Antigua and Barbuda edges St. Kitts in nail-biting opener

The Antigua and Barbuda Senior Women’s volleyball team edged out rivals, St. Kitts and Nevis in their opening Group B match of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Women’s Volleyball tournament on Thursday night, 3-2.
After winning the first two sets, 25-15, 25-18, Antigua and Barbuda seemed to have taken their foot off the gas in the third that resulted in longtime rivals, St. Kitts, gaining some much-needed momentum to win the set, 19-25.
With the fourth set underway, both teams were in full swing exchanging points throughout, but it would be Team St. Kitts and Nevis who would reign supreme winning the set, 22-25 to push a final fifth set.
Both teams left it all on the court in the race to 15 points but with a last-minute substitution, Nyota Peters, who was later named the best scorer of the match, came up with two back-to-back plays securing the win for the host country (17-15).
Peters ended the match with 27 overall points from 83 attempts to include: 17 spikes, six blocks and four aces.
Kittitian, Antoinette Henry, had 12 points from 78 attempts with 10 spikes, two blocks and two aces.
“The teams are really impressive I must say. We had a very tough night [Thursday] night I must say,” stated libero of the Antigua and Barbuda team, Rosemarie “Rosie” Simon, in an interview yesterday on the Good Morning JoJo Sports Show.
“We had St. Kitts going for two sets straight. We had the game in our hands and we kind of made a few changes which kind of impacted the game, that
allowed them to come out of the box we had them in. I think we could have won
the game in three sets, but you know you live and you learn, but I see a fight in the ladies that I haven’t seen in years which is so impressive.”
In the other matches played that night, defending champions, St. Lucia made light work of Bermuda in Group A winning in straight sets, 25-9, 25-13, 25-9, while Dutch St. Maarten fell to Grenada, 3-1 (25-22, 29-31, 25-23, 25-14).
Antigua and Barbuda will compete in Group B against St. Kitts and Nevis and French St. Martin.