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Antigua gets the better of Grenada in close four setter
St. JOHNS, Antigua, September, 9, 2016 - Antigua and Barbuda
came from a set down to defeat Grenada 3-1 in a closely fought
four setter (24-26, 25-22,25-18 and 25-21) in the opening match
of the ECVA World Cup Qualifying tournament Group B women.
There was little difference between the two teams except for the
third set where Antigua enjoyed a comfortable 4 point lead
throughout the game.
Coach Harris Lewis was cool and calm after the game. “Although
we did not play as well as we should have, the girls remained
confident of victory and even after going a set down they did
not get flustered. Grenada was playing a very good all round
game so we were forced to match them in all departments. I
became concerned when our big middle (Nyota Peters) faltered bit
but thankful when Naheema (Wilson) stepped up and carried the
fight. We then made some adjustments that worked in our favour”
he said.
Captain Naheema pointed to the first set which she felt was a
tester. “We have never really played against this team before so
the first set was really a way of feeling out their strengths
and weakness. We made some simple mistakes but as the game went
on we got progressively better and came out on top. I am glad we
did as there is a huge weight of expectation on our shoulders as
the home team”, she intimated.
Coach Raphael Brathwaite was not disheartened. “Our biggest
problem is defense and this is partly due to the squad that we
have. I was happy with the performance as you can see our
offense is on par but we have to be better at blocking and
shutting down some of their key players such as #7 (Sharon
Payne) and #9 (Naheemah Wilson) . I think that they are a much
more experienced team than us and for us to compete with them
like this I am really satisfied”, he said.
Antigua had 3 players with double figures in Nyota Peters -17
Naheemah Wilson-16 and Sharon Payne -13 to lead the attack while
Grenada was led by a game high 19 points from Renisha Stafford
with support from Carsie Paul with 11 points.
Spiking advantage went to Antigua with 44 to 33. They also had
the edge in blocks 8 to 6 but Grenada scored 12 points from the
serve to Antigua’s 7.
Matches continue on Saturday 10th September at 7 pm
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