St.
Lucia Wins ECVA championship
St. Johns, Antigua, November 25, 2012- St. Lucia defeated
Antigua/Barbuda 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-16) to regain
the East Caribbean Volleyball Championship title that they lost
two years ago.
This was the second time that both teams met in this tournament
with St. Lucia winning in the group stage in straight sets.
Both teams were really pushed in the morning semi finals games
as St. Lucia had to overcome a resurging St. Kitts/Nevis in five
sets (25-20, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25 and 15-6). Antigua on the other
hand proved the better team in a hard fought 3-1 (25-17, 25-19,
22-25 and 25-23) victory over Dominica.
They both recovered to give the boisterous crowd a very
competitive display of volleyball.
Winning coach - Florian Combie was extremely happy with the
victory. "This was a real test to face Antigua/Barbuda in front
of their home crowd and they did not disappoint their fans
particularly in the first set. I am glad that they did because
it tested our metal and brought out the best in us. I think it
was the difference in rhythms that our setters created that gave
us the advantage.
Captain Gifta Dujon announced her retirement during the post
match interview. "I knew that this would be my last tournament
so I simply shut out the crowd and rallied the girls to put in
their uttermost. Now i am feeling extremely proud at achieving
this bjective.
Coach Esron Gittens of Antigua had high praise for his team.
"We were not first to the top of the mountain but certainly we
got to the top. This represents a huge improvement in our
performance and we immediately told our girls that we were very
proud of them," he reported.
Captain Shauna Isaac took time out to congratulate her
opponents. "We made some mistakes in crucial parts of the game
and lost mental focus but generally I am proud that we put up a
fight against a very good team," she said.
Final top four positions were: 1st St. Lucia; 2nd
Antigua/Barbuda; 3rd Dominica; 4th St. Kitts/Nevis. |