US Virgin Islands go home on winning note

 PETION-VILLE, Haiti, July 10, 2016 - US Virgin Islands shrugged off the disappointment of failing to advance to next year’s Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championships to be held in Trinidad and Tobago when they swept Cayman Islands 3-0 (25-19, 25-19,25-20) in their final Group C match of the First Round qualifiers.

Both teams entered the match with 0-2 records and without any chance of competing in Trinidad and Tobago next year in the tournament which also doubles as a Round Two CAZOVA qualifier to the 2018 FIVB World Indoor Championship to be jointly hosted by Italy and Bulgaria.

With the win, US Virgin Islands ended with a 1-2 record and five points, while seventh ranked Haiti and Curacao, ranked fifth, are 2-0 and with maximum ten points ahead of their meeting in the final match of the round-robin series on Sunday night to determine the Group winner.

Both Haiti and Curacao, have qualified to the CAZOVA Championship as top two finishers and in the process the next round of FIVB World Championship qualifiers.

Despite the loss, Mark Ray, coach of the Cayman Islands team said he was very satisfied shown over the two days by his players.

“I think our age finally caught up with us in this final match, being the oldest tea in the tournament. But I told my guys to hold their heads high because they dug deep and fought hard as they could.”

Speaking after the win, Jereall Nicholas, US Virgin Islands coach said it was nice to finally get among the winners row as it will help his young team.

“We are learning match by match and winning helps builds confidence so will be grow from this experience.”