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ST JOHN’S, Antigua/Barbuda, May
14, 2016 – Antigua Barbuda overcame a forceful St. Lucia effort
to come from 2 sets down to overturn arch rivals St. Lucia 3-2
in a gritty five-set match (24-26, 20-25, 27-25, 25-15 and
15-3).
It was all about handling the
scoreboard pressure as Antigua/Barbuda threw away sizeable leads
in the first two games and ended on the losing side. St. Lucia
did a similar thing in game three as they got to the 20 point
mark with Antigua/ Barbuda trailing by two points.
Antigua/Barbuda regained
composure in the fourth set and was easy run away winners from
then on.
Head coach for St. Lucia Bernard
President tried to explain the loss after leading by two games
and establishing an early third set lead
“I believe we became too
complacent particularly in the third game where we were up to
sets and leading. The other thing is that frustration crept in
when our offense did not click the way we wanted it too. They
got some crucial run of points on us and that led to our
demise,” he reported.
Olsen Joseph of Antigua and
Barbuda on the other hand said he was very surprised and shock
to find his team 2 games down and trailing. “I did not expect
this at all I was anticipating a confident win instead we found
ourselves struggling to get our form. Eventually we did in game
three and from then on we were able to put away a very gutsy
opponent.
Antigua/Barbuda relied on their
two 6-footers in Amoy Lee and the captain Cairon Davis. Lee
playing as an Opposite Hitter led the scoreboard in spikes with
15 and blocks 8 and ended with a match-high 24 points. Davis
contributed 21 made up of 13 spikes, 5 blocks and 3 points from
the service line.
St. Lucia’s next game is against
Grenada this evening while Antigua Barbuda will meet St. Vincent
and the Grenadines in the curtains game for day 1 of the
competition. |
