Anthony fires Curacao into Pool C final
ST CROIX, Virgin Islands, May 27, 2012 - Team captain, Christine
Anthony had a tournament-high 23 points, inclusive of 21 spikes
as Curacao came from a set down to beat an unlucky Haiti, 22-25,
25-19, 25-15, 25-18 in their penultimate match of the 2014 FIVB
World Championship Qualification Women's Pool C round-robin
Tournament at the Ronald "Ranche" Charles" Basketball Arena.
With the win Curacao ended its three-match round-robin pool play
with a 2-1 record and nine points while Haiti ended with a 1-2
record and six points in third spot.
Geraldine Gregorius ended with 18 points while Naemi Monte got
16 for Curacao which outblocked its opponents 10-7 and also had
the edge on serves, 10-7.
Haiti’s Olmine Beaucejour was her team's top scorer with 13
points while Nirvah Hilaire and Sainvilia added eight each in
the loss.
Speaking after the match a dejected Haitian captain Nadege
Louisma first lamented on the loss of her team's best player
which proved vital in the end.
She said, "Olmine Beaucejour is our best player and when she got
injured it threw our game off balance after which we could not
recover.
"Even though she came back into the match in the fourth set she
did not recover her momentum and as a team we did not respond
well and it eventually cost us. However we have one match left
against Martinique and with the three teams advancing to the
next stage of the tournament we will be going all out to get
that third and final spot," added Louisma.
Haitian coach, Frederic Francois added, "We had a great start to
the match and won the first set, but unfortunately we lost our
best player to injury and after that our play went a little
downhill.
"But credit to Curacao as well they played a great game and
stuck to their plan. We now have a third place match which is
crucial if we are to advance and we are going to fight for that
spot, ended Francois.
Curacao captain Christine Anthony said, "After we lost the first
set it woke us as we knew we had to step up our play."
Anthony also praised the Haitian women for their effort which
she said helped to make the more interesting and entertaining.
Looking ahead to the final against host US Virgin Islands
Anthony said her team will be going all out to claim the gold
medal even though they have already secured a top two finish to
guarantee a spot in the second round of the World Championship
qualifiers.
Henry Delfina, Curacao's coach first expressed how important for
his team to get the win as helped determined which one of the
teams would advance to the final alongside host US Virgin
Islands.
"Haiti played great defence even after the injury to one of
their players but our girls adjusted well by mixing up the
attacks with some hard hits and soft hits to confuse their
defence.
With a chance for revenge for a round-robin loss to USVI in the
final, Delfina said his players will need to be more consistent
and aggressive if they are to take the gold medals. |