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.
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