Bermuda and St Lucia chase gold medal glory

ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 21, 2024:  Bermuda and St Lucia will play in the gold medal match of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Women’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.

Additionally, apart from being crowned champion, the gold medallist will get a chance to represent the ECVA at the Continental Championships in 2025.

Both Bermuda and St Lucia earned the right to get a crack at the title, as they finished the six – team preliminary round, with a 4:1 win/loss ratio.

On the other hand, the two enter the title match coming off different results in their last preliminary round matches.

Bermuda was beaten 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 23-25) by Grenada, while St Lucia had to come from a set down to stave off Antigua and Barbuda, winning 3-1(17-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-17).

St Lucia ended the preliminary round winning 14 sets and lost 4, while Bermuda won 12 sets and 6.

Now, it is all to play for, and the two camps have expressed confidence going into the final.

Putting the loss to Grenada behind them, Bermuda’s Head Coach- Shalae Rae underscored that the final is what counts.

Noting that her team used the Grenada match strategically, Rae disclosed that it should serve them in good stead in the gold medal match.

“We found this to be a learning experience because we know who our best servers/ receivers are going to be, so what we have learned from this game is how we can use this opportunity to our strategic advantage in our gold medal match”, Rae explained.

St Lucia’s Head Coach - Kendell Charlery: We have a score to settle… We lost to Bermuda in the preliminary round, but we are better now, as we have tidied up some of our mistakes and I think we have a good show up, in defending our title”.

When the two teams met in the preliminary phase, Bermuda trumped 3-2.

Preceding the gold medal match, Anguilla and St Maarten play for fifth and sixth places, while Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda rumble for the bronze medal.