Barbados escapes with five set win over Haiti

COUVA, Trinidad, July 5, 2017- Ten-time champions Barbados overcame a very slow start to get the better of debutants Haiti 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-13) for a 2-0 record in Pool E of the 16^th Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) at the National Cycling Centre.

With the win, Barbados joined Jamaica with a 2-0 round-robin record ahead of their top-of-the-table encounter on Thursday which will determine the automatic qualifier for the semifinals while the loser will contest the quarterfinals.

Speaking after the heart-breaking defeat, Haiti captain Irvens Benjamin said his team tried to give a very special effort.

“We were beaten in our first match, but today we had a good chance to beat a team like Barbados 3-0 but too many mistakes cost us.”

“Our team is a young one so we will learn from this and hope to do much better tomorrow.”

Captain of the Barbados team which also defeated 2012 winners Bahamas in five sets in their opener, Shawn Simpson said he was pleased with the fighting qualities his team is showing.

“We did not start well at all, but the guys never dropped their heads and if we can pull off wins by playing this ugly, then I can’t wait to see what will happen when we hit our stride “

Despite the loss, their second in a row, Yves Larriuex said his players played a very good game.

“We had a great possibility for a 3-0 win, but we dropped our concentration and in the fifth set we were unfortunate with what I think was a bad call at 13-13. It was a crucial mistake which cost us the game.”

Andrew Culpepper, Barbados coach was happy for the win and stated that once his players can put a team performance together he will be happy.

“We have not played a good team game as yet and have managed to get by on individual performances so we need to put in a good better showing.”

On Thursday in their final round-robin match, Jamaica meets Barbados from 7pm while Bahamas battles Haiti from 4pm.