Barbados win Battle of the Caribbean over St Lucia

PONCE, Puerto Rico, May 22, 2014 – The more experienced Barbados prevailed against St Lucia in the opening match of the NORCECA Women’s World Championship Qualification Tournament Pool R taking place at Juan “Pachín” Vicens Auditorium.

After two well fought sets, Barbados took control of the game and relied on power and experience to claim the victory 25-23, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18.

The resilient St Lucia challenged Barbados point by point in the close opening sets but slowed down the rest of the way against a more coordinated team that took advantage of the mistakes committed by the opponents.

Barbados’ coach Andrew Brathwaite credited her players for the way they reacted to close the match.

“We were able to make adjustments in our game following a slow start,” Brathwaite said. “It is good to start winning and I hope we can continue that way.”

St Lucia’s coach Florian Combie was satisfied with the performance of his team and put the blame on the mistakes of the last two sets.

“Our team played well for two sets but then they were very erratic,” Combie said. “We must work in trying to minimize the number of errors.”

Barbados’ Tonya Joseph said to be “happy for the win because were able to regroup and achieve the victory despite the progress of St Lucia team.”