Antigua and Barbuda suffer opening loss in ECVA Under-23 volleyball tournament

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Members of the U23 volleyball squad (Photo courtesy Jonathan Murphy)
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Team Antigua and Barbuda on Wednesday suffered a 3-0 sets loss to regional nemesis St Lucia in the opening clash of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships being held in Dominica.

St Lucia dominated the contest to win by 25-17, 25- 9, and 27-25 at the Massacre Indoor Facility in Roseau. 

Playing in Pool A of the championships, St Lucia got off to a positive start, claiming the first two sets with relative ease. They however had to dig deep to avoid an extension of the match, as the Antiguans made a fist of it in the third set.

Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team, Rosemarie Simon, took solace in the fight showed by the players despite the loss.

“I am not disappointed in the ladies. I think they started playing really hard, but lost momentum. The opposing team made some changes that the team did not respond to fast enough. In addition, our main hitter got hurt, so we also had to make an adjustment, and that affected the team a bit … All in all, I am proud of the ladies, she said.

Captain Jassania Joseph, echoed her coach’s sentiments.

“Despite the loss, I am very proud of my team. We came here with the mentality, so we played hard, but St Lucia played a little better.” 

Meanwhile, the coach of the winning St Lucia team, Stuart Albert, said the squad is a mixture of youth and experience but welcomed the opening victory.

“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. I am glad for the win … we had to dig deep in the third set, but we came out victorious,” he said.

Antigua and Barbuda is grouped alongside Dominica, Dutch St Maarten, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada and Anguilla.

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