Savanna-la-mar wins league section in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica, November 29, 2013 - Savanna-la-mar Primary School took a major step in defending their National JaVA Primary & Prep Schools’ Volleyball Championship title by winning the League section in the JaVA Deran Lee Primary & Prep Schools Volleyball Championship in the parish of Westmoreland on Friday, November 29, 2013 at Loving Care Christian Academy, Farm Pen Road, Savanna-la-mar.

Savanna-la-mar got by Loving Care Christian Academy, Chantilly Primary & Infant and New Road All Age in the Group B quarterfinal action before dispatching last year’s parish champions, Holly Hill Primary & Infant 15-10, 15-11 in one of the semifinals. The other semifinal was won by Unity Primary in a 15-9, 12-15, 11-4 victory over Loving Care. Unity had earlier made a clean sweep of Holly Hill, Little London Primary and Kings Primary in Group A.

Savanna-la-mar took the title 15-13, 15-9 over Unity, due mainly to impressive performances by Rockila Williams and Ashley Plummer, who were awarded the President’s Madd Skill and MVP winners respectively. This marks the first time in the four-year history of the competition that both individual awards were copped by girls.  

The defending parish champions, Holly Hill had to settle for third, with a 15-13, 15-5 victory over Loving Care.

“With fourteen teams participating in competition, Westmoreland (and St Ann) has more than twice the numbers participating in any other parish. JaVA has therefore decided to increase the number of teams qualifying to the National Finals from two to four (for both parishes),” informed Major Warrenton Dixon, JaVA's Schools Development Manager. "We have increased the number of teams advancing to the National Finals from 14 to 21. I think this is just reward for the efforts the teachers have put into the competition this year.  Because of you we have almost tripled the number of schools participating in the competition, from 25 last year to 64 this year."

The Westmoreland competition was sponsored by Deran Lee, the Education Officer for the parish.