Antigua thrills over Bermuda to set up showdown with Grenada

ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 25, 2024:  Antigua and Barbuda looked out of it after losing the first sets to Bermuda, but found the will in Pool A of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.

As such, Match 13 proved to be thus far the most thrilling, as Antigua and Barbuda triumphed 3-2(24-26, 25-27, 25-19, 25-14, 15-9)

Antigua and Barbuda thus levelled with Grenada, who also has three wins from as many matches.

The two will now battle for top spot in the pool, when they square off in Match 19.

Assessing his team’s come from behind effort, Head Coach of Antigua and Barbuda- Karl Willliams was proud of his charges’ response to the Bermudans early dominance.

“I had all the confidence in the world for the guys. What am happy for, is we were pushed, and we showed resilience that is within this team”, Williams related.

Williams revealed that tactically adjustments were made, when the chips were down with them.

“Within our two and a half months of training, we would have tried different systems. Tonight, one wasn’t working and we made the adjustment”, a smiling Williams said.

Adrian Constant- Antigua and Barbuda’s Captain, was also in praise with his teammates recovery after being two sets down.

“We were lackadaisical early in the game. We made some changes which really worked and impacted the game. In the third set we realized that if we sit and play Antigua’s style of Volleyball, they can’t beat us”, Constant reported.

Michael Smith- Head Coach of Bermuda heaped accolades on his players, despite surrendering a two- set advantage, and having only one substitute at his disposal.

“We knew coming in that we didn’t have a lot of subs, so we tried to be as tactical as we could. Our passing was phenomenal. We executed as well as we could. We are holding our heads high after this” Smith said.

He though underscored the extreme heat was also a defining factor in the match.

“We got pretty tired. The guys were pretty sweaty. At the end of the third, it was pretty dangerous. There was sweat everywhere. I am proud of the guys”, Smith commiserated.

The other Pool A result on day three, saw Grenada defeating St Eustacius 3-0(26-24, 25-19, 25-17).