Dominica takes out Antigua and Barbuda as Women’s Pool F serves off

Tortola, British Virgin Islands, June 9, 2012- Dominica ousted Antigua and Barbuda 3-1(25-22, 26-24, 28-26, 25-22) in the opening salvo of the First Round of the NORCECA Group, as the Women’s Pool F of the 2014 FIVB World Championships Qualifiers, served off here at the Multi-Purpose Sporting Complex.

The two hour contest saw both teams pushing each other to the limits, as neither gave breathing space to their opponents, playing with passion and intensity; thus setting down the marker for the rest of the tournament.

Winning Coach Albert Loblack, despite coming away with the victory, thought his team did not play their best match.

“We played a sloppy game overall, as we made too many basic errors to start with, which at times put us under unnecessary pressure,” Loblack said.

He thumbed some his team’s mental lapses to the hectic travel his team incurred the previous day.

However, Dominica’s Captain, Anna Maria Xavier, thought that her players “played well”.

“We made errors in some areas, but we still were able to hold our heads high and bring the team to victory and we are hoping to do well in our future games”, Xavier stated.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Coach Esron Gittens in reviewing his team’s performance said: “We had a reasonable game, but we lacked the finishing touches. We were always in the game in each of the sets, but failed to capilatise on the opportunities we had, and that made the difference between winning and losing.”

Meanwhile, Captain of the Antigua and Barbuda outfit, Shauna Isaacs, thought they did not play to their abilities.

“We played a little bit timidly, but come next game, we are going to come back strong,” Isaacs said.

A confident Isaacs projected that Antigua and Barbuda will walk away with the first place.

For attaining the 3-1 score-line, Dominica notched up four points and Antigua and Barbuda, one point.