It took all of two hours and 26 minutes before BVI and Antigua and Barbuda could be separated in the first five-setter of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) senior women’s tournament, being held in St Maarten, with BVI taking full points.
The contest swung back and forth with scores of 23-25, 28-26, 16–25 and 25–19, but in the fifth and final set which ended 15-12, the victors jumped out to a six-point lead before Antigua and Barbuda roared back to take a slender lead. BVI broke that momentum and picked up one of their own, surging to victory.
Middle blocker for the BVI, Shoranda Pickering, proved to be a thorn in the sides of the Antigua and Barbuda players as she picked up six kills, six blocks and six aces on her way to gathering 26 points to lead the BVI.
Antigua and Barbuda’s middle blocker, Nyota Peters, carried the team’s scoring responsibility with a game-high 33 points comprising 11 kills, 11 blocks and 11 aces. She got assistance from Kwanisia Carr with 18 points.
Coach, Fitzroy Benjamin said a lack of concentration was the team’s biggest downfall.
“We had a lot of bad serves and a total loss of concentration when it mattered most, and this resulted in a move away from the game plan. We will have to regroup and evaluate this game before we get ready for St Lucia tomorrow,” he said.
Captain, Rosemarie Simon, of Antigua agreed with her coach. “I am extremely disappointed, I think we could have played better, we were confident coming into the game, but as the coach said, we had a poor service game and we had a problem covering. We definitely have to regroup as the next game against St Lucia is very important,” she said.
Coach of the BVI, Stephen Payne was understandably overjoyed.
“I am extremely pleased with the way the girls performed tonight. Like I predicted yesterday, we will defeat Antigua and we came out with the victory. There were times where service errors plagued us, but that was fixed and the girls soldiered on. We will regroup once again and get ready for our next game,” he said.