed , but during the third set we saw them redeeming themselves… We will never say it was a bad game, as it was a learning experience, because the team is very new , having not played in a tournament of this nature for many years… We are here to learn and improve our play, by learning from others”, Robinson advanced.

Joining Robinson in praising the team’s effort was Kadesha Daniel, Saba’s Captain.

Daniel related, “ We saw improvements in the team as the match progressed; the girls got rid of the nerves, having not played in a competition of this nature and it show as in third set we were able to improve on our scoring”.

Grenada and the British Virgin Islands next play in a Pool B match up. 

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 21, 2023: St. Maarten made the fifth set count, clawing their way back to beat St Vincent and the Grenadines 3-2( 25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 22-25,  15-9) to win match three in Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

St Maarten, after winning sets one and two, was confronted by a re-energized St Vincent and the Grenadines team, who took charge of the sets three and four, that necessitated the decisive set.

St Vincent and the Grenadines registered 11 points consecutively in the fourth set, after St Maarten led 22-14.

Head Coach of the St Maarten – Leonardo Romeo agreed: “ A win is a win, but we have to fine tune going forward in our next matches”.

Reflecting on the mixed performance of his team, Romeo indicated, “Losing the third set was no problem, but we made the statement in the fourth, but the girls being young may have thought the game was over, but I have to commend St Vincent and the Grenadines for fighting to the end”.

Meanwhile St Maarten’s Captain – Aarti Gianchandani, expressed that there no complacency after winning the first two sets.

“ It was competitive for sure…. We had to fight to the end., because we recognized our mistakes in the third and fourth sets so we know what we have to do in our next matches”, the St Maarten team Captain expounded.

And, Head Coach of the St Vincent and the Grenadines- Eardley Martin was gracious in the defeat, noting that his players gave of their best.

“ The ladies played their hearts out, especially in the fourth set…Throughout the match, we had a serve and receive issue and that affected the setter being able to create any reasonable plays… In short, we made too many simple errors which had our opponents four and five points advantage on us”, Martin reasoned.

He however, expects an improved showing in future matches.  

Match four, also in Pool A, pits St. Lucia against Saba.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 19, 2023: Dominica recorded a hard-fought 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 25-19) win over the British Virgin Islands in match two of Pool B, in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championship, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Buoyed by home support, Dominica stayed ahead of their opponents in the first set, however, the British Virgin Islands regrouped to take the second.

Dominica readjusted their tactics employing more hitting across the court, much to their benefit in the next two sets.

In his assessment of his team’s win, Dominica’s Head Coach- Albert Loblack was happy with the showing of his charges.

“It was a good win for us… We really wanted to win in three straight sets, but we gave up a set, however, there were lots of positives that we came away with”, Loblack commented.

He thought that his team’s involvement in previous tournaments helped in the overall preparations for the Under-23 championships.

Loblack’s opposite number- Stephen Payne, thought his players gave up crucial points at critical stages of the match, hence their defeat.

“Our girls allowed the match to slip through their hands, by committing too many unforced errors”, Payne related.

Undaunting by the loss to Dominica, Payne expects the British Virgin Islands to reassess the first match and return stronger in their second.

Match three is in Pool A features St Vincent and the Grenadines against St Maarten.

ROSEAU, DOMINICA. Sept. 19, 2023: St Lucia registered a 3-0( 25-17, 25- 9, 27-25) win over Antigua and Barbuda, in the opening match of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

Playing in Pool A of the championships, St Lucia started positively, hence won the first two sets with relative ease, but had to dig deep to avoid an extension of the match, as the Antiguans made a fight of it in the third set.

Both teams’ Head Coaches and Captains, gave their assessments of the match.

 Stuart Albert- Head Coach of St Lucia  : “It was a good win, which definitely has boosted our morale… We have five players who are playing at this level for the first time… Am glad for the win, although, so we had to dig deep in the third set, but we came out victorious”.

Amalia Louis – Captain of St Lucia: “ I believe we played a good game… We were hungry for the win… We needed the win just to start us off strong, even though we felt a little pressure in the third set”.

Rosemarie Simon- Coach of Antigua: “I am not totally disappointed in the ladies…I think they played really hard in the first set…The opposing team changed their line up in the second set so we had to make some adjustments, but our main hitter got hurt so we also had to make another adjustment and that affected the team a bit … All in all, I am proud of the ladies”.

Jassania Joseph- Captain of Antigua: “ Despite the loss, I am very proud of my team… We came here with the mentally, so we played hard, but St Lucia played a little better”.

Match two features Dominica versus the British Virgin Islands in Pool B.

Massacre Indoor Facility, Dominica, September 19, 2023. – In a momentous occasion for Dominica, the Massacre Indoor Facility is abuzz with excitement as it hosts the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association’s (ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship from September 20 to 24, 2023.

This event not only showcases the region’s emerging volleyball talent but also marks Dominica’s debut as a host for an ECVA tournament, underlining its growing significance in the world of Caribbean sports.

This championship is the second edition U-23 tournament organized by the ECVA, with the inaugural event held in 2016. It not only serves as a platform for emerging talent but also strengthens the bonds among Eastern Caribbean nations through the sport of volleyball.

As the Eastern Caribbean comes together at the Massacre Indoor Facility, Dominica shines on the global volleyball stage. With teams ready to battle and a historic host, the ECVA’s Under-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship promises five days of athleticism, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments.

The championship features nine fiercely competitive teams, each vying for supremacy on the volleyball court. The teams have been strategically divided into two groups:

Group A: St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Saba.

Group B: The British Virgin Islands, Grenada, and Anguilla – with the proud hosts, Dominica.

Teams will be competing in a round-robin pool-play preliminary stage, ensuring that every team has ample opportunities to showcase their skills and vie for the top positions.

Six daily matches for the preliminary round will be held at various times throughout the championship, starting at 9:00 AM, ensuring that fans have multiple opportunities to witness the thrilling matches and support their favorite teams throughout the day.

As the round-robin stage concludes, the top two teams from each group will advance to crossover quarterfinals, scheduled for Saturday morning, promising intense battles on the court.

Dominica’s Historic Moment

This event carries immense significance for Dominica, as it marks the first time the island nation has hosted an ECVA tournament. The vibrancy of the Massacre Indoor Facility, coupled with the passionate support of local volleyball enthusiasts, adds to the event’s excitement. Dominica had previously hosted the OECS Senior Men’s Championship before the formation of the ECVA, making this championship even more momentous.