ECVA Olympic Beach Volley Continues under sunshine
 

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, November 20, 2010 - The brilliant Antigua sunshine warmed Jolly beach and signaled the beginning of play on day two of the ECVA Olympic qualifying beach tournament. 

In the first set of male matches Grenada (A) and the British Virgin Islands (B) were paired against each other in the men’s division. The highly motivated Grenadians toiled against their opponents.  In the end, their efforts were successful as they defeated The British Virgin Islands (B) with a score line of 21-17 and 21-12.  In the second meeting of both countries, the British Virgin Islands (A) sought revenge for their fellow countrymen.  Their focus efforts resulted in a sweet victory over Grenada (B) with a score line of 21- 18 and 21-11.

In the men’s division, St. Vincent and Anguilla rumbled in the volleyball sands to determine the better team. Anguilla (B) and St. Vincent (A) locked horns and resisted each. The St. Vincent (A) team capitalized on several unforced errors by their Anguilla (B) counter parts.  The game culminated with a 21-15 and 21-18 victory St. Vincent (A).  In the second encounter of the two islands Anguilla (A) felt the volleyball wrath of St. Vincent (B).   Learning from the winning habits of their countrymen St. Vincent capitalized on errors made by their opponents Anguilla (A).  The score line was 21-14 and 21-10.

In women’s action, The British Virgin islands women (B) viewed Anguilla (A) as an easy push over as they worked towards a quick and easy victory.  After losing the first set Anguilla (A) woke up and fought to win sets two and three much to the delight of the crowd.  The scores for the game were 13-21, 21-14, 17-15 in favor for Anguilla.    In the other game between the two countries, Anguilla (B) showed a lot of tenacity towards their British Virgin island (A) opponents.  Though the British Virgin Islands won by a score of 21-16 and 21-14, the game was much closer as both teams earned the admiration of the crowds with spectacular and defying dives. 

Dominica’s women flexed their volleyball muscle when they rumbled with their archrival St. Vincent.  In the first game, Dominica (A) easily defeated St. Vincent (B) with a score of 21-5 and 21- 18.  The recipe used by Dominic a (B) was similar to that of their fellow country women.  Excellent defense and a relentless offence resulted in a 21-13, 21-19 victory for Dominica.

As the sun’s intensity increased, so too did the quality of the games.  The women lead the charge as St. Lucia (A) and Antigua (B) engaged in tiger like struggles.  Despite Antigua’s effort they were defeated by the well prepared St. Lucian team with a score of 21-19 and 21-13. 

The St. Kitts and Nevis (A) ladies stuttered slightly as they played Grenada in an uncharacteristic manner.  Upon working out the finer details, St. Kitts and Nevis (A) defeated Grenada (B) with a score of 21-12 and 21-15.

As Grenada (A) played St. Kitts and Nevis (B), there was no question as to which team was in charge.  The former mentioned team easily disposed of Grenada (A) with a score line of 21-10 and 21-14.

The young St. Vincent (C) female team was not match for the well seasoned Antigua (A) team.  The home girls wasted no time as they quickly disposed of their opponents with a score of 21-9 and 21-12.

With Anguilla and The British Virgin islands (BVI) in a dead heat, a ”Golden set” was played to determine who would advance to the next round.  The Anguillian girls seemly improving with each game, resolved to defeat their opponents despite stern resistance from the British Virgin Islands.  However, when the final whistle blew Anguilla won with a score of 15-9.

In the other “Golden set”, St. Lucia shattered the dreams of the home team and the crowd.  Neither team retreated as the game came to a close.  With momentum swinging like a pendulum, St. Lucia scored two crucial points which brought the match to an end.  The score for the game was 17-15 in favor of St. Lucia. 

Regional power houses, St. Kitts and Nevis (A) played Dominica (B) in what was to be a very explosive game.   St. Kitts and Nevis (A) switched to predator mode and made quick work of their opponents by defeating them with a score of 21-4 and 21-10. 

Sensing the need to win, Dominica (A) came out with guns blazing and secured the first set despite resistance from St. Kitts and Nevis (B).  With little time to prevent their demise, St. Kitts and Nevis (B) corrected noted errors made in the first set.  These minor adjustments in blocking and hitting allowed them to win the two remaining sets.  The game culminated in a victory for St. Kitts and Nevis (B) with a score of 19-21, 21-16 and 15-11.

Host country Antigua (B) encountered the mighty St. Lucia (A) in a very important match.  With the roar of the home crowd behind them, Antigua (B) provided staunch resistance.  However the machine like performance from the St. Lucia “A”, eroded any potential chance for Antigua to win this match.  The game ended in a 21-18, 21-13 victory for the mighty “Lucians”. 

The second match between Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia was a reversal of fortunes.  It seemed like St. Lucia (B) was marching towards to victory.  Suddenly like an unannounced eruption Antigua and Barbuda (A) over powered the St. Lucians (B) to win the remaining two sets.  The results of the game were 16-21, 21-10 and 15-10, in favor of Antigua and Barbuda (A).

Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia were tied with a similar win, loss record.  To resolve this, both played the “Golden set” to determine which team would go forward.  Both teams were very cautious but St. Lucia scratched out a win, with a score of 15-12.

In the other ‘Golden set” game The British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Grenada fought for the right to go to the next round of games.  Both teams were evenly poised in the early phase of the set; however Grenada was able to win as they held their nerve to win the game.  The score for this match was 15-12 in favor of Grenada. 

Based on point accumulation the men and women of St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis have advanced to the next round of games in the beach volleyball Olympic qualification process.  Despite the advancement of the aforementioned teams there is still room for teams fighting for the final spots.  Teams left in the qualification hunt are the women of Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and Anguilla.  In the men’s category the teams vying for the remaining few spots are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Vincent.