Antigua and Barbuda to battle for third-place finish

The Antigua and Barbuda Senior Women’s Volleyball team will play for a third-place finish in the ongoing Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Women’s tournament after falling to defending champions, St. Lucia in their semi-final match on Sunday at the YMCA Volleyball Indoor facility.
Team Antigua and Barbuda were defeated 3-2 in the best of five sets yesterday  morning by the number-one-ranked team in the ECVA.
This loss means that Antigua and Barbuda will not advance to the 2019 Continental Championships.   
Only the top team will move on.
The see-saw battle went down to the wire as St. Lucia took the first and third sets, 25-23, 25-18, 15-11 while host, Antigua and Barbuda, won the second and fourth sets, 25-23 and 25-19. 
But the champions would rise to the occasion and upset the host team, taking the final set and the game, 15-11 to advance to the finals.
“I am still proud of my girls and especially our younger players, Alicia really stepped up today and had the blockers going for St. Lucia with her sets, and you know, although we would have wanted to come out with the win I am still proud,” said Rosemarie Simon, veteran libero of the team.
In the other semi-final match-up, French St. Martin edged out Grenada, 3-2, (24-26,25-21,21-25,25-15,15-13).
Antigua and Barbuda, after winning their opening match, 3-2, versus St. Kitts and Nevis in Group B on Thursday night, fell in their second encounter to French St. Martin 2-3 on Friday night.