Bermuda outlasts St. Maarten for first victory

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 27, 2012 – Bermuda won in straight sets (25-22, 25 21, 25-20) over St. Maarten in game 3 of the 2014 FIVB World Championship qualification women Round I Group D.

The three sets were similar in pattern as Bermuda enjoyed an early lead while St. Maarten worked their way back midway through the game only to lose in the end. The second game was particularly close as St. Maarten, who trailed 1-6, rallied to lead at 18 -17. However Bermuda replied with an 8-3 run to take the game.

Lisa Leblanc was the top scorer for Bermuda with 11 points while Captain Victoria Stevenson contributed 10. For St. Maarten Andrea Flemming lead all scorers with 13 points as the only person in double figures.

Coach Blee of Bermuda reported that her camp was very high spirits. “I think that we are happy for not only for the first victory but for the way we played. We had a very long talk after our last match and asked the players refocused on their individual roles and today we came out really fighting, playing well as a unit. We are now looking forward to the game with St. Kitts”, she concluded.

St. Maarten’s Coach Arrindell felt that it was their errors that handed Bermuda the game. “We made too many errors, the majority of those points that Bermuda got came from service errors and miscommunication on our behalf so we literally gifted them the game”, Arrindell surmised.

Captain Latasha Mills of St. Maarten was a bit disappointed as she felt that they could have done better. “The coach’s assessment is correct we now have to pick ourselves up and look forward to an even better showing again Anguilla tomorrow,” she said.