Final first round of CAZOVA qualifiers serves off in Aruba

ARUBA, November 26, 2016 - The third and final tournament in the first round of the CAZOVA zonal qualifying series for the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Volleyball Championship serves off here on Saturday.

Teams from Haiti, Martinique, Suriname and host country Aruba will participate in the round-robin two-day event in this Group B tournament and the top two finishers tomorrow night will complete the list of qualifiers for the second round in Jamaica in late July 2017.

Curacao and United States Virgin Islands (USVI) advanced from Group A in St Croix in early August, while Guadeloupe and Bahamas booked their tickets two weeks ago in Grand Cayman. Trinidad and Tobago and hosts Jamaica, ranked first and second respectively in CAZOVA , have advanced automatically to the next stage.

The coaches of the teams spoke about their expectations from this weekend’s tournament following last night’s Preliminary Enquiry.

Eric Aikman, Suriname (ranked 4^th in CAZOVA): “We have trained for a long time and the players and coaching staff are here to win. That’s our goal.”

Frederick Francois, Haiti (7^th): “We have to work hard and do our best to get into the top two and advance to the next stage.”

Daan Kleinbussink, Aruba (10^th): “We had a long preparation and are ready to fight. We know we have strong opposition, but we are hoping to qualify for the next round.”

Melinard Rene, Martinique (12^th): “I expect the players to give their best and represent the country well.”

The next edition of the Women World Championship will take place in Japan in 2018 and the NORCECA region will have six qualifiers, along with defending champions United States

Tournament schedule: 
 

Saturday

5 p.m. – Haiti vs Suriname

7 p.m. – Aruba vs Martinique

Sunday

9 a.m. – Martinique vs Suriname

11 a.m. – Aruba vs Haiti

5 p.m. – Haiti vs Martinique

7 p.m. – Aruba vs Suriname