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St. Lucia successfully defends ECVA female Title
ST JOHNS, Antigua, August 19, 2018 – St. Lucia proved the
pundits correct when they came out on top once again in ECVA
senior female competition. In the final game they had a
comfortable 3-1 victory over St. Martin with scores of: - 25
-19, 25-18, 23 -25, and 25-14. A result that the majority of
fans expected.
The defending champs looked in control of the game until
complacency crept in during the 3rd set and St.
Martin took the initiative to at least avoid a straight set
defeat in the finals.
St. Lucia was carried once again by their Captain and
Vice-captain Lisa Casimie and Kerin Neptune respectively.
Together they combined for 33 points both scoring 13 spikes
each.
On the team score sheet St. Lucia had a distinct advantage in
Attack leading 40-29 in Spikes. They led in blocks as well
(10-3) but St. Martin had more Aces – 6 to 4.
On the other side Captain Valerie Damaseau led her team from in
front with 12 points and got assistance from Middle Blocker
Jacqueline Hodge with 11.
Normally a very quiet guy, Coach Kendall Challery cracked a
smile for the first time during the post-match interview. “At
this time I am feeling very excited, proud and very satisfied
with the result. It means that all the hard work and sacrifices
the team put in, made paid off, now we have the gold medal”, he
said with glee. Challery went on to explain that his charges
were a little too relaxed in the 3rd set. “I think
the girls went into that set rather complacent and thinking that
they had already won not knowing that this set would be the
toughest. However we were able to regroup to finish it in 4”, he
reported.
Coach David Williams of St. Martin conceded that he came up on a
better team on the night. “I must congratulate the way St. Lucia
played they have a very well rounded team. Their offence is
very difficult to defend as they come from through the middle as
well as the sides. This was the first time we met them in the
tournament and our girls weren’t able to make the adjustments in
time. I must admit that I think they relaxed a bit in the 3rd
set which gave us a chance and we took it. From here onwards we
go back to the drawing board to devise and plan to dethrone
these regular champions”, he surmised.
Earlier in the day St. Kitts/Nevis defeated St. Maarten in
straight sets (25-20, 25-23, and 25-19) to claim the 5th
spot while Antigua/Barbuda defeated Grenada to determine 3rd
and 4th hence the final positions are:-
1st St. Lucia 2nd St. Martin, 3rd
Antigua/Barbuda, 4th Grenada, 5th St.
Kitts/Nevis 6th St. Maarten and 7th
Bermuda. |
