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Antigua/Barbuda silences the home crowd with victory over
Grenada
LA BORIE, Grenada, November 3, 2018 – Antigua/
Barbuda gave the noisy home fans a dose of hush when they
defeated Grenada in straight sets (25-10, 31-29 and 25-23) in
the second semifinal of the ECVA championship. The victory meant
that Antigua Barbuda would meet St. Vincent and the Grenadines
in the finals.
After coasting through the first set the Antigua Barbuda team
was made to work hard as Grenada kept an uncomfortably close
position. In fact there were several tied scores and lead
changes that kept the fans on the edge of their seats in the
second set that Antigua/Barbuda eventually won.
Unforced errors prove a huge part of Grenada’s demise
particularly from the service line and more so at crucial times.
They gave up a whopping 41 points in errors which equated to a
little over 50% of Antigua’s points. The remaining came from 34
spikes, 5 blocks and 1 point from the service line. On the
opposite side Grenada benefitted from only 21 errors from
Antigua/Barbuda and had to earn points through 33 successful
spikes, 4 blocks and 4 aces.
Adrian Constant led the attack for Antigua Barbuda with 9 points
while there were contributions from Cairon Davis with 8 points
and 7 each from Jamarie James and Itiro Jenkins. Grenada‘s
leaders on the night were Nikel John with 12 points and Akim
Andrew with 7.
Losing Coach Raphael Brathwaite pointed squarely to the team
errors in the after game interview. “You can’t expect to commit
so many errors in a semifinal game and win. The service errors
hurt us especially as they not only gave them points but also
opportunities to attack. Our backcourt play was also below par
and Antigua was able to capitalize on that”, he surmised.
Coach Carl Williams of Antigua felt that they were the better
team on the night. “Our intention tonight was to get the crowd
out of the game and we did just that in the first set. From then
on we recognized that it was going to be a tough game but we
made some adjustments after we realize what they were doing and
that gave us the edge over them. I feel confident now that we
will go all the way”, he stated.
The finals is therefore set for the evening of November 4th
when Antigua Barbuda tries to cool Vincie Heat in the mountains
of La Borie Grenada.
Prior to that Grenada and St. Lucia will play for bronze while
St. Kitts Nevis and BVI will lock horns to determine 5th
and 6th positions. |
