French St. Martin Tops Dutch St. Maarten in Quarterfinal Clash

ST JOHNS, Antigua, December 6, 2014- The French won the battle of the St. Marteners when they defeated the Dutch 3-1 (25-23, 25-18,21-25 and 25-23) in the second of the quarterfinals of the East Caribbean Volleyball Association Senior Men Championship.

The two teams have played each other on numerous occasions and their games are typically feisty. This match was no different with long rallies, runs and mini runs by each team.

The French however rode on the heroics of opposite Rotilio Richardson who chalked up 27 points and lead the way to victory. He was dominant at the net with 23 kills and 2 blocks and added 2 service aces to that. He found support in his outside hitters in Yahn Hodge and Paul Quellery with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Dutch got their leading performance from opposite Reigmar Valies with 19 points dotted with 16 kills. Back up support came from outside hitter Lenardo Jeffers with 14 points.

On the team score sheet, the French won all categories. In spikes they led 52 to 48 in Blocks they held the advantage with 13-7 and edged the Dutch 3-1 in the service Department.

French Coach Thierry Stephen felt that it was a case of knowing the enemy. “We have played them so many times over 12 years now that we know their players and know their moves and so we were able to anticipate what was coming and made the necessary adjustments. We were confident that we could take them in 3 sets but some costly errors in game three forced a fourth set”, he said.

His opposite number Raymond Jacobs reflected on missed chances. “We usually have close encounters as there is not much difference between the two teams. On this occasion we failed to capitalize on chances given and with the momentum they got from that made it difficult to stop them. We made all the changes we could have but it wasn’t enough on this occasion”, he reported.

For all their effort, French St. Martin takes on St. Lucia in the semifinals while Dutch St. Maarten has been relegated to play for 5^th position against St. Vincent.